How To Increase Average Donation Amount

Every organization wants to increase their average donation amount. It’s how you continuously drive more money to your mission and make the greatest impact.

Still, easier said than done. How do you go about increasing your average donation amount, and what are the things you need to keep in mind? These are the questions we are answering in our latest guide.

3 Ideas For Increasing Average Donation

Before we dive into our actionable tips, we wanted to first share some general points. These are things you need to keep in mind at your organization if you are trying to increase average donations.

• Transparency builds trust. Trust isn’t just important to driving more donations – it’s essential. It’s only when you trust an organization that you choose to support them. Clearly state how donations contribute to your mission, and you’re setting yourself up for success. 
• Storytelling makes a difference. If you know how to tell a good story, you can connect with anybody. Convincing narrative carries an immense weight. Do it right at a nonprofit, and you not only connect emotionally to a prospect, but get them to act.
• People donate for different reasons. Different donors naturally have a variety of motivations in donating. That’s why you need to craft an approach that resonates on the individual level. One way to pursue this is through donor segmentation. After all – people like to feel like you’re talking directly to them.

7 Ways to Increase Your Average Donation

1) Effective Donor Education

Be upfront about how donations help your organization and everything you do. Dive deep into the impact of their contributions. Demonstrate how larger donations directly translate into larger results. All of this is a form of education, and it’s something that your donors love to see. Only by seeing what it is their money achieves can you expect them to give more. Be sure to read up on best practices for adequately educating your audience.

2) Smart Incentives

Increasing your average donation requires more than just asking for it. In a perfect world, people would see your fundraiser and instantly whip out their wallets. Reality doesn’t work like that. Give people a reason to donate that benefits them. This can look many different ways. Regardless, it’s worth doing some audience research to see what it is they actually like. You might be surprised at what will actually get people to act!

3) Peer-To-Peer Fundraising

Effective peer-to-peer fundraising is all about empowering donors to become advocates. Do it right and you can massively amplify your overall reach. Not only does this get your organization in front of more eyes, but gets people excited about your cause. The result? A higher average donation. Be sure to give thanks when your past donors do promote you – this is how you build a thankful audience. 

4) Monthly Giving Programs

Recurring revenue can be the backbone of a company’s success. It’s the same for a nonprofit. Indeed, when it comes to donations, consistent stability month after month is the gold standard. Try to encourage donors to commit to monthly contributions wherever you can. Plus, keep in mind tip #2 – the right incentive might just be what you need to foster that monthly commitment.

5) Social Proof

Just as in all of your marketing, social proof plays a large role in raising your average donation. Humans are hugely influenced by what other people do. If they have no proof that others have donated to your organization, don’t expect them to increase their total donation. Be sure to showcase any success stories that you have access to. You can also promote the names of organizations that have given the most money. This is a win-win for everybody involved.

6) Matching Campaigns

One of the best ways to get people excited to give (and to give a lot) is through matching campaigns. These are campaigns where for every dollar they donate, another organization does it as well. This is called the multiplier effect and it can be powerful. As for how you find partnerships with organizations that will participate? Check out this guide for more information – it’s easier than you think!

7) Convenience In Giving

The process of donating should be as seamless as possible. Think about it: if you land on a website that is impossible to navigate, or a donation platform that you simply can’t figure out, you’re not going to stick around for long. That’s why to give yourself the best chance at a higher average donation, you need to make donating easy. This involves many things that lead generation and web design. Regardless of what you do, always make things easy for the donor. All in all, making it easy for people to donate is one of the best things you can do. 

Which brings us to one final suggestion…

Fundraise Up: Our Favorite Tool For Increasing Average Donations

If you are looking for a tool that makes donating easy (and increases average donation) check out Fundraise Up.

With features like campaign pages and AI-optimized optimizations, it’s the perfect tool to make the donor experience easier – and to increase average donations.

Check out Fundraise Up here.