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TRANSCRIPT
How to Turn Your Nonprofit WordPress Website into a
Fundraising Tool
Andy StittWordCamp PhillyOctober 5, 2019
You can find these slides at:
https://andystitt.com/19wcphilly
About Andy
● Worked in the nonprofit world for 15 years
● Most recently WordPress website manager for the Jewish
Federation of Greater Philadelphia
● Runner of races
● Listener of 90’s hip-hop
Agenda
● How to get people to your donation page
● How to receive donations
● What to do after you receive donations
How to get people to your donation page
Make it easy for people to find things
● Information architecture = how information is organized on your
website
● Make it easy for people to find out what you do○ Navigation bar with clearly defined sections
● Make it easy for people to donate○ Donation button on every page
Storytelling
● Telling stories about your impact
● Individuals telling stories of how their lives were changed
● Stories where the donor is the hero
● “Here’s how your gift made a difference”
How important is storytelling?
● Stories motivate people to take action
● Actions include:○ Volunteering
○ Signing up for your mailing list
○ And most importantly: donating!
Storytelling with WordPress
● Stories can go on posts and pages
● Stories typically go on your blog
● Turn your blog into a story repository
Make your stories compelling
● Write compelling copy
● Use compelling images and videos
● Clear calls to action on all pages, including donate buttons
wherever possible
https://www.philabundance.org/the-simple-way-offers-food-and-a-helping-of-hope/
Promote your stories to your audience
● Existing donors
● Email list
● Social media following
● Paid social media and search engine ads
Fundraising events
● Donor receptions
● Events for donor prospects
● Use an event management plugin to advertise and collect sign-ups
Recommended plugin: The Events Calendar
● https://theeventscalendar.com/
● Free with optional paid upgrades
● Integrates with Eventbrite (paid upgrade)
● Used on over 700,000 websites (as of today)
How to receive donations
WordPress plugins to collect donations
● Gravity Forms - form plugin
● Formidable Forms - form plugin
● Ninja Forms - form plugin
● GiveWP - form plugin and donor management suite
How to evaluate form plugins
● Features
● Ease of use
● Connection to your payment processor
● Connection to your donor database/CRM
● Your budget
Payment processors
● PayPal
● Authorize.net
● Stripe
● Many others
SSL certificate
● You need one to collect donations on your website
● Your webhost will provide you with options
● Free ones through Let’s Encrypt
What to do after you receive donations
Adding/updating donor information
● Direct connection of WordPress to your donor database/CRM
● Exporting data out of WordPress and importing it into your donor
database/CRM
● Using WordPress as your donor database○ GiveWP allows for this option
How to get a donor to give again
● Thank them!
● Use your form plugin or database/CRM to send them an immediate
thank-you email
● Thank them again throughout the year
Follow up regularly with donors
● Send emails telling stories of the impact of their dollars
● Tell them how awesome they are because they give
● Ask them to give again!
● Automate this process wherever you can through marketing/email
automation tools
Where you can find email automation tools
● Email marketing service such as MailChimp or Constant Contact
● Hosted CRM such as Salesforce or HubSpot
● WordPress CRM such as CiviCRM and Groundhogg
● Donor database such as Blackbaud or Salsa
Resources
● NonprofitWP by Mark Root-Wiley
● The Give Blog
Stay in touch
● Twitter: @andystitt829
● LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewstitt
● Email: [email protected]
● https://andystitt.com