This presentation shows you how you can turn your nonprofit WordPress website into a fundraising tool.

1. How to Turn Your Nonprofit
WordPress Website into a
Fundraising Tool
Andy Stitt
WordCamp Philly
October 5, 2019

2. You can find these slides at:
https://andystitt.com/19wcphilly

3. About Andy
● Worked in the nonprofit world for 15 years
● Most recently WordPress website manager for the Jewish Federation
of Greater Philadelphia
● Runner of races
● Listener of 90’s hip-hop

4. Agenda
● How to get people to your donation page
● How to receive donations
● What to do after you receive donations

5. How to get people to your
donation page

6. Make it easy for people to find things
● Information architecture = how information is organized on your
website
● Make it easy for people to find out what you do
○ Navigation bar with clearly defined sections
● Make it easy for people to donate
○ Donation button on every page

8. Storytelling
● Telling stories about your impact
● Individuals telling stories of how their lives were changed
● Stories where the donor is the hero
● “Here’s how your gift made a difference”

9. How important is storytelling?
● Stories motivate people to take action
● Actions include:
○ Volunteering
○ Signing up for your mailing list
○ And most importantly: donating!

10. Storytelling with WordPress
● Stories can go on posts and pages
● Stories typically go on your blog
● Turn your blog into a story repository

14. Make your stories compelling
● Write compelling copy
● Use compelling images and videos
● Clear calls to action on all pages, including donate buttons wherever
possible

15. https://www.philabundance.org/the-simple-way-offers-food-and-a-helping-of-hope/

16. Promote your stories to your audience
● Existing donors
● Email list
● Social media following
● Paid social media and search engine ads

17. Fundraising events
● Donor receptions
● Events for donor prospects
● Use an event management plugin to advertise and collect sign-ups

18. Recommended plugin:
The Events Calendar
● https://theeventscalendar.com/
● Free with optional paid upgrades
● Integrates with Eventbrite (paid upgrade)
● Used on over 700,000 websites (as of today)

19. How to receive donations

20. WordPress plugins to collect donations
● Gravity Forms - form plugin
● Formidable Forms - form plugin
● Ninja Forms - form plugin
● GiveWP - form plugin and donor management suite

21. How to evaluate form plugins
● Features
● Ease of use
● Connection to your payment processor
● Connection to your donor database/CRM
● Your budget

22. Payment processors
● PayPal
● Authorize.net
● Stripe
● Many others

23. SSL certificate
● You need one to collect donations on your website
● Your webhost will provide you with options
● Free ones through Let’s Encrypt

24. What to do after you
receive donations

25. Adding/updating donor information
● Direct connection of WordPress to your donor database/CRM
● Exporting data out of WordPress and importing it into your donor
database/CRM
● Using WordPress as your donor database
○ GiveWP allows for this option

26. How to get a donor to give again
● Thank them!
● Use your form plugin or database/CRM to send them an immediate
thank-you email
● Thank them again throughout the year

27. Follow up regularly with donors
● Send emails telling stories of the impact of their dollars
● Tell them how awesome they are because they give
● Ask them to give again!
● Automate this process wherever you can through marketing/email
automation tools

28. Where you can find email automation tools
● Email marketing service such as MailChimp or Constant Contact
● Hosted CRM such as Salesforce or HubSpot
● WordPress CRM such as CiviCRM and Groundhogg
● Donor database such as Blackbaud or Salsa

29. Resources
● NonprofitWP by Mark Root-Wiley
● The Give Blog

30. Stay in touch
● Twitter: @andystitt829
● LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewstitt
● Email: andy@andystitt.com
● https://andystitt.com