A suggested donation can make an empty amount field feel easier to answer. It can also set the wrong expectation if the number is based on guesswork rather than your donors, programs, and fundraising context.
There is no universal amount that works for every campaign. A useful suggestion gives people a credible starting point, keeps another amount available, and makes the impact of a gift easy to understand.
This guide explains how to choose suggested donation amounts from your own evidence, handle one-time and recurring gifts separately, write an ethical ask, and test the menu without mistaking a higher average gift for better fundraising.
What a suggested donation means
A suggested donation is a recommended gift amount, not a required price. A potential donor can choose that amount, select another option, enter a custom amount when the form allows it, or decide not to give.
Suggested amounts serve two practical purposes. They show the scale of support your organization needs, and they reduce the effort of deciding what to enter. This guidance is especially useful for a new donor who has no personal reference point for your campaign.
The same guidance can backfire when the first amount feels out of reach, the impact statement is implausible, or a preselected option looks compulsory. Treat every amount as a testable hypothesis, not as a psychological trick that will reliably produce more donations.
How to choose suggested donation amounts
The most defensible menu begins with evidence that belongs to your organization. Competitor pages can provide ideas, but copying their amounts ignores differences in audience income, donor history, geography, campaign urgency, and program costs.
Start with representative donor history, then check the audience and real campaign needs before testing a simple amount ladder.1. Start with your donation history
Review at least one complete campaign cycle when possible. For an always-on form, six to twelve months of recent records usually gives you a more representative starting point than one unusually strong week.
- Separate one-time gifts from recurring gifts.
- Compare new donors with returning donors.
- Split major campaigns, events, and acquisition channels when their audiences differ.
- Look at the median and the middle range, not only the average, since a few major gifts can pull an average far above a typical contribution.
If the data set is small, label the first menu as provisional. Use real program costs and supporter feedback to set a conservative range, then revisit it after enough transactions accumulate.
2. Connect each amount to a real outcome
An amount becomes easier to evaluate when the donor can see what it supports. Ask the program and finance teams what a contribution can reasonably fund, including overhead that is necessary to deliver the work.
Use careful wording when costs vary. For example, â$25 helps provide school materialsâ is more defensible than â$25 buys a complete school kitâ if the exact cost changes by location or season. Never invent a neat impact unit simply because it fits the menu.
3. Build a simple amount ladder
Three choices can make a clean starting menu, but three is not a universal rule. Two options may be enough for a focused appeal, while a mature donor program may justify four. Each extra choice should represent a meaningful level of support rather than fill space.
- Lower amount: An accessible way to participate that still supports a real need.
- Middle amount: A level close to the typical gift for this audience or campaign.
- Higher amount: A larger contribution tied to a credible, more substantial outcome.
- Custom amount: A clear option for donors who want to give less or more.
Do not mark the middle choice as âMost popularâ unless recent records for that specific form support the label. A false popularity cue weakens trust and prevents you from learning how people respond to an honest menu.
| Fundraising context | Best starting evidence | How to set the ladder |
|---|
| New one-time campaign | Actual program costs and similar past campaigns | Use a conservative range and keep a custom amount |
| Returning one-time donors | Recent gifts from the same donor segment | Center the menu near the segment’s typical gift |
| Monthly giving program | Recurring gift data and retention | Use monthly impact and show the frequency clearly |
| Event or emergency appeal | Audience, deadline, and immediate funding need | Build a campaign-specific menu rather than reuse the main form |
The values are illustrative. Replace them with amounts supported by your donors and campaign, then compare completion rate and average gift.Choose one-time and recurring donation amounts separately
A one-time gift and a recurring commitment are different decisions. Reusing the same amounts for both can make the recurring options look expensive, or it can make the one-time options too low for the campaign.
Start with separate data. For one-time gifts, review completed contributions by campaign and donor segment. For monthly gifts, review the initial amount together with retention, cancellations, refunds, and failed renewal payments. A monthly option that attracts signups but quickly loses donors is not automatically the better anchor.
Make the time commitment visible in the wording. â$15 monthlyâ equals $180 across the first twelve months if every payment succeeds, while â$15 todayâ is one contribution. Connect each to an outcome on the same time scale, such as monthly supplies versus a one-time delivery.
The amounts in any example are illustrations, not benchmarks. A community food program, museum, school fundraiser, and disaster appeal should not inherit the same ladder simply because the numbers look familiar.
What research says about donation anchors
Suggested amounts can act as anchors, which means they influence what feels like a normal answer. They can also reduce the effort of choosing a number. However, the effect depends on the amount, audience, and way the ask is delivered.
In a natural field experiment with recent university alumni, Edwards and List compared no amount suggestion with several versions of a roughly $20 suggestion. More people gave in the suggestion groups, and gifts clustered near the suggested amount.[1] The setting was a phone campaign to a defined alumni audience, so the result should not be treated as a universal forecast for an online donation page.
A separate field experiment involving 50,000 prior donors tailored a donation grid using past behavior. Higher anchors influenced gift size, but raising the first amount could reduce the likelihood of giving.[2] That tradeoff is why average gift size, donation completion, and total revenue all belong in the same test report.
These studies support testing relevant suggestions. They do not prove that a high default, a âmiddle option,â or a copied three-choice menu will improve every fundraiser’s result.
Suggested donation wording examples
Strong donation wording combines a clear action, a truthful outcome, and respect for the donor’s choice. It does not need inflated urgency or vague claims about changing the world.
| Use case | Example wording | Why it works |
|---|
| One-time gift | âA gift of $25 helps provide materials for one workshop.â | Links the amount to a specific, supportable outcome |
| Monthly gift | âGive $12 a month to help keep the helpline available.â | States the frequency and ongoing purpose |
| Flexible ask | âChoose a suggested amount or enter the amount that works for you.â | Makes the donor’s control explicit |
| Soft ask | âIf you are able, a gift of any size will support the next stage of this project.â | Acknowledges different financial circumstances |
| Deadline-based appeal | âGive by September 30 to help fund the winter delivery.â | Uses a real deadline and names the funded work |
Use ethical guardrails
- Say that the amount is optional when the page could create ambiguity.
- Use âMost popularâ only when current form data supports it.
- Use urgency only for a real deadline or immediate need.
- Describe an impact only when the organization can substantiate it.
- Keep another amount available so a suggestion does not become a barrier.
Describe matching gifts precisely
If a verified donor will match contributions, state the ratio, eligible period, and cap. In a large field experiment, offering a match increased response and revenue per solicitation, but ratios above 1:1 did not add a further lift in that setting.[3] This result cannot forecast every campaign.
A defensible example is: âGifts made by September 30 will be matched 1:1, up to a total of $10,000.â Use that wording only when the match terms are confirmed and the remaining match capacity is managed accurately.
đ You might also like to read: How to create Stripe donation forms in WordPress
How to test your suggested donation menu
A controlled test helps separate a promising idea from a seasonal spike. Define the decision and measurement plan before changing the form.
- Choose one change. Test the amount ladder, a truthful impact statement, or the order of options. Changing everything at once hides the cause.
- Randomly split comparable traffic. Keep campaign source, device mix, and dates balanced where possible.
- Set the stopping rule first. Use a sample-size calculation based on current traffic and donation rate. Avoid ending the test as soon as one version moves ahead.
- Measure the full outcome. Track completed donations per visitor, average completed gift, total revenue per visitor, custom-amount use, refunds, and payment failures.
- Review recurring quality later. Compare retained donors and collected revenue after a meaningful follow-up period, not only initial signups.
A larger average gift can still lose the test if substantially fewer people complete a donation. Revenue per visitor combines both parts, while completion and custom-amount use help explain why the result changed.
Keep accessibility, page performance, and donor choice constant across versions. If the experiment changes the form layout or payment flow as well as the amounts, it is no longer a clean test of suggested donations.
Set up suggested donations in WP Full Pay
For a practical WordPress implementation, WP Full Pay is maintained by Themeisle and supports donation forms with suggested amounts, a custom amount option, and one-time or recurring frequencies.[4]
- In WordPress, open Full Pay â Payment Forms and create a donation form.
- Add the amounts supported by your donor data and impact model.
- Allow donors to enter a custom amount.
- Select the giving frequencies you intend to offer and make each frequency clear in the surrounding copy.
- Test the full form in Stripe test mode before accepting live gifts.
If one-time and monthly donors need materially different amount ladders, use separate campaign forms or pages so each ask stays clear. The example values in this guide are placeholders for your data, not recommended plugin defaults.
WP Full Pay can support the form mechanics, but the fundraising decision still belongs to your organization. Verify the impact copy, donor segments, and test design before moving the form to live mode.
You can explore WP Full Pay for a contextual way to offer suggested and custom donation amounts through Stripe.
đ Comparing your options first? See the guide to the best WordPress donation plugins.
Suggested donation FAQ
What is a good suggested donation amount?
A good amount is credible for your audience and tied to a real funding need. Start with recent donor data, separate one-time from recurring gifts, and test a range rather than copying a universal number.
Does a donor have to pay a suggested donation?
No. A suggested donation is voluntary. Make the choice clear and provide a custom amount when the fundraising flow supports it.
Should the middle amount be preselected?
Not automatically. A preselection can influence choices and may be mistaken for a requirement. If you test a default, make it easy to change and measure donation completion, total revenue, and donor feedback.
Should every donation form allow a custom amount?
In most voluntary fundraising contexts, a custom option prevents the menu from excluding donors who want to give outside the displayed range. Any minimum should reflect real processing or program constraints and be explained clearly.
How often should suggested amounts be reviewed?
Review them when donor behavior, program costs, campaign audience, or giving frequency changes. Use enough data to avoid reacting to noise, and document why each amount remains on the form.
References
- [1] Edwards and List, âToward an Understanding of Why Suggestions Work in Charitable Fundraisingâ, NBER Working Paper 19665.
- [2] Prokopec and De Bruyn, âThe Impact of Anchors on Donors’ Behavior: A Field Experimentâ, ESSEC faculty research record.
- [3] Karlan and List, âDoes Price Matter in Charitable Giving?â, NBER Working Paper 12338.
- [4] Themeisle, âCreating a donation formâ, WP Full Pay documentation.