In this Support article, we’ll walk through the Checkout Flow tool and the options nonprofit administrators can use to customize their donation flow on ColoradoGives.org.
What Does the Checkout Flow Do?
The Checkout Flow tool allows your nonprofit to craft the checkout process for donors. Nonprofits on ColoradoGives.org can now customize:
- How many steps are included in the donation process
- What information to collect during donations
- The content of the Thank You page that donors are directed to after completing a donation
- A custom Thank You message to be embedded on tax receipt sent to donors by the ColoradoGives.org Charitable Foundation
- Whether to include any additional questions or custom questions for donors to answer
Accessing Your Checkout Flow
The Checkout tool is housed on the organization dashboard.
Checkout Sections
Checkout is divided between three different sections.
Donation Form
The first section in Checkout is Donation Form. This is where your nonprofit can set up the basic structure of your donation process.
Default Donation Settings
The first tool available on the donation form is your default donation settings. ColoradoGives.org will automatically display "One-time donation" and "Monthly Donation" as options to donors on your donation form, "one-time donation" being the default option.
However if your organization would like to change the default option or remove the recurring option, you can do so through the tool icon on the right hand side:
For any changes or updates you make, make sure to select Save!
Suggested Donations
This tool allows you to customize the suggested amounts displayed when a user clicks on the Donate button, and also allows you to add descriptions of those amounts for your donors to see. Setting custom donation suggestions makes it easier for donors to choose how much to donate by pre-loading options for them, and helps push donors to these levels. (For instance, donors giving at a lower level may bump their donation up to $25 from $10, simply because the option was presented to them.)
ColoradoGives.org will automatically provide four donation levels, however organizations can add additional levels to their donation form. Please note, the donation widget will only show up to four donation levels. You also have a 60 character limit for the amount descriptions.
To edit a donation level, select the pencil icon associated to the tile:
To add a donation level, select the + tile:
Users will always still have the option of entering custom amounts if they do not wish to use a suggested donation amount. (The minimum donation on ColoradoGives.org is $5; there is no upper limit.)
Dedications
Nonprofits have the option of allowing donors to dedicate their donation to someone else. Donors can choose to leave a dedication just below their donation amount selection. This is not a required area so donors can simply skip this area if they do not wish to leave a dedication.
As the organization, you can remove the dedication option by selecting the edit icon to the right of the dedication section. Then click "Remove section."
If you remove the section, you can always re-add the section later by selecting "Add dedication option."
When the dedication section is enabled, the donor will click the "Add a dedication to your donation" box to open the form.
Within the form the donor has a few options.
The first option is to decide the type of dedication by clicking the down arrow to the right of the "Dedication Address" line.
Next, the donor will add the name of the person, people, or group on the "Name of addressee" line.
The donor may choose to have an email sent notifying the addressee of the donation. After selecting "Send an email to the addressee" the donor will need to provide the email address of the addressee and can also add a custom message to be included in the email.
The dedication email looks like this:
When a donor leaves a dedication, a column will be added to your Donation Report indicating their choice to ensure you can properly account for their wishes.
Designations
Nonprofits can also allow donors to designate their donation to a particular purpose, program or fund. Your nonprofit enters in the possible designations, so donors can only choose from the designations you have entered.
Donors will choose whether to leave a designation at the beginning of the checkout process. This is not a required area so donors can simply skip this area if they do not wish to leave a designation.
You can add the choices for donors who wish to designate their donation in this field. When your donor opts to designate their donation, they will be able to choose their designation from a dropdown menu:
To enable designations, select "Add designation section."
Select the pencil icon to add designations.
To add a designation, select "Add another designation." You’re limited to 25 characters per designation. If you would like to make an option the default option shown to donors, check off "Make default designation." Click Save!
When a donor leaves a designation, a column will be added to your Donation Report indicating their choice to ensure you can properly account for their wishes.
Custom Questions
Nonprofits on ColoradoGives.org have the ability to collect additional information from donors beyond their name, email address, and mailing address. You can opt into collecting additional information such as phone number, company, etc. to help your nonprofit collect demographic information about your donors as well as contact information that will help you follow up more effectively.
Organizations will have the ability to add two custom question. Organizations subscribed to the Advanced Plan have the ability to add up to ten custom questions.
To add a custom question, select "Add a section."
Once you enter your question, you will be able to choose the answer type. There are many options available for you to choose from:
Once you have entered your answer type, at the bottom "Dashboard reference label" refers to the header text that appears on your downloadable donations report. Instead of fitting your entire question into the report, you can label the question so that it's easier to read on the report.
The last step is choosing whether the question is required for the donor or not:
Once you have entered all of your information, select "Save & Publish." Your question will become an added section.
Thank-you Page
When a donation is completed, donors will be sent to a Thank-you Page that can contain a customize message from your nonprofit. You can build your custom message in a simple text editor that allows you to add links, videos, images and more.
(Please note that all video must be uploaded to YouTube or Vimeo.)
You can also make use of a CTA button that allows you to link to any page you choose, whether it’s your ColoradoGives.org page, your website’s homepage, your blog, your Facebook page, etc.
You can click the "View this page" button to view your customized Thank-you Page.
Donation Receipt
One of the benefits of using the ColoradoGives.org platform is that we handle distributing tax receipts to your donors, allowing you to focus on what’s most important. Once within Donation Receipt, you can insert a customized message into the receipt through the Customize Message area. Simply add your message and save!
You can preview the receipt your donors receive through the right hand side preview area, or you can send yourself a text receipt by clicking the "Send test receipt" button. (If you have a thank you video, we recommend adding it to your Thank-you page, where it is more likely to be seen by your donors!)
Need Help?
If you need assistance navigating Donor Experience or have questions about using any of the tools it contains, contact our support team here.