What is Donor Engagement? Why is it Important?

Donor engagement is how your donors interact with your nonprofit and the strategies you use to strengthen these relationships. As a nonprofit, donor engagement is extremely important in finding and retaining new donors. The more engaged a donor is with your organization, the more likely they’ll continue to provide support in the future. 

A strong donor relationship and engagement strategy consists of multiple aspects — like publicly recognizing donorship, showcasing donors in your annual reports, and being present on social media — but one of the most important areas to focus on is donor engagement on your website. 

Your website is the online “heart” of your organization and is the first point of interest when someone is interested in becoming a donor. New community members come to explore your mission, values, and impact and discover how they can best support your organization.

Donor Engagement and Website Design

Design and branding drive donor engagement on your website. Your donor engagement will depend on the story you tell, how you tell it, and how easy it is for website visitors to understand and navigate. Your website should be compelling, clear, and designed to convert.

The exact information and set-up of your website will depend on your nonprofit, but here are four things you should keep in mind when trying to improve donor engagement on your website:

1. Messaging/Storytelling

Your website (and brand) should tell a story — it should communicate what your organization stands for and why it exists. Storytelling in your website copy allows your organization to connect with your audience emotionally and help them understand the impact of their potential or past contributions. 

Good storytelling is a mix of branding, website design, and copywriting. It requires you to understand your audience, communicate effectively, and present information in a visually appealing and user-friendly way.

2. Branding 

Your branding is the foundation of good messaging, marketing, and design. Your brand, or brand identity, is how you communicate with your audience. A clear and cohesive brand is essential for good donor engagement on your website.

A brand identity should provide a logo, color or visual palette, and brand voice/messaging guides. Branding will heavily influence the design of your website and the messaging behind your website copy. If you need a clear brand identity, consider rebranding your organization before working on your website.

3. User Experience

User experience is the overall experience someone has on your website; good user experience means that your website is easy to navigate and visually appealing. If your user experience is lacking, potential donors exploring your website will leave before making it to your donations page.

Your website should make it easy for visitors to explore your mission and values and make a donation. Clear paths to your donation page and your impact data are a must, as donors want to know the impact of their donation on your organization.

4. Keep Connected

Improving donor engagement on your website goes beyond encouraging visitors to click through and explore or engage — it also includes how you’re going to connect with them even if they don’t decide to donate right away. Sometimes new donors like to be a part of your community and see the impact you’re making before they decide to support your organization.

To stay connected, make it easy for visitors to find information about your upcoming events, how to join your newsletter, and where to find you on social media. 

How to Improve Donor Engagement on Your Website

If you believe your donor engagement on your website needs improvement, but you’re concerned about the effort and technical experience involved, start simple with a quick self-audit. 

Take a look atExplore your website and pretend that you are a potential donor or a community member visiting your website for the first time. What are the first things you see? Can you tell what your mission is? Can you easily navigate through to other pages and back? Take note of things that feel “off” or are hard to find.

If you see multiple issues or feel that there is no easy way to take action or connect with your nonprofit on your website, it may be time to consider a website redesign. Book a free discovery call with Acton Circle to see if a new website is just what your organization needs.