Now that offering donors the chance to make online donations is standard practice, it is easy to become complacent once a mechanism is in place.

During the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ annual international conference, Gretchen Gordon of KUAC TV & FM in Fairbanks, Alaska, and Chris Kasavich of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center said that online giving is important for fundraising, but not just because it offers the opportunity to donate with a mouse click.

They said that people visit a nonprofit’s Web site to learn more about its mission and to support that mission. Therefore, it is extremely important to ask how easy it is for a visitor to learn about the organization, ask a question and make a gift.

In addition:

• 16 percent of online readers read word by word;
• Many online visitors don’t scroll … at all;
• The percentage of words the average user that they have time to read: 20 percent;
• Support a clear call to action with a stream of fresh, vibrant content that leverages the strength of the medium;
• Simplify: pages, emails, forms; Encourage involvement and sharing;
• The “social” in media is its strength. And the worst thing to do is not have a Facebook page;
• “Earn the right to ask” by providing (or sharing) great content regularly; and,
• Don’t make an email stand on its own.