How the In-Kind Donation Button Changed One Nonprofit's Website — and Donor Relationships

A before-and-after case study of what happens when a nonprofit adds a second giving path alongside the traditional donate button.

In February 2027, a Bay Area transitional housing nonprofit added the Givelink In-Kind Donation Button to their website's Donate page. They placed it alongside their existing Stripe-powered cash donation form, with the framing: "Give Cash | Give In-Kind." They tracked both channels separately for six months. Here's what the data showed — and what changed in how their donors related to the organization.

The before state

January 2027 (before the button):

• Donate page visits: 380/month (average)
• Cash donation conversion rate: 8.4% (of page visitors)
• Average donation amount: $47
• Monthly new donors: 32
• First-time donor retention (12-month trailing): 16%
• Donor stewardship: automated thank-you email, monthly newsletter, annual impact report

The page had one path: a cash donation form. Clean, functional, and producing results consistent with the sector average — 8.4% conversion, 16% first-time retention.

The change: adding the In-Kind Donation Button

In early February, the development coordinator added the Givelink embed code. The button appeared on the Donate page below the existing cash form with a brief explanation:

"Want to see exactly what your giving produces? Give specific items from our current wishlist and receive a photo when they arrive at our shelter."

The cash donation form remained unchanged. The In-Kind Donation Button was additive.

The after state

August 2027 (six months after the button):

Metric	Before (Jan 2027)	After (Aug 2027)	Change
Donate page visits	380/month	390/month	+3%
Cash donation conversion	8.4%	8.6%	+0.2pp
In-Kind Donation Button conversion	N/A	5.1% of page visitors	+5.1pp net new
Total donor conversion rate	8.4%	13.7%	+63%
Monthly new donors	32	53	+66%
Average cash donation amount	$47	$49	+4%
Average in-kind donation value	N/A	$38	—
First-time retention: cash cohort	16%	18%	+2pp
First-time retention: in-kind cohort	N/A	41%	—

What the data shows

The button added donors, not substituted them. Cash donation conversion was essentially unchanged (8.4% → 8.6%). The In-Kind Donation Button captured a separate 5.1% of page visitors who weren't converting on the cash form. Total conversion increased from 8.4% to 13.7% — a 63% improvement with no change to the cash giving experience.

The in-kind donor cohort retained at 41% vs. the cash cohort's 18%. This is the most significant finding. Donors who chose the in-kind path retained at more than double the rate of cash donors. The first delivery photo was the retention mechanism — in-kind donors who received photos gave again at dramatically higher rates.

The average in-kind donation value ($38) was slightly below the cash average ($47) — in-kind donors tend to give at the price of specific items rather than at round-number amounts. But their frequency more than compensated: in-kind donors gave an average of 2.8 times in the six months vs. cash donors' 1.4 times.

What changed in donor relationships

The quantitative data doesn't capture everything. Three qualitative changes the development coordinator observed:

1. Donors asked different questions. Cash donors who contacted the organization with questions asked about programs, financials, or impact in general terms. In-kind donors who contacted the organization asked about specific items — "I gave soap last month, what's next on the list?" — demonstrating operational familiarity with the organization.

2. In-kind donors shared more. Several in-kind donors mentioned sharing their delivery photos with friends or on social media. No cash donor mentioned sharing their receipt confirmation.

3. In-kind donors described the experience differently. When the organization surveyed donors about their giving experience, in-kind donors consistently used words like "specific," "real," and "connected." Cash donors used words like "easy" and "quick." Different experiences producing different relationships.

The implementation was 15 minutes

The development coordinator who added the button estimated 15 minutes for the full implementation: copy the embed code from the Givelink dashboard, paste it into the website's HTML, add the two-line framing text. No developer required.

The 63% improvement in total conversion and 41% first-time retention rate for the in-kind cohort came from a 15-minute technical implementation and an ongoing 20–30 minute monthly operational investment (wishlist updates and delivery photography).

Why most nonprofits haven't done this yet

The most common reason nonprofits haven't added the In-Kind Donation Button alongside their cash form: they didn't know it was possible, or they assumed it would complicate the giving experience.

Both are addressable. The button is additive — it doesn't change the existing cash giving experience. Donors who prefer cash still use the cash form. Donors who prefer product-based giving use the button. Two paths for two donor preferences, produced by one 15-minute implementation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does adding the In-Kind Donation Button reduce cash donations?

In the organizations that have tracked this, cash donation volume is unchanged. The button captures donors who weren't converting on the cash form.

Does this require a developer to implement?

No. The Givelink embed code is standard HTML/JavaScript that can be added to any website CMS (WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, etc.) without developer expertise. The Givelink dashboard provides step-by-step implementation instructions.

What framing works best for the two-path giving page?

"Give Cash | Give In-Kind" or "Donate Now | Give Specific Items." Brief explanatory text under the In-Kind button — one or two sentences about what the experience looks like — significantly improves conversion on the button.

Where else can the In-Kind Donation Button be placed?

Email newsletters, social media link-in-bio, event confirmation pages, annual report digital versions. Anywhere a "donate" link currently goes can also link to the Givelink profile or embed the button.

Stay Human.

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Alexandros Karagiannis is CTO and Co-Founder of Givelink.