Does the Use of Credit and Debit Card Software on the Library Homepage
Increase Financial Contributions Made to the Library?
Most literature that is written on the topic of online charitable donations deals with the
nonprofit community in general. Literature written specifically about online charitable
donations given to the local public library is scarce. Some of those nonprofit
organizations are large, international organizations and some are simply hometown
groups. But there are enough similarities between one nonprofit and another (providing
the size of the organizations are comparable) to learn from and apply the literature that
does exist to the local public library. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether
installing credit and debit card processing software on the public library’s home webpage
is creating a positive impact on monetary donations received by Pennsylvania’s public
libraries.
A review of the literature clearly emphasized that the design of the nonprofit
organization’s webpage has everything to do with the amount of funds that will be
subsequently donated to that nonprofit organization. Donors want to know the mission,
the goals, the objectives, and the programs that will be funded with their gifts and all that
information should be easily found on the home page. Aside from knowing how your
nonprofit accomplishes those ideals, donors require an ease of usability of the “Donate
Now” button. In fact, one author cautions that if the above words of wisdom aren’t
followed the website will actually become a “donation killer”. 1 Articles, pictures, video,
blogs, news and user generated content on the Web site will give the donor just the
information he or she has been looking for as well as answer most questions. Donors
want clear communication and a few pulls to the heartstrings.2 The key objective for any
1
Ilona Bray, Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits: Real-World Strategies That Work (Berkeley, CA:
NOLO, 2010).
2
James M. Greenfield, Ted Hart, and Michael Johnston, Nonprofit Internet Strategies: Best Practices for
Marketing, Communications, and Fundraising Success (Hoboken NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2005)
online nonprofit fundraising campaign is to motivate patrons to respond by making a
donation.
There’s much to be learned from studying a successful campaign; for example, the
case of Syracuse University Library, an academic library in New York. In 2003, the
library desired to be less dependent on university funding for its growing needs and its
vision for transformation, and knew it would be necessary to create and launch a
development program of its own from scratch. An online fundraising campaign was put
into action with the following techniques used to maximize results:
►Urgent, timely calls to action were announced online with clear deadlines and
purposes.
► Donors were offered a premium such as a certificate or bumper sticker in exchange for
an online gift.
► Micro campaigns were employed, rather than a single, broad online request for
donations.
► Donors were given many ways to respond to match their variety of preferences.
Over a twelve month period, nearly $750,000 in new gift commitments from a large and
diverse pool of donors, big and small, had been secured.3
Throughout the literature, there exist many suggestions for ways the nonprofit can
create an engaging Web site. Many Web site owners are working to create "sticky
Nicole Wallace. “Charities make aggressive efforts to lure generous donors online” Chronicle of
Philanthropy, 23, (2008): 26-32. Retrieved from:
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid=104&sid=7ab7bd26-72af-4783-822154c925bfd35f%40sessionmgr115&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN
=32601922
3
applications”.4 A “sticky application” is accomplished by giving visitors a reason to
return to a site multiple times: a contest, a drawing, a mystery puzzle, information of the
day, and so on. The more often a site is visited, the more likely visitors will take action
and potentially donate.
Defenders of Wildlife is one nonprofit group that has stepped up its efforts to draw
in big gifts online. The Washington, DC based nonprofit organization has seen a growing
number of its supporters make their first large donation to the group over the Internet.
Eight months into its 2008 fiscal year, Defenders of Wildlife declared that forty-one
percent of the people who had donated a gift of $1,000 or more for the first time made
that contribution online.5
An Oklahoma charity that aids orphaned Chinese children, an animal-rescue group in
New Jersey, and an organization that fights children's epilepsy are among the top winners
of a pair of online fund-raising contests designed to demonstrate the power of large
numbers of small donations. The competitions, financed by the Case Foundation (created
by Steve Case, founder of AOL, and his wife, Jean), promised $50,000 grand prizes to
nonprofit groups with the greatest number of donors to their cause, not the largest amount
raised. In all, the Case Foundation handed out $750,000 in awards. That contest focused
on bringing offline readers to online giving. Many of the winners were very small grassroots organizations that were able to garner more support than bigger, well-established
Cecilia Hogen, “Philanthropy—not just for rock stars: real people and digital donations.” Searcher, 15(2)
13-23. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=24048809&site=ehost-live&scope=site
4
Wallace, “Charities make aggressive efforts”
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid=104&sid=7ab7bd26-72af-4783-822154c925bfd35f%40sessionmgr115&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN
=32601922
5
groups. Ms. Case, chief executive officer of the Case Foundation, said her organization
was pleased to see that small groups were able to compete. Some of the small
organizations that succeeded say they were able to take advantage of powerful individual
stories, passionate volunteers, and online networks of friends and colleagues to attract
donors.6
To determine how local public libraries across Pennsylvania are faring with online
donations, a request to participate in a survey was sent, via email to all one hundred fifty
nine Pennsylvania public libraries employing a “Donate Now” button on the library
webpage during June of 2010. There were eighty-eight returned responses to the survey.
The survey did not include questions about online payments of fines or fees. Of the
eighty-eight respondents, forty-eight libraries, or fifty-five percent of the total
respondents have received no financial donations via the “Donate Now” button. Forty
respondents, or forty-five percent of the total respondents, have experienced online
donations. One respondent explains, “We installed the button in March of 2010, and
posted progress updates from time to time. We received since that time, a total of two
donations via the website, neither for more than $20. The bulk of our donations continue
to be given by people visiting the library.”
Another library annotated, “We were so thrilled to receive a $50 donation just days
after installing the “Donate Now” button. But that was almost a year ago, and we’ve
received nothing since.” Another library reported that it calls attention to the “Donate
Anne W. Howard, “Online Fund-Raising Contests Reap Big Wins for Small Charities”. Chronicle of
Philanthropy, 20, 12-15. Retrieved from:
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=104&sid=47a9f9f8-ffa3-4c34-ba7c260f362ef7c6%40sessionmgr112&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=
31242434
6
Now” button through all its other communications with the community, such as the
annual fund drive letter and monthly newsletter of events and activities. “We’ve always
had annual appeal information on our home page and will continue to do so.” Six of the
forty libraries who have benefitted from the “Donate Now” button attribute the donations
to their explanation of decreased state funding. “We need our patrons to know that our
state funding is fickle, at best!” one library explains.
Of the eighty-eight responses, sixty-four libraries responded that the “Donate
Now” button had been installed for less than two years. The remaining twenty-four
respondents have had the button for more than two years.
Fifty-six libraries, or sixty-three percent of the respondents, made changes to the
library web page to accompany the “Donate Now” button. Eleven respondents mentioned
creating entirely new pages around the “Donate Now” button, dedicated to explaining to
their prospective donors the need to support the local library and how the donated funds
will be used. One library, who has received online donations explained, “We installed the
button at the same time that we got a new logo, so we wanted to redesign the whole site.
We participated in a webinar about web design offered free from Webjunction before we
started and used many of their great ideas!” Another library, also one who has received
online donations says, “We added an entire page to accompany the “Donate Now” button
to completely explain how the local public library is funded.”
Of the forty-eight respondents who have received no online donations via the
“Donate Now” button, only two libraries made any changes to the web page to
accompany the button. Five libraries of those forty-eight report that changes are intended
for the web page in the near future, in part to accompany and to highlight the button. One
library explained, “We did not need to make any changes, nor do we intend to. It was
simply added to the page.”
The library webpage can and should be the ideal location for patron interaction with
the library and its cause. Proper communication can bring a donor closer, not necessarily
to the organization, but to the positive impact of the gift on the lives of others.7 This, of
course, requires trained and creative staff. A third party provider will be an investment,
but may end up costing about the same as the hours staff will spend learning, researching
and developing. The newest generation of philanthropists is growing up online, cell
phones in hand, iPods in their pockets. So the local public library must ask itself, what is
the price of not cultivating online relationships with our patrons?
In conclusion, the data collected and literature reviewed reveals that an engaging Web
site is of key importance in capturing your patrons’ attentions and motivating them to
follow through with a donation to your library. Of course, many important decisions need
to be made before a local public library commits to the idea of a “Donate Now” button on
its Web site. What, if any, are the fees involved? What level of staff interaction is
necessary? Is it worth the amount of time it may require in maintenance?
Further study should be made to determine a conclusive connection between local
public libraries, their Web sites, and the financial contributions those libraries receive
online.
Rebecca Sausner, “Getting to One-Click Giving.” University Business, 8, no. 8, 60-63. Retrieved from:
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=9&hid=104&sid=7ab7bd26-72af-4783-822154c925bfd35f%40sessionmgr115&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN
=17940785#db=a9h&AN=17940785
7
Bibliography
Bray, Ilona. Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits: Real-World Strategies That Work.
Berkeley, CA: NOLO, 2010.
Greenfield, James M., Ted Hart and Michael Johnston. Nonprofit Internet Strategies:
Best Practices for Marketing, Communications, and Fundraising Success. Hoboken, NJ:
John Wiley & Sons, 2005.
Hogan, Cecilia. 2007. "Philanthropy--Not Just for Rock Stars: "Real People" and Digital
Donations." Searcher 15, no. 2: 13-23. Retrieved from:
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=13&hid=104&sid=7ab7bd26-72af-4783822154c925bfd35f%40sessionmgr115&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1za
XRl#db=a9h&AN=24048809#db=a9h&AN=24048809
Howard, Anne W. 2008. "Online Fund-Raising Contests Reap Big Wins for Small
Charities." Chronicle of Philanthropy 20, no. 10: 26. Retrieved from:
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=104&sid=47a9f9f8-ffa3-4c34-ba7c260f362ef7c6%40sessionmgr112&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaX
Rl#db=a9h&AN=31242434
Sausner, Rebecca. 2005. "Getting to One-Click Giving." University Business 8, no. 8: 6063. Retrieved from:
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=9&hid=104&sid=7ab7bd26-72af-4783-822154c925bfd35f%40sessionmgr115&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1za
XRl#db=a9h&AN=17940785#db=a9h&AN=17940785
Wallace, Nicole. (2008). Charities make aggressive efforts to lure generous donors
online. Chronicle of Philanthropy, 23, 26-32. Retrieved from:
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid=104&sid=7ab7bd26-72af-4783-822154c925bfd35f%40sessionmgr115&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1za
XRl#db=a9h&AN=32601922
Appendix 1
The following brief survey has been prepared in an effort to evaluate the effectiveness of
using online donation buttons on the home page of Pennsylvania’s public libraries. Your
participation in this survey should require less than ten minutes of your time. Your
participation may greatly assist in the decision making process of other library staff who
are trying to decide whether online donations are a step they wish to take. As a
respondent, your anonymity is guaranteed. Thank you for your time.
1.) How long has the library had a “Donate” button on the library’s home web
page? Please check one.
Less than 2 years?
More than 2 years?
2.) Has the library experienced an increase in financial gifts as a direct result of the
“Donate” button? Please check one.
Yes
No
3.) Did the library make other changes to the home web page to accompany the
“Donate” button? Please check one.
Yes
No
4.) If the answer to #3 is yes, please briefly explain the changes below.
5.) If the answer to #3 is no, please briefly explain if the library intends to make
changes to it’s home web page for the purpose of accompanying the “Donate”
button?