Making it easy to give

As I co-wrote in an article for the Case Foundation’s interesting site, never before has convenience been such a valuable commodity.  Stores sell pricey pre-sliced apples so we don’t have to wield a knife.  McDonalds created a stored value card to make fast food faster.  Banks and retailers let us manage our money—and spend our money—with a few clicks of a mouse.  Charities are not exempt from the craving for convenience:  More and more people expect a pre-sliced, fast-pass, click-through process when they want to give. 

Network for Good asked online donors a very important question: “Why do you donate online?” The most common answer—“It’s easier than writing a check.”

I see why.  Personally, I will pay most any premium for things that save me time and effort, because I’m overloaded, and life is short.  (In fact so overloaded in the last week with drama that I had to take a blogging break.  Sorry.)

I took this picture while paying for my groceries at Whole Foods this past weekend.  This makes donating as easy as grabbing a piece of paper and handing it to the clerk.

Once people feel an impulse to give, they don’t want to have to do a lot of work to hand over their money.  How can you make it easy to give in an instant?  Fortunately, the Internet makes speed and simplicity possible, turning an impulse to help into a donation within seconds.  So do check-out lines at grocery stores. 

Is your Donate Now button easy to find?  Are you enabling people to give when they feel the impulse, wherever they are?

Be the Staples of nonprofits - it should be easy.