Paying online becoming basic e-communication.

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International Rescue Committee (IRC) in New York City launched an online pilot program this past October that connected donation dollar amounts to specific actions the organization takes to help refugees. The "gift basket" program, launched in time for the holiday season, took visitors to the micro-site FromHarmToHome.org, where potential donors could click through donation amounts in categories such as health, education and safety. For example, donors clicking on the $100 donation in the education basket would see that amount could enable two Afghan girls to attend school for one year.

"With this new initiative, we wanted to offer our donors a new and exciting way to support the IRe. So we thought that by connecting the ask amount on the basket donation forms to specific services we provide, the donors would be able to envision how their gift will benefit refugees," said Giselle Holloway, director of direct response at IRC.

Holloway said the organization broke down the results after the holiday season and she was surprised to see that nearly 35 percent of the gift basket donations were from first-time donors. The concrete actions represented by the gift basket amounts created an opportunity "for us to allow supporters to wrap their mind around our work in a simple and tangible way," said Holloway, and now the organization employed the same gift basket strategy for Mother's Day. Results were not available at presstime.

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A Web site's "donate now" button or shopping cart has to be more than a payment-processing center. Take a look at your online donation and payment form. At a minimum, it should have allotted space for a donor's name, address and credit card information. If it doesn't have those information requirements, you might be worse off than you thought.

Some organizations are making online payment forms work harder by including additional parts, such as ecommunications sign-ups, donation and payment amounts equated to program actions and donor identification data. And while there is no magic bullet for online donation forms, organizations must always keep usability and the donor's experience in mind when designing the page.

Share Our Strength (SOS) equates a dollar amount to what the organization can do with that donation. A donation of $35 can help feed a child three meals for more than a month--possible by all the partnerships and relationships the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit builds on.

"A small grant can go far leveraging our resources at the federal government level, at the state level, or with other organizations. There is so much more that the dollars can do. By sharing a variety of equivalencies we show the scope of our work" said Amy Zganjar, director of development at SOS.

"If there's one great truth, it's that your results are going to vary from organization to organization. There is not one, single, best donation form," said Dave Hart, chief technology officer at Austin-based online fundraising firm Convio.

Hart explained that organizations should not be "thinking about that first donation as the goal of the relationship--it's just one step along in building a long-term relationship." Creating an online donation and payment form that goes beyond a simple transaction will give the organization the opportunity to continue the relationship.

Malcolm Logan, Blackbaud Interactive client manager, explained that organizations should use the online donation and payment form page to enlist donors in higher engagement opportunities because "they are the ones making a more significant commitment than most of your Web traffic."

IRe allows donors to choose which ecommunications they want to receive. Holloway said while it's important that organizations don't SPAM and contact donors without their expressed opt-in, IRC was considering a general ecommunications opt-in. That way, IRC will be able to segment communications based on donor behavior rather than offering donors a preference before they completely understand the organization's work.

Organizations can ask potential donors to opt-in to ecommunications or ask identifying questions that can be used to target communication to boost engagement, said Logan. "So you are moving away from a purely transactional model to really building a relationship during the course of the actual transaction," he said.

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But keep identifying questions to a minimum--and limit it to data that you can actually use. Johns Hopkins University's Center for Talented Youth (CTY) asks potential donors if they are a parent, alumnus or friend of the program to segment future communications based on that relationship to the organization.

But identifying questions come after transactional information to battle drop-off rates from the page. "Donors are more likely to drop off if the credit card is later and you kill them with 'how did you hear about us? What's your favorite color?' I'm exaggerating--but not by much," said Valerie Lambert, assistant director of development at CTY.

"You shouldn't collect more data than is necessary. It should only be data that you're going to use and it shouldn't bog down the user because the online user is about immediacy. It's very important that you let them take care of business and be done," she said.

Blake Groves, client success evangelist at Convio, explained that organizations should stay away from long, onerous forms and stick with identifying questions that will help the relationship.

For example, a health organization battling a particular disease might want to ask if the donor is afflicted or knows someone who is. Knowing that information might change the tone and type of communications sent to that donor. "If you are not going to be savvy in how you are going to use the extra information, then you definitely want to streamline as much as possible if you don't have plans to use that advance profile," said Groves. He said organizations should test whether identifying questions drive up the abandonment rate--and if the abandonment loss is worth the data information harvested.

"There is that balance between trying to do research and where your donors are coming from and trying to make your donation page effective," said Holloway. IRC's gift basket program asked how donors heard about the program in a drop-down menu to track what online and offline promotions were effectively steering donations, but did not require an answer to complete the transaction.

"So we are now trying to incorporate that into our pages going forward," she said. "It's always a delicate balance because some experts say the more questions you ask on a donation form the more you increase your abandonment."

Logan said additional information might be great to have, but requiring too many identifying answers could turn donors off. "I will caution against making that information required. At a minimum, they certainly have to provide you with the data required to successfully complete the transaction. But anything above and beyond they might see as intrusive," he said. "I personally have walked away from donation pages because I felt that they were requiring that I give them more information than I thought was necessary for that particular purpose."

Remember that most people have limited time and patience--and navigating away from the site just takes one click. Lambert said she was excited that a local food pantry had online giving as an option. But that excitement turned to frustration when the Web page would not let her donate without creating a username and password. She kept receiving error messages when her username selections were already taken--without clear directions on how to fix the situation.

"After the sixth time I just thought 'Forget it, I'll just take cans to school.' And then it's year end and I'm busy, like every Other fundraiser, and I ended up taking nothing," Lambert said. She explained that there didn't seem to be a reason for a username and just inhibited the donation process.

Logan said an intelligible donation form shouldn't have too many bells and whistles--just easy, clear instructions that hopefully fit on one Web page. "Something that at no point in the process does the person get discouraged with the time and effort it takes them to understand what you are asking them to do," he said.

RELATED ARTICLE: When the donor wants alternatives.

Did you ever give your credit card to pay for dinner, just to have the waitress turn back around and say the restaurant doesn't accept that particular card? Then you have to rummage through your wallet for another card or cash, grumbling that you don't understand why the restaurant can't just take that card.

Now, think about how donors must feel when your organization doesn't accept their preferred payment option.

Your ultimate goal for an online donation page should be (ready for it?)--to get a donation. Your organization should make a donation page simple enough to get through the transaction. You may potentially be alienating potential donors by only accepting one or two payment options.

"It's making it as easy as possible to let people make the donation that they want to do," said Jeff Wiedner, senior manager of online marketing at Share Our Strength, based in Washington, D.C.

Offering donors as many credit card options as possible can cut down on frustrating experiences. Donors may also want to use online payment options, such as PayPal, to complete transactions. PayPal has 73 million active users, meaning they used accounts in the past 12 months, and allows users to send money without inputting financial information. Having the PayPal option can speed up the donation process--and make donors feel safer about the transaction.

Online retailer Amazon.com now offers Amazon Simple Pay Donations, where nonprofits can add a donation to the organization's site that redirects donors to their Amazon payment information. It's the same idea as PayPal--donors can use the payment option they already have on file without typing in their payment information again. The donation is transferred to the organization's Amazon Payment account, which can then be transferred to a bank account.

These options give donors the ability to make a donation within a service they already trust and use in their everyday ecommerce. And since donors don't have to fill out all the financial information, it eliminates time and user obstacles to the 'donate' button.

"I think, in general, for any type of ecommerce it's really a matter of keep it simple and just get out of [the donor's] way," said Wiedner. "Allow them to make the donation they want. Don't put up barriers in between [donor and donation]."

--Michele Donohue

RELATED ARTICLE: "Integration" it's not just a buzzword.

Valerie Lambert, assistant director of development at Johns Hopkins University's Center for Talented Youth (CTY), said the Baltimore-based organization doesn't just have one online donation form. It has 14 of them.

Those 14 forms might look the same to donors, with billing information and a few identifying questions. But, it's all about how the donor gets there that makes a difference.

Lambert said every direct mail appeal CTY sends out has a corresponding direct hyperlink for donors to give online. The hyperlink "needs to be memorable and meaningful to your mission and the donor," she said. For example, if an environmental organization is running a campaign for a particular species, the hyperlink might look something like WildlifeHelpers.org/SaveTheSloths The hyperlinks distinguish what mailing the donor received and helps the organization track which appeals are driving online donations. It also eliminates the need to ask donors how they heard about the organization, which cuts down the overall length of the form.

"Many people are going to get your direct mail and they want to know more--but where is the first place that they are going to go?," asked Blake Groves, client success evangelist at Austin-based Convio. Without a direct hyperlink driving a potential donor, many will end up on your organization's homepage.

A general online donation form "doesn't talk about the same programs, doesn't talk about the same services and it's somewhat disjointed," he said. An organization can control messaging and talk more in-depth about a campaign by having a unique donation form specific to a direct mail appeal piece.

Giselle Holloway, director of direct response at New York City-based International Rescue Committee (IRC) said the organization tested donation amounts to specific services in direct mail, email and even in telemarketing scripts before launching gift basket appeals online. "We found that this technique could work really well for us. This was an instance where experience offline could inform strategy online," she said. "If it works offline, it's something worth testing online."

Jeff Wiedner, senior manager of online marketing at Washington, D.C.-based Share Our Strength, said that the thank-you confirmation page is another area where online can learn from direct mail strategies. "So many organizations just say, 'thank you, we've received your donation.' But they don't take the time to help [donors] get interested. Either other ways to get involved--they don't push the idea of other parts of the site they may not be familiar with," he said.

Wiedner suggested that a thank-you confirmation page provide other links within the organization to help donors go deeper with the mission. Try to post information about a recent successful campaign or give tips that get donors to click more within the site. Even invite donors into the organization's online community if you have one.

"It's like with direct mail, you follow up the thank you solicitation with another envelope because they might be willing to donate again. It's the same way online as well--find ways to get engaged with either online donation or online community," said Wiedner.

"Overall I have found that people who have been doing direct mail a long time and know those principles, when they move to online they don't necessarily apply the same principles with email and the Web--and it's important to do that," said Lambert. "All the principles are still sound, they just apply to a different medium. I'm surprised about how many people well-versed in (snail) mail don't apply those principles that they know so well to this new medium."

--Michele Donohue