Why aren't more people supporting your non-profit organization? What are you doing wrong? Perhaps you are neglecting online fundraising and its proven best practice approaches.

We'll show you 7 common online fundraising mistakes and how to avoid them, so you can inspire and attract more donors online in 2020.

⚠️ #1: Donating on your website is too complicated.

⚠️ #2: You don't know your donors well enough.

⚠️ #3: You use the same message for everyone.

⚠️ #4: You don't thank them properly.

⚠️ #5: You don't build proper relationships.

⚠️ #6: You don't sufficiently demonstrate the impact of donations

⚠️ #7: Online and digital channels are not integrated into your fundraising strategy

Fundamentals of Online Fundraising

Online fundraising isn't new, but it's growing in popularity and success each year. While newer payment channels still represent a small portion of total donations, their growth is remarkable. **Between 2013 and 2018, online donation volume in Switzerland increased by over 150%** (*ZEWO Donation Statistics*).
It's time to adopt online fundraising best practices and avoid common mistakes that deter potential online donors.
**The first step to successful digital fundraising is creating a seamless process for supporters to donate online.** We recommend that this occurs directly on your website, rather than redirecting them to another page.
Beyond the donation form on your website, online fundraising encompasses all digital channels you use to guide people to your form and encourage donations. This includes, for instance, all content featuring donation appeals on your website, in your emails, and across your social media channels.

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Several issues can arise when soliciting donations online. We've identified the 7 most critical mistakes to help you avoid them.

⚠️ Mistake #1: Donating on your website is too complicated.

Visit your website and simulate the donation process a potential donor would experience. How long does it take you? Are there any confusing or frustrating steps for a first-time donor?

You might have multiple donation forms, broken links to your donation page, a confusing selection of donation options, or require donors to navigate a six-page form before they can actually contribute.

Your donation page should feature only one clear call-to-action: an invitation to donate.

Extra calls-to-action, links to other pages, and excessive text that pushes the donation form down create unnecessary obstacles and distractions for donors.

Furthermore, you should avoid redirecting donors to another website to complete their donation. This not only builds greater trust with donors (as they stay on your site) but also ensures your website can provide additional information and contact options.

A good example of a simple and clear donation page. (Source: helvetas.org) — *A good example of a simple and clear donation page. (Source:* *helvetas.org*)

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⚠️ Mistake #2: You don't know your donors well enough.

Personalization is crucial, especially for donors. Understanding who specifically donates to your organization offers two key benefits:

Firstly, it helps you keep existing donors engaged and willing to continue their support. And secondly, it enables you to attract similar individuals to support your cause.

We all understand the importance of building relationships in fundraising.

These relationships begin with truly understanding your donors.

Do you have donor personas for your different supporter segments? Have you mapped out the typical donor journey, from their initial awareness of your organization to their first donation?

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⚠️ Mistake #3: You use the same message for everyone.

By understanding your donors better, you can increase your retention rate and, more importantly, produce more relevant content for your online fundraising channels. Because:

Not all of your donors are the same, and therefore, they should not receive identical messages.

Imagine being able to write content specifically for one person to encourage them to support a particular cause. This is far simpler than trying to persuade the "general public" to support your organization in diverse ways.

One of the best and simplest ways to segment your audience is through email marketing.

Email remains the most effective way to reach your donors.

However, you must be strategic about who you send messages to and how you engage with each specific group.

Long-term donors, who are familiar with your organization's history and operations, should not receive the same messages as a first-time donor who may not be as acquainted with your work.

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⚠️ Mistake #4: You're not thanking donors effectively

After an online donation is made, it's standard practice to direct donors to a thank-you page and send them an email containing the donation confirmation and a brief message of gratitude.

If you're not doing this already, start today!

You can also automate this process to minimize your team's workload and prevent any oversights.

Once this fundamental step is complete, the next phase of showing appreciation begins. For instance, you should provide donors with meaningful updates on the impact of their contributions. This also increases the likelihood of them donating again or even becoming recurring supporters.

⚠️ Mistake #5: You're not building a strong relationship

Mistake #1 was about making donating as easy as possible for the user. However, this by no means implies that as a fundraiser, you should solely focus on asking for donations.

Donors contribute out of conviction, and you must lay this groundwork.

To achieve this, use the content on your website, blog, social media channels, and in your newsletter. This allows you to build and nurture a relationship, ensuring your donors are as well-informed as possible about you and your cause, and are then ready to donate.

Tell a short and concise story that reveals who you are, educates people about your mission, and builds trust in your organization and its vital work.

A picture truly says more than a thousand words.

Choose an impactful photo that supports your story, ensuring your content doesn't become too text-heavy.

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⚠️ Mistake #6: You're not showing the impact of donations enough

Before donating, your donors want to know what their money will be used for and what its impact will be.

Therefore, when appealing for donations, it's important to show how each individual donation can make a difference in someone's life.

To achieve this, you can use testimonials and statistics about your work. Ideally, you should also have an impact page on your website where all stories, images, and data demonstrating your impact are easily accessible.

A good example of an impact page from the American organization charity:water (Source: charitywater.org) — *A good example of an impact page from the American organization charity:water (Source:* *charitywater.org*)

Potential donors will see this landing page when they search for examples of your organization's work and successes, and how you bring your mission to life.

On this page, be sure to include a call for donations that directs people straight to your donation form.

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⚠️ Mistake #7: Online and Digital are Not Part of Your Fundraising Strategy

Having a clear strategy is always beneficial. It helps us achieve more of our goals and prioritize the most important projects. For fundraising, a well-defined strategy can be the key difference between success and complete frustration.

Setting clear goals is the first step in creating a fundraising strategy.

These goals provide motivation, valuable insights, and a concrete objective to work towards throughout the entire process.

Unfortunately, in fundraising, online and digital aspects are often neglected or even completely overlooked within the overall strategy.

Once an internal decision has been made to pursue online fundraising, several questions need to be addressed within an online strategy or digital concept, such as:

Who is responsible?
What type of online fundraising do you want to implement?
Is the website technically and content-wise prepared?
Do you have a newsletter?
Have the relevant Social Media channels been selected?
Are campaigns planned using Google Ads, or specifically Google Grants?
Is donor management clearly defined?
How will success be measured?

It's clear that these changes won't happen overnight. However, having a solid strategy for your online fundraising is crucial for your overall success.

What is Google Grants?

Google Grants is the **non-profit version of** **Google Ads**, Google's online advertising tool. It enables non-profit organizations to promote their missions and initiatives on Google by receiving a **monthly advertising budget of 10,000 US dollars**. Google Grants is an offering from Google for Nonprofits.
Eligible organizations can **apply online for** **Google Grants**. Applications are usually processed by Google within one week. Once approved, the organization is responsible for managing the Google Grants account, including all campaigns, ad groups, and keywords.
Using Google Grants comes with certain **rules and restrictions** that every organization must adhere to. **Violations of these rules will result in the account being suspended**.
⛌ Every account requires geographical targeting
⛌ At least two active ad groups per campaign and two sitelink extensions
⛌ Every account must achieve a Click-through-Rate (CTR) of at least 5% each month
⛌ Every account must have Conversion Tracking set up
➖ Every campaign must use conversion-based Smart Bidding
**We would be happy to help you set up or optimize your** **Google Ad Grants** **account.**

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Conclusion

You might be making some, or even all, of these mistakes in online fundraising.

You are not alone in this.

Correcting these common mistakes will set you and your organization on the right path to raise more donations online and significantly improve the experience for your donors.