With the economy struggling for the last number of years, one thing is certain; traffic going to nonprofit websites is up across the board. If the economic laws of supply and demand were worth their salt one would clearly have seen a huge amount of "supply" provided to meet the ever increasing demand for services, but alas, since there's "no money" in it, supply has actually languished in the face of ever increasing demand. Not because people no longer care, but because demand has simply far outstripped supply.
Charitable contributions are down
Recent publications by organizations are indicating that while demand for charitable services are at or near record historical levels, charitable contributions in general are down approximately 10-11%. Less money coming in to support nonprofit charities at the same time that the need for them is going through the roof. This is at best a difficult social dilemma. At its worst, it is a social nightmare. Many nonprofit websites are feeling the pressure of more and more visitors clamoring for assistance at a time when they are having to cut services to the bone. Hardly the time to think about doing an upgrade on your website, right? Wrong! Now is exactly the time to consider a refresh or an upgrade.
Your website is often the first line of contact
It is often said that, "Necessity is the Mother of Invention!" and today is no different than the day that this phrase was coined. With nonprofit websites regularly being the first line of contact for assistance in today's internet connected world, what better way is there for a charity to be able to provide much needed assistance to their clients than by making sure that their website is easy to navigate, helpful , and populated with current and accurate service information? Already disturb, those in need do not need to be further frustrated with outdated resources that no longer exist or contact numbers that no longer lead to a person that can assist.
Every donor dollar is critical
Switching from looking at the impact that outdated nonprofit websites can have on the client in need to look at the negative impact that a poorly constructed website can have obtaining contributions from donors, one is definitely going to want to make sure that an individual's ability to make a contribution is as easy as possible. Nonprofit websites should have as part of their primary landing page an obvious and fast link to their donor collection page. When at the donor collection page, the prospective donor should be offered a wide variety of options for making their contribution including, but not limited to, the following:
• All major forms of credit and debit cards
• The ability to transfer funds from cash management accounts such as PayPal
• A clear mailing address and instructions on how to make a contribution by check
During these critical economic times, a nonprofit can not allow a major lifeline like their website to become antiquated and less effective than it could be otherwise.