As #GivingTuesday approaches, there are many things nonprofits can do to prepare; plan the campaign, create social media updates, line up influencers to help promote their posts, schedule emails, etc.
It can be a lot of work!
But there’s one extremely practical task that all nonprofits should do before #GivingTuesday to make sure the day goes off without a hitch.
Test your donation forms
It may seem silly, but checking your donation form(s) to make sure they are working properly is a very prudent task to do before #GivingTuesday. Why? Remember, #GivingTuesday is a day of online giving, and if your donation form(s) isn’t working, or the post-donation process isn’t quite up-to-snuff, you could have a big problem.
One of the worst things that can happen is for you to execute a great #GivingTuesday campaign, only for potential donors to get stuck during the donation process.
So go secret shopping by donating to your own nonprofit through its website. Here are some things to look for:
- is it easy for website visitors to find your donation page?
- does the donation page load on all browsers and devices (especially mobile)?
- does the donation form also load?
- can you fill out the donation form and complete the process with no problems?
- run an actual credit card to be sure!
- does the confirmation page load correctly?
- are you pleased with the content of the confirmation page?
- is the email confirmation sent out right away?
- are you pleased with the content of the email confirmation?
- is the transaction entered into your donor database automatically?
- is that transaction information correct?
Sure, it’s not the most exciting task in the world, but it can save you a lot of heartache. Don’t let half of #GivingTuesday pass you by before discovering that your online donation forms aren’t working!
Comments