Putting Donors at the Center of Your Thinking Can Cure an Ailing Fundraising Program

If you rigorously test and improve your donation pages, you'll end up with a blockage-free Web site — ready for the coming day when online fundraising really takes off. (That day, some would say, is already here!)

The cure for each of these diseases is to treat your donors right:

• Respect your donors. Don't expect them to become carbon copies of you.

• Empower your donors. Give them meaningful choices about their investments with you.

• Serve your donors. Make giving easy and rewarding.

Be there for donors, and they'll be there for you. And they'll take you into an exciting (and healthy) future.