Small website changes can create big results for your fundraising.
At a recent conference, a colleague who reviews grant applications shared an important website tip. Organizations should keep their event pages current, especially updating entries once events have passed. This inspired us to create a resource on event content strategy.
This conversation reminded us of the power of learning from each other to better support the social sector. Making great business friends is important to us. And, our network has grown through LinkedIn and communities like The Nonprofit Hive. With collaboration as inspiration, we asked three fundraising experts to share website tips. We asked what they wish and hope a website has to support the great fundraising work they do with their clients.
Their advice focuses on making donations as easy and likely as possible. They share tips for better donate buttons, building email lists, and writing clear messages.
Your donate button should be the easiest thing to find on your website.
Mike Esposito, CFRE, taps into the importance of conventions of website design for nonprofits. He highlights the importance of donate button placement.
"Place it in the header, all the way to the right, so it's visible no matter what page someone is on. It should be easy to find in seconds and visually distinct from other menu items. Many organizations use a bold color like red or blue so it immediately stands out."
A clear donate button that stands out in a prominent and expected position on the Spark Kindness website.
This is an important standard. And we’d add to this that having multiple donate buttons/opportunities can be a great strategy. A floating donate button that is persistent on the side or footer of pages, for example.
During peak giving seasons, Danielle Wallace of GrowBetter suggests another great tactic.
"Implement a homepage takeover during the final week of the year to direct all visitors to a donation page with clear, urgent calls-to-action."
One of the many things we have come to admire about Danielle and her ideas is her amazing use of data and research. She notes that NextAfter's research shows this strategy led to a 24% increase in donations from homepage visitors.
Once visitors click that button, keep the process simple.
"Don't make people click through multiple pages to get to the donation form," Mike adds. "Ideally, the donate button goes straight to the donate page, and that donate form is embedded on your website rather than taking donors to a third-party site. Fewer clicks equal fewer abandoned gifts."
The number of things a potential donor has to do can dramatically impact whether they actually will become a donor.
Making giving easy is also about meeting your donors where they are. Offer guidance to accept different methods and types of ways to give.
Mike suggests adding a "More Ways to Give" section to a Donate or Ways to Give page. Include alternative methods: "stock, DAFs, crypto, wire transfers, mailing a check, etc. This section is valuable for major donors, board members, and corporate partner leads who often prefer non-cash asset giving options."
We'd add to this that your support of different payment methods is also important.
Making a donation experience easy has many layers. You've made it simple to find and click your donate button - now your message needs to be just as clear and intuitive.
Madeleine Nance of Kind Word emphasizes the importance of matching your donation page copy to your appeal copy.
"If someone receives an appeal email that says, 'Donate to provide cataract surgery' then they click and arrive on a page that says 'Donate to provide education' - there's a good chance you'll lose them out of confusion."
Your headlines matter too.
"Long, waffly headlines on landing pages make our brains say 'too hard' and we switch off," Madeleine notes. Instead of "Bringing nutritious meals to children experiencing food insecurity around the country," try active, concise language like "Give meals to hungry children."
We are advocates for thoughtfulness and clarity in design and user experiences to reduce friction. We also value and respect the same in the words a design and experience showcase. Madeleine’s tips can transform a donation experience. Use care to avoid words that causes someone to pause. Focus on messaging that helps connects pieces of the donation experience together. Consistent messaging eases a donor along through their donation.
Most people that come to your website won't donate on their first visit.
That's why Danielle recommends creating opportunities to capture an email address early. Using a time-delayed pop-up offering a free resource like an impact report is a great tool.
She points to compelling research to back this up: NextAfter's studies show a 41.5% revenue increase through consistent email communication, and the 2025 M+R Benchmarks Study found that segmented email campaigns can boost revenue by up to 760% compared to non-segmented ones.
After someone makes their first gift, that's your best opportunity to build a deeper relationship.
Danielle recommends adding a pop-up after a one-time gift to prompt recurring donations. She cites NextAfter's research showing a 24.3% increase in recurring donor conversion using this approach.
We know that many donation platforms offer opportunities to power what Danielle is suggesting. They may promote becoming a recurring donor both before and/or after a one time donation. Whether at the time of donation or in the weeks that follow one, nurturing a path towards becoming a recurring donor is something to consider.
Here are the key takeaways from our fundraising experts:
These strategies work together to create a seamless donor experience from first visit to recurring gift. We appreciate that many of these tips are reliant on the capabilities of your donation technology. A checkout experience with modern features could make addressing many of these tips easier.
Pick one or two changes that address your biggest challenges first, then build from there.
Looking for help implementing these website improvements? Don't hesitate to reach out to us and/or contributing partners below.
We are so grateful to our colleagues and friends for sharing a bit of their vast knowledge towards this resource.
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