Going Beyond the Donate Button

These findings are a big heads-up to organizations that rely solely on e-appeals and e-newsletters to reach their online fundraising goals. They need to begin thinking of how they can engage donors through more interactive strategies rather than just push marketing.

Your Web site has essentially three goals: To inform, recruit and raise funds. So give your online fundraising about one-third of the space. Make your “Donate” button easy to find, but don’t stop there. Tell personal stories about your organization’s needs, its progress and its successes — and then incorporate a pitch for a donation. Back to the Harris/Mindshare survey: 18 percent of nonprofit supporters prefer searching an organization’s Web site themselves before taking an action. Another reason to get your Web site storefront in order!