Data-driven donations: how NSPCC boosted online giving through tech, testing & trust

Lee Bellingham, NSPCC digital product manager and Vicky Reeves, goDonate founder and CEO, share how a new approach to digital fundraising has brought rises in supporter engagement and traffic to the charity’s donation site, as well as more regular gifts with a higher average value.

In an increasingly digital world, giving donors the best possible online experience is an essential part of a fundraiser’s role.

Like many charities, NSPCC is eager to increase supporter engagement, boost traffic to its product and raise more income from regular giving. To ensure supporters receive a seamless, consistent experience when they want to make a donation, the UK children’s charity has placed a greater focus on using data to drive its digital strategy, with a commitment to continuous testing and optimisation.

The result of this sharper focus on online fundraising has been a rise in supporter engagement, a big increase in traffic to the charity’s donation site, and more regular gifts with a higher average value.

So, how has NSPCC achieved positive outcomes – and how can other charities have the same success?

Project to product: a new approach to digital fundraising

Since 2023, NSPCC has moved away from traditional waterfall project management (where project phases are completed one after the other in a predetermined order) and adopted a product-led approach to developing the journeys on goDonate, the platform it uses to handle online donations.

The charity now puts more emphasis on supporter behaviour and how it affects campaign metrics. The main NSPCC website hosts a number of different services while acting as the starting point for the donation funnel on goDonate.

NSPCC’s priorities for its online donor journey are increasing overall regular donations and the amount of income gained from them. Another key area is increasing traffic to its products, thereby boosting supporter engagement and conversions. A third objective is to gain new donors while also increasing engagement with existing supporters to strengthen those relationships.

Understanding the behaviour of supporters in the charity’s digital channels provides a wealth of user-led data from Google Analytics and other sources. With this data to hand, the charity has been able to rapidly devise and run A/B testing of hypotheses.

Testing is never treated as a one-off. NSPCC runs ongoing trials, allowing it to continuously optimise campaigns and the digital journey.

Understanding the importance of continuous optimisation

Getting the donation journey right is the key to greater engagement and conversions. Industry statistics show that only around one in five users who click the ‘donate’ button on a charity website actually make a donation. While that figure is frustratingly low, it also means that even small incremental gains in conversions can make a big difference. For example, if a charity raised £500,000 in one year through its online donation forms, increasing the conversion rate from 21% to just 23% would provide an additional £50,000 in income.

This highlights the importance of optimisation – and there are several tactics that can be used through online donation platforms to improve donor journeys. Each tiny, testing-driven tweak can make a big difference. From optimised form layouts to frictionless payment options and emotionally resonant messaging, the goal is to make the giving experience as intuitive – and inspiring – as possible at every stage. For example, by tapping into known donor motivations with compelling headlines, copy and imagery. This is an impactful way to build emotional engagement, but it’s vital to ensure all campaign messaging and content is consistent across channels.

Ensuring the charity shows up in the same way across the journey builds trust and transparency, which is as crucial when it comes to online donations as it is in e-commerce. Supporters are reassured they’re still interacting with the organisation they want to give money to because the branding is consistent: they’re in the right place.

How testing led to big donation uplifts through NSPCC’s site

To uncover real-world challenges and opportunities, NSPCC conducted usability testing with small supporter samples. One surprising insight gleaned was that when people were prompted to donate after watching a TV advert, most searched for ‘NSPCC’, clicked the first donate button they saw, and didn’t scroll.

They wanted speed, clarity and emotional connection. However, consistency in imagery, such as using the same photo of a child across ads and donation pages, was key to triggering emotional recall.

Two other successful tests by the charity have made a measurable difference:

• Simplified hero banner – Replacing donation prompts on the landing page with a single, clear call-to-action led to an increase in clickthroughs to the goDonate donation platform of just over a fifth.
• Removing a mandatory attribution field – Eliminating the question, “What prompted your donation?”, which was prone to unstructured responses and offered little insight, boosted conversion by 4%.

These successes prompted the charity to innovate further. NSPCC is now experimenting with new features designed to emotionally connect with supporters, including a ‘giving slider’.

Instead of choosing an amount, supporters can now state how many Childline calls they want to fund. The donation value adjusts automatically, linking gift size directly to impact. Early tests show donors give more when they can visualise the effect of their donation.

Meanwhile, after making a one-off gift, supporters are invited on a ‘thank you’ page to convert to a regular gift with a single click.

Online donation optimisation tips for charities to consider

In a digital world crowded with choices, every second and each click counts. NSPCC’s commitment to data-driven testing, user-centred design and innovative giving options reveals how charities can elevate their online fundraising without huge budgets, but with smart decisions.

The results are a case in point:

• 37% rise in average regular gift value
• Significant uplift in income from the direct debit upgrade campaign platform
• Hundreds of new monthly donors added through a post-donation upsell feature, generating additional annual income

The benefits of testing and optimisation, following a data-driven approach to online fundraising, are clear. Regardless of size or existing revenue any charity can also significantly boost donations through their website. Here are six tips for success.

1. Streamline the journey: Keep donation forms short. Ask only essential questions. Reduce clicks.
2. Use emotional and visual cues: Consistency in imagery and copy builds trust and boosts response.
3. Optimise for mobile: Mobile accounts for 60% of donation; ensure your forms work well on smaller screens.
4. Offer modern payment methods: Digital wallets like Apple Pay and PayPal can significantly boost conversions.
5. Personalise where you can: Personalised donation pages, which display the supporter’s name, for instance, are proven to improve conversion by up to 21%. Delivery via email or QR code are particularly impactful.
6. Test, learn, repeat: With usability studies and A/B testing you can refine your hypotheses and prove what works.

Lee Bellingham

About Lee Bellingham

Lee Bellingham is a digital product manager at the NSPCC, where he plays a pivotal role in enhancing the charity’s online fundraising efforts. With extensive experience in digital strategy and user experience, he is dedicated to improving donor engagement and maximising online contributions for the organisation. At the NSPCC, Lee oversees various projects that leverage data-driven insights and innovative tools to optimise the online donation journey. His expertise in A/B testing and user-centric design has been instrumental in implementing successful strategies that foster deeper connections with supporters.

Vicky Reeves

About Vicky Reeves

Vicky Reeves is founder and CEO of goDonate, an online donation platform supporting UK and global charities. With more than 20 years’ expertise in digital fundraising and the technology that drives it, Vicky focuses on helping charities to maximise online donations through smart tech and exceptional UX. She was a trustee of the charity arm of the British Museum for eight years, helping the organisation to maximise its online fundraising and use technology to drive digital donations. She has been a finalist in the Digital Champion category of the Third Sector Awards, and was shortlisted for the Fast Growth Business Awards Female Entrepreneur of the Year.