8 Benefits of a Charity Website

29 Jan 2016

Charities heavily rely on the generosity of the public to help raise funds by donating money, goods and time. It’s no secret that without these donations the vast majority of charities wouldn’t exist, which is why having a website is crucial for raising awareness, encouraging donations and maintaining relationships with supporters to keep the all-important funds flowing.

As we move further into this digital age, the need for charities to grow their online presence in order to survive is becoming more and more apparent. Having a website is one of the fundamental ways in which a charity can grow their presence, and here are just a few of the reasons why!

Raise Awareness, Promotion and Education

Unfortunately, there are hundreds of charities that struggle to get their message heard. A website is a perfect way to reach out to your target audiences, and let them know what you do and why you do it. Informing your audience about why your charity matters are crucial. A website allows you to educate your audience about what you are trying to achieve.

Encouraging donations and sign ups

Be 100% clear about what your mission is and how you set out to achieve it. Inform your visitors about why you need their donations and how their support will help.

One of the best ways to appeal to your audience and encourage people to donate is by connecting with them on an emotional level. A great way to do this is by telling real-life stories. By using emotive content, images and videos, you can easily inform and educate your audience. Here are 5 tips for encouraging donations on your charity’s website!

Some features that could help encourage donations are:

Promote volunteering and recruit staff

Your website is a useful marketing tool for promoting and recruiting volunteers and staff. Not only can your website be the central location for advertising and promoting vacancies, but it can also be an effective recruitment tool with the possibility of integrating complex recruitment systems and online application forms.

Promoting events and fundraisers

No matter what the nature of your charity, fundraisers are a fun way to drum up support, encourage donations and get your supporters involved. Your website is the perfect place to create a buzz around these events, and encourage more people to attend. With a seamlessly integrated sign-up or a booking form, you can easily multiply the number of attendees. After all, the more the merrier!

Sharing Good News

Blogs are a prime example of how you can share the news with your supporters, showcase the good work that you do, and let the public know how your work has had a positive effect! A good example of a charity blog is the Help For Heroes blog.

Offer help and advice

At the heart of every charity are those in need of help and support. Whether it be victims, patients, children, families or even animals. More often than not, people turn to the web to look for help, guidance and advice. As a charity supporting those people, you have a responsibility to provide them with advice and reassurance. By offering knowledge and expertise, your website can form a support network and community for these people.

Engage and inspire people to make a difference

By making people feel as though they are part of something big, you can inspire them to want to get involved. By assuring the user that their help and support will make a big impact on the charity and reaching the end goal, it will give them a sense of importance and increase the likelihood of engagement.

Maintaining relationships with supporters

Thanking your supporters for their donations is important. Making someone feel appreciated can go a long way and turn a one-off donation into a loyal supporter and ambassador.

Here’s an example charity website that we recently built for the Great North Air Ambulance Service, that offers all of the above!

Want to find out more?

Are you ready to boost your charity’s online presence? Speak to the professionals at Hush. Give us a call on 01325 361 729, or pop in for a coffee and a chat. We’d be more than happy to help! You can check out our portfolio to have a browse through all of the websites we’ve developed over the years, including for the Association of Air Ambulances, another website which encourages charitable donations for worthy causes.