25 Quick Ways to Improve on Your Online Donation Forms Today

As a nonprofit, you know that the best way to collect donations online is to use an online donation form that accepts credit, debit cards, and ACH (e-check) payments. Donors expect to have the convenience of online payments when contributing to their favorite causes, now more than ever! Whether you have an existing donation form or you’re creating your first form, check out these 25 smart ways to tweak your online donation form for better results. Even small changes can have a significant impact on your latest online fundraising campaign!

1. Start or Expand Your Monthly Giving Program

The donors currently in your database already know you, and they most likely want to give more. You can turn those one time donors into lifetime supporters with a monthly giving program. Monthly giving is a proven method of drastically increasing your donor retention and a trusted way to build a loyal donor base. Get started or expand your current program with these resources:

2. Make Recurring Donations a Default Setting

Recurring donations are the most effective way to retain donors and make the most of your online fundraising efforts. Leverage the power of your monthly program and encourage repeat donations by setting it as the default option on your online donation forms.

3. Brand Your Online Donation Form

Donors need to be able to recognize and trust your online donation form. Customize your form with your logo and adjust the colors to fit your signature color scheme. Don’t let donors second guess where their money is going by not having a form that suits your style!

4. Default to A Suggested Giving Amount

Limit the decisions a donor needs to make to complete your form. By pre-selecting the default gift amount, you move donors closer to completing your form. You also help nudge them to donate more than the minimum.

5. Share Your Online Donation Form Everywhere!

6. Embed Your Online Donation Form on Your Website

In addition to branding your online donation form, embedding it on your website is a way to build trust with donors. When the form is embedded, supporters can fill out the form right from your website.

7. Tell Donors How Their Donation Will Be Used

Donors appreciate transparency and love knowing how their donation is going to make a change. Will it be 50 gallons of clean water for a village? Will it be clothes for a family in need? Provide a brief description of each donation level and what each amount will equate to, so donors are more emotionally driven to donate. Reinforce those same levels in your online fundraising campaigns.

8. Offer Different Giving Levels

Whether it be memberships, sponsorship levels, or regular donations, there should always be several options for donation levels. Standard donation amounts should have a range that fits best for donors of all income levels. If you offer memberships or sponsorships, it’s also a good idea to have different levels so donors can still be a member even if they cannot afford the highest level.

9. Make Your Form Mobile Responsive

Today, over 50% of all internet traffic is from mobile devices. Donations from mobile devices make up over 40% of all donations. That percentage continues to climb every day. All DonorPerfect forms have the option to enhance performance on mobile devices. Is your form mobile responsive? If it’s an older form, it may not be? Update it now to give your donors the option to donate anywhere at any time.

10. Stress Urgency On Donation Forms

The language on your form should push donors to donate as soon as possible. If a new donor doesn’t fill out the form on their first visit, they may not return. Help secure the donation by adding why your organization needs the donor’s help and change the ‘Submit Payment’ button to something that reinforces your mission.

11. Regularly Update Images and Stories

Keep donors interested and revisiting your form by periodically updating them with engaging stories and pictures. Having new content directly on your form shows donors that your organization is succeeding in its mission.

12. Track Digital Fundraising Campaign Performance

Each donation item on your form can be coded to differentiate the campaign and type of item a donor is selecting on a form. Coding allows you to run reports to compare the effectiveness of specific items or fundraising campaigns over time.

13. Build a Compelling Crowdfunding Campaign

Your crowdfunding campaign goals drive supporters to donate. Your campaign should run for a fixed time and have some clear overall financial, engagement, and impact goals. Save time and hassle setting up your crowdfunding campaign with our complete Crowdfunding Campaign Template Pack that includes crowdfunding invitations for donors, board members and others, plus crowdfunding templates donors can use and proven thank you emails.

14. Send Thoughtful Thank Yous for Donations

Donors love receiving an immediate thank you after donating. That is why it is essential to send an automated Thank You upon receiving a donation. Of course, it is best to replace a generic Thank You email with one that contains your brand and story.

15. Give Donors a Gift for their Donation

Whether it’s a water bottle, a tote bag, or a t-shirt, donors are delighted by gift offers when signing up for a monthly giving program or sending a one-time donation. It helps them to connect to your mission. Add a gift to your next online fundraising campaign to see how it raises donations.

16. Ask Donors to Cover the Cost of Processing Fees

Did you know that 75% of donors cover the processing fees associated with credit card transactions when asked? Maximize online form donations by adding an option for donors to cover the cost of payment processing fees. This way, donors can ensure 100% of their intended donation is aiding in your mission.

17. Ask Donors How They Heard About You

Discover what channels are most effective in bringing in new donors by asking supporters how they found your form. To do this, add a custom form field to your online donation forms. The data collected will help you know where to focus your marketing efforts to collect online donations.

18. Enroll New Donors in a Welcome Series

After a donor has donated to your form, you can take this opportunity to enroll them in a Welcome series. A Welcome series is your chance to make a donor feel relevant to your organization and begin an ongoing relationship with them. It is crucial to take the opportunity to convert your new donors to lifetime donors.

19. Use Online Forms to Streamline Events, Recruit Volunteers, Survey Donors, and More!

Online Forms aren’t limited to donation forms. You can use online forms to automate tasks, like logging volunteer hours, and save valuable data entry and processing time. They also provide another way for donors to connect with you and help make an impact. Since all form data flows seamlessly into DonorPerfect, it’s easy to contact donors and report on their activities. Learn how you can streamline events, recruit volunteers, offer memberships, send surveys, and more to help manage your nonprofit organization.

20. Add Your Social Icons to Your Confirmation Emails

When constituents donate online using one of your donation forms, they receive a confirmation email with the donation amount and other transaction details. This is a great place to invite them to follow your social media accounts, especially since they are more likely to follow you right after donating. You’ll gain momentum (and followers)for your digital fundraising campaigns by sharing your social media buttons in the confirmation email.

21. Test Your Form

Always test your online donation form before making it live and familiarize yourself with the process. Seeing the donor experience firsthand is a great way to discover any friction points that may confuse or discourage donors.

22. Encourage Supporters to Aid in Donation Collection

Crowdfunding allows donors to spread your message and add their own stories, all while helping you reach your fundraising goals. Start your next campaign today by setting up a crowdfunding form and empower your donors with peer-to-peer fundraising.

23. Make It Easy to Stay in Touch with Your Donors

Continue the conversation with donors about what their donations mean to you and how integral they are to your mission. Make it easy for donors to follow up with you with accurate contact info and other ways supporters can participate in your mission. Include a link to a volunteer form, or links to your social media pages in your Thank You email to keep donors active and interested in your organization.

24. Offer Matching Donations

Matching gifts are an easy way for your donors to double the impact of their contributions. Double the donation, one of our DPConnect partners, maintains a database of companies that match donations from their employees to nonprofits. Email supporters a reminder that their contribution might be eligible for corporate matching gifts and include a way for them to check. You can add this in your thank-you note or send a separate follow-up email.

25. Know Your Form’s Conversion Rate

Once donors reach your donation page, they will either complete your form or abandon it. How often they complete the form is your form’s conversion rate. Once you implement one of the improvements in this article, check your conversion rate to see if it’s improving. To check your rate, click the Statistics toggle when viewing your forms list in DP Online Forms.

Share Your Tips for Better Online Donation Forms

How do you maximize the amount per donor that you receive for each donation? Did you miss something? Leave a comment on the blog here or visit the Development and Fundraising Professionals discussion group in DP Community.