Camp registration fees and on-site merchandise are essential ways to supplement your camp’s revenue. However, expanding your outreach and juggling the increasing costs of a growing, thriving camp, requires investing in new revenue streams.

Surprisingly enough, one of the most effective and classic camp fundraising ideas is also the most simple! Just ask for donations through your website’s online giving page. 

With an accessible and well-designed online donation page, you’ll be able to earn revenue sustainably all year round for your camp and all its offerings. Implement these donation page tips to maximize your virtual fundraising:

• Invest in reliable donation tools.

• Create a compelling visual design.

• Keep the process short and simple.

• Offer multiple ways to give.

You don’t have to be a coding expert to start making these improvements to your online giving page. With these simple, effective donation page best practices, any camp professional can start bringing in greater funds for their program.

Invest in reliable donation tools.

When you’re handling something as sensitive as your donors’ personal and financial information, it’s critical to use reliable donation software. The right donation tools will not only safely process this data, but can also create a smoother experience for online donors. 

Of course, it’s easy to rely on popular donation platforms like PayPal, but that’s far from your only option. There are countless payment and donation processing tools built to promote a seamless donation experience.

Whether you are looking for a popular online payment system or a PayPal alternative, when investing in a more specialized donation tool, search for these key features: 

• Embeddable forms for your website

• Mobile-friendly

• Integration capabilities

• Customizable fields and design

• PCI compliant

• Data tracking and reporting

These user experience, security, and back-end management capabilities will enable you to create an easy and efficient giving process for your doors and staff, alike.

Create a compelling visual design.

According to 360MatchPro’s fundraising statistics, making your “donate” button stand out on your website can increase donations by over 190%. From the moment an online donor clicks into your website, visual design dramatically impacts whether or not they reach and complete your online donation form. 

Consider these donation page tips from Donately to ensure that online visitors will complete your donation form to pledge their support: 

• Use consistent branding. From logos to color schemes, your online donation page and form should look consistent with the rest of your camp’s branding.

• Incorporate calls to action. Actionable commands like “Donate Now!” and “Get Involved!” are far more compelling than buttons with labels such as “submit payment.”

• Incorporate visual and written storytelling. Infuse powerful images, such as photos of campers and volunteers, as well as compelling information on your program and why visitors should donate.

When incorporating these elements into your website, be sure to make the most of the space “above the fold.” That’s the topmost section of your website that is visible when the page initially loads, and it can make a big impact on users’ decision to scroll down and see the rest of the page. On your donation page and throughout your website, be sure to centralize powerful imagery, calls to action, and other types of compelling content on this prime space “above the fold.”

Keep the process short and simple.

The last thing you want to do is frustrate donors into abandoning your donation page before completing their gift. Donors should be able to quickly make their donations, no matter what device they’re using, and a lengthy or confusing online giving process might have them clicking away.

Think of how you’ve optimized your summer camp website to be more concise and user-friendly. The same applies to your donation form! Implement short, skimmable headers and sections of text, as well as eye-catching calls to action towards your donation form.

Additionally, restrict the number of fields that you have on your form to only collect the necessary donor data, such as: 

• Name 

• Contact information

• Billing information

• Additional giving programs, like recurring gifts

You can save your other questions or information until after donors have completed their payments. 

Capturing these important data points will not only allow donors to quickly, easily complete their payments. It also gives you everything that you need to first begin reaching out to, building relationships with, and retaining your supporters.

Offer multiple ways to give.

Some donors may only want to give once, while others who are invested in your campaign may want to expand their support. Your camp’s donation page should make it easy for donors to do so, with additional programs for giving beyond a simple one-time payment.

Implement the following expanded giving programs to help maximize the amount and kinds of gifts being offered to your camp: 

• Recurring gifts. Offer donors the option to automatically give again on a recurring basis, such as a monthly $15 gift. This could be as simple as putting a “recurring gift” check box at the bottom of your donation form that opens a small drop-down menu.

• Matching gifts. Matching gift programs are a type of corporate philanthropy where businesses match their employees’ gifts to charitable causes, such as nonprofits, schools, and quite possibly your camp program!

• Volunteer grants. Your camp is likely flooded with eager volunteers, working long hours. Make the most of their support with volunteer grants! This is a branch of corporate philanthropy where employers will offer funding to places where their employees volunteer—like your camp!

Additionally, make sure that your chosen donation tool is able to accept various payment types, such as debit, credit, and ACH processing. Some donation platforms will even offer suggested giving amounts based on your donor data, encouraging greater donations as users fill out their billing fields. 

As the internet is an essential part of how your supporters live, work, and play, taking your summer camp fundraising online is the best way to meet them where they are.

With these simple and effective giving page tips, you can transform your online donation page to promote, inspire, and encourage your donors to get involved. Good luck, and happy camping!

Author Jacob Spencer: I strive to make every step of our customer journey as enjoyable as possible. My goal is to turn everyone that trusts Donately into a raving fan! Raising funds can be daunting, but we know that with the right tools, it can and should be easy. 

Throughout my career, I've been able to help sales and success teams tackle new markets, grow and expand. 

Leading with empathy, listening to actually solve problems, and remembering that we are all human are the key elements to growing any business in a meaningful way.

When I'm not working you can find me spending time with my wife, 2 boys and our Border Collie, Abbie. Family>Everything.