1. Tell The Truth Today…Raise More
Money Tomorrow!
Assessing Your Online Fundraising Capacity
Presented by:
Debra Askanase, Community Organizer 2.0

2. How this webinar works
• A link to the slides and a recording will be
sent after the webinar
• If you’d like to ask a question during the
webinar, you can type it in the box on the
right side of your screen
• Use the hashtag #fgwebinars to tweet
about this webinar

3. FirstGiving: Online Fundraising Solutions
Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Pages
and Event Registrations Online Direct Donations
Personal Support for your nonprofit, donors, and
fundraisers
Easy, tested, and secure transaction processes for the
donor

4. About the Presenter
Debra Askanase, @askdebra
Digital Engagement Strategist
Community Organizer 2.0
http://communityorganizer20.com
debra@communityorganizer20.com

5. Today’s webinar
• Online fundraising capacity: 4 critical elements
o Website button and donation page optimization
o Online giving opportunities
o Donation payment processing
o Nurturing online donors
• Pre-webinar benchmarking survey results
throughout!
• Value of an online fundraising assessment
• 5 ideas to prepare for end-of-year giving

6. Online Fundraising survey
• Eight questions, 223 respondents
• Use it to benchmark your responses to your peers’
• Most definitive response: Yes, we have a donation
button (88%)
• Most unknown: I don’t know if we’ve tested the
website button (29%)

7. Website Button Optimization
Examples and ideas

8. Survey: Donation button yes/no

9. Six ways to make your donate button
rise to the top
• Color is crucial: 30% greater conversion with red than
grey (Network for Good). A/B test with colors
• 2-second test: can visitors find it in 2 seconds?
• Creative verbiage: go beyond “Donate Now” with
specific asks
• Incorporate an image with the button: baby
seals, anyone?
• Test website positioning and button size
• The fewer the clicks to the button from any page, the
better

10. Traditional “Donate Now”

11. Can you spot the pitfalls?

12. Survey: Tested & configured donation
button

13. If yes, for what?
19/62 mentioned what they test it for
- 9… “to see if it works”
- 4… positioning, color, size, language and/or utility
- 6… complaints about the limitations of the
button customization

14. Survey: Number of clicks to donation
button

15. Nine ideas for optimizing your
donation page
• Eye-catching headline
• Offer different online giving levels
• Offer different types of donations (in memory of,
in honor of, etc.)
• Tell a story
• Communicate payment security
• Give something back (t-shirt, sticker)
• Equate giving to solving a specific need
• Show where the money goes
• Include social sharing buttons

18. Optimized, and always 1-click away

19. Donation Page Optimization
Examples and ideas

20. Survey: System allows for donation
category configuration

21. If yes, for what?
• 80 responses
• Most popular:
Memory, in honor of, recurring, monthly, annual
• Other:
Project-based, specific programs, matching gift
option, special occasions, geographic designations
for funding, sponsor someone or an event

22. Recommended giving levels, multiple
online giving options

23. Use engaging photos

24. Give something away
https://donate.mozilla.org/page/contribute/openwebfund

25. Tell a story

26. Survey: Recommended giving levels

27. Donation giving levels + impact

28. Donation page giving options

29. Show where the money goes

30. Social sharing + clear process + story

31. Online Donation Payments
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/4759535950/in/photostream/

32. Seven online donation payment &
processing ideals
• Limit number of clicks to payment
• Limit unnecessary text
• Limit the number of fields donors must
complete
• Keep donors on your website
• Show payment security badges
• Thoughtful thank-you language
• Mobile-optimized site and donation page

37. Nurturing donors

38. Survey: How donors prefer to give

39. Survey: segmented online giving plan

40. Survey: online donation mix

41. Nurturing online donors:
Five questions to consider
• Is there a plan to collect and segment donor
information?
• Do you have a CRM system, or donor tracking
system, and does it meet your needs?
• How are you segmenting your online donation
appeals?
• Do you have a donor communication plan?
• What is your cross-channel donor nurturing
(and communication) plan?

42. Take Our Online
Fundraising Assessment
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8525214@N06/4096728450/in/photostream/

43. Assessment components:
Four online fundraising practice areas
• Website optimization
• Payments
• Nurturing donors
• The culture of social giving

44. The assessment is a measurement
of systems, competence, and
maturity.

45. Look at what’s holding you back
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jox1989/4907642470/in/photostream/

46. Goals of an assessment
• Provide a snapshot of systems and processes
• Identify overall “foundation for success”
• Ease process of prioritizing next steps
• Allow for comparisons over time, track growth

47. The Matrix – fundraising systems
Sets
expectations

48. 5 things you can do right now…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/5896790695/in/photostream/

49. …to optimize your online
giving potential!
• Test your donate button for color, size and
positioning (add a donation button if needed)
• Analyze your donation page: what can you do to
improve it?
• Test the 2-second rule: can donors find your donate
button in 2 seconds?
• Take our online fundraising assessment with us
• Develop an integrated donor communication plan

50. Request an online
fundraising assessment with us!
Call us at 617-542-0010 x 4 or
visit:
http://firstgiving.per.fm/fundraising-assessment/
We will send out this link post webinar.

51. Resources
• http://www.socialbrite.org/2010/12/09/how-to-optimize-your-nonprofits-
donation-button/
• http://feedingamerica.org/ways-to-give.aspx
• http://www.thenonprofittimes.com/article/detail/4-ways-to-make-your-donate-
now-button-shine-4492
• http://www.rositacortez.com/social-media-101/fundraising/tips-to-optimize-your-
donate-now-button/
• http://www.npengage.com/online-fundraising/mobile-donation-forms/
• http://blog.firstgiving.com/donate-now-button-series-take-donations-in-multiple-
locations/
• https://esiason.org/
• http://www.tripwiremagazine.com/2011/09/designed-donation-pages.html

52. Connect with us through our
social communities!
Facebook: facebook.com/firstgiving
Twitter: @FirstGiving
Online Fundraising blog:
http://blog.firstgiving.com
@FirstGiving
#fgwebinars

53. Thank you!
Interested in learning more about FirstGiving?
Contact us: 617-542-0010 x 4
Or sales@firstgiving.com
@FirstGiving #fgwebinars