Making a Charity Website Work

Written by Mat Durham

Whereas a company will focus on selling a product or service, charities may have a wide range of goals. Whether seeking volunteers, donations or corporate sponsorships, marketing methods will vary considerably. However, the basic principle will remain the same - to sell something, you must identify a problem and solve it.

This article focuses on charities who need to gain financial donations from the public. Here are five simple marketing tactics - with real-world examples - you can use to promote your charity online.

1 - What do you do?

Tell your visitors, in one sentence, exactly what the problem is and how you solve it. Tommy's makes this the main feature of their home page, and uses photographs to positively reinforce the difference they're making.

Tommy's Baby Charity UK - Mission Statement

2 - Keep it real, baby!

Now explain to your visitors why you need their help. What do you need from them, and what will it achieve?

Be specific. If you're asking for donations, tell your visitors exactly what their money will go towards. If at all possible, use tangible examples. The World Vision UK website takes this concept to its logical conclusion by giving visitors the chance to donate money to a specific child.

World Vision UK - Tangible Examples of donation usage

If you can't afford to be quite as specific, try putting examples into context. The British Red Cross website shows what a donation could achieve.

British Red Cross - Tangible Examples of donation usage

3 - Case studies

The use of case studies can reinforce the 'keep it real' concept. It enables potential supporters to see the end result of their donation.

With the vast majority of UK Internet users now using broadband, Internet video is a real possibility. Video case studies can take this idea one step further, by connecting supporters to the people they're helping in a way that images and text cannot.

In the following example, Concern Worldwide has used a video to showcase several case studies.

Concern Worldwide - Example of case studies

Mencap have taken a different approach, by including a video case study on each page.

Mencap - Example of case study video

4 - The donate button

The donate button is usually the most important part of the jigsaw. It goes without saying that it should be easy to find, and displayed prominently on key pages.

Children in Need have a main navigation button specifically for donations.

Children in Need - Donate Button

5 - Keep in touch

It is much easier to earn a repeat donation from an existing supporter, than to find and convert somebody new.

Use email newsletters to keep in touch with your supporters. They will appreciate being 'in the loop', but try to provide value above and beyond the obvious. For example, Friends of the Earth provide 'tips for a greener lifestyle'.

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