Do You Know If Your Donors Want Online Giving Features?
by Sasha Daucus
In part one of this series on online donations, Donate or Volunteer Now: Worth the Cost? Maybe.... we discussed what kind of resources your organization will need to create a successful online fundraising strategy.
Part 2
Some simple analysis of your donor base can help. Below are 5 tips on analyzing your donor base to see if they are likely to want a "Donate Now" button.
Tip 1 How many donations does my organization receive?
A greater number of total donations make a Donate Now button more cost effective. Regardless of the total amount per donation, if the number of them is more than 25 a month, you will be more likely to benefit from an online giving option. For one thing, It is likely that some of those donors would like to use your website to make donations. In addition, if your online donations can be tied directly into your fundraising software, making time spent of data entry less.
Tip 2 What is the average age of your supporters?
Younger donors are more likely to donate online. Surveys and fundraisiers’ experience show that donors in their 50’s or older are less likely to be comfortable with online donations. Younger donors will tend to expect that you have a website with the ability to accept donations.
Tip 3 What is the geographic spread of your donors?
If your donors live ‘far and wide’ you’ll be more likely to need online features. Groups with a very local impact will tend to meet in person more often, and use online contact less often. Of course, this depends on your particular group. Ask yourself, where do we mostly connect: online and through the organization website, or in person?
Tip 4 What is the immediacy of the need you want to meet?
If the immediacy is high, then online features are important. For instance, disaster relief work is ideally suited to online giving. When the need hits, it hits hard and fast. Donors want to respond in the same way. Online features meet this need. Public Television also has high immediacy in membership drives.
Tip 5 What is the nature of the appeal cerebral or emotional?
If your organization’s typical call to action is emotional, then online features are more important. You will want your donors to be able to act while still influenced by their emotions. For instance, disaster relief has a strong emotional appeal.
Success of Donate Now features depends not only on your staff time and resources but on your donor base. Using these tips to analyze your donor base can help you decide if your donor base will benefit from online donation features.
Resources
Donate or Volunteer Now: Worth the Cost? Maybe.... Part 1 by Sasha Daucus
July Tech by Larry Weaver
Integrating your Desktop Donor Database with the Web by Autumn Shirley
http://www.fundraisersoftware.com/content/view/124/
Sasha Daucus is Marketing Representative for FundRaiser Software.. She edits the FundRaiser Journal and participates in online nonprofit technology forums. Outside of work, she volunteers extensively for the Ozarks Media Arts Center, and for the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. Through her work at FundRaiser, she volunteers as forum host and facilitator for TechSoup, the nonprofit technology site.