Almost half of users (47 per cent) who start an online donation fail to complete it, according to a new report which urges the sector to adopt a more personal approach to online donations.

The report, Charities fail to make an impact online, outlines how charities can improve the user experience and increase online donations.

The study was conducted by user experience company, Nomensa, and compared the online donation processes of Cancer Research UK, Macmillan Cancer Support and Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Nomensa managing director, Simon Norris, told civilsociety.co.uk that: “Given the economic climate and the cuts in funding to charities we wanted to give them something that could help.”

He added that, “understanding the psychology of the donor is important”, and that the report, “brings things that charities know in their day-to-day dealings and brings it into the digital world”.

The findings of the report are supported by Bertie Bosrédon, assistant director of services (information and multimedia) at Breast Cancer Care, and in the foreword to report he wrote: “Most charities are taking donations through their website, but the journey is neither engaging, nor inspirational; the experience still feels too similar to buying travel insurance.”

He advised charities to embrace social media, make sure their website is optimised for the mobile web, and move away from calls to donate – instead ask people to invest in specific projects.

Key steps

The report outlines four key steps to online donations and what to remember at each stage to reduce the chances of a potential donor giving up:

• Engage – Promote outcomes and convey a sense of urgency to persuade people to start the donation process. Displaying Twitter and Facebook supporters engenders trust in the organisation.
• Nudge – Make the next steps are clear, promote regular giving and provide alternative ways to donate. Including trust symbols such as the FRSB logo is important to maintain trust.
• Support – Provide a progress indicator and streamline the process as far as possible. Reassure donors the site is legitimate by branding each page with the charity’s logo and if the donor makes a mistake filling out the form explain why and how to correct it.
• Reward – Always display a ‘thank you’ message when the donation has been completed and reassure the user that the transaction was successful. Encourage further engagement through social networks.

The full report can be downloaded from here.