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Online Giving, Tips

Create spectacular donation forms your donors will love

Posted August 2, 2016 by Timi Paccioretti
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create online donation forms

 

Undoubtedly, you’ve heard that online giving is on the rise. And, I’m guessing that many of you have already dipped your toe into the online giving scene. But are you wondering if you’ve got it right? Do you have a donation form, but it’s not seeing much action? Or maybe you haven’t set one up yet and don’t know where to start.

In either case, this article can help because it explores how you can create or optimize your donation forms to create a truly great online giving experience. By incorporating these few simple ideas into your online giving strategy, you’ll be ready to build donation forms that will both wow your donors and help increase your organization’s online donation revenue. Ready to dig in and find out how?

First, you’ll need a simple tool to build and publish a form that has the ability to process credit card transactions. There are lots of options out there including Little Green Light’s own LGL Forms.  Whichever service you choose, be sure to find one with the following capabilities:

  • Ability to control the look and feel of your form so you can match it to your organization’s brand
  • Options for processing both one-time and recurring donations
  • Mobile-responsiveness
  • Ability to send personalized emails to donors
  • An easy way to transfer information from the form to your donor database

Once you have a system in place, give the following ideas a try.

Idea #1: Keep your form SIMPLE

This is one of the trickiest aspects of building a form. Why? Because we want to share so much with our prospective donor, and we are tempted to use this opportunity, when they’re on our donation page, to give and get loads of information. Research shows, unfortunately, that the more distractions a donor has, the less likely they are to complete the form and make a donation.

So, what exactly should be included on your donation form? Simple – these 4 things:

  • A compelling title and banner with SEO-friendly keywords and a logo
  • Payment options
  • Information about how the donation will be used
  • A clear call to action (Be sure you change the text of your Submit button to something that portrays a sense of urgency, i.e., “Donate now,” “Make a difference,” or “Stop the killing.”)

See this handy infographic for some ideas on how to design a great donation page.

Idea #2: Reduce the number of distractions your donor experiences while visiting the page

donation form length

Did you know that for every click a donor needs to make to complete their donation, the likelihood of their completing it decreases by 40% Yikes! What’s the lesson here? Make sure that you reduce the need for your donors to click through to multiple pages in order to donate. Here are some ideas on how to facilitate this:

1. Add a “Donate now” button to every page on your website, and link it to a single landing page that contains your donation form

2. Remove your website navigation from the donation form page to discourage clicking elsewhere

3. Use a single call to action – don’t confuse people by offering too many options

Idea #3: Be sure your donation form is mobile-responsive

What is a mobile-responsive form? Simply put, it is a form that automatically re-sizes itself so that it can be easily read/viewed on a smartphone or tablet. With more than 51% of visitors coming to your website from mobile devices versus laptops, it’s a must that your donation form be mobile-responsive.

And, according to Mobile Cause, responsive pages yield 34% more gifts than non-responsive forms because they make it easier for donors to give.

responsive froms get more online donations

Source: Mobile Cause

 

Idea #4: Ensure that your form matches your organization’s website branding

Not only does your form’s branding lend itself to the professionalism of your organization, it also raises 6 times more dollars than generic donation pages.

branded donation pages get more gifts

Source: Network for Good Digital Giving Index

Idea #5: Drive donors to your donation form using multiple channels

Unfortunately, this is not a “build it and they will come” scenario. You could build an outstanding donation form, but if you don’t share that form successfully it’s likely not to see much action.

How can you get the word out?

  • Talk about donating online in your e-newsletters. Research shows that for every 1,000 fundraising emails successfully delivered, nonprofits raised $44.
  • Promote online donation opportunities on your social media channels. 
  • Include a donate call to action, linked to your donation form, in your email signature line
Idea #6: Draft informative and creative confirmation pages and emails
Confirmation pages and emails are exceptional ways for you to share more information with your donors and engage with them once they’ve donated. Not only are these tools helpful in ensuring that you’re able to properly thank your donors, they can also be used to communicate the impact of their gift, or provide information on other ways they can support your organization. You can even invite them to join your email list to stay updated about how their gift continues to have impact. Often, the types of information you may be tempted to collect on the donation form itself is better suited to the confirmation page and emails. Be sure you take full advantage of the important role your form plays in wowing your donors.

 

Does your nonprofit need a simple-to-use tool to create online forms and process donations online? Try Little Green Light and its Forms feature free for 30 days, and see how you can create an online donation experience that will wow your donors.

 
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About the Author
With more than 25 years of development and management experience in a variety of nonprofit organizations, Timi has a wealth of knowledge and is always eager to connect with fellow fundraisers. She is passionate about assisting mission-driven organizations to better manage their data so that they can be more strategic in their development efforts. She is a true evangelist of LGL, first as an early adopter and user of Little Green Light, and now, as LGL’s Senior Marketing Manager.

2 thoughts on “Create spectacular donation forms your donors will love”

    1. Hi Natasha,

      We do provide a url for a donation form created in LGL that can be added into a Facebook post.

      Thanks,
      Timi

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