Before the Year-End Fundraising Appeal, Test Your Donation Page

Start with the Email, on Your Phone

Try this. Send yourself a test of the appeal and open it on your phone. Tap the donation link and follow it all the way through. Go slowly. Put yourself in the donor’s shoes. Does it take you directly to the right donation page, or do you land on the homepage and have to find your own way? Is the text readable without zooming? Can you select an amount and complete the fields comfortably? Does a pop-up cover the button you need?

Pay attention to what happens when you start typing. The form might look fine until the phone’s keyboard opens and hides an instruction or error message. You should check whether the fields have clear labels and whether you can easily correct a mistake without starting over. 

Go ahead and try the page on a desktop computer as well, including moving through the form using the keyboard’s Tab key. You should be able to see which field or button you’ve reached and understand what to do next. This won’t replace an accessibility review, but it can expose obstacles worth investigating.

Seek the advice of others. Ask someone who didn’t build the page to try it, too. Give staff or even friends the email without explaining the process, and watch where they hesitate. If you find yourself saying, “Oh, you have to click that first,” you’ve probably found something to improve. Don’t worry, there’s time to fix it. 

Make Sure the Page Matches the Fundraising Appeal

Suppose your email asks donors to help your food pantry purchase groceries for December. And then the link takes them to a generic giving page that says, “Support our work.” Not only is that boring and not really motivating, but it gives them work to do. By acting there, are they supporting the grocery purchase or something else? 

They can still donate. But you’ve made them connect the dots. And friction or confusion can cost you donations.

Be sure to carry the appeal’s message onto the donation page. A short headline and a sentence explaining what the gift supports may be enough. Someone who clicked because of a particular need should be able to recognize that need when the page opens. Be precise about how the money will be used. If donations support the organization’s overall work rather than a restricted project, then make that clear. If you describe what a particular dollar amount can provide, make sure the example reflects actual costs and doesn’t promise something your organization cannot deliver.

Check the smaller details as well. Last year’s campaign name, an expired matching offer, or an old fundraising goal can make a donor pause at exactly the wrong moment. Any matching opportunity should explain the relevant deadline, limit and conditions. And, if the donation form opens on another provider’s website, check that the transition makes sense. Your organization’s name and recognizable branding can help reassure visitors that they’ve arrived in the right place.

Look Closely at What You’re Asking For

Donation forms you commonly use can accumulate questions over time. Name, payment information, mailing address, phone number, employer, connection to the organization. Each department may have a good reason for wanting one more piece of information. The donor sees the whole list. Are all these forms necessary, or might they delay the transaction or even end it? 

Review which fields are required and why. Check with your fundraising team and payment provider before removing required fields, since some may serve payment processing, fraud prevention, or acknowledgment needs. For other questions, consider whether the information could wait. Your team may want to learn how a donor heard about you; that doesn’t necessarily need to stand between the donor and a completed donation. There’s time to get to know a donor after they’ve made their financial commitment. After all, now they’re invested and will probably willingly give more information about themselves. 

Make the giving choices clear, too. Donors should easily understand whether they’re making a one-time gift or starting a recurring donation. Any option to cover processing fees should be explained clearly, with the total visible before payment. If you offer suggested amounts, check that donors can easily enter a different amount. Someone who wants to give $25 shouldn’t have to search for that option because your suggested gifts start at $100.

Look at the form’s error messages. If a required field is missed, does the page identify it and explain how to fix it? A vague “Something went wrong” message leaves donors guessing. Having to re-enter information makes the experience more frustrating.

Complete a Donation—and Check What Happens Next

With your fundraising team’s approval, make a small test gift. Check the payment status, confirm that the confirmation page appears, and watch for the acknowledgment email. If you offer several payment methods, arrange to check those options as well. The confirmation page should clearly explain what happened: whether the donation was completed or the payment is still processing. Bank payments such as ACH may take additional time. Donors shouldn’t have to guess whether their submission was received or whether they need to try again.

Read the acknowledgment email as if you were receiving it for the first time. Does it thank the donor, show the correct gift amount and provide a contact for questions? Is the sender recognizable? If the gift is recurring, does the message accurately reflect that choice? If payment is pending, the wording should reflect that status.

Have your team confirm that the donation also appears correctly in the system they use to track gifts. Check the amount, donor details, payment status, and campaign designation. Staff need a reliable record so they can acknowledge the gift and follow up appropriately.

If something fails, record the page, device, and exact error message so whoever maintains the website can investigate. Screenshots can help, provided they don’t expose payment information or other sensitive details.

Take Care of the Fixes Before the Appeal Goes Out

New Target’s website maintenance, design and development services can help your nonprofit quickly investigate donation-page problems, improve mobile usability, and keep campaign content current. For externally hosted donation forms, we can help make improvements where the platform allows and coordinate with your team and provider when an issue requires their involvement.

Your year-end appeal asks people to act on their generosity. Before you send it, make sure your website is ready to help them follow through. A few small changes or fixes can make a real difference in your year-end donation season. Contact us.