Published on Apr 30, 2025 5 min read

Achieve your fundraising goals with Donately

Fundraising can feel exhausting. You’ve probably tried all the classics—Facebook posts, crowdfunding sites, even guilt-tripping your group chat.

But what if there’s a better, cleaner, and more effective way to get those dollars flowing?

Enter Donately, a donation platform designed to help you hit your fundraising goals, not just look good while your campaign languishes at “12% funded.”

If you’re running a campaign and want to make it really work, this is your comprehensive guide. No fluff, no nonsense—just actionable insights on using Donately effectively.

First Things First: Why Use Donately?

Why choose Donately over the many other fundraising tools available?

Here’s the quick pitch:

• Highly customizable donation forms that look clean and professional
• Recurring donation options to cultivate monthly donors
• Seamless integrations with popular tools like Mailchimp, Salesforce, and Zapier
• Embeddable forms and stand-alone pages that can be posted anywhere
• Comprehensive donor tracking and analytics to understand who’s donating and why

Essentially, it combines the best of Squarespace and PayPal to help you raise funds efficiently.

Step 1: Build an Effective Donation Page

If your donation page resembles a poorly designed PowerPoint, expect visitors to leave quickly. Donately makes it simple to create a clean, mobile-friendly donation page that attracts donors. Here’s how to set it up:

Tips for an effective donation page:

• Keep it minimal — avoid clutter. Focus on one clear goal and message.
• Use a big, bold headline — “Help Us Feed 100 Families by July” is more compelling than “2025 Community Outreach Initiative.”
• Tell a story — explain why this campaign matters and who it helps.
• Include an image or short video — visuals should be more than just logos.
• Use preset donation amounts — like $10, $25, $100, etc., to guide donors.
• Add a monthly donation option — recurring donations provide financial stability.

And yes, Donately supports all these features right out of the box.

Step 2: Simplify the Donation Process

No one wants to create an account just to donate or navigate a complicated checkout process. Donately simplifies the user flow, allowing you to embed a form on your website or use a hosted donation page. Ensure it’s:

• Mobile-friendly (Donately’s forms are responsive)
• Fast-loading
• Short and straightforward — only ask for essentials: name, email, amount, and payment method.

Bonus Tip: Enable Apple Pay and Google Pay to make donating as quick as possible and prevent distractions.

Step 3: Promote Your Campaign Effectively

Your donation page is live and looks great. Now it’s time to spread the word. Relying solely on a single Facebook post won’t suffice.

Effective promotion channels:

• Email — Donately integrates with Mailchimp for easy donor tracking and follow-ups.
• Social media — Be consistent. Use a mix of stories, posts, and behind-the-scenes content.
• Your website — Embed the form or add a prominent donate button in your navigation bar.
• QR codes — Place them on flyers, at events, or on product packaging.

Don’t hesitate to ask more than once. People forget—it’s not personal. Follow up with engaging updates.

Example: “We’re halfway to our goal! That’s 50 winter coats for kids already covered. Help us reach the finish line!”

Step 4: Monitor and Adjust Your Campaign

A common mistake is setting up the campaign and then waiting passively. Donately offers real-time donation tracking, donor profiles, and campaign analytics so you can:

• Identify which pages are converting
• Monitor average donation amounts
• Detect when donations slow down
• Segment donors for targeted follow-ups

Leverage this information to:

• A/B test different donation pages (Donately supports multiple campaigns)
• Re-engage one-time donors with special thank-yous or story updates
• Initiate a “final push” when donations dip

Knowledge is power. Use it to strategize effectively.

Step 5: Automate with Zapier

Donately’s integration with Zapier allows you to automate tasks like thank-you emails and spreadsheet tracking. Here’s how to optimize this:

Suggested fundraising automations:

• New donation → Add donor to Google Sheet
• New donation → Send thank-you email via Gmail
• New monthly donor → Slack alert for your team
• New donation → Add to Mailchimp segment

This reduces admin work, allowing you to focus on building relationships with donors.

Step 6: Express Gratitude Sincerely

Donors want to feel appreciated, especially when contributing financially. Donately provides customizable thank-you messages post-donation, but go beyond that.

Best practices for expressing gratitude:

• Follow up with a personalized email (not just a confirmation)
• Explain how their donation made an impact
• Share impact photos or a short video if possible
• Invite them to stay involved through future events, updates, or monthly giving

The more donors feel like part of your mission, the more likely they’ll return and bring friends.

Step 7: Establish Monthly Giving Campaigns

Monthly donors are crucial for sustainable fundraising. Donately simplifies the process of converting one-time givers into recurring contributors.

Here’s how:

• Enable the “Make this a recurring donation” option
• Create campaigns focused on monthly giving (e.g., “Join our $10/month club”)
• Monitor monthly donor retention in your dashboard

Even $5/month adds up, providing financial consistency and long-term involvement for donors.

Advanced Strategies for the Ambitious Fundraiser

If you’re looking to elevate your campaign, consider these advanced features:

• Custom domains to perfectly align your donation page with your brand
• Team fundraising for others to raise money on your behalf (think birthday fundraisers!)
• Text-to-donate options for events or quick contributions
• Custom branding to personalize logos, button colors, and more, avoiding a generic look

If you're a nonprofit, Donately integrates with Salesforce, Hubspot, Google Analytics, and other tools to streamline donor data management.

Conclusion: Streamline Your Fundraising Efforts

Fundraising can feel like a full-time job when you’re trying to hit your targets.

With the right setup—and the support of Donately—you can focus more on building your cause and less on chasing donations.

Create a clean page, simplify the process, automate tasks, tell compelling stories, and keep your donors informed. Donors give because they believe in why you’re doing what you do.

Show them, remind them, and make it effortless for them to contribute.