Several reasons why sharing donor stories is so powerful:
Donors feel acknowledged and appreciated (if they want to be!).
By reading about real people in their own words, potential donors can see themselves among your community.
Funders can appreciate the broad base of individual funding you receive, showing that you have a strong impact and reliable source of income that will last beyond any single grant.
Interviews, videos, short quotes — anything that shares their stories.
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As an alternative to displaying lots of numbers to show impact or tell a story, try this:
A single statistic put into an unexpected, surprising, or interesting context.
(Like the weight of sugar that fits into a bathtub.)
When done right, this strategy can be more attention-grabbing than a long list of numbers. It can also help reinforce your messaging if you make the right comparison.
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The change? An embedded donation form directly on the homepage.
Through A/B testing, GiveDirectly found that this change, along with a refreshed visual design, made visitors 34% more likely to donate. (Specifically, 20% of the increase was driven by the donation form, and 14% by the new design.)
The takeaway isn’t necessarily to embed your donation form — it’s to always be experimenting.
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Missing names, no landmarks, nothing to orient you — this map is a clever way of sharing the challenges of Alzheimer’s with those who haven’t lived it.
The result of the campaign: a 19% increase in calls and a 5% increase in donations.
The question for your org: How can you make your focus area more real to people? Is there a clever way to open peoples’ eyes to what you’re doing and why it’s needed?
Credit: FCB
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They stay too vague, too much on the surface level.
The best testimonials always highlight something deeper about your org.
In this example — it’s not just about soccer; it’s about life skills. It’s not just “I love this program”; it’s “here’s why.” It’s not just what this org does (soccer); it’s what they do that you might not expect (stress resilience).
Other aspects of an impactful testimonial:
Authentic wording that sounds like your community speaks
Diversity of quoted people (age, gender, background, language family, experience, etc.)
Short, snappy sentences that are quick to read
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Subtle changes in text sizing, weight, and style will instantly change how the message is read — focusing your attention on the most important words (in order of importance!) without overwhelming the eye.
How to implement:
Use the largest text for the main headline
Add an above-the-headline “subheader” of text (that’s helpful but optional in terms of understanding the primary headline
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