By Christy Noel, Vice President of Digital Marketing Services at MobileCause – a company that pioneered text-to-donate and also offers an extensive suite of online, mobile and event fundraising solutions. She advises nonprofits to accelerate their fundraising and engagement efforts through giving and marketing strategies via digital technologies.
You did it: your donation appeal was a success. Now you want to know, is it appropriate to ask your supporters to take further action?
Many nonprofits fear that asking a donor for additional support, after they’ve already made a donation, will turn them off from making future gifts. The truth is, immediately following a donation is one of the best times for another call-to-action (CTA) of ways donors can continue to support your organization.
On the ‘Confirmation Page’ that appears immediately after an online donation or form submission has been made, the first thing your donors should see is a thank you. This can be a simple show of gratitude and personalized to include your donor’s name, a brief blurb about what their donation will help your organization to accomplish, and/or a compelling thank you image.
Once you’ve thanked your donors, you can add another call-to-action to the page that will encourage them to continue engaging with your organization and help build a lasting relationship. Here are five great ideas for ‘Confirmation Page’ calls-to-action:
1) Send to Website
This is an excellent time to ensure donors have seen all the great content on your website. They may learn about additional programs you provide and be inclined to donate more, or again, to support them. Make sure your website is mobile optimized for donors using their cell phones.
2) Encourage to Volunteer
Your donors are individuals who care about your organization and mission. Invite them to take their passion for your cause a step further by linking to a volunteer form or page on your website with volunteer opportunities.
3) Send to Social Media
Include links to your active social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Ideally, you want all your donors following you on social media–not only to “like” and “share” your posts- but to stay up to date with all the latest happenings at your organization from events to volunteer opportunities. So make it easy for them to find you by including the relevant links on your confirmation page.
4) Add to Mailing List
You are likely already asking for and collecting email addresses and mobile numbers on your donation form to ensure donors get your automated email receipts and text confirmations. You can also use your ‘Confirmation Page’ to specifically ask donors to opt-in and receive your email newsletters and text message updates.
5) Video
Create a special video from your executive director, staff, board members or even a beneficiary featuring a heartfelt thank you for donating and emphasizing one call-to-action. Your CTA can be any of the aforementioned ideas. This video does not need to be a costly production, but a genuine acknowledgment.
There are many CTA options for your ‘Confirmation Page,’ however, you still want to keep it looking clean, simple and easy to navigate. Decide what’s most important for your organization so you can streamline your call-to-action towards your end goal. If you use multiple donation forms, consider alternating calls-to-action on each ‘Confirmation Page’ to learn what secondary action your donors are most likely to take.
Thanking your supporters after giving is crucial to donor retention and making them feel more connected to your cause. Check out our complimentary resource, 5 Ways to Create a More Personal Donor Thank You and learn how you can express your thanks in timely and meaningful ways that both increase revenue and keep supporters coming back, year after year.
MobileCause provides easy-to-use fundraising and communication software that enables you to raise more, engage supporters, and grow your donor database. They are the pioneers of text-to-donate and offer online, mobile and event fundraising solutions with peer-to-peer campaigns, mobile messaging, robust reporting & analytics, and CRM integration.
More than fundraising software, they also provide 24/7 customer support, one-on-one strategy, campaign setup, and promotional tools to take your campaigns to the next level. MobileCause is your partner to grow your nonprofit like never before.
