Let’s say you have 10 people who want to buy milk. If you tell them they can walk right across the street and buy it, 9 out of 10 will take action. However, if you tell them they have to drive a few miles and make a few turns, that number drops to 5 or 6. It’s human nature. The more complex things get, the less likely we are to act.
That’s why when it comes to digital donations, immediacy is incredibly valuable. The fewer steps there are between the donor’s decision to contribute and the completion of the process, the more likely they are to reach the finish line.
The challenge for nonprofits is, when an individual is set on making a donation, no matter where they are on the web, how can you make that happen quickly and in as few clicks as possible? Fortunately, Google and Facebook have recently made this a little easier by providing some handy tools.
3 Resources that Make It Easy for People to Donate from Outside Your Website
These digital tools can make it easier for more people to give online to your organization, and it relates back to meeting people where they are:
- Google Donate Button
Today people can do more than just find your organization on Google. They can actually donate through the search engine. When you do a branded search for some U.S.-based nonprofits, you’ll see a new “Donate” option. Tap or click on Donate, and you can give to your favorite organization as easily as you can look up its history, phone number, or website.
The Google Donate button is a way to provide people who are ready to give with an immediate way to take action. No extra clicks required. This could be particularly valuable in times of crisis when people are doing specific Google searches with the intent to give. While Google does cover all processing fees for the donations, they do not provide individual donor information to organizations for future relationship development.
You can apply for the Google donate button through your google.com/nonprofits account.
- Facebook Donate Button
For years, nonprofits were asking for a button on Facebook that would allow individuals to make donations on nonprofit pages without having to leave the site. That dream is now a reality. Charities can add a donate button to the header of their Facebook page (as well as to ads, posts, and live videos), allowing supporters to donate right then and there. Facebook does not charge a processing fee for donations made via the donate button.
Additionally, once the transaction’s done, donors have the opportunity to share on their wall, with their friends and family, that they just donated to the nonprofit. They also have the opportunity to opt-in to communications with the organization. You can then transfer that data from Facebook to CRM to communicate with them off-channel, through email or another medium.
To learn how to add a donate button to your organization’s Facebook page, check out this resource (and click on #3).
- Facebook Fundraisers
Because of the capabilities of the donate button, you can also unlock Facebook Fundraisers—which give your supporters an easy way to fundraise on Facebook on your charity’s behalf. For example, individuals can donate their birthdays to your organization and ask friends and family to make a donation instead of giving them presents.
It’s an easy way to get people who are passionate about your cause more engaged and involved, and encourage them to spread the word to their friends. Facebook makes all of this super easy and effective. Fundraisers have progress thermometers, show the number of donors, and also enable people who make donations to invite their friends to join the fundraiser. It is important to note that Facebook does charge a processing fee with Fundraisers (6.9% + $0.30 per transaction).
Additionally, incentivizing your constituents to fundraise through Facebook is also a great way for your organization to continue to be seen and heard on Facebook, even as Facebook continues to alter the game as we saw earlier this year with the algorithm changes to the News Feed.
Download our free resource The Digital Donation Revolution to discover more innovative ways you can drive online donations.