How Pancreatic Cancer UK doubled online donations in just 12 months

About Pancreatic Cancer UK

Pancreatic Cancer UK is a leading charity dedicated to bringing more breakthroughs through research, more change through campaigning, and more support through their expert nurses. With approximately 80% of their supporters donating in memory of a loved one, providing a seamless donation experience is crucial to their mission.

The challenge: having to battle outdated tech drove away 80% of prospects

Prior to implementing Fundraise Up, the Individual Giving Team at Pancreatic Cancer UK used a legacy platform that created significant barriers for supporters wishing to donate.

"When I joined in 2020, you almost had to fight to make a donation," explains Ciara Cakebread, Individual Giving & Legacy Lead at Pancreatic Cancer UK. "The forms were so bad that our supporters would have to battle to complete them."

These challenges led to:

• Low conversion rates – only 20% of visitors who reached the donation form completed their donation
• Limited payment options–primarily restricted to direct debit for monthly payments
• Currency barriers for international donors who were trying to donate

The solution: switching to a platform that worked with UK-specific features

After looking at several solutions, Pancreatic Cancer UK chose Fundraise Up in March 2023. The charity's decision was driven by two things: Fundraise Up's GDPR compliance, data residency, and ability to handle UK-specific features like Gift Aid. Plus the simplicity of embedding the Donate button on their website and the intuitive backend functionality that promised to save time for multiple teams.

"What stood out was that Fundraise Up knew about GDPR and came prepared with answers. Some international suppliers we've spoken to haven't spent the time really getting to know the regulations when they've branched out into the UK market," notes Katie May, Senior Individual Giving Manager for Mass Fundraising.

The results: 2x revenue, 3x conversions in just 1 year

Since implementing Fundraise Up, Pancreatic Cancer UK has achieved remarkable results:

• One-off online donations more than doubled from £300,000 to £618,000 in the first year
• Regular gift pledges increased dramatically from 805 to 2,226 in the same period
• Donation form conversion rates jumped from 20% to approximately 68%

With the help of currency and localization support, the charity now successfully receives donations from givers worldwide, with the US, Spain, and France being the top three countries outside the UK. With approximately 70% of their traffic coming from mobile devices, the mobile-optimized forms have proven crucial to their success. Additionally, their supporter care team has reported a significant reduction in complaints related to the donation process, further validating their platform choice.

"When we tested platforms side-by-side during our Double Donations matched funding campaign, donors were 100% more likely to convert on the Fundraise Up form than on our previous platform," says Ciara.

The highly personal donor experience that made gifts more meaningful

The in-memory giving dedication feature has greatly enhanced the experience for the 80% of donors giving in memory of loved ones, with Ciara noting: "To have the Tribute Element on the donation form and to be able to highlight it on the first page of making the donation – that's made a big difference to supporter experience for us."

The expanded payment options have been transformative, with Apple Pay becoming the second most popular payment method after credit cards, relegating direct debit to third place and demonstrating how the previous platform had been limiting potential donations.

Additionally, the AI-powered Upsell feature has delivered really great results, helping to increase donation values through intelligent prompts in the Donor Portal.

In terms of campaign flexibility, Pancreatic Cancer UK now leverages Fundraise Up for general donations across their website, specialized forms for in-memory giving, special forms for annual and quarterly gifts, and separate tracked campaigns to measure conversion rates and message effectiveness. The Goal Meter has proven particularly valuable:

"During our matched funding campaign last year, someone saw that we were about £25,000 away from our goal on the totalizer. For their first ever gift to the charity, they decided to donate the exact amount needed to reach our target," says Katie.

The charity has seen impressive opt-in rates for additional funding mechanisms. Approximately 80% of UK donors now tick the Gift Aid option, while an exceptional 87% choose to cover their processing fees – both figures standing significantly higher than industry averages, further maximizing the value of each donation received.

Future-forward fundraising for a future-forward organization

The charity is planning an upcoming matched funding campaign linked to a major research announcement, with a target of raising half a million pounds. They're also focusing on improving donor retention through features like upgrade links to grow recurring donations from existing supporters. Additionally, the team is conducting extensive A/B testing on their donation forms to further optimize the supporter experience and increase conversion rates.