Getting Your Slice of the $1.2 Billion E-pieRecently, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported a 45% increase in online giving from 2005 to 2006. By the end of last year, an estimated $1.2 billion had passed into the cyber-coffers of 180 charities. Of 34 nonprofits interviewed, giving more than doubled in that time period. Wow! How did your organization do? Chances are you could have done better. To maximize your gifts, spend some time playing with your online giving form. Is it confidence inspiring? Does it take advantage of gift maximizing tools, like online matching companies? The best online giving pages generate an auto-reply to all online gifts. Optimally, providing a pop-up screen reassures your donor that when they hit “send,” you heard him/her. In the article about giving catalogs, I assert that shoppers like to have information one click away at all times. Too often, online giving forms are sparse and don’t reflect the excitement of the mission that the rest of the site has. Images and profiles, as well as links to other areas of interest to donors (like the giving catalog) can help. Any links should open in a new window. If your donor is making his/her gift, the last thing you want to do is to take them away from that. Also, when the giving catalog links directly to the online giving form, it helps if the “Gift Designation” window pre-populates with the gift designation they were reading about. Again, making it easy to complete a transaction is what makes $1.2 billion flow. At JBL, we’ll integrate your online giving into your overall campaign and major gifts strategy. Contact us to learn how.
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June 2008:Archived Newsletters |
