Donation pages built for phones
Fast, mobile-first donation pages with a monthly option, fewer fields and hosted payment fields, so card data never touches your website.
Nonprofits
Nonprofit Marketing That Turns First-Time Donors Into Lifelong Supporters
Only about 1 in 4 new online donors gives again (M+R Benchmarks, 2026). The Buttered System thanks, updates and re-invites every donor automatically, so your small team can spend its time on the mission instead of the mail merge.
- Honest impact claims
- Consent-based texting
- Built for teams of one
- Monthly sustainer count and churn
- Average gift, one-time and monthly
- Revenue per 1,000 emails sent
Quick answer
How does Buttered Business help nonprofits?
Buttered Business helps nonprofits raise more and keep more donors. We build mobile-friendly donation pages, set up and manage Google Ad Grants and search campaigns, and automate thank-yous, impact updates and monthly-giving invitations. We also print event and appeal materials and help founders form new nonprofit organizations.
Who this is for
Built for Nonprofits
Executive directors and development directors at small and mid-size nonprofits, often with a board that approves spending and a development team of one or two. You run a donor CRM such as Bloomerang, DonorPerfect, Neon or Little Green Light, plan around year-end and event season, and need every dollar and every staff hour to show impact.
Made for: Nonprofit organizations
We Know How Your Week Really Goes
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You’re the fundraiser, the event planner, the newsletter writer and the person who fixes the website.
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Thank-you letters stack up during busy weeks, even though you know they matter.
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The board wants more revenue and a clear picture of what marketing returns.
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Year-end giving season arrives faster than the plan for it.
Where Donors Drift Away
Most donors don’t leave because they stopped caring. They leave because nobody kept in touch.
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We get first gifts, but donors never give again.
A donor who hears nothing meaningful after their first gift rarely makes a second one.
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I’m a team of one. Thank-yous go out weeks late.
By the time the letter arrives, the moment that inspired the gift has passed.
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Our Google Ad Grant is free money we can’t figure out how to spend.
Eligible nonprofits can receive up to $10,000 a month in search ads, but only with the setup and compliance work to use it well.
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The board wants more revenue but won’t fund marketing.
You need to show what each dollar returns before anyone approves the next one.
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Our donation page is clunky, and mobile donors give up.
Every extra field and every slow second costs gifts, especially on phones.
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Event guests never become donors.
Tickets sell, the night goes well, and then nobody follows up with the people who came.
Every one of these has a practical fix. Here is what we build.
See what we build for NonprofitsWhat We Build for Nonprofits
Giving pages, grants, stewardship and print that do more with less staff time.
Google Ad Grants and search campaigns
Ad Grants setup and management within Google’s policies, plus paid search for fundraising campaigns, measured by donations and sign-ups.
Automated donor stewardship
A same-day receipt and thank-you, an impact update with no ask, a monthly-giving invitation and a second-gift ask tied to a real need.
Personal thank-you videos
Short AI videos from your executive director, made with their written consent and labeled AI-generated, that thank donors by name.
Email and text programs donors opt into
Newsletters, appeals and event reminders with clear consent, STOP handling and quiet hours.
Event and appeal print
Gala programs, appeal letters, thank-you cards and flyers, each with a QR code to a tracked page so print responses join your follow-up.
Nonprofit formation for new organizations
State incorporation and EIN setup for founders starting a new nonprofit. We’re not a law firm or CPA, so talk to your own advisors about tax-exemption filings.
Use one service or the whole system. Every piece works on its own.
See every serviceThe Buttered System for Nonprofits
Five steps from first visit to lifelong supporter, run on schedule so your team doesn’t have to remember.
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Step 1
Attract
Help supporters find your mission: cause and local SEO, Google Ad Grants, search and social campaigns, and EDDM postcards for community drives.
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Step 2
Capture
Make it easy to say yes: mobile-first donation and volunteer pages, event registration and email and text sign-ups with clear, optional consent.
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Step 3
Follow up
Thank every donor fast: a receipt and thank-you the day of the gift, a personal video thank-you and an impact story with no ask a few days later.
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Step 4
Convert
Invite the next step: a monthly-giving invitation, event-to-donor follow-up and second-gift asks tied to a specific, real need.
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Step 5
Retain
Keep supporters close: anniversary thank-yous before the 12-month mark, lapsed-donor win-back and printed cards for your most loyal supporters.
The Numbers That Matter to Nonprofits
Clicks and likes don’t pay the bills. Once you’re a client, reports focus on calls, leads, appointments and sales, and these are the KPIs your scoreboard is built around.
- Your numbers, not vanity metrics
- Results broken out by lead source
- Plain-English reports you can act on
- Donor retention: new, repeat and overall
- Monthly sustainer count and churn
- Average gift, one-time and monthly
- Revenue per 1,000 emails sent
- Donation-page conversion, desktop and mobile
- Cost per donor acquired
- Google Ad Grants utilization
- Lapsed-donor reactivation rate
- Time from gift to thank-you (aim for under 48 hours)
- One-time to monthly upgrade rate
Illustrative layout. Your scoreboard shows your own numbers, never anyone else’s.
The Retention Gap
Every number links to its source.
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24%
of new online donors give again
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66%
of prior donors give again, almost three times the new-donor rate
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53%
of mobile visits were abandoned when a page took longer than 3 seconds to load (2017)
Independent industry research, not Buttered Business client results. Tap a source to read it.
Show the Board the Math
Compare channels by return and price a community mail drop. Your result shows right away, no email required.
Free calculator
Marketing ROI Calculator
Add each channel you pay for. You'll see cost per lead, cost per customer and return side by side, ranked best to worst. No email needed.
+50 Butter Points
Your channels (per month)
EXAMPLE channels Replace the names and numbers with yours. Leave a channel at $0 to skip it.
Blended return on fundraising spend
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Every $1 you spend brings back about — in revenue, across — a month.
— Return on ad spend
| Channel | Spend | Cost per lead | Cost per donor | ROAS | ROI |
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Your best performer is —. Your most expensive donors come from —.
Add a second channel to see which one earns its keep.
Enter spend and results for at least one channel to see your return.
The dashed mark on the dial is your break-even return: the revenue per $1 of spend you need just to cover it at your gross margin.
Your full breakdown
Blended return on investment—
Your Channels Are Ranked. Want to Know Why?
Your free full report compares each channel's cost per lead with industry benchmarks and adds a checklist of the tracking and follow-up leaks that make good channels look bad.
- Your channel table, saved
- Benchmark cost-per-lead comparison
- Tracking and follow-up leak checklist
+200 Butter Points when you unlock
Your full breakdown opens right here. No spam, and we never sell your information. We ask for your mobile so we can follow up about your report. We’ll only text you if you check the text-message box.
Unlocked
Your full breakdown
Your cost per lead vs the benchmark
Where the budget goes
Your next 12 months
- Net return as-is
- —
- Extra if you shift budget
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What-if: move —'s budget to —. ASSUMPTION: the extra budget earns half of —'s current return, because returns usually fall as spend grows. Test the shift in steps.
Your leak checklist
- Track calls and forms by channel. If a phone lead isn't credited, its channel looks worse than it is.
- Check speed to lead before cutting a channel. Companies that contacted a lead within an hour were nearly 7 times as likely to qualify it as companies that waited even one hour longer (HBR, 2011).
- Judge channels on cost per customer, not just cost per lead.
- Send paid traffic to a page with one offer and one clear next step.
- Review search terms and ad placements every month and cut the waste.
Know which dollars are working
We manage ads for cost per lead, not clicks, with conversion tracking and lead follow-up included.
How we calculated this: see the formula, a worked example and every source
Estimates for planning only; based on cited industry benchmarks. This is an estimate based on the numbers you entered. It's not a guarantee of results.
More free tools for nonprofits
Browse every free toolEDDM Cost & Postage Calculator
Estimate your Every Door Direct Mail cost from households, drops and current USPS postage, plus the response rate you need to break even.
Lead Value & Customer Lifetime Value Calculator
Find what each lead and each customer is really worth, and the most you can afford to pay to win one. Formulas shown.
Fundraising Rules, Respected
Donors trust you with their money and their information. We build with both in mind.
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Charitable solicitation registration
About 40 states and DC require registration before soliciting residents, and the Charleston Principles (non-binding guidance) explain when online solicitations can trigger it. Registration is the organization’s responsibility, so confirm with a compliance professional.
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IRS acknowledgments
Single gifts of $250 or more need a written acknowledgment, and payments over $75 that are partly for goods or services need a quid pro quo disclosure (IRS Publication 1771). Automated receipts use the language your accountant approves.
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Texts and calls
Autodialed or prerecorded calls and texts by or for a tax-exempt nonprofit need prior express consent (47 CFR 64.1200). Forms still use clear, unchecked, optional consent boxes, identify the sender and honor STOP right away.
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Donor privacy
The AFP Donor Bill of Rights calls for confidential handling of donor information and the right to be removed from shared lists. Your forms say donor data won’t be sold or rented. Several state privacy laws, including Colorado, New Jersey and Oregon, generally don’t exempt nonprofits.
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Payments
Donation forms use hosted or tokenized payment fields, so card data never touches your website, which reduces PCI scope.
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Google Ad Grants
Accounts must follow Google’s Ad Grants program policies, including conversion tracking and account-quality rules, to stay active.
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AI content
Personalized videos from your leaders are made only with their written consent and labeled AI-generated. Impact claims stay honest and verifiable.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice.
Read the full guide Hide the full guide
Nonprofit Marketing, in Plain Terms
Nonprofit marketing helps people discover your mission, give for the first time and keep giving. The second part is where most organizations struggle. According to M+R Benchmarks 2026, only 24% of new online donors give again, compared with 66% of prior donors.
Buttered Business helps you close that gap with less staff time. We build donation pages that work on phones, manage Google Ad Grants and search campaigns, automate thank-yous, impact updates and monthly-giving invitations, and print the event and appeal pieces that keep supporters close.
| What it is | Marketing, donor follow-up automation and print for nonprofits |
|---|---|
| Built for | Small and mid-size nonprofits with lean development teams |
| What’s included | Donation pages, Google Ad Grants and search, donor stewardship, email and text programs, AI thank-you videos and event print |
| Follow-up | The Buttered System: a same-day thank-you, an impact update, a monthly-giving invitation and renewal reminders |
| Pricing | A custom quote in writing after your free audit |
| First step | A free audit of your website and donation page |
Why First-Time Donors Drift Away
A first gift is a moment of trust. What happens in the next few weeks decides whether it becomes a relationship. When thank-yous go out weeks late, impact updates never arrive and the next message is another ask, donors quietly move on. It’s rarely a lack of care. It’s a team of one with too many jobs.
The giving experience matters too. Google’s 2017 research found that 53% of mobile visits were abandoned when a page took longer than 3 seconds to load (Think with Google). A slow, crowded donation form loses gifts before they start.
How The Buttered System Works for Nonprofits
The Buttered System is our five-step growth engine: attract, capture, follow up, convert and retain. For nonprofits, it does the stewardship work your team means to do and rarely has time for.
Thank every donor the same day
Every gift triggers a receipt with the acknowledgment language your accountant approves and a personal thank-you, plus a text for donors who opted in. A short video from your executive director, made with their written consent and labeled AI-generated, can follow within a day.
Show impact before the next ask
A few days later, donors get a story about what their gift did, with no ask attached. Then come a monthly-giving invitation, an event or volunteer invitation and a second-gift ask tied to a specific, real need.
Catch donors before they lapse
An anniversary thank-you and renewal invitation go out before the 12-month mark. Donors who have lapsed get a short win-back series by email, by text if they opted in, and with a printed card.
Make Google Ad Grants work
Eligible nonprofits can receive up to $10,000 a month in Google search ads through Google Ad Grants, but accounts must follow Google’s policies to stay active. We set up conversion tracking, build campaigns around your programs and keep the account compliant.
Grow your monthly program
Monthly donors give steadily, so a strong monthly program smooths out your year. Your donation page offers a monthly option up front, and one-time donors get an invitation to upgrade at natural moments, such as a few weeks after their first gift or near their giving anniversary. Every new monthly donor gets their own thank-you and a short note on what their ongoing support makes possible.
Turn events into relationships
Event registrations flow into the same follow-up, so guests get a thank-you, a story and an invitation to stay involved, instead of silence until next year’s ticket sale.
Put Real Numbers in Front of Your Board
Boards fund what they can measure. Our free Marketing ROI Calculator compares channels by cost per donor and return on spend, and the EDDM Cost & Postage Calculator prices a community mail drop with current USPS postage. Bring both to your next board meeting.
Fundraising Rules We Respect
About 40 states and DC require charitable registration before soliciting residents, and repeated online appeals can trigger it. The IRS requires a written acknowledgment for single gifts of $250 or more and a disclosure for payments over $75 that include goods or services, such as gala tickets (IRS Publication 1771).
Automated texts and calls need the donor’s consent. Your forms tell donors their information won’t be sold or rented, payment fields stay hosted so card data never touches your website, and AI videos are always labeled. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.
Who This Is For, and Who It Isn’t
It’s a strong fit if you have donors in a CRM but no time to steward them, an Ad Grant you aren’t using, or events that don’t turn into giving. It isn’t for organizations that want exaggerated impact claims or purchased donor lists. We won’t write the first or use the second.
Where to Start
Request your free website audit. It scores your site on SEO, speed, mobile experience, lead capture and AI search readiness and gives you a prioritized fix list that includes your donation page. Then give to your own organization online and time how long the thank-you takes. Between the two, you’ll know exactly where to start. Use the results with us or without us.
Keep reading: Nonprofit Digital Fundraising: Donor Journeys That Keep Giving, on our Marketing Wisdom blog.
Sources
Every statistic and rule on this page links to where it came from.
- M+R Benchmarks 2026, Fundraising (opens in a new tab)
- Think with Google, mobile site load time statistics (2017) (opens in a new tab)
- Google Ad Grants Help Center (opens in a new tab)
- IRS Publication 1771, Charitable Contributions: Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements (opens in a new tab)
- Wolters Kluwer, charitable solicitation registration (opens in a new tab)
- Harbor Compliance, the Charleston Principles (opens in a new tab)
- eCFR, 47 CFR 64.1200 (TCPA rules) (opens in a new tab)
- AFP, Donor Bill of Rights (opens in a new tab)
- Wiley, new state privacy laws and nonprofits (opens in a new tab)
Don’t Take Our Word for It. Take Theirs.
A client describes working with Ken Henderson, in their own words.
...Working with Ken has been awesome, it has blown up the Invictus Foundation which is my non profit in the 916...
Everyone quoted here worked with founder Ken Henderson when his agency was called Sublime Digital Marketing Group. Same founder, new name. Quotes are excerpts, exactly as given. Results vary by business.
Questions Nonprofits Ask Us
Have a question we didn’t cover?
Ask a real person. You’ll get a straight answer about your situation, with no pressure.
What is a good donor retention rate?
Higher than most organizations manage. M+R’s 2026 Benchmarks found only 24% of new online donors give again, compared with 66% of prior donors. The biggest lever is the first 90 days after a first gift: a fast thank-you, an impact update with no ask and a monthly-giving invitation.
How can a small nonprofit thank donors faster?
Automate the parts that don’t need you. Receipts, thank-you emails, opted-in texts and impact updates can go out on schedule while your team adds personal notes to major gifts. The goal is a thank-you the same day, every time, without adding staff.
What is the Google Ad Grant, and how do we use it?
Google Ad Grants gives eligible nonprofits up to $10,000 a month in Google search ads. Manual bids are capped at $2 per click, but Maximize Conversions and other Smart Bidding strategies can bid higher once conversion tracking is set up. Accounts must follow Google’s policies to stay active.
Can nonprofits text donors without written consent?
Autodialed texts from tax-exempt nonprofits need prior express consent, such as a donor giving you their number for updates, but not prior express written consent. Best practice is still a clear, unchecked opt-in box, sender identification and instant STOP handling. State laws can add rules.
Do we need to register in other states to accept online donations?
Possibly. About 40 states and DC require charitable registration before soliciting their residents. Under the Charleston Principles, targeted or repeated online solicitations to a state’s residents can trigger registration. Confirm with a compliance professional before you run out-of-state campaigns.
When do donors need a written receipt?
The IRS requires a written acknowledgment for any single gift of $250 or more, and a disclosure for payments over $75 that are partly a gift and partly goods or services, such as gala tickets. Automated receipts can include the language your accountant approves and arrive right after the gift.
How do we turn one-time donors into monthly donors?
Ask at the right moment, with a clear reason. Thank the donor, show the impact of their first gift, then invite them to give monthly with a suggested amount and a simple page that defaults to monthly. Repeat the invitation around their giving anniversary.
What does it cost?
It depends on which steps of The Buttered System you need and how many programs and campaigns you run. You’ll get exact pricing in writing after your free audit, so you can bring a clear number to your board.
More Industries We Serve
Same system, different rules and numbers. See how it adapts.
Home Builders
Turn online browsers into booked model-home tours with builder SEO, community pages and follow-up that lasts your whole sales cycle.
Home Services
Answer every call, follow up on every estimate and earn more reviews, with local SEO, AI call answering and neighbor print for home service pros.
Law Firms
Answer every inquiry, follow up with prospects who reached out and get found in search and AI answers, built with attorney advertising rules in mind.
Political Campaigns
Reach voters with campaign websites, digital ads, consent-based texting, yard signs and EDDM mailers, with disclaimer boxes built into every piece.
Private Schools
Turn more inquiries into enrolled families with school websites, local SEO, admissions ads and automated follow-up from inquiry to tour to application.
Keep the Donors Who Give Once
Request your free nonprofit marketing audit. You’ll see how supporters find you, where your donation page loses them and the first fixes to make.
Free. No obligation. You keep the report.
P.S. Make a small gift to your own organization online today. Notice how long the thank-you takes and what you hear next. Every new donor is having the same experience.