[Originally posted on advocace.com on June 27, 2018 and repurposed for dickerson-bakker.com.]
I’m a bargain shopper (I think it’s a genetic thing). And I love to find a deal. There’s nothing quite as wonderful as the word “free”. Except when it comes to the “free” donate button that Google Search Donations is offering for non-profits. This is why Google’s free “Donate” button is a bad idea:
While at first blush, Google’s offer might be appealing, digging a little deeper might just change your mind.
In short, here’s the often-overlooked concerns on the free donate button Google offers. For donors, it’s a simple few clicks and poof they’ve donated to a cause they want to support.
In actuality, they’ve made a donation to a donor advised fund (Network for Good). Yes, you will get the money donated to your organization (through a check from Network for Good), but, you will not get any information about the donor.
This means you cannot send a receipt to the donor, and you cannot send them a thank you for supporting your cause. This also means you cannot report on the good their gift did or ask for additional gifts from this donor. You have no information on this donor at all!
The donor will get a receipt from Network for Good, but they may not put 2 + 2 together and realize that it’s a receipt for their gift to your organization. And what good is a receipt if there is no heartfelt thank you to accompany it?
I have much respect The Agitator newsletter. They were the first (to my knowledge) to report on the downside of using the Google Search Donations donate button. You can check out the post from Nick Ellinger here >>
Let’s talk about why it’s so important to do personal receipts and thank-you(s) for donors. Just contact us to start the conversation >>
