Donation amounts

Preset donation amounts shape donor behavior more than almost any other setting on the form. Donors anchor to what they see — if your presets are too low, you leave money on the table; if they're too high, you scare away donors who came ready to give. The default amount carries the most weight, since most donors will choose it without thinking.

Open the Donation Settings panel

In the donation page editor, click directly on the donation amounts section in the form preview. The Donation Settings panel opens on the right.

Minimum donation amount

Every form has a minimum gift to prevent donations small enough to lose money on fees. A $1 donation through a card processor leaves your nonprofit with negative net after the $0.30+ flat fee.

By default, the form uses your organization's minimum, set under Settings → Payments. Uncheck Use Org Minimum to set a campaign-specific minimum instead — useful if a particular campaign needs a higher floor (a major-donor appeal, for example, where $10 gifts would be off-strategy).

Preset amounts

Each enabled frequency — One Time, Monthly, Yearly — has its own tab in the panel with its own set of preset amounts. Preset amounts give donors a quick path to a gift without typing.

Each preset is a row in the panel. To configure presets:

• Edit the amount by clicking into the input.
• Add an amount using + Add Amount.
• Hover an amount to reveal the ... menu, which has three options:
  • Set as Default — this amount is pre-selected when the form loads. Exactly one amount can be the default at a time.
  • Set a Description — attach a short description to the amount that explains its impact. Descriptions display as a tooltip when donors hover the amount, and may appear inline depending on the breakpoint.
  • Delete Amount — removes the preset.

My Best Gift

The special My Best Gift preset lets donors enter any amount. When selected, an input field opens for the donor to type their gift. Include this in every campaign. Donors willing to give more than your highest preset will often anchor to it and give less; My Best Gift gives them a path to give what they actually want to.

Choosing preset amounts that convert

A few patterns that work:

• Pick a default that matches your typical donor. The default is what most donors will give — it anchors expectations. If your average gift is $50, defaulting to $25 leaves money on the table. Defaulting to $250 scares away anyone planning to give less.
• Include a range, not a cluster. Six presets clustered between $25 and $100 leave donors with bigger means feeling unwelcome. Spread them across what your donor base actually gives: maybe $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, $1,000.
• Use descriptions to make abstract amounts concrete. "$25 — covers a week of meals for a family" converts better than $25 by itself. Donors want to picture what they're funding.
• Set a different default for Monthly. Monthly gifts are typically smaller per-transaction than one-time gifts. A reasonable rule: the monthly default is roughly 1/4 to 1/2 of the one-time default. So a campaign that defaults to $100 one-time might default to $25 or $50 monthly.
• Always include "My Best Gift." Some donors are coming to give substantially more than your highest preset. Make sure they have a frictionless way to do it.

The frequency mix you enable also affects what donors give. See Donation frequencies.