How to Create the Perfect Donor Experience

Donors have a definite role to play in the development of a church or charity which is exactly why giving them the perfect experience is important. When a donor is connected to your church or charity it is important that you understand everything they in mind and coordinate with them accordingly, giving them complete idea of what your charity does.

Are my donors getting the perfect experience they want and deserve? That’s the question every nonprofit organization must ask themselves.

If not, then you have to revamp your standard donation process and build stronger relationship with your donors.

Two things that need to be evaluated to give donors the right experience include the following –

a) One, ensure that your website is easy to use and has content that keeps people engaged. Next, look at how you can simplify the donation process, to turn people into recurring donors.

b) Once you know where you stand, you can follow these tips to create the perfect donor experience.

Here are the many ways in which you can create a powerful donor experience

a) Engage with Donors – The first and the most important thing to do is showing enough engagement with the donor; make sure you have a regular interaction with them. Research shows that 47% of people who start a donation journey do not end up completing it. They either find the website hard to navigate or isn’t convinced with the cause. Nonprofits must work hard to make the user experience smooth. So, when potential donors arrive at your homepage, it’s essential that the content is engaging and nudges them toward making donations to your cause. Make sure to conduct regular interactive sessions with the donors and address their concerns.

b) Ask Donors to Contribute – Contribution made by the donors have a huge role to play in the development of church and the community; however, the difficult part is making the donors contribute. You need to provide a smooth experience, making donors feel that they are moving in the right direction. This means the images and designs must be able to meet more than just the eye, it must touch their heart. So, put thought into the message and images you display. What you need to do in this case is give them a clear idea of your ideologies and of how you plan to bring about the necessary change. Further, you can provide alternative options for donors to give and include a trust symbol on your donation page, reassuring potential donors who are concerned about online security.

c) Make the Donation Process Easy – The reason why most donors tend to leave the donation process right in the middle of it is because they think it is too difficult for them to understand or too complicated for them to go further with it. The idea therefore should be to make things simpler for them and less complicated than ever. Remember, the donation process must be quick and straightforward. To simplify the process online donation forms must be clutter free, easy to navigate and donor friendly.

d) Thank Your Donors – Instead of keeping things ultra simple when it comes to thanking the donors it is suggested you send out personalised messages to them thanking them for all that they do for you. Sending them a thank you message means you’re letting them know you value them and that they mean a thing to you. Your donors will feel appreciated and good about the decision they’ve taken, encouraging them to donate again. You’re donors will further want to engage with your organization and spread the word among friends and family.

e) Keep the Donors Updated – Another really good thing you can do to improve the donor experience is keeping the donors updated of your recent activities as well as of what you plan for them in the future. You can send them regular newsletters or updates on what you’re doing for the community – this way you’re keeping them engaged and updated with the latest in your church or charity.

Keeping in mind these 5 points mentioned above is the easiest and the most effective ways of maintain healthy relations with the donors. Further, this gives your donors a great experience which is exactly what the idea of your church or charity is considering donors.

Summary – Are my donors getting the perfect experience they want and deserve? That’s the question every nonprofit organization must ask themselves. If not, then you have to revamp your standard donation process and build stronger relationship with your donors. This article summarizes the 5 points that need to be considered and followed when trying to create a perfect donor experience.

The author of the article is working with Data Developments– top destination for software needs of churches and charities.