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How to Use Online Donation Tools to Boost Donor RetentionYour donors are one of the most crucial elements of your nonprofit’s success. As a nonprofit leader, you know that, with your donors’ dedicated support, you have the funds to further your cause through various projects and missions. So where would you be without your donors? We know, it’s a scary thought! Retaining them is vital to keeping your nonprofit afloat. Luckily, you can use your online donation tools to boost your retention rates so you can avoid learning what it’s like to be adrift without your supporters. Check out our 5 tips to use online donation tools to boost your donor retention:
Looking to invest in online donation software? Check out Qgiv’s Top 6 Online Donation Tools for this year to kick off your shopping. Read on to learn how to use your online donation tools to increase your organization’s donor retention!
1. Integrate your CRM.In order to use the data you collect from your text giving campaigns, email donation appeals, or crowdfunding campaigns, you’ll want to integrate your CRM. Using your online donation tools, you’ll be able to collect donor information like:
You may even be able to gather some previous giving information or philanthropic interests, as well. Integrate your online fundraising platform with your CRM so you won’t have to enter any information manually and can instantly start building rich, helpful donor profiles. Integrating the two services will help ensure you’ll know important details like your donors’ communication preferences, giving history, and philanthropic capacity. Ultimately, integrating your CRM with your online donation tools will aid your nonprofit in bettering your donors’ engagement and experiences with your organization.
2. Make everything mobile-friendly.This is a tried-and-true practice for improving user experience. Over 90% of adults own a smartphone; imagine how much content they’re viewing through those small screens! Make sure all your peer-to-peer platforms and online donation forms look just as perfect on a 5-inch screen as they do on a 15-inch screen. Most online donation software providers make their platforms mobile-responsive right off the bat. Your organization can make your forms even more mobile-friendly by making your online donation form as simple as possible. You may want to stick to as few as two required types of information on your form — the donor’s contact information and payment information. Keep in mind that too many required fields on a form can lead to donation abandonment. You can also look into preset donation amounts; instead of typing in the amount they’d like to give, donors can simply tap a button. This quick solution may even encourage larger donations than your supporters were originally planning to give! In order to appeal to every supporter, keep the option to give a custom amount, too. Keep your supporters engaged with the donation process by making your donation forms mobile-friendly. Remember, making the donation process easier only encourages more gifts!
3. Brand your online donation tools.Just like you should make your forms, platforms, and campaigns mobile-friendly, you should make everything branded as well. Think about it: say your supporter receives an email donation appeal. He feels connected with your nonprofit, which is why he joined your organization’s mailing list. He decides he’d like to make a contribution, so he clicks the donate button in your email. But the button takes him to a bland form that doesn’t look or feel anything like your email itself. He might check your website, but the donation form doesn’t look anything like your website either. This instantly creates a lack of trust and a disconnect from the emotions that inspired him to give in the first place. It may even discourage him from entering his personal and payment information on the form. A branded form with your organization’s color scheme and logo will reassure your donors of your form’s credibility. If your donors are reaching your donation form, the last thing you want is for the visual appeal of the form to deter them! Make sure your logo and color scheme match your website and other communications to make the connection to your nonprofit obvious. In addition to your organization’s branding, think about adding the following content to your forms:
Bonus: You can also prominently feature your PCI compliance at the bottom of your donation form for added trust and reassurance.
4. Develop great storytelling.Use visual elements in your storytelling to make your mission clear and draw emotional connections with your viewers. That will help motivate new and loyal donors alike to join you in your efforts to effect change in the world. This includes using visual storytelling elements on your donation form! Your online donation tools are the perfect place to reiterate your story. Use storytelling to show viewers your work, the change you’re creating, and how they can make a difference. By sharing stories and perspectives from volunteers, members, event attendees, and those who benefit from your nonprofit, you emphasize how much your donors’ contributions help. This is a surefire way to encourage donations and retain donors. If their morals and values align with your organization’s, they’ll be happy to work with you to meet your goals. Your storytelling will need to adapt to the platform you use to tell it. Videos, for example, should include subtitles for viewers who watch your video on social media (many people disable auto-playing audio portions). Remember to tell your stories anywhere your donors encounter you, whether it’s through emails, videos, or social media — just to name a few possible channels! Whether you combine methods and send a video in an email appeal, for example, or stick with the classics like a photo on your crowdfunding page, visual storytelling will really help spread your mission. Your storytelling could make the difference between a donor submitting a matching gift request or pushing it off for another time and forgetting it. Make your storytelling vibrant and powerful enough to leave a lasting impression. Take a look at Salsa’s 8 Ways to Motivate your Supporters through Visual Storytelling for more tips!
5. Give supporters next steps.While we know donations are important, getting your supporters involved in your organization’s community is one of the most important things you can do to boost your donor retention. Place a focus on engaging your donors, not only on pulling contributions from them. Always offer email registration options on your online donation tools. Add it to the bottom of your donation form as an optional field and to your crowdfunding or peer-to-peer pages. It’s easy to advertise your nonprofit’s email list anywhere, especially if a person has already contributed to your organization. If they’ve already donated to your organization, they’re likely to sign up for your emails at least to see where their contribution is going. From your emails, supporters can learn about volunteer opportunities and upcoming events, so your email list really is the first and easiest way to engage new supporters. Good communication practices will also help you encourage donors to continue their support. You can also try adding a recurring giving option to your online donation tools; those help make it easier for supporters to make regular donations to your organization. It’s simply another optional field on your donation form that’s meant to make your donor's’ continuing involvement even more convenient. Now that you have our 5 easy tips, you’ll never lose another donor. Boosting your retention is easy with the help of your online donation tools if you use them wisely! Happy retaining!
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