Is your website trustworthy?
Potential donors and supporters have to make this decision within the blink of an eye when they visit your site. (Faster, actually. More on that here.)
It doesn’t take much for donors to get nervous about donating online, and these simple things could be the difference between a new donor and someone bouncing right back to the Google search that brought them to you.
Make sure the copyright date in your website's footer is THIS YEAR.
This may seem small, but if your site's footer says 2018... does that mean your organization is no longer active? Does that mean your site's security is stuck in 2018?
If it doesn't update automatically (which it can with really simple code), I recommend that you set a reminder in your calendar for January 1 every year to make this update.
For web designers and developers, this should be a really simple fix, so contact your Web person and ask them to sneak into that scary code and make the swap.
Here's an example that returns the current year:
© Copyright <script>document.write(new Date().getFullYear())</script>, Company.
Make sure you have (at least) Basic Site Security.
Verify that your site is secured with SSL with no "mixed content" alerts. A quick tool to check to see what the problem could be is Why No Padlock?
Most web hosts these days have tools for free SSL certificates from Let's Encrypt, so it might not even be an extra annual cost for your site.
Also, verify your site is clean of malware by running a Sucuri check.
If you’re storing any donor information on your website (via online form submission storage, personal accounts at your site, etc.), you MUST have additional website security, including secure passwords and (sorry) 2FA. More about that here.
Provide a Privacy Policy and Terms of Use Policy in the footer of your site.
Your organization's legal team can help to draft these from standardized policies that are available online. You can also get boilerplate templates for free (or under $100, depending on your needs) from various services like Terms Feed.
Earn & Display Charity ratings badges
Add ratings badges from Charity Navigator, Candid (Guidestar), GreatNonprofits, BBB Wise Giving Alliance, ECFA, etc. to your site’s footer and high up on donation pages.
72% of individuals say that the presence of a charity rating badge increases their likelihood of giving. [Great Nonprofits via NP Tech for Good]
The requirements for these differ, and you’ll need to stay on top of the requirements each year, but it’s definitely worth it if it helps to convert a potential donor into an actual donor.
Post your 990/990-EZ.
Make your organization’s most recent IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ available for download from your site (required by some of the ratings organizations above) as a flattened PDF.
Though it’s required by US law that this information be made available upon request, it’s not required that it be posted on your site. That said, people value your transparency even more when they don’t have to ask and then wait around for it.
NOTE: If your organization is a Public Charity, you should remove the schedule B before posting your organization’s 990. Schedule B donor information should not be available for public inspection.
Transparency is worth it!
Remember, donations are often an impulsive behavior, so providing everything you can to build instant trust and confidence in potential donors is in your favor.
Want to read more about this?
Here’s an excellent post with tons more ideas for increasing your organization’s financial transparency from the National Council of Nonprofits!
