Getting Started with DonateNow
Table of Contents Welcome Required Set Up Page Personality Donor Options Thank Yous and Receipts Social Sharing and Endorsements Publish Your Page Promote Your Page Dashboard and Reports Mobile Giving Helpful Information 3-6 7-8 9 10 11 12 13 14-15 16 17 18 2
Welcome to DonateNow DonateNow Welcome to your all-in-one solution for digital fundraising! DonateNow will help you raise more money online with customizable donation pages complete with mobile-ready giving options and social sharing, all designed to help further your organization s mission and goals. Getting Started Guide It's easy to create and customize your DonateNow page. We ve created this document to help guide you through the process. We ll outline how to configure your account and we ll point out the features we think are most important as you begin raising money online. In-Account Coaching When in doubt, take advantage of our built-in coaching and fundraising library. We brought together some of the greatest minds in the nonprofit sector to give you practical, research-backed advice to help make your fundraising efforts even more successful. What s Next? Get Started! Ready to raise more money online? Log in and get started! You can have a functioning, customized, ready-to-amaze-your-donors donation page in 30 minutes (35 minutes if you stop to have your fundraising superhero cape fitted first). 3
How to Access Your DonateNow Account Log in using your primary contact s email address and password in the left-hand box at www1.networkforgood.org/login 1. 2. Access your DonateNow account by clicking either of these links. 3. Scroll to the bottom of your dashboard and click the name of the page you d like to edit. 4
Welcome to DonateNow As you set up your page, keep an eye out for these helpful tools. See your progress as you take your page from good to great. See which step is next as you configure your page. Turn on our built in coaching to help you optimize each section of your page. Section descriptions will let you know which steps are required as well as identify best practices that will make your page more effective. Watch your page come to life in the page preview. View what your donors will see by clicking the Full-Size Preview button. 5
The 3 Steps to Online Fundraising Success Log in to your account and follow along with this guide to get started now! The key to getting donors to give online is to give them a secure, easy way to do it. Complete these steps to get your DonateNow page ready to process donations in the next 30 minutes! Keep an eye out for our built-in coaching and tips to help optimize your page! 1. Set Up 2. Publish Make sure your donors see all your hard work! When you finish the required configuration, click the Publish button to make your edits live on your DonateNow page. Use the tools we ve created to put a DonateNow button on your website and all of your online outreach. Encourage your donors to promote your cause across their social networks; we ll show you how! 3. Promote 6
Required Set Up 6 easy steps to get your page ready to process donations. Publish 1. Set Up Promote 1. Page Nickname Pick a unique nickname for your donation page to help it stand out in your account and in reports. The nickname is only for your reference. Make it distinct for your organization -- it won t show up on your page. 2. Page Title Create your page s headline, the first line of your call-to-action. Keep your page title short and vibrant with an active message for donors. 3. Page URL Give your page a unique web address. Make sure your URL relates to your organization and doesn t include any special characters Fundraising is a process, not a one-time event. As your online fundraising strategy evolves, continue to revisit the set up of your page. Be sure your website and DonateNow page are aligned with your current fundraising campaign and design. 7
Required Set Up 6 easy steps to get your page ready to process donations. Publish 1. Set Up Promote 4. Design Choose a layout, fonts and colors to match your organization s unique brand Choose colors and font that are consistent with the rest of your website. A consistent experience breeds confidence in donors. For more information about a design that matches your website s template and navigation, view our FAQs on page 18. 5. Donation Amounts Create predefined donation amounts for donors to choose from. We recommend using both options here. Allow donors to type in their own amount, but also offer choices for them to pick from. 6. Campaign Goal and Ticker Set a goal amount and date to keep you motivated. Add a tracker to your page to keep donors excited, too! Research shows that campaign tickers are far more effective when donors feel they re giving to a successful cause. Turn this on when you re at least halfway to your goal. Ready to Publish? You ve finished the required set up for your page! If you re in a hurry you can skip to page 13 To find out about publishing and promoting your page! Otherwise continue on to the next page to learn about optional features to optimize your page! 8
Set Up Page Personality Add features to your page that compel donors to give. Feature Spotlight: Call to Action Craft a concise and compelling call to action to encourage donors to give. Also in this section: Image Upload an image to help inspire donors to give. A picture is worth a thousand words,, choose a simple image focusing on one subject. Organization Name, Logo Edit how you would like your organization s name to appear on the donation form and add a logo to your page. We ve assembled stellar resources to help you write your Call to Action. Use our Fundraising Library to see more examples and craft a compelling call to action. 9
Set Up Donor Options Customize your donor s experience. Feature Spotlight: Custom Questions Create your own questions to ask donors. Also in this section: Dedications Give donors the option to give on behalf or in honor of others and to request a dedication acknowledgement for the honoree. Designations Create a list of programs or funds to allow donors to designate their gift. Transaction Fee Give donors the option to cover the 3% processing fee. Mailing List Invite donors to join your mailing list. Gift Items Offer thank you gifts to your donors. Create any type of question and tailor it to your needs. Place questions either above the billing section or below it. Where you put a question depends on its purpose. Experiment to find the right format and placement for your organization. Custom questions are a great tool, but one that can easily get out of hand. Keep it limited to the need to know questions, the longer a donation form is, the less likely people are to make it to the end! 10
Set Up Receipts/Thank You Add a custom message to your donor s receipts. Network for Good will automatically issue a tax receipt to all donors. We ll include the legal info they ll need, but you can add a customized message to the standard receipt to reflect your organization s personality and start the thank you process. Crafting the right message takes some finesse; make sure you consider the hints and best practices in your account. Online Receipt After donors give online they ll see this online thank you and their receipt information. Keep your message brief but remember to connect to the emotional act of charitable giving. Page Redirect You ll need to provide a page for us to redirect your donors to after they process their donation. Pick any page on your website, but keep in mind that providing a specific experience for donors can make a big difference. Email Receipt The email receipt is the lasting impression of your donor s experience, and one they ll revisit at least once during tax season. Be sure to thank them again and offer resources that can offer opportunities to keep them involved. Sender Choose the from name and email address that will appear on your donor s email receipt. Remember: if a donor replies, it will come back to this address. Make sure someone is checking it and responding to any donor inquiries. You can view a preview of your online receipt, email receipt and the thank you page of the mobile giving experience on the right-hand side of the configuration panel. 11
Set Up Social Sharing &Endorsements Encourage your donors to spread the word about your organization. Feature Call Out: Social Sharing Encourage your donors to share about their donation by turning on this feature. Create a default message for donors to use on their favorite social networks and via email. Feature Call Out: Endorsements Share up to three ratings and testimonials that show the great work you do. Upload a logo and link to sites like the Better Business Bureau or Charity Navigator. You can also display a testimonial from someone impacted by your organization. Need new screenshot when fixed in UAT Reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations - either from someone a person knows or even a stranger who is perceived as a peer or expert - are the most trusted sources of information in decision making. 12
2. Publish Your Page Make your edits live to your DonateNow page. Once you ve configured your page, be sure to click the Publish button to make your changes live. Donors can t see your page until you share the link, so don t worry if you have additional edits to make. Publishing now will help you see how your page is coming along! 2.Publish Set Up Promote As you make changes over time, be sure to continually publish. This will ensure the changes you re saving are being seen by your donors. You can click any of the publish buttons within your account to make your changes live. Want to see your edits before you publish the changes to your live page? Just click the preview button: 13
3. Promote Your Page Make it easy for your donors to find your page and donate! The single most important place to put your DonateNow button is on your website. Make your button big, bold and above the fold! For more details about your DonateNow button, continue to the next page! Publish Set Up Don t forget to put your DonateNow button or link on all of your organization s online outreach. Include your DonateNow link in every email you send, on your Facebook page, Twitter account and all of your organization s other social network profiles! Give your donors the chance to spread the word, too! We ve included easy ways for donors to let their friends and family know that they ve supported your organization. To review the Social Sharing options, go to page 11. 3. Promote For more ideas about promoting your DonateNow page, take a look at the jam-packed Fundraising Library. We ve pulled together our best resources to make sure your hard work is getting the attention it deserves! 14
Promote Promote Your Page Use our built-in tools to start spreading the word. Buttons We ve created 6 readymade buttons for you to use on your website. Create and save as many as you d like within your account. Or opt to not use a button if you already have one of your own. Tracking Codes Gather information about the source of your donations to see which of your appeals converted donors and use this data to hone your outreach strategies. DonateNow URL The vanity URL is the easiest way to spread the word about your DonateNow page. Use it in emails and social networking sites. Adding a button to your site: HTML Code: Click the copy button and paste the code into the program or service you use to update your website. If you have a webmaster you can email them to code and let them know where you d like the button to appear. For help with using HTML code, check the FAQs or help section of your website software. Using your own button: Copy the URL and use it as the destination link for the image or tab you're using on your website. 15
Mobile Giving Know the mobile experience to be a resource to your donor. Donate Donors can give easily right from their smartphone. They ll get to choose to pay via credit card or PayPal and will be taken through a mobile-friendly version of your DonateNow page. We ll send them their donation receipt while you get a notification and see their record in your reports. Mobile Giving FAQs Pledge If they prefer to wait, donors can make a pledge to give later. We ll email them a link to your donation page so they donate at their convenience. If they forget, we ll send a reminder email one week later and make sure you have a report of all pledges so you can follow up, too. Will DonateNow automatically display a mobile page? Yes! When a donor visits your page on a mobile device, like their tablet or smartphone, we ll automatically detect that and show them the mobile-friendly page. Will the entire DonateNow page display? No, the name of the game in mobile giving is brevity. To prevent donors from having to scroll endlessly, we ll only show your organization s image and default donation amount. Donors can type in another amount to give but won t be able to answer any other questions you may have on your full-size page. Will mobile donors receive a receipt? Yes, we ll email your customized receipt to the donor. 16
Dashboard and Reports Keep track of all of your donations in one convenient place. Dashboard Use your dashboard to quickly see the highlevel picture of your success. Review your most recent donations, view a graph of where donors are giving and access your configuration menu and reports. You can see all of your Network for Good donations in your reports and on your dashboard. Keep track of your DonateNow gifts and those through our partners like causes.com, Crowdrise, EventsNow and more! Reports View and export up-to-the-minute reports to always know who is giving and how to thank them. We ve created ten different reports to help you see and evaluate your fundraising efforts from every angle. Keep track of which donors made a donation in honor of someone else and find out where to send the acknowledgement. Your VIP donors! Know if anyone s donation fails or changes with this report. Follow up with donors who have pledged to give but might have forgotten to complete their donation. With this report, you can learn which outreach strategy is most compelling. (For a refresher on using Tracking Codes, see page 14.) 17
Helpful Information Disbursements Email Notifications Page Design When: We disburse donations on the 15 th of the month after they were made. For example, all donations made in January will be disbursed on February 15 th. How: If you haven t registered for direct deposit, we ll send your disbursements as a check to the address we have on file for your organization or your fiscal sponsor. If you ve registered for EFT, the deposit will be made on the 15 th and should clear in your account within just a few days, depending on your bank s policies. Get Direct Deposits: Get your donations greener and faster by registering for direct deposit. To do so, simply click the Register for Direct Deposit Link on your NFG Dashboard. Fill out the form, print it, sign it and mail it to us at the address below: Network for Good EFT Dept. 1140 Connecticut Ave NW Washington DC 20036 What: We ll send you an email notification each time a donor makes a pledge or processes a donation on your page. A specific notification is sent when a donation acknowledgement is requested in the dedications section. Who: Your primary contact will automatically receive these. Add more recipients from the Email Notifications link in your account. What: Our team can create a design for your DonateNow page that mirrors your organization s website and keeps all of your design features and navigation. How: Submit the request from within your account. You ll need to have the URL to a page on your website you d like our team to use as the template for the design of your DonateNow page. Cost: There is a one-time charge of $299.95 to have our team create a design for your DonateNow page(s). For more information about the design process, contact our support team. 18