Starting an Online Business All-in-One For Dummies®, 3rd Edition

Making Donating Easy

With a little help from your friends (and their friends), your online fundraising efforts are bound to be a success. However, it's ultimately your job to make it easy for anyone to get involved. The key is to not only get the attention of would-be donors but also eliminate any barriers that might prevent them from contributing. Your Web site provides a backdrop for combining simplicity with donor-building strategies. Look into these features:

• Automated membership renewals: When you're using your site to market for membership fees, do yourself and your new member a favor. Rather than ask for a one-time membership fee, give your donor other options, such as these:
  • A multiyear membership with an incentive: Ask your potential donor to pay now to sign up for a three-year membership, and you'll give a bonus gift or discount.
  • Automatically membership renewal: Gain permission for your organization to automatically renew the membership each year by charging the fee to a designated credit card.
• Recurring donations: Donating by credit card is one of the simplest solutions you can ask for in online fundraising. Another option for incorporating this service is to set up the processing of recurring donations. This set dollar amount is then regularly (weekly, monthly, or even semiannually) charged to a credit card. Credit card companies sometimes offer this service directly from their Web sites, or you can manage the process internally.

Recurring donations via credit ...