Donor Portals Create a Personalized Digital Experience

You already know the value of having a well-designed website that leads people to take action. In this time of remote and hybrid work, people would rather save their face-to-face time for their friends and family. 35% of Americans say that “large gatherings, going out, and socializing” are less important since the pandemic (World Economic Forum). When it comes to donors they expect to be able to provide their support in various ways and from the comfort of their own homes (Meredith Gray, TechSoup).

It’s important to have flexible options for donors to engage with your nonprofit. A donation button is the baseline necessary tool for a website. In this highly digital age, donors are looking for more. They want a customized digital experience. Creating a portal on your website to specifically serve up the information your donors want is a great way to answer that call.

What is a portal?

A portal is a section of your website that is dedicated to a segment of your constituents, such as donors. You may already have a login area where you accept donations. You probably also have a blog and you may even have a way for donors to see their giving history. How many places do they have to go in order to get all that information? How many clicks? Now, imagine they could access all of that information in one centralized location and you’d be able to customize content to their level of giving. You could even have a search field using a free open source plugin to help them find more content.

A donor portal helps you build deeper relationships with your donors and makes it easy to click to participate. It demonstrates you value their time and are committed to supporting them in whatever way you can. Your organization then becomes a credible and reliable source of information. This can lead to increased trust, loyalty, and engagement with your organization. They’ll be more likely to feel connected and more inclined to continue supporting it (donor retention!).

Increase Efficiency

Incorporating a donor portal into your nonprofit website can also help to increase the efficiency of your organization. By having everything donors want to see in one place, you can reduce the amount of time that staff and volunteers spend answering questions and providing resources. This can free up more time for them to focus on the mission of your organization.

Connect Everything Together

You can even go beyond donors to include a volunteer portal, resource portal, program portal etc… You would then have a hub connecting different spokes on a wheel. One login and your constituents can choose what they want access to, because it’s all together in one place.

Portals Are Essential

Overall, a portal can serve as a valuable tool for any nonprofit organization. If you’re looking to build or update your website, consider incorporating a portal as an essential component. Discover ideas for making your portal helpful for engaging with donors and constituents so your organization can make a bigger difference through your mission.

Send a support email or contact us to think through what would work for your organization.

PS – It’s important to note that the success of a portal also depends on how well it’s been designed and how well it’s being maintained and updated. A portal that’s hard to use, outdated or not providing the right information is less likely to drive engagement. If this is the case for your organization, consider updating your existing portal.