Website quick win: Update your donate page

Your website works extremely hard for your organization. It is the virtual sign over your front door and it exists to solely further your ability to make an impact in your community. 

A non-profit’s website often needs to do double-duty — it must speak to those you serve, informing them of the programs and services they need to know about, and it needs to speak to those who support your efforts, informing them of the impact they make so they will be more willing to give again. 

Which is what leads us to the all-important donate page. This page is often mistakenly thought of as simply a vehicle for processing payments. And while it does do that, it needs to do much more.

It needs to inspire support.

If refreshing the content on your entire site is not on the agenda, or seems like too large a task to take on in one go, simply updating your donation page with impactful copy is an easy way to make a big difference. 

Know how to motivate your donors to donate

Know who your donors are and what they need to want to donate to your organization rather than telling them why your organization wants their support. There is a subtle distinction between the two and it is the difference between what’s it in for your organization and what’s in it for them. 

Here’s a great example of a recently refreshed donation page for an organization that works with people involved in the criminal justice system.

In this example, they took a topic that struggles to rally support (helping people who have been involved with the law) and turned it around to show that, by donating, they are helping to make their own community safer. 

Explain how support helps

Donors are often willing to give, but they want to know the impact of their gift. Rather than using big numbers, such as the number of meals served or number of people your organization helps every year, bring the concept down to something the donor can understand, and maybe even relate to. A single, named person has a far greater impact than thousands of faceless individuals. 

Here’s an example from an organization that works with homeless and low-income populations in Toronto.

Make sure donors know what to do

When motivating and inspiring donors, keep it brief but compelling. Don’t overwhelm your audience with too much information. Instead, prioritize your call to action and make sure your donors know exactly what you want them to do. 

The last thing you want is for a donor to be inspired and then not be able to figure out how to make a donation.