{"id":16285,"date":"2021-11-01T10:53:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-01T14:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/?p=16285"},"modified":"2024-11-17T23:35:37","modified_gmt":"2024-11-18T04:35:37","slug":"college-fundraising-best-practices-three-ways-to-increase-online-donations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/college-fundraising-best-practices-three-ways-to-increase-online-donations\/","title":{"rendered":"College Fundraising Best Practices: Three Ways to Increase Online Donations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Online giving to charitable organizations (colleges included!) has increased an average of 10% every year since 2012. <\/strong>In 2020, it grew by 21%<\/a>.  And\u2014according to a report by Nonprofit Source<\/strong><\/a>–54% of donors worldwide prefer to donate online with a credit or debit card.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, I\u2019m not here to say direct mail is dead (it most certainly isn\u2019t) but I do believe that if your college or university isn\u2019t making online giving a priority, you\u2019re missing out on a massive opportunity to raise more for your institution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what are the tell-tale signs that online giving isn\u2019t a big enough priority for your institution? And what changes can you advocate for to increase online donations?<\/strong> <\/strong> I\u2019ve worked in higher education<\/a> and have heard firsthand some of the questions donors have when trying to navigate a tough donation process. Here are some of the questions I\u2019ve heard and tips on changes you can implement to make online giving easy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Problem: \u201cI\u2019m on the website but where do I make a donation?\u201d <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This question makes every fundraiser\u2019s heart sink a little. Why? Because someone has put the effort into reaching out to you by phone or email to ask how<\/em> to give. Ideally, giving should be easy and something any visitor to your website can figure out. It begs the terrible question, \u201cIf this person has reached out to ask me how to donate on our website, how many others have tried and not reached out and just given up?\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solution: Make your donation form easily accessible from your home page. <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

All visitors to your website\u2019s homepage should be able to easily access your giving form. Having a \u201cDonate\u201d button on your homepage creates a direct path for your donors, and anyone interested in giving, to support your university. The more steps there are in the donation process, the less likely someone is to make a gift. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This process starts on your homepage. Adding a \u201cdonate\u201d button to your homepage cuts down on the steps your website visitors take to give, increasing the number of donations you receive online. Palm Beach Atlantic University<\/a> is a great example to follow\u2014they have a button on their homepage that directly links to their giving form! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Problem: \u201cI tried making my donation online but was confused\u2026I figured it\u2019d be easier if I just called you to donate.\u201d<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Ouch. If someone is confused enough by your online donation process that they decide to look up your college\u2019s number and call you, you\u2019ve got a problem. The donor that calls for help to donate is making a very clear statement about your donation form<\/a>: it\u2019s not worth the trouble of filling out. If someone is less determined to give they won\u2019t call to complete their donation, they\u2019ll give up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solution: Keep your donation form simple! And mobile friendly. <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Amazon\u2019s one-click buying feature is based on the same\nonline conversion data. The less steps a website visitor takes to complete a\ntransaction or process, the more likely they are to complete that transaction\nor process. Donors are used to simple checkout processes like Amazon\u2019s, so if\nthey have to click through numerous pages to donate they\u2019ll likely be confused.\nKeep the pages, and length, of your donation form to a minimum to curb donor\ndrop off. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding branding to your donation form that matches the branding of your college will create visual consistency for your donors and assure them that they haven\u2019t accidentally navigated to another site. This can be as simple as adding a color to your donation amount buttons or a banner image to your form! Branding not only creates visual consistency for your donors, it can help your college raise more online too. After all,  donations made through a branded form tend to average 38% larger<\/a> than those made through a generic form. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever changes you make to your donation form, make sure they are\u00a0mobile friendly<\/a>.\u00a0Approximately 26% of all online giving\u00a0is\u00a0processed on mobile devices, and 51% of nonprofit website visitors visit from a mobile device.\u00a0Nothing is more confusing than a donation form not formatted for mobile.\u00a0Flagler College’s\u00a0giving form below is an example of a mobile friendly,\u00a0beautifully-branded\u00a0giving form. Their giving form is easy to navigate and features the university\u2019s signature\u00a0red\u00a0branding throughout the form.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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Problem: \u201cI\u2019m not sure if I made a donation or not\u2026can you check for me?\u201d<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

When a brilliant professor with their PhD in microbiology calls and asks this, there\u2019s more at play than simple \u201cuser error.\u201d This question indicates a problem with your giving form\u2014it\u2019s not clear. It could be a loading issue with your form or the donor\u2019s browser, but if this question\u2019s repeatedly asked it\u2019s more than a fluke. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solution: A clear confirmation process and page.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

When a donor has filled out all their information in your donation form, is the next step clear? The final step a donor must take to submit their donation should be obvious. Make sure your donation form has a clearly-labeled button near the last field a donor will fill out that indicates the end of the donation process. Once this button is clicked your donor should land on a confirmation page. Below is an example of a standard Qgiv confirmation page<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Conclusion<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Your donation form can make giving to your college easy or\ndifficult. Don\u2019t let your donation form curb online gifts to your institution!\nBy adding a donate button to your homepage, reducing the number of pages in\nyour donation process, branding your form, and adding a clear confirmation\nprocess, your college will be ready to conquer online giving.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more donation form best practice tips, check out these blogs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n