Make It Easy

If you look at the detailed results of a lot of fundraising campaigns, a simple pattern emerges:

If you make it easier, more people will donate.

Look at these data-driven examples:

• If you remove links to your social media feeds from your website’s donation page, more people will give.  Why?  It’s easier to fill out the form and make the gift if you don’t distract people with other activities.
• If you ask a major donor for a gift and you give them a deadline for when you need their response by, you’ll get more responses and more gifts.  Why?  It’s easier for donors to answer the question “can I give by the deadline” than it is when the ask is timeless.
• In a direct mail appeal letter, if you include a reply card and reply envelope, you will generally raise more money than if you don’t include a reply card and reply envelope. Why? For a donor who wants to give by check, it is easier if they don’t have to find and address an envelope.
• When asking for money, when you use a specific offer (e.g., “$57 provides an hour of therapy” or “$41 helps on child learn to read”) you generally raise more money than a more generic “will you support our work” or “will you join us.”  Why?  Using an offer makes it easier for a donor to understand what their gift will make possible.  Offers also make it easier for donors to know how much they need to give in order to make a difference.
• When you write fundraising materials, you raise more money when you use everyday language instead of jargon.  Why?  Everyday language makes it easier for donors to understand, as opposed to making them learn your vocabulary.

Look through your fundraising messages and tactics.  Are there any places you can remove distractions, or make it easier to understand, or easier to take action right now?