How to Add a Donate Button to Your Nonprofit Website

Ryan Jones • May 25, 2022

Fundraising success is typically measured by the number of donations a nonprofit secures in a given period. Effective fundraising strategies will result in more donations, and the more donations received, the better the nonprofit’s chances of making an impact in its community.

This is why it’s important to pay attention to the little details in a nonprofit fundraising strategy, including the use and placement of a donate button, as they can attract or deter donors and affect the nonprofit’s impact.

With 12% of total fundraising revenue for nonprofits coming from online donations, it’s in your organization’s best interest to ensure its digital marketing and fundraising channels are set up and optimized to attract and convert supporters to donors. One easy way to do this is by including a donate button on your nonprofit’s website, emails, and across your social media profiles.

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What is a Donate Button

A donate button (or donation button) is a button on a nonprofit’s website that, when clicked, takes donors and supporters to a donation page or donation form so they can contribute to the organization. It is a consistent, recognizable way for organizations to ask potential donors for gifts. If your nonprofit doesn’t have a donate button on its website, your audience may find it challenging to navigate to your donation page or form.

For best results, nonprofit organizations should ensure their donate button is placed on the header of their website’s homepage. The button should stand out (in color and size) from other elements of the header and page. You should also make sure the header, where you’ve placed your donate button, isn’t static, i.e., it should still be visible while visitors scroll through the page.

In addition to your website, it is recommended that you add your donate button to other digital platforms that may be used for fundraising purposes, such as your fundraising emails, Youtube Channel, and Instagram, Facebook, and Twitch profiles. By placing your donation button on multiple platforms, you can boost the visibility of your donation page and encourage more people to give to your causes.

6 Best Practices for Adding a Donate Button to Your Website

To ensure your donate button captures the attention of your nonprofit website’s visitors, you need to take specific steps so that it can stand out. Here are five best practices to consider when adding a donate button to your website:

1. Use high-contrast colors for donate buttons.

Color contrast ratio is a term used to describe the difference between two colors. When placing a donate button on your website, you need to make sure its color is very distinct from the colors of the elements around it. You can use this tool to identify high-contrast colors.

Also, as much as possible, you should avoid surrounding the button with images so it doesn’t get lost in the background. You should also ensure your button’s color is one of your nonprofit’s brand colors.

2. Make sure your donate button is mobile-friendly.

Many of your supporters and donors will access your nonprofit website using their mobile devices. As you place your donate button on your website, you should check that its size, color, font, and usability are mobile-friendly.

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3. Place your donate button in a prominent position.

It’s best practice to add your donate button to the header of your homepage. Don’t bury your donate button in the footer of your nonprofit website. Instead, place it somewhere that is obvious, where everyone will see it early in their interaction with your website.

4. Use active verbs in your donate button’s CTA.

A donate button that simply says DONATE or GIVE may be just what you need to get the job done, but it may also be advantageous to experiment with different calls to action. Use active verbs (help, change, act, etc.) and add an element of urgency (now or today) to connect with potential donors emotionally and encourage them to click your donation button.

Be sure to test CTAs before making a firm decision. Examples of donate button CTAs you can try include:

Donate Today
Take Action
Get Involved
Donate Here
Show Your Support
Sustain Our Mission
Join the Fight
Join the Movement
Donate Online
Give $50
Plant a Tree

5. Suggest Donation Amount.

Having a suggested donation amount is a great way to help donors decide how much to contribute. This best practice isn’t necessarily about your donate button, but it impacts your chances of converting website visitors to online donors. When website visitors click your donate button, it should take them to a donation form that includes a preselected donation amount.

6. Use White Space.

If you decide not to add your donate button on the header of your nonprofit website’s homepage, then you should make sure that there is enough room and white space around the button wherever else you place it. This is important because it ensures that the button is easily recognizable and stands out on your website.

If you need a refresher on how to accept donations on your website, this article is a great place to start. And, if you’re planning on spreading your donate button far and wide, it might be a good idea to make sure your donation form is optimized.

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Where to Place Your Donate Button

1. Website

First and foremost, you need to make sure you have a donate button on the header of your nonprofit website’s homepage. But in addition to your homepage, it needs to be on your donation page or form.

That might sound obvious, but several nonprofits use hyperlinks instead of a clickable donate button to encourage donors to complete a donation. This practice is ineffective because the link can easily be missed. It’s highly recommended that your donation form includes a clickable donate button, and you should also make sure that you implement the best practices that we discussed in the last section.

2. Emails

One of the best ways to maximize the effectiveness of your nonprofit’s email marketing is to use a donor communication tool like Keela. Keela’s email builder makes it easy for nonprofits to send visually appealing and engaging emails while streamlining the process of adding a donate button to your emails.

3. Facebook

With billions of users and no sign of slowing down, Facebook has one of the largest audiences your nonprofit can access. This makes your organization’s Facebook page an excellent place to include your donate button.

Fundraising on Facebook is very common these days; many people are already used to seeing donate buttons in various types of content (posts, videos, ads, etc.) on Facebook. Several donors also use Facebook as their primary source of nonprofit information, so it’s a pretty short jump to actually making a donation.

You can learn how to add a donate button to your nonprofit’s Facebook page here. Additionally, you should consider running Facebook Fundraisers so your organization can get the most out of the social media platform.

4. Instagram

Instagram offers a somewhat different audience from Facebook. Its users crave a substantially different content experience, engaging and interactive. If you decide to use Instagram to raise awareness about your nonprofit’s campaign, you should consider adding donation stickers or donate buttons to your Instagram Stories.

5. Google Business Profile

Your nonprofit’s Google Business Profile presents an excellent opportunity for your organization to funnel Google Search users to your donation page or form. You can take advantage of this opportunity by adding a donate button to your Google Business Profile so users can easily find, click through and access your donation page while browsing the web.

6. YouTube

Youtube is another great marketing channel with millions and millions of users who enjoy engaging with visual content. Videos are a great way to connect with supporters and potential donors; they can stimulate viewers’ minds and ensure your message resonates with them. If your nonprofit shares videos on Youtube, you should add a donate button to your Youtube videos and live streams so you can convert viewers to donors.

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7. Twitch

As video games continue to gobble up media market share, button mashers are commanding a lot of attention from people who could be donors if only there were some way to reach them. Don’t despair; thanks to Twitch, there is.

Twitch is a video game streaming service that lets an audience watch people play video games. And while that might not sound like fun to you, it’s fun for the 15 million or more daily users on the site.

More so, you could partner with a Twitch streamer or gamer to raise awareness and solicit donations for your nonprofit cause. Twitch has made it easy to add a donate button to Twitch channels so that streamers who believe in your cause can raise money on your behalf.

Secure More Donations with Keela Forms

Details matter when implementing a fundraising strategy. Something as simple and seemingly little as a donate button can impact the success of your online fundraising. That’s why Keela Forms are optimized to ensure your donate button and other essential elements capture the attention of your nonprofit visitors.

With Keela Forms, you can say goodbye to manual donation data entry. Our forms make it easy for nonprofits to automatically collect donations online and record important information about their donors. Keela Forms are easy to build, customize and publish, and they can be embedded on your nonprofit website.

Keela also allows you to add forms to your emails using Smark Ask Forms. The beauty of Smart Ask Forms lies in their ability to pull your current donors’ information and use that information to tailor your ask in your fundraising emails. This way, you suggest the donation amounts your email recipients are most likely willing to give.

We know that direct mail fundraising is still a viable option for several nonprofit organizations, so we’ve created QR codes that you can add to your fundraising letters, pamphlets, posters, or even business cards, to direct supporters to your donation form.