Donate Now Button series: Stress security with online donations


Soliciting online donations has become a vital part of any nonprofit’s fundraising strategy these days. Incorporating online donations helps cover all your bases on how your supporters can give to your cause. While your website should function as a marketing hub actively promoting your cause, it should also serve as the main terminal for receiving donations. This donation process should be seamless, and rewarding for your supporters.

Before implementing your donate button on your website, there are a few things you should have in order. Over the course of the week, we will highlight important characteristics that every online donation process should have. Today we’ll focus on the ever-present concern of donation security.

Keeping the donation process secure

Your potential donors must feel assured that their contributions are being processed legitimately. Taking individuals off site to fill out questionable forms can come across as unreliable. Including a stamp of security within your donation process will help ease the minds of your donors.

Communicate security

Most donors won’t recognize whether a page is encrypted using SSL (“Secure Socket Layer”) protocol (hint: look for https:// in the URL), but a seal from a trusted authentication service like VeriSign can be a comforting visual prompt. Easing your donors’ minds with a secure donation process within your site will be one less thing turning them away from making a donation.

Looking to add a donate button to your organizations website? Sign up for your own free FirstGiving Payments Donate Button. 

 

Photo Courtesy mikecogh 2011