The Worst Mistake Nonprofits Make on Their Thank You Pages

5 Thank You Page Essentials to Unite Donors with Your Charity

Thank you.

There, that wasn’t so hard, was it?

Thanking people who do things they didn’t have to do that benefit you and your cause is really important. Possibly the single most important thing you can do for them in return. Most nonprofits have some understanding of this, in general.

But there’s one place many of them fall short – the thank you pages on their websites.

You know what’s the biggest mistake made by most nonprofits on their thank you page?

Not having one!

Here’s how that happens:

You create your donation page, your newsletter signup page, or your ticket purchase page, and you’re very excited. You think you’re done.

Then, there’s a box you can check or a field you can fill in somewhere in the backend of your system that says something like “use default URL post-submission”, or something to that effect. What in the world is that?

That is your very badly worded incentive to create a unique thank you page with a URL you can track when people click your buttons.

If you don’t create a unique thank you page, your system will create a default one. And the default one will do nothing to emotionally connect your fledgling donor or supporter to your charity.

In online marketing, they consider the thank you page one of the most important pages in the funnel. This is where you cement and validate the decision your customer just made to buy something. It’s also the best place to offer upsells.

So how does all that translate to nonprofit thank you pages?

Here are five goals every nonprofit thank you page should achieve.

The 5 Essentials for Nonprofit Thank You Pages

1. Thank Them!

Seems obvious, but don’t forget. You can just say ‘thank you,’ which makes sense for donations. For other actions you might try something different.

For a newsletter signup thank you page, something a little more action oriented or self-validating like “Congratulations,” “Well done,” or “Awesome! You’re in!” works well. You could also use a welcome message approach, especially if your newsletter has a name associated with it. As in, “Welcome to the world-changers.”

For a special event selling tickets, like a fundraising event, you can stick with ‘thank you’ too, but if you can come up with a more original but still clear way to appreciate them and also get them excited to show up, go for it.

2. Tell Them They’re Awesome

This is where default thank you pages fail every time. This is where you personalize it to your mission and the impact their action will have.

Write just a couple sentences telling them what a difference they’ve made by taking this simple step. Make them feel good about what they’ve done.

When someone spends money, there’s always a voice in their head asking, “Should I have just done that?” Always. The thank you page is where you give them the answer – “Yes! And maybe I should do it again!” That’s how you want them to feel.

Especially for first-time donors, this is when you begin the process of turning them into a repeat donor. It’s a small step. But if you miss it, you are now one step behind.

Failing to reinforce their decision leaves your donor feeling nothing. “I just gave money. What’s next.” But making them feel good about it leaves them feeling positive about their choice AND about your nonprofit.

And since you’ll be sending them emails now that they’re on your list (right?), they’ll be more favorably inclined to open them.

3. Tell Them What to Do – the ‘Double Super’ Thank You Page

If there’s an action they need to take, such as clicking a button to download a free eBook, or confirming their subscription via email, make this super clear and super easy. Double super.

I’ve been on thank you pages with all kinds of silly graphics and text, and buried in tiny 11-point font sits the link I’m looking for. I’ve been on others where I have no idea what to do next, what to expect next, or where to go next.

Clarity communicates professionalism and credibility.

Ease serves, and you should always be looking for ways to serve your donors and supporters.

Whatever they MUST know or do, make it super clear and super easy on your thank you page.

4. Tell Them Where to Go Next

Don’t leave them hanging.

If they just donated, maybe they want to donate again. Sound funny? It’s not – especially if you have a variety of campaigns and initiatives. Introduce them to one. You could also tell them about other ways to give, such as recurring donations, a donor-advised fund, as a P2P fundraiser, or by buying a keepsake connected to your mission.

You could also tell them about an upcoming event and offer a special one-time only discount if they act now. Hey, it works in business. Why wouldn’t it work here too?

Other options for next steps include:

• Share what you just did on social media

(“I just signed up for the newsletter,” “I just gave to this charity”). Why do this? Some people like social validation for when they do something good. Give them the chance to do so. Their share has referral power.

• Read this article

Give them something to go read on your site that’s related to what they just did. Simple, free, and guaranteed not to bother anyone if that worries you.

• Vote in our poll

Give them something to participate in that’s fun and interactive.

5. Tell Them Visually with Photo or Video

If you can put a thank you video on your page, do it. If a photo is what you have, use that. Any kind of visual media that connects your supporter to the impact they’ve just made is worth doing whatever it takes to make happen.

Nonprofit Thank You Page Example: ASPCA

Here’s a screenshot of the thank you page for ASPCA that appeared after I made a small donation.

Let’s see how this nonprofit did on the five thank you page essentials.

1. They said ‘thank you,’ in big large impossible to miss text.
2. They reinforced my decision by telling me what I did and the impact it will have. And they did it with a letter from the president himself. My action is “critical” to helping “protect vulnerable and needy animals.” I am helping save lives. And then he thanks me again.
3. There is no action I must take in this case. But they have made it super clear which action they want me to take, with an orange text link telling me to find out if my company offers matching gifts. This is brilliant because it doesn’t cost me anything. My company pays this. So this also fulfills essential #4, but they’ve made it very clear and easy for me, because there’s no other clutter mucking up the page.
4. They give several options for what I could do next, including social sharing, two special donation options at the bottom, and an offer to become a P2P fundraiser.
5. Picture? Sure, it’s easy with animals. But also easy to overlook if you’re not careful. They included a great picture of a happy dog. The underlying message: This dog is happy because I just gave.

Pretty simple, but very powerful.

The extreme opposite is an automated computer-generated piece of gobbledygook with your donation amount buried somewhere and a barely visible line saying “thank you for your donation.”

Please don’t do that.

Your donors deserve better. And so does the mission your nonprofit is working toward.

How and When to Thank Donors

Read the Guide to Donor Gratitude 

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