There was a time when simply allowing people to make a donation through a synagogue website felt innovative.
That’s no longer the case.
Online giving is now an expected part of a synagogue website. The more useful question isn’t whether people can donate online.
It’s:
How easy is it?
Someone has already decided they want to support your congregation. That’s a wonderful moment.
Your website’s job is to make sure the technology doesn’t get in their way.
Here are some ways to make online giving easier, clearer and more welcoming.
1. Make the Donate Button Easy to Find
Don’t make generosity a scavenger hunt.
A visitor who wants to make a donation shouldn’t have to decide whether the appropriate navigation item is called Support Us, Giving, Ways to Give, Contribute or something else.
Those can all be perfectly good names for a giving section.
But somewhere prominent, use language that’s unmistakable:
Donate
Depending on the website, that might be a button in the header, a prominent navigation item or a recurring call to action throughout the site.
You don’t need to ask for money everywhere.
You just want someone who’s already decided to give to immediately know where to go.
2. Explain What Their Support Makes Possible
A giving page shouldn’t begin and end with a payment form.
Before asking someone to enter a credit card number or bank account, remind them what they’re supporting.
Their gift might help sustain worship and Jewish learning. Support clergy and staff. Provide programming for children, families and adults. Maintain the synagogue’s building. Help make participation possible for people regardless of financial circumstances. Support social action and the broader community.
Be specific enough to feel meaningful without turning the page into an annual report.
People aren’t donating to a website.
They’re supporting a community.
Let the giving page communicate that.
3. Keep the Donation Form as Simple as Possible
Every additional field creates another small amount of friction.
Ask for the information you actually need.
Name? Of course.
Email? Probably.
Billing information? Yes.
But does every donor need to provide a mailing address, phone number, spouse’s name, membership status and a dozen other details before making a $36 gift?
Maybe not.
Sometimes additional information really is necessary, particularly when the donation needs to be connected to a member record or acknowledged in a particular way.
But review your form from the donor’s perspective.
If a field isn’t necessary to complete or properly process the gift, consider whether it needs to be there.
Someone has already decided to give you money.
Make that easy.
4. Make Giving Work Beautifully on a Phone
There’s a good chance someone will reach your donation page from a phone.
Perhaps they clicked a link in the weekly email.
Maybe they saw an appeal on social media.
Perhaps they’re sitting in the synagogue after an event and decide to make a contribution.
The donation experience needs to work comfortably on a small screen.
Forms should be easy to read. Fields should be large enough to use. Buttons should be easy to tap. Donors shouldn’t have to zoom or scroll horizontally.
And test it yourself.
Don’t simply confirm that the form technically loads on your phone.
Actually make a small donation.
Experience the entire process from beginning to end.
5. Offer Choices Without Overwhelming People
Synagogues often have many funds.
General Fund.
Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund.
Cantor’s Discretionary Fund.
Religious School Fund.
Building Fund.
Social Action Fund.
Memorial Fund.
And perhaps twenty more.
Providing choices can be valuable. Someone may specifically want to support an area of synagogue life that’s meaningful to them.
But an enormous dropdown containing dozens of vaguely named funds can also be intimidating.
Think about how those choices are organized and described.
If appropriate, make a general synagogue fund the easy default while still allowing donors to designate their gift elsewhere.
And use names that make sense to someone who doesn’t already understand your synagogue’s internal accounting structure.
6. Make Tribute and Memorial Giving Easy
Tribute gifts are particularly important in synagogue life.
Someone may want to give in honor of a birthday, anniversary, wedding, b’nai mitzvah or other simcha.
Someone else may be making a gift in memory of a loved one.
Your online giving process should make these gifts easy.
Let donors indicate whether the gift is in honor or memory of someone.
Collect the information necessary to notify the appropriate person or family.
And clearly explain what happens next.
Will the synagogue send an acknowledgment? Will the gift appear in a bulletin or other publication? Can the donor include a message?
Don’t make someone complete the donation and then email the synagogue office separately to explain what it was for.
Build the process into the form.
7. Offer Recurring Giving
A donor may be happy to give $18, $36 or $100 every month rather than making one larger annual gift.
Make recurring giving an option when your payment system supports it.
It can be particularly effective for ongoing support because it allows someone to establish a giving habit once rather than having to make the same decision repeatedly.
But be clear.
Donors should understand that they’re creating a recurring gift, how often they’ll be charged and how they can make changes later.
Convenience should never come at the expense of clarity.
8. Consider ACH for Larger Gifts and Payments
Credit cards are convenient, familiar and important.
But they aren’t necessarily the only option worth offering.
For larger gifts, membership commitments, tuition and other substantial payments, an electronic bank or ACH option may be useful.
Depending on the system and fee structure, bank payments can potentially cost the synagogue less to process than percentage-based credit card transactions.
Some donors may also simply prefer paying directly from a bank account.
You don’t necessarily need to steer everyone toward one payment method.
Giving people an appropriate choice can be enough.
9. Don’t Make People Create an Account Unless They Need One
For current synagogue members, logging into a member account before donating may have advantages.
The gift may automatically connect to their household record. Their information may already be filled in. They may be able to view their giving history.
That’s useful.
But what about everyone else?
A grandparent.
A wedding guest.
A former member.
Someone attending a community program.
A person making a memorial donation.
If they have to create an account, verify an email address and log in before they can give you $36, you’ve created a barrier that probably doesn’t need to exist.
Whenever possible, allow guest donations.
Members can still have the option to log in when doing so makes the process easier for them.
10. Make the Transition to Another System Feel Natural
Many synagogue websites don’t actually process donations themselves.
A WordPress website may send donors to ShulCloud or another synagogue-management platform to complete the transaction.
There’s nothing wrong with that.
The important thing is to make the transition understandable.
Someone shouldn’t click Donate on a polished synagogue website and suddenly wonder whether they’ve been sent to the wrong place.
Use consistent language. Make it clear what they’re doing. When possible, carry visual elements or branding through the experience.
The underlying technology may change.
The donor shouldn’t have to think about it.
11. Give Donors a Clear Confirmation
What happens after someone clicks the final button?
Don’t leave them wondering.
Provide a clear confirmation that the donation was successfully received.
Send an email receipt when appropriate.
And consider using the confirmation page for something more than:
Thank you. Your transaction has been processed.
This is a human moment.
Someone just chose to support your community.
Thank them like a human being.
You might briefly reinforce what their generosity helps make possible or simply express genuine appreciation for their support.
The transaction may be automated.
The gratitude shouldn’t feel that way.
12. Don’t Forget About Accessibility
Giving should be available to everyone.
Use clear labels on form fields rather than relying only on placeholder text. Make sure the form can be navigated by keyboard. Maintain sufficient contrast. Provide meaningful error messages when something hasn’t been completed correctly.
And avoid overly complicated forms that become difficult to navigate with assistive technology.
Accessibility isn’t an extra feature on a donation form.
It’s part of making giving easy.
Try Making a Donation Yourself
One of the simplest ways to improve online giving is to experience it yourself.
Pretend you know nothing about the synagogue.
Start on the homepage.
Find the Donate button.
Choose a fund.
Make a tribute gift.
Try it from your phone.
See what happens if you don’t have a member account.
Pay attention to every moment when you hesitate.
Where do I click?
What does this fund mean?
Do I really need to fill this out?
Did my donation go through?
Every one of those moments is an opportunity to make the experience better.
Don’t Get in the Way of Generosity
By the time someone reaches your donation page, you’ve already accomplished the hardest part.
They’ve decided they want to give.
Your website doesn’t need to convince them all over again.
It needs to make the next step easy.
A clear path to the donation form.
A simple experience.
Appropriate choices.
An easy way to make tribute and recurring gifts.
A payment process that works on a phone.
And a warm acknowledgment when they’re finished.
Online giving isn’t remarkable anymore.
Making it effortless is what matters.