Caroline Griffin
We know that 50–70% of donors abandon donation pages before completing a gift. That means the majority of people who arrive ready to give… don’t. I often see donation pages with conversion rates at 5% or lower—meaning abandonment rates can climb much higher. Eek!
Some drop-off is normal and unavoidable, but high-performing donation pages follow a handful of consistent rules.
To show what greatness looks like in practice, I asked iDonate to gather a handful of their clients’ high-performing donation pages:
Here’s what these donation pages are doing right:
1. They Lead with a Clear Headline
One of the first things I noticed across these pages is how visually prominent the headline is.
One builds curiosity and conveys a shared vision in just three words: Museum of the Bible’s “Invite All People.”
Another thanks people in advance for donating: The Potter’s House with “Thank you for building with us.”
Your donation page headline is where you move the reader from considering a gift to seeing themselves as someone who has already said yes. So when you write or revise it, think about what will speak to their hearts and get them nodding, thinking to themselves, “yes, I agree!” or “yes, that’s me.”
2. The Donation Forms Feel Simple, Clear, and Easy to Complete
Another clear pattern among these donation page examples: the forms feel easy.
They aren’t all short in terms of fields, but they’re visually well-organized, with some fields marked optional to reduce friction.
Across the board, I’m seeing:
- Forms that don’t require a lot of scrolling
- Clean layouts with clear hierarchy
- Strategic use of color to guide attention
These small visual cues reduce cognitive load. The donor doesn’t have to figure out what’s happening—they can see it instantly.
This is the goal! Because every moment of hesitation is a moment where a donor might drop off.
3. Monthly Giving Is a Clear Option
All four pages have a monthly giving option. You’d be amazed that this is still far from universal.
I love how the Connie Maxwell pages have a clear toggle right at the top of the form, with a bold contrasting color used to clearly highlight the default selection. And GRIP uses partnership language to frame monthly giving as a valuable relationship.
4. Suggested Gift Amounts Help Donors Get Started
All four pages have something else in common: suggested donation amounts.
This might seem basic, but it’s incredibly important.
Without guidance, donors have to answer hard questions:
“How much should I give?” and “How much do other people donate?”
With guidance, the question becomes:
“Which of these feels right for me?”
That’s a much easier decision to make.
And most of these pages are offering a big range, from a very entry-level amount up to $1,000+, so there’s something for everyone.
5. Anticipating Hesitation & Providing More Info
Not every person is 100% convinced when they hit the donation page. Most are not.
The best pages plan for this.
What I’m seeing across several of these examples is additional content below the donation form that helps reinforce the decision:
- Connie Maxwell includes messaging about impact and even shares a story
- The Potter’s House provides additional ways to give
Because if a donor scrolls, it means they’re still interested, but not fully convinced yet. Instead of losing them, these pages meet the moment with:
- More credibility
- More clarity
- More reassurance
So if your current donation page has a lot of content above the form, bump it down below. And if it has no supporting content, you should add a few “reinforcements.”
Tips for Nonprofits to Reach the Next Level
There’s always room for improvement—and A/B testing! Here are a few changes organizations can test to potentially get their conversion rates even higher:
- Set “Monthly” as the default option and add a line of text or small graphic to call out why monthly giving matters for the organization. GRIP is already doing this, and it’s crystal clear with the “Give $50 Monthly” button text.
- Arrange suggested giving amounts so the highest option is listed first. This is a psychology trick called “anchoring” that can motivate bigger gifts.
- Add a testimonial directly below the donation form. Sometimes, a moving quote from a recipient or fellow donor is the missing piece that gets someone across the finish line. Just like when you’re so close to buying a product but still undecided, then you read that one review that convinces you it’s the right move.
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Real-life examples are so much easier to work from than a list of tips! Hopefully, one of them can be a model for you to make a few tweaks on your own pages.
Happy spring cleaning and optimizing!