Your donation page is an essential component of your digital fundraising. It doesn’t matter how many people you get to click through your emails or social media posts; if your donation page doesn’t convert, you won’t see any payoff from that hard work. Sometimes you see donation page examples that makes you swoon. Unfortunately, many of our donation pages end up as afterthoughts: as a nonprofit professional myself, I get it. We’re all super busy and there are 1000 things to do in your digital fundraising. At least you’ve got a donation page, right?
Alas, that’s not really enough to inspire donors and bring in more donations for your mission. Luckily it doesn’t take too much time or work to create a donation experience that captures your donor’s attention and brings in increased donations.
To help you out, we’ve pulled seven of our favorite examples of donation pages and highlighted what we love about them. Check it out.
Example #1: Salt’N’Light Ministries Keeps Donors on Their Branded Donation Page
One of our favorite donation page examples, there are quite a few things to love about this form from Salt’n’Light Ministries. Here are a few of our favorite elements:
- The page offers recurring and one time gift options.
- They have specific donation tiers.
- Donors can use mobile payments.
- It includes clear impact statements on the left hand side.
- They have a great top banner that shares additional impact.
Overall this page is super quick and easy for a donor to find and complete (look at the clear donate button in the upper right hand corner). Donors know how to complete the form and exactly what their gift is supporting, all at a glance. Plus it does one important thing: keeps donors on the organization’s website with its branding.
It’s common for nonprofits to use a third-party processor to process the transaction, which is what is happening on this page. But once a donor redirects to a different website that doesn’t look anything like your nonprofit’s website, it’s easier for them to avoid following through on the donation. That’s NOT what you want. On the other hand, this page melds the third-party processor with their site beautifully by embedding their donation form from CauseVox directly on their website. This lets them maintain consistency and provide donors the best experience keeping them right on the website. Ensuring your donors have a good donor experience tells them that their convenience, time, and gift matter to you, and increases the likelihood they’ll give again!
Example #2: Meat Fight Highlights Their Event on Their Donation Page
There are certain times throughout the year when you may be more inclined to run a special fundraiser, such as an appeal to fund a specific program, and donation pages are a solid option to collect donations.
Meat Fight’s donation page example did a great job of this by using donation tiers to highlight how athletes in their programs will use the donations for specific needs. By having donation tiers tied to impact, donors are more likely to make a donation based on the impact they can create, as opposed to a dollar amount. This often leads to larger donations, while helping donors feel like they’re making a difference for your mission.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: sharing impact is one of the most important things you can do to get donors on your side. If you didn’t know how your donation was making the world better, would you give? Probably not.
That’s why it’s so important to include donation tiers on your page. Donation tiers are suggested levels of giving your donors can choose from on your donation form. Ideally, they’ll also include a description of what the donation amount can accomplish.
It gives you another great place to showcase your impact, while making the donation process even more seamless for your donors (they don’t even have to consider how much to give: just pick!). Plus you can use them to increase the gift size of donations.
Beyond their description tiers, Meat Fight does other things right too:
- They use a pop-up box to keep donors right on their homepage.
- Because you stay on their homepage, their branding is still visible.
- A super fast donation form so donors don’t get lost or confused.
Overall donors know exactly what they’re supporting and can complete their donation with minimum difficulty.
Example #3: Rez Refuge Offers Recurring Donations on Their Donation Page
By incorporating a recurring giving option on your donation page, you automatically set your nonprofit up to bring in more money. Given the fact that monthly/recurring donors give upwards of 42% more over the course of the year than one-time donors, it’s always a good idea to encourage donors to give a recurring gift.
You can set up customized Recurring Donation Tiers for your donation page, crowdfunding or peer-to-peer campaign, just like Rez Refuge does in their donation page. It’s one of our favorite elements of their page, since it clearly prompts donors to switch to a recurring donation with its own set of unique donation tiers.
In addition to offering recurring donations, Rez Refuge’s donation page example has some other high quality elements:
- Their form is incredibly fast to fill out so fewer donors stop partway through.
- Similar to Meat Fight, they use a pop up box on their homepage to keep donors on their site.
- The page highlights that there are 0% CauseVox platform fees.
- They use the form title to include their slogan: “Commitment to People, Commitment to Place,” highlighting their values.
- They offer both Apple and Google Pay, making it easier for donors to complete a donation.
**Insider Tip: Ask your donors to cover the administrative costs at the same time. We found that, just by asking, your nonprofit or charity is likely to entice 80% of your donors to cover those extra fees through donation tipping!
You’ll be pleasantly surprised by how many donors decide your cause is worth the extra mile (and an extra 3%)!
Example #4: Operation Hope Foundation Offers Mobile Pay Options
Operation Hope Foundation has a beautiful donation page example that really stands out. Here’s what we love about it:
- They have a large and highly visible donation button.
- The form is embedded and includes the organization’s branding.
- It has a beautiful customized graphic that fits the branding of the org and helps you see where they are doing their work.
- They include donation tiers.
- This is a very short form: compact tiers make it move faster for higher conversions.
But what goes the extra mile in Operation Hope Foundation’s page is that they’ve truly personalized the experience so that all donors can complete a transaction quickly and easily. They use a custom currency to match where their donors are, and they offer both Apple Pay and Google Pay so that donors anywhere can complete the process without re-entering their credit card information.
Mobile payments are the way of the future. 54% of consumers have used a mobile wallet like Google Pay or Apple Pay to make a payment. That’s a huge segment of the market, and if you want to appeal to them you need to offer them the payment option they prefer.
Not only that, but experts estimate a 50% growth in mobile payments by 2025. If today’s numbers don’t convince you, know that they’re only going to go up.
Mobile wallets are great for donors because they can give on any device quickly and easily. No more entering credit card information every time you want to give (and from personal experience I can tell you that I’ve stopped a donation because I didn’t want to enter my credit card info again). That means you get increased conversions. Win/win.
Example #5: Mycelium Youth Network Offers Different Options for Different Donors
Your donors are individuals, and the best way to make them feel that way is to offer options that fit their needs. This donation page example from Mycelium Youth Network does a stellar job by sharing multiple ways that a donor can give, including corporate matching, monthly donations, and sharing on social media. Not only does this meet donors where they are, it also helps them to segment their donors and tailor messaging to each group specifically. For example, they can use this information to determine who is giving online: that allows them to tailor messaging to the group and meet them where they are.
Since we just mentioned that if you know one segment of your donor base is more likely to give online, than it’s vital you meet them where they are.
Pro Tip: Create different donation pages based on donor segments. You may want to send larger donors to a customized donation page with tiers specifically set with appropriate asks.
Pledge Donations
Another way to give donors tailored options is with donation pledges. CauseVox’s pledge functionality is a state-of-the-art pledge donation option (similar to buy now, pay later for donors!) that’s designed to help you get more online pledges and automatically fulfill them. It allows donors to tailor their budget and plan their giving in a more personalized way, and it’s a great option if you’re highlighting different ways to give.
Example #6: The Autism Society of Minnesota Focuses on the Donor
One thing that we know about fundraising is that it’s all about putting the donor first. The Autism Society of Minnesota makes that the focus of their donation page in a few key ways.
- The page features imagery that highlights their community.
- The copy reiterates how the donor is a part of that community.
- They connect that community and their donor to the impact of their work.
We know that donors give when they see themselves and their values reflected in the work that you’re doing. Creating branding and a voice that reflects your donor community back and illustrates their connection to your organization will go a long way towards activating them into making a donation.
That’s not all they do right though. Here are some other highlights from their donation page:
- It’s mobile friendly! In 2018, mobile traffic made up 48% of all web traffic to nonprofit websites, surpassing desktop and tablet usage. Optimizing the mobile giving experience with a mobile-friendly donation page can help boost conversion rates.
- Their donate button is easily visible everywhere on their website.
- They allow donors to specify “in memory of” or “in honor of” to create a more personal feel.
Example #7: Mosaic Dance Theater Company Makes Donations Highly Visible on Their Website
You may have a gorgeous donation page and a beautiful website, but if you bury the donation button you aren’t going to get good outcomes.
Taking the time to ensure that it’s easy to find your donation page and that your donation button is always visible on your website has some huge payoffs. Your donors will find it much easier to navigate to the page, and you’ll end up with more donations because more people will reach your form.
Mosaic Dance Theater Company does this beautifully by using placement, size, and color to highlight their donate button. It sticks out no matter where you are on their website.
They also have a few other great features on their page:
- Donors can cover administrative and processing fees.
- They have easy-to-select donation tiers.
- The page includes recurring and one-time donation options.
- They offer Mobile Pay.
- Their donation page is custom branded with their logo and a header filled with photos of their performances.
It’s a beautifully customized donation experience that shows donors what they’re supporting.
Raise More With Less Effort Through CauseVox Donation Pages
When it comes to collecting donations, you have a lot of options. Before you start printing those pledge forms or gathering phone numbers for a marathon phone-a-thon, consider setting up a donation page. Before you know it, you’ll be on your way to raising more online.
Start building a new donation page for free with CauseVox today!
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in 2019 and was updated and for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness in June 2022.
