{"id":21910,"date":"2020-10-13T18:55:40","date_gmt":"2020-10-13T18:55:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/virtuous.org\/raise\/2020\/10\/13\/avoid-abandoned-online-gifts\/"},"modified":"2020-10-13T18:55:40","modified_gmt":"2020-10-13T18:55:40","slug":"avoid-abandoned-online-gifts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/virtuous.org\/raise\/avoid-abandoned-online-gifts\/","title":{"rendered":"Avoid Abandoned Online Gifts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Online fundraising depends on several things, but few things are as important as building trust. That\u2019s why branding your donation pages is a must. Here\u2019s how to do it.<\/h3>\n

At first, you might think that the ability to customize your RaiseDonors donation pages with your unique nonprofit branding, colors, and other brand design elements is merely aesthetic.<\/p>\n

In a way, you\u2019re right. We do believe in the power of beauty to inspire and motivate.<\/p>\n

Going to our local art museum or botanical gardens moves us in profound ways.<\/p>\n

However, the flexibility of RaiseDonors allows you to create donor experiences that communicate your voice and reflect what sets you apart from start to finish.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And with over a 1.5 million nonprofits in the U.S. (and counting), you\u2019ve got to find ways to stand out!<\/p>\n

Brand Consistency Is Key<\/h3>\n

Communicating with a consistent voice across all of your web pages through your copy and graphic elements is critical to establishing trust with your donors.<\/p>\n

Trust comes when I know that you\u2019re communicating with me in a way that\u2019s authentic to you.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t talk in one way to me today and then another way tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Your voice is only consistent when it comes from who you are and not who you\u2019re trying to be.<\/p>\n

No one fully trusts a person who doesn\u2019t know who they are, or worse, wants to be someone else.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re not authentic. Therefore, they\u2019re not trustworthy.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that they\u2019re bad. It\u2019s just that you know intuitively that there\u2019s something wrong.<\/p>\n

Of course, this life principle translates to corporate and nonprofit brands.<\/b><\/p>\n

Each web page \u2013 especially donation pages \u2013 need to speak with the same voice. They need to have the same look and feel which encourages trust in the donor.<\/p>\n

Your nonprofit brand is authentic to you, born out of a deep introspective look at who you are.<\/p>\n

Communicating authentically to your donor shouldn\u2019t stop when they get to your donation page!<\/p>\n

A Cautionary Tale<\/h3>\n

Imagine you\u2019re at the mall.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a store you\u2019ve never seen before, but looking through the windows outside and reading the name of the store, you\u2019re convinced to give it a go.<\/p>\n

You enter the store.<\/p>\n

And you love it!<\/p>\n

You find all the latest items and accessories for which you\u2019ve been looking for quite some time \u2013 and all at really good prices!<\/p>\n

The staff are friendly and really know what they\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

They help you navigate the store showing you all the best they have to offer.<\/p>\n

You enjoy hearing the stories they tell of how the products were made, where they come from, and why they were created in the first place.<\/p>\n

In the end, you can\u2019t wait to get your items home!<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve got a new favorite store brand, and you can\u2019t wait to show everyone your new stuff.<\/p>\n

So you gather up your new merchandise and head to the front to make your purchase.<\/p>\n

When you get there, you\u2019re confused. You\u2019re not supposed to pay here.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve got to leave the store and go to another location to make your purchase.<\/p>\n

The friendly and helpful staff place your items in a cart, and they lead you to the other location.<\/p>\n

To your chagrin, it\u2019s on the other side of the mall<\/i>.<\/p>\n

You look up at the sign on the location, and it has a different name altogether than the one you just came from.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, your helpful, enthusiastic companions have disappeared.<\/p>\n

Now you have to get to know the sour-faced guy across the counter who looks like he\u2019d rather be anywhere else but with you.<\/p>\n

He asks you all kinds of questions and doesn\u2019t tell you why he needs to know.<\/b><\/p>\n

Before you can purchase your items, he wants your phone number, your street address, and the reason for why you came to their store in the first place.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, all your good feelings are flying away.<\/p>\n

This is NOT the store you went into in the first place. You don\u2019t trust this man, and you don\u2019t like his questions.<\/p>\n

Where\u2019s the friendly staff? Where\u2019s the beautiful arrangements and smiles?<\/p>\n

In frustration, you tell the guy to forget it. And you leave.<\/p>\n

Avoid Abandoned Online Gifts<\/h3>\n

This story illustrates the jolting feeling a donor gets when they go from your branded web pages to a generic donation page.<\/p>\n

First of all, they notice that the URL has changed. They\u2019re not paying in your store. They\u2019re paying in someone else\u2019s store.<\/p>\n

Then, they notice that your sign is nowhere to be seen. The branding has completely changed.<\/p>\n

The font is different. Colors are different. The giving form looks like a 90\u2019s computer system.<\/p>\n

It asks all kinds of intimate questions when all you wanted to do was give $25 because you wanted to show them how much you enjoyed what they\u2019re doing in the world.<\/p>\n

This jolting feeling, this bait-and-switch, quite often results in abandoned online gifts.<\/p>\n

The donor comes planning to give, but is jolted out of the donor journey because the voice changed.<\/p>\n

Avoid abandoned gifts by keeping your voice consistent on your donation pages.<\/h3>\n

This is why the ability to customize your donation pages is crucial to online fundraising.<\/p>\n

Donors don\u2019t want to give to RaiseDonors \u2013 they want to give to you!<\/p>\n

They want to give to the cause they saw on your website or in your email.<\/p>\n

When they come to your donation page, we want them to feel as though they\u2019ve just landed on another page of your website.<\/p>\n

Same font. Same logo. Some colors. Same amazing storytelling.<\/p>\n

Consistent, authentic branding from start to finish is key to online fundraising success.<\/p>\n

With RaiseDonors you can provide your donors a giving experience that makes them feel inspired and<\/i> secure.<\/p>\n

And by using RaiseDonors white label donation pages, you can avoid abandoned gifts. Thereby raising more donors and more funds.<\/p>\n

Want to know more about how to make donation pages that are authentic to your nonprofit brand?<\/p>\n

Contact us today<\/a> and we\u2019ll show you!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Online fundraising depends on several things, but few things are as important as building trust. That\u2019s why branding your donation pages is a must. Here\u2019s how to do it. At […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":21911,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[818],"tags":[],"types":[],"ppma_author":[816],"class_list":["post-21910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-donation-page-optimization","author-stephen-boudreauvirtuous-org"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t