Online 'Pledging' — It Just Isn't Worth It

Hi, Marc …
When talking with leaders from churches or nonprofits beginning to consider mobile, they almost always wanted a “Donate Now” feature. I questioned the wisdom of this because I didn’t see that just being on a mobile site somehow triggered the urge to donate.

I can see the utility of having a donate feature tied to an event-specific mobile site — say a fundraising dinner — where a speaker can ask the attendees to access the site now and do their donation thing. But even there, since most people would have to use a credit card, wouldn’t the physical mechanics argue against much success? Wouldn’t people prefer to give through a desktop computer?

Now on the other hand, a “pledge” action, where the people indicate their commitment to make a donation, seems to be perhaps a better model.

As a website professional, I feel somewhat ill-equipped to guide these clients to making the right “choice,” and I thought I’d ask the professional for his opinion.

— Sincerely, Thinking Technologically

Dear Thinking Technologically,
A pledge option would stink. Totally stink. Online pledges waste everyone’s time. Here’s why:

• The nonprofit has to follow up. Often multiple times.
• The donors … er … “pledgers” can get annoyed. Once the emotion wears off, they may not even remember pledging.
• The donors who do remember may still have a hard time actually getting around to making the gift. So they put it off …
• … leading to the nonprofit issuing more “bill collector”-like pledge reminders.

This isn’t a great donor-retention strategy. This wastes a lot of communication that could be much more productive thanking a donor rather than reminding a pledger.

Online donations are where it’s at
People online want to give online, not by mail or phone. They’ll type in their credit card numbers. But they want to give now and move on with their lives. (Our online attention spans are about the size of a gnat’s.)

According to Blackbaud’s Index of Giving, online giving has been growing at roughly twice the rate of overall giving. While this isn’t necessarily new giving, it’s still income that these nonprofits desperately need.

I was at a fundraising gala last fall where the nonprofit equipped three board members with tablets opened to its PayPal donation page. When the ask was made at the event, the three of us walked around the room to people wanting to make gifts online. In the same event, we saw people making gifts by going to the website from their smartphones. And still others used checks or made gifts after they got home.

Online increasingly means mobile
You shouldn’t penalize a donor accessing the site from his or her phone or tablet. It should be just as easy to give there as it is through a computer. Recent research from the Pew Research Center found that 57 percent of American adults use cellphones to go online. And 21 percent of cellphone users say they primarily access the Internet from their phones. Why would you want to cut off that large of a donor base?

So even if you prefer to make a gift from your laptop or desktop, don’t make the mistake of assuming everyone does. The philanthropy tide is shifting to online. And the online tide has definitely shifted to mobile.

‘Donate Now’ does not trigger the urge
You’re absolutely right: Simply having a mobile site doesn’t trigger the urge to make a gift. Neither does having a Facebook page. These leaders still need to be skilled at telling their stories and, more importantly, asking people to give.

But having a donation option on the mobile site is no longer an option. It’s a necessity.

— To your fundraising success, Marc

Marc Pitman is the author of “Ask Without Fear!” and founder of FundraisingCoach.com and the weekly e-mail service “Fundraising Kick.” He is also a member of the FundRaising Success Editorial Advisory Board. Reach him at marc@fundraisingcoach.com or follow him on Twitter at @marcapitman