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"What a great resource! I have received a number of similar mailings over the years, and always ended up unsubscribing — mostly because they were too much text. This was short, sweet — and useful! I can't think of someone better qualified to share this kind of advice!"

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International Fund for Animal Welfare

Giving Back E-Tips

Help Out a Colleague

Karen GedneyDear Visitor:

Have you experienced a huge uptick lately in the number of calls, LinkedIn invitations, and Facebook “friend” requests you receive from out-of-work colleagues?

I definitely have, and I’m grateful to be on the receiving end of these calls and giving help — rather than having to ask for it myself right now.

We all need each other in this tough economic environment — and none of us can afford to make costly missteps. That’s why I think it’s important to share our successful techniques with each other — not just personally, but to also help our organizations survive and thrive.

So look at today’s e-tip on pre-populated donation pages and let me know if “fill in the blank” online forms have helped increase donations for your group or your clients’ organizations.

Fill in the Blanks for Your Donors

I don’t know about you, but when I hit even a momentary obstacle in filling out an online form, I immediately “abandon ship.”

In my experience, donating online is often an “impulse buy” triggered by a compelling appeal. If the impulse is thwarted even for a few seconds, the donation could be lost.

That’s why I asked a fundraising client to do a test on pre-populating their donation pages with member information. As it turned out, the “fill in the blanks” approach worked — increasing both the average gift and the total number of gifts.

The client reported that pre-populating the donation pages didn’t take any additional effort — so it seems to be a worthwhile way to gain incremental income.

Pre-populated donation pages are especially critical when it comes to appealing to major donors. In the corporate world, there’s a maxim that says, “CEOs don’t fill out forms.” Those CEOs could also be your major donors, so take care of all the “paperwork” for them in advance.

What’s your experience using pre-populated donation pages? Let Karen know for a future issue of Giving Back. Contact her at 718-680-1627 or at kg@karengedney.com.