How defaulting the monthly tab on an instant donation page affects recurring conversion rate
Experiment ID: #198409
The Heritage Foundation
Experiment Summary
Timeframe: 07/01/2025 - 07/18/2025
This experiment was conducted as a split test on the instant donation page immediately following the Heritage Foundation’s ICE survey. The test was live for three weeks, with 50% of traffic randomly assigned to each variation (control vs. treatment). The primary goal was to determine whether defaulting the donation format to monthly giving (rather than one-time giving) would influence the recurring conversion rate.
This experiment is a classic behavioral nudge test—leveraging default bias by changing which giving tab a donor sees first.
The idea to run this test stemmed from two core insights:
- Behavioral Economics Research:
- People tend to go with the default option presented to them. When monthly giving is presented as the default tab, it subtly frames that behavior as the norm or recommended path.
- Organizational Goal: Boost Recurring Revenue:
- Like many nonprofits, Heritage is invested in growing their base of recurring donors. Monthly gifts provide more predictable, long-term revenue.
- While past tests may have encouraged recurring giving through messaging or pre-selecting a checkbox, this test directly adjusted the default donation modality itself.
By making “Make a Monthly Gift” the default selection (as seen in the treatment version), the hypothesis was that donors would be more likely to choose that option simply because it required no extra clicks or decisions to get there.
Research Question
We believe that defaulting to the monthly tab for survey takers will achieve an increase in recurring conversion rates because it reduces friction by aligning with the donor’s default behavior, subtly encourages sustained giving through visual anchoring, and reframes the donation as an ongoing commitment rather than a one-time gift.
Design
C: Control
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T1: Monthly Tab First
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[large] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First.png
[large-width] => 640
[large-height] => 378
[1536x1536] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First.png
[1536x1536-width] => 979
[1536x1536-height] => 578
[2048x2048] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First.png
[2048x2048-width] => 979
[2048x2048-height] => 578
[tp-image-grid] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First-700x700.png
[tp-image-grid-width] => 700
[tp-image-grid-height] => 700
[post-thumbnail] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First-150x150.png
[post-thumbnail-width] => 150
[post-thumbnail-height] => 150
[admin] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First-50x30.png
[admin-width] => 50
[admin-height] => 30
[full] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First.png
[full-width] => 979
[full-height] => 578
[thumb_372] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First-372x220.png
[thumb_372-width] => 372
[thumb_372-height] => 220
[single_post_thumbnail] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First.png
[single_post_thumbnail-width] => 979
[single_post_thumbnail-height] => 578
[thumb_32_32] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First-32x19.png
[thumb_32_32-width] => 32
[thumb_32_32-height] => 19
[thumb_48_48] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First-48x28.png
[thumb_48_48-width] => 48
[thumb_48_48-height] => 28
[thumb_64_64] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First-64x38.png
[thumb_64_64-width] => 64
[thumb_64_64-height] => 38
[thumb_128_128] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First-128x76.png
[thumb_128_128-width] => 128
[thumb_128_128-height] => 76
[thumb_122_67] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First-113x67.png
[thumb_122_67-width] => 113
[thumb_122_67-height] => 67
[thumb_153_153] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First-153x90.png
[thumb_153_153-width] => 153
[thumb_153_153-height] => 90
[thumb_130_163] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First-130x77.png
[thumb_130_163-width] => 130
[thumb_130_163-height] => 77
[thumb_232_177] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First-232x137.png
[thumb_232_177-width] => 232
[thumb_232_177-height] => 137
[thumb_272_325] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First-544x321.png
[thumb_272_325-width] => 544
[thumb_272_325-height] => 321
[thumb_271_346] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First-271x160.png
[thumb_271_346-width] => 271
[thumb_271_346-height] => 160
[thumb_271_271] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First-271x160.png
[thumb_271_271-width] => 271
[thumb_271_271-height] => 160
[thumb_272_172] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First-272x161.png
[thumb_272_172-width] => 272
[thumb_272_172-height] => 161
[thumb_372_461] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First-372x220.png
[thumb_372_461-width] => 372
[thumb_372_461-height] => 220
[thumb_372_500] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First-372x220.png
[thumb_372_500-width] => 372
[thumb_372_500-height] => 220
[thumb_385_270] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First-385x227.png
[thumb_385_270-width] => 385
[thumb_385_270-height] => 227
[thumb_416_241] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First-408x241.png
[thumb_416_241-width] => 408
[thumb_416_241-height] => 241
[thumb_448_410] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First-448x264.png
[thumb_448_410-width] => 448
[thumb_448_410-height] => 264
[thumb_448_410_retina] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First-896x529.png
[thumb_448_410_retina-width] => 896
[thumb_448_410_retina-height] => 529
[thumb_574_382] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First-574x339.png
[thumb_574_382-width] => 574
[thumb_574_382-height] => 339
[thumb_776_395] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First-669x395.png
[thumb_776_395-width] => 669
[thumb_776_395-height] => 395
[gform-image-choice-sm] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First.png
[gform-image-choice-sm-width] => 300
[gform-image-choice-sm-height] => 177
[gform-image-choice-md] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First.png
[gform-image-choice-md-width] => 400
[gform-image-choice-md-height] => 236
[gform-image-choice-lg] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/Monthly_Tab_First.png
[gform-image-choice-lg-width] => 600
[gform-image-choice-lg-height] => 354
)
)
)
Results
| Treatment Name | Conv. Rate | Relative Difference | Confidence | Average Gift | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C: | Control | 0.05% | $20.36 | ||
| T1: | Monthly Tab First | 0.41% | 795.9% | 98.9% | $30.43 |
This experiment has a required sample size of 1,321 in order to be valid. Since the experiment had a total sample size of 4,388, and the level of confidence is above 95% the experiment results are valid.
Flux Metrics Affected
The Flux Metrics analyze the three primary metrics that affect revenue (traffic, conversion rate, and average gift). This experiment produced the following results:
0% increase in traffic
Ă— 795.9% increase in conversion rate
Ă— 49.5% increase in average gift
1,239.0% increase in revenue
Key Learnings
The key learning from this experiment is that defaulting to the monthly donation tab significantly increased the conversion rate for recurring donations. By setting "Make a Monthly Gift" as the default option, donors were more likely to choose this option, leading to a 795.9% increase in Transactions - Monthly for All Traffic with a 98.9% level of confidence.
Moreover, the treatment also resulted in a 671% increase in total Transactions with a 97% confidence level and a 149.7% increase in Revenue with a 100% level of confidence. This showcases the impact of nudging donors towards monthly giving by adjusting the default option.
In future experimentation, this learning can be applied by defaulting to the monthly donation tab on the donation page to continue encouraging recurring giving. Additionally, further tests can be conducted to optimize the donation page layout, test different messaging strategies, or explore other behavioral nudges to increase donor engagement and drive more sustainable revenue for the organization.