NextAfter

Can a “Start My Gift” Button on the Main Donation Page Reduce Friction for Year-End Donors?

Experiment ID: #202757

NextAfter

Experiment Summary

Timeframe: 12/19/2025 - 12/31/2025

During the year-end campaign, many donors arrive on the main donation page after clicking through from ads, emails, and other campaign touchpoints. While the page includes a detailed value proposition explaining the impact of giving, the team was concerned that the longer messaging could introduce friction for highly motivated donors who were already ready to give.

Specifically, visitors had to scroll past the page’s text before reaching the donation form, which could delay donors who simply wanted to give after responding to an appeal.

However, the team also feared that shortening the page would be counterproductive, as many visitors arrive still unconvinced to donate.

To address these concerns, we decided to test a “Start My Gift” button near the top of the donation page. The test variants were:

Control Version: visitors saw the standard donation page experience, where they would scroll down the page to reach the giving form
Treatment Version: a “Start My Gift” button was placed near the top of the page. When clicked, the button automatically scrolled the visitor directly to the donation form, allowing donors to skip the body copy and begin the giving process immediately

The goal of this test was to determine whether reducing friction for highly motivated donors would increase the donation page conversion rate during the year-end campaign. The test ran from December 19 – December 31.

Research Question

We believe that adding a “Start My Gift” button near the top of the main donation page for visitors during the year-end campaign will increase donor conversion by reducing friction for highly motivated donors and allowing them to quickly begin the giving process.

Design

C: Control

T1: Treatment -- Adds "Start My Gift" Button

Results

	Treatment Name	Conv. Rate	Relative Difference	Confidence
C:	Control	12.9%
T1:	Treatment -- Adds "Start My Gift" Button	12.8%	-0.8%	23.0%

This experiment has a required sample size of 805,721 in order to be valid. Unfortunately, the required sample size was not met and a level of confidence above 95% was not met so the experiment results are not valid.

Key Learnings

Overall Conversion

Conversion rates were virtually identical between the two versions — 12.9% for the control and 12.8% for the treatment. Adding the "Start My Gift" button didn't hurt overall conversion, suggesting that a faster path to the form didn't undermine the page's persuasive messaging.

Revenue Per Visitor

There was no significant difference in overall one-time revenue per visitor. However, a meaningful shift emerged among larger donors: for gifts of $1,000 or more, the treatment increased revenue per visitor by 34.9% at 93.5% confidence. This suggests the button reduced friction for highly motivated mid-level and major donors who arrived ready to give and simply wanted a faster way to do it.

Monthly Sustainer Gifts

The clearest tradeoff was in recurring giving. The control generated 50 sustainer gifts compared to 31 for the treatment — a 36.8% decline at 95.8% confidence. A likely explanation: the button allowed donors to skip past the page's value proposition, reducing exposure to messaging that might have inspired a monthly commitment.

Mobile vs. Desktop

No meaningful differences emerged between devices. The button performed similarly across mobile and desktop.

Key Takeaway

Reducing friction helps unlock larger one-time gifts without hurting overall conversion — but it may come at the cost of recurring giving. Further testing should focus on whether a fast-access path can be designed in a way that preserves exposure to the monthly giving ask.

Experiment Documented by NextAfter

Question about experiment #202757

If you have any questions about this experiment or would like additional details not discussed above, please feel free to contact them directly.