Nonprofit donation page setup: what keeps donors from dropping off

Keep it on one short page

The fewer screens between the donate button and the confirmation, the better. Ideally the whole gift happens on one page: choose an amount, enter payment details, confirm. Avoid asking donors to create an account, and avoid sending them to an unfamiliar third-party page when an embedded form will do.

Suggested amounts with a reason

Suggested amounts help people decide quickly. Offer a few, with an open field for any amount. Where you can do so accurately, connect amounts to something concrete the organization provides, and keep those descriptions true to your programs.

Make monthly giving the easy choice

Recurring donors are often the most dependable support a nonprofit has. Offer a clear choice between a one-time and a monthly gift near the top of the form. Explain in one line that monthly donors can change or cancel their gift at any time, and make sure that is true in practice.

Built for phones

Many gifts start from a link in an email or social post and happen on a phone. Test your donation page on a phone before every campaign. Large tap targets, a short form, the right keyboard for each field, and digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay where your payment provider supports them all reduce drop-off.

• 01Loads quickly on a mobile connection
• 02Amount buttons large enough to tap
• 03Numeric keyboard for card fields
• 04Digital wallet options where available
• 05No pop-ups covering the form

Ask for what you need, and no more

Donor data is valuable, but every optional field makes the form longer. Collect what you need to process the gift, send the receipt and thank the donor. Ask for more, such as interests or how they heard about you, on the thank-you page or in a follow-up.

Trust signals

Donors want to know their payment is secure and their gift is going to the right place. Show the organization's legal name, note your tax-exempt status where it applies, and link to your mission and financial information. A secure payment form from a recognized processor reassures people without extra explanation.

Receipts and the thank-you page

Send a receipt immediately, with the organization's legal name, the gift amount and date, and the tax information donors need. On the thank-you page, thank them in plain language, say what their gift supports, and offer one next step, such as sharing the campaign or signing up for updates.

A personal follow-up within a few days, even a short email, makes a second gift far more likely than a receipt alone.

Test before every campaign

Before an appeal goes out, make a small test donation from a phone. Confirm the form works, the receipt arrives, the gift shows up in your donor records and any recurring gift is set up correctly. Then handle the test gift according to your organization's policy.

Questions.

Should donations happen on our website or the processor's page?

An embedded form on your own site usually keeps more donors than sending them to an unfamiliar page, as long as it loads quickly and works well on a phone.

How do we encourage monthly giving?

Offer a clear one-time or monthly choice at the top of the form, explain that monthly gifts can be changed at any time, and thank monthly donors personally.