Glossary

A 301 redirect is a permanent forwarding from an old to a new URL. Redirects play a vital role in digital fundraising – for example, when a donation campaign is renamed or removed from the website. Without proper redirects, valuable traffic and existing backlinks can be lost, negatively impacting your charity’s visibility in search engines.

For website relaunches, we recommend checking whether old links – such as those in emails or social media – are correctly redirected. Redirects can be easily managed directly within the Soulclick CMS.

3-2-1 Backups are a proven method for data storage to minimize the risk of complete data loss. The rule states:

• 3 copies of the data: the original and two backups.

• 2 different storage types: e.g., hard drive and cloud.

• 1 copy offsite at a different physical location.

In online fundraising, business-critical data is generated and stored in tools like CRMs and donation platforms. Therefore, charities should perform regular backups following the 3-2-1 rule to maintain data integrity.

404 Error is an HTTP status code that shows a web page is not active anymore or has been moved without a redirect. In digital fundraising, 404 errors disrupt the donor journey, leading to lost donation opportunities and reduced credibility. Encountering a 404 on a donation page can cause potential donors to abandon the donation process, while multiple 404 errors can hurt trust and search engine rankings. To prevent this, charities should monitor for 404s, set up redirects, and create custom 404 pages that direct users to active donation or campaign pages.

An A/B Test compares two variants (A vs. B), such as email templates, landing pages, or small elements like donation button colors. Predefined KPIs determine the better-performing option. A/B testing is widely used in Marketing Automation, UX/UI, and digital fundraising campaigns to optimize performance.

Accessibility refers to the design and development of websites so that every user, regardless of their abilities or the technology they use, can access the information and functions on your website. Good accessibility ensures that people with disabilities, such as visual impairments, can easily consume the content of your website. Screen reader compatibility, good color contrast, and video subtitles are among the best practices in the field of accessibility. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provide comprehensive standards and specific guidelines for improving website accessibility. To check your website's accessibility, you can use a variety of free online tools, such as Google Pagespeed Insights.

Acquirers act as merchants between e.g. the credit card providers and the platform for online payments. If your organization wants to accept card payments via Soulclick, you'll sign an acquiring contract with one of our partners. We offer preferential conditions with our acquiring partners (see transaction costs). Once an online donation has been made through our platform, the acquirer forwards the transaction to the issuer of the credit card and refunds the payment. Provided there is a positive response, of course. A negative response can have many reasons, e.g. limit reached, card expired, incorrect credentials entered, etc.

Advocacy involves actions and efforts aimed at influencing public policy, raising awareness, and driving social change on specific issues. In the digital age, this includes online petitions, social media campaigns, virtual events, and more. Online donations play a crucial role in raising funds to support these advocacy efforts.

Agile Software Development focuses on making processes more dynamic and adaptable. The goal is to deliver a functional solution early on (commonly referred to as an MVP) and then refine and expand it iteratively based on user needs. One of the most widely used frameworks for implementing agile methodologies is SCRUM.

A key aspect of agile development is fostering close collaboration between development teams and clients, with an emphasis on shared learning and continuous improvement. Other essential elements include:

• Self-organizing teams

• Short development cycles

• Frequent feedback loops

Unlike traditional waterfall methods, which follow a rigid, linear process, agile development offers greater flexibility, faster results, and higher user satisfaction. By actively involving stakeholders like employees and customers, agile approaches often lead to solutions that are more widely accepted and better aligned with user expectations.

An Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Policy includes regulations and measures designed to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism. These policies aim to stop illegal funds from entering the legal financial system.

Many online payment providers, including Soulclick, require their clients to undergo a Know Your Customer (KYC) process and implement an AML policy. This ensures that nonprofits offering online payments take steps to prevent money laundering and report suspicious transactions. A common rule in a nonprofit’s AML policy is that anonymous donations above several thousand Swiss francs are not accepted, or that address information is validated during the checkout process.

An API is a programming interface that enables data to be exchanged between software tools either uni-directionally or bi-directionally. REST is the interface standard which defines and standardizes how data is being exchanged. Soulclick offers a REST-API with different integration options (GET endpoint or POST request).

Artificial intelligence (AI) comprises of systems that perform tasks typically requiring human intelligence. In fundraising, AI is e.g. used to automate procedures or to personalize donor interactions.

Typical applications in digital fundraising include:

• Fraud detection for online payments.
• Dynamic pricing, automatic A/B testing and optimization fo donation amounts.
• Personalized communication, such as AI-generated thank-you notes or donor upgrades.
• Donation forecasting & segmentation to e.g. identify potential major donors.

AI can help optimize campaigns and increase fundraising success when applied responsibly. It’s essential to follow ethical and data protection standards—many nonprofits and industry associations have already issued such guidelines and committed to them.

An Attribution Modell describes the development of a comprehensive allocation model by means of analytics and with the aim of intelligently evaluating different channels, touchpoints and instruments. For this purpose, namings are defined (so-called UTM parameters) and being used for each digital measure (e.g. social post). As a result the impact of each Marketing measure on your conversions can be determined and optimized.

Backend Development refers to the server-side part of web or software development. In the backend, the business logic of a software (e.g., calculation logic, validations, etc.) is defined. This includes managing databases, server logic, authentication, and APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that communicate with the frontend. Backend developers ensure that the server, application, and database communicate properly and provide a seamless user experience. They take care of security, scalability, and performance optimization.

A Backlink is a hyperlink on an external website that points to your own domain. Also known as inbound links, backlinks are a key element of off-page SEO and play an important role in increasing visibility, reach, and search engine rankings — also for nonprofits in the context of online fundraising.

The quality of a backlink depends on various factors such as the relevance, domain authority, and age of the linking website. Links from trusted and thematically relevant sources — so-called do-follow links — pass SEO value and can significantly improve your organic search performance. In contrast, no-follow links do not directly influence rankings but can still drive traffic and visibility.

Building a strong backlink profile requires a long-term strategy, including valuable content, media collaborations, and partnerships with relevant websites or platforms.

A Backup is a security copy of data that is created regularly to prevent the loss of important information. In online fundraising, this can include donor data, transaction histories, or website content. Backups are essential to ensure operational readiness in the event of technical failures, cyberattacks, or other incidents.

Backups may only contain personal data for as long as necessary for recovery purposes. According to data protection regulations, personal data in backups must also be deleted, for example, through automated overwriting at regular intervals.

Benchmarking refers to the comparison of key performance indicators (see also KPI) with internal goals, reference values, or industry averages. For nonprofit organizations, benchmarking is a valuable tool for evaluating and optimizing fundraising and communication efforts based on data.

A distinction is made between internal benchmarking (comparing against your own past results or across teams) and external benchmarking (comparing with other organizations or published industry data). The goal of benchmarking is to identify what’s working for others and where there is room for improvement.

In digital fundraising, the abundance of data and tools opens up a wide range of benchmarking opportunities. A/B tests, for example, can help compare conversion rates, average donation amounts, or donor engagement across different campaigns or donor journeys. The Net Promoter Score (NPS) can also serve as a benchmark to measure donor satisfaction and loyalty.

Best of Breed (BoB) refers to a software architecture where various tools, each best suited to meet the organization's needs in specific areas (e.g., email marketing), are connected via API interfaces. This creates an IT architecture composed of flexible, decentralized, and often smaller individual tools, allowing for the easy migration of individual systems. The most important data streams are consolidated at a Single Point of Truth (e.g., a CRM system). In digital fundraising, a BoB architecture offers greater flexibility and improved usability for end-users.

In a Best of Suite architecture, a comprehensive software solution from a single provider is chosen, covering multiple areas such as CRM, email marketing, and payment processing. This architecture reduces the number of API interfaces and simplifies data management for nonprofits. However, a Best of Suite architecture creates a strong dependency on one software provider, is complex to use, and still rarely meets all the needs of an organization. For smaller and mid-sized charities, a Best of Breed architecture is often more favorable in the long run.

Black Hat SEO refers to unethical practices used to quickly and effortlessly improve a website’s search engine ranking. These techniques violate search engine guidelines and can result in penalties or being banned from SERPs (search engine result pages). Typical black hat techniques include keyword stuffing, creating duplicate content, paying third-party pages for backlinks, or cloaking (showing different content to search engines than to users). Ethical SEO, also known as white hat SEO, focuses on providing added value to users and complying with search engine guidelines.

A Blog is a regularly updated section of a website (see also Content Hub) where personal insights and chronologically ordered posts are published. It features general information, interviews, and reports on various topics. In addition to text, blogs often include images, videos, and links to external sites. In online fundraising, blogs play an important role by providing transparency on donation allocation and sharing success stories. Blog posts also positively impact search engine rankings.

Bounce Rate represents the percentage of visitors who enter a website and leave it again without taking any action, such as clicking on a link, filling out a form, or making a donation. It is a key metric in web analytics that helps assess the effectiveness of a website or donation portal in engaging visitors. An average bounce rate ranges between 35% and 45%. A bounce rate between 25% and 35% is considered excellent. Bounce rates can however, vary heavily depending on the industry and application. Especially in blogs, news sites and events, bounce rates are expected to be higher than average.

Brand Hijacking refers to the practice of advertisers bidding on the names or keywords of third-party brands in paid search ads (e.g., Google Ads). This tactic is often used to divert traffic away from the original brand and attract potential donors who intended to visit and potentially donate on another charity’s website. In digital fundraising, brand-hijacking typically results in increased competition for ad placements, driving up the cost per click (CPC) for the hijacked brand. It also confuses donors and negatively impacts both brands' reputations, which is why we strongly advise against using this tactic. To counter it, charity brands can implement keyword monitoring, file complaints with advertising platforms, and use trademark protections.

Breadcrumbs are user interface elements of a website, donation shop, blog, etc. that usually appear at the top left in the form of a page path. They help users finding their way around the site quickly and navigate back and forth easily.

Business Intelligence (BI) refers to processes and software tools that analyze organizational data to generate insights for strategic and operational decision-making. BI platforms collect, analyze, and visualize data from various sources, providing a solid foundation for informed decisions.

Effective Business Intelligence solutions rely on an integrated system architecture, where data from all critical tools (e.g., CRM, ERP, web) is consolidated for analysis. Compared to basic analytics tools like Google Looker Studio, BI platforms such as Microsoft Power BI or Tableau empower nonprofits to conduct more in-depth analyses - covering aspects like transaction effectiveness, accounting entries, or fees. This approach addresses the growing donor demand for transparency and traceability while also boosting the effectiveness and efficiency of fundraising efforts.

A Call to Action is a prompt on your website, in an email or in other digital channels, that encourages users to take a specific action, such as signing up for a newsletter or making a donation. Strategically placed CTAs, like donation buttons in the website’s header, can guide your visitors through your site and increase conversions. CTA buttons should be clear, attention-grabbing, and follow familiar color and shape patterns to ensure they are easily understood by users.

A Canonical Tag is an HTML element that tells search engines which version of a webpage should be considered the preferred one. Canonical tags are used to avoid duplicate content – that is, identical or very similar content accessible via different URLs.

This is especially relevant for dynamic websites – such as donation shops with filtering and sorting functions, or campaign pages with tracking parameters – where the same content might be indexed multiple times. Without canonical tags, SEO rankings are negatively impacted, as search engines may not know which version to prioritize.

A properly implemented canonical tag (e.g. <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.donationpage.com/emergency-campaign">) points to the original URL and ensures that all SEO signals are attributed to the correct page.

CSS is a popular programming language used in web development to define the presentation and formatting of HTML documents. It allows designers to control the layout, colors, fonts, and other visual aspects of websites independently from the content of the pages. By separating design from content, CSS promotes consistency across a website's pages and enhances accessibility. Designers and developers can create visually appealing websites and make global changes by modifying a single CSS file, rather than editing each HTML page individually.

The Case for Support is a key document that explains why donations are needed and how they will be used. It is typically created for grant applications and larger fundraising campaigns. A well-crafted Case for Support outlines the organization's mission, goals, and challenges, incorporating stories and statistics that reinforce key messages and emphasize the urgency of support.

Charity Streaming is a fundraising method that uses live streams (e.g., on Twitch, YouTube, or TikTok) to collect donations. Streamers and their communities actively participate – for example, through challenges or events – to raise awareness of important social issues and generate donations.

For nonprofits, charity streaming offers a modern way to reach younger audiences digitally and gain visibility through creative campaigns. Tools such as donation links or embedded widgets enable a direct connection between the stream and the donation process.

A Checkout is the final step in an online shopping or donation process where users review their items or chosen donation project, enter payment information, and complete their purchase or donation. Key aspects of a checkout include:

• Cart review: Users confirm their selected project or the amount they wish to donate.

• Personal information entry: Users provide necessary details, such as name, address, or email.

• Payment methods: Users select and enter payment information, like credit card, PayPal, or other options.

• Donation confirmation: After payment, donors receive a confirmation of their contribution, often via email.

In online donations, a well-designed checkout — whether part of a donation form or a donation shop — is user-friendly, secure, and optimized for quick completion, helping to reduce cart abandonment and improve conversion rates.

A Click Dummy is an interactive web design that was created in a prototyping tool (e.g. Figma). For larger digital projects, a click dummy is created so that users can browse the page and give their feedback before the product is being coded. Click dummies help eliminate unnecessary development iterations at later stages and take the users perspective at the center of the product design.

The Click-Through Rate (CTR) is a key performance indicator (KPI) that shows how often users click on a link in relation to how often it is displayed (impressions).

Formula: CTR = (Number of Clicks ÷ Number of Impressions) × 100

CTR is a standard metric in Google Analytics and an important benchmark in online fundraising. It plays a crucial role across search engines, AI-services, and online ads. A higher CTR means more people visit your website – and potentially donate. You can improve your CTR by:

• writing clear and compelling titles & descriptions

• optimizing meta tags and snippets

• using strong and visible calls to action (CTAs)

Please note: CTR and Conversion Rate are two different metrics. While CTR measures how many users click on a link, the conversion rate shows how many of those clicks lead to a desired action (e.g. a online donation).

Cloud Computing provides online access to services like storage, databases, and software, eliminating the need for physical infrastructure. It powers software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions like CRM systems, data analytics, and online donation platforms like Soulclick. Before cloud computing, software was mainly delivered through on-premise models. By adopting cloud-based solutions, charities can reduce costs, scale efficiently, and streamline IT operations.

A Code of Conduct is a binding set of ethical principles and guidelines that define appropriate behavior for fundraisers and nonprofit organizations. It ensures that donations are raised transparently, respectfully, and responsibly.

A Code of Conduct in Fundraising typically includes rules on:

• Truthful communication with donors
• Respect for the dignity of the people being supported
• Transparency in the use of donations, including a commitment to avoid pre-financing and commission-based fundraising
• No misleading or high-pressure tactics in donor outreach
• Compliance with data protection laws and responsible handling of personal data

Many organizations follow established industry standards, such as the ethical guidelines of the Swiss Fundraising Association (Swissfundraising) or the Code of Conduct of the European Fundraising Association (EFA).

A Code of Conduct builds trust – with donors, team members, and partners – and helps put ethical standards into practice in everyday fundraising. At Soulclick, our Code of Conduct is binding for both employees and partner organizations alike.

Community-Centered Fundraising (CCF) is an approach that places the needs and perspectives of the supported community at the forefront. The goal is to develop projects in close collaboration with the affected communities and adjust fundraising efforts to align with their needs. Unlike Donor-Centered Fundraising (DCF), the emphasis is not on donor preferences but on the priorities of the supported community.

While a strong CCF orientation can be impactful, nonprofits risk adopting an overly inward-focused perspective that may not resonate with broader audiences. With Soulclick’s donation shops and platforms, NPO can effectively bridge the gap between their work and donors, regardless of their strategic approach.

Community Fundraising is a process by which individuals within a community come together to raise money for a common cause. This type of fundraising unites collective efforts to support local needs, such as schools, healthcare, or social services, among others. Peer-to-peer software tools and social fundraising features, like Facebook donation buttons, can enhance fundraising efforts and help spread the word beyond local communities.

In Consent Management, users choose their preferences. In the context of online donations, these can be communicative preferences (e.g. wish for an electronic donation confirmation), consent to tracking measures (see cookies) or thematic subscriptions (e.g. regular news about Nepal). This information in turn flows into the personalization of donor journey automations and/or the optimization of the digital presence (e.g. order of donation products).

Contactless Payment is a technology based on Near Field Communication (NFC) or RFID that allows payment transfers without physical contact between the payment method and the terminal. Digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay use this technology. Contactless Payment is a very convenient, efficient, and secure method for paying smaller amounts. It can also be used for online donations.

A Content Hub is a centralized knowledge area on a website where reports, expert articles, and blog posts are published. Unlike blogs, content hubs have a broader scope and include thematically organized content (e.g., expert articles or treatment recommendations for a healthcare organization) rather than chronologically ordered posts. High-quality content hubs provide categories, filters, and a search function to help users easily find the information they need. In online fundraising, content hubs are an essential tool; therefore, Soulclick offers a flexible and expandable content hub.

A Content Management System enables end users to update, add content or new subpages to a web application. Modern digital products generally have a CMS. So do Soulclick Form and Shop which allows you to adjust the design to your brand standards, change fonts, images and much more. The Soulclick CMS also incorporates integrated SEO helpers to optimize your donation page for search engines.

Content Marketing is used to reach new audiences and deepen the connection with existing donors by creating targeted, engaging content. It plays a crucial role in online fundraising as it helps in building trust—both before and after a donation.

With Soulclick’s Content Hub, nonprofits can centrally showcase stories, reports, and insights into how donations are used—directly on their website.

Conversions refer to the fulfillment of a digital goal in Oline Marketing. For this purpose, digital fundraising is mapped using a funnel (see marketing funnel). A rough distinction is made between soft and hard conversions. The former describes interactions that precede the hard conversion. These can be clicks on an online ad, a page view or a newsletter subscription. Hard conversions are typically the completion of an online donation.

Conversion Rate Optimization describes a method of optimizing conversions in online fundraising. Touchpoint analyses are used to determine possible weak spots and optimization measures. The concept typically tries to assess and optimize the touchpoints that lead to a high percentage of churn. To improve conversions, often times, A/B or split tests are being used.

Cookies are small text files that are stored on the user's local browser when they visit websites. They make it possible to track user journeys and optimize digital offerings. According to the Swiss and European data protection regulations, the use of cookies must be expressly consented to. The cookie banner, which is displayed upon the users' first visit, allows everyone to make a choice.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to a company's commitment to conducting its business in an ethical, sustainable, and socially responsible manner. This involves considering the social, environmental, and economic impact of the company’s operations and making efforts to contribute positively to society. CSR initiatives often include activities such as reducing carbon emissions, promoting fair labor practices, and supporting charities through donations. CSR is also a growing area in digital fundraising, where corporate teams may launch their own fundraisers or set up peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns on behalf of a charity. Companies often offer programs like employee matching gift campaigns or providing employees with a day off for volunteering.

Cost Per Click (CPC) refers to a KPI of the common PPC pricing model in online advertising, where advertisers pay a fee each time their ad is clicked. It’s a key metric used on platforms like Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram, and many others to determine how much an advertiser pays for each user acquisition or website visit.

While CPC is important in the early stages of a campaign to manage traffic and drive clicks, other metrics like Cost Per Conversion (CPCo) or Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) tend to be more valuable over the complete campaign duration. These metrics provide better insight into the direct impact of fundraising campaigns on ROI, helping charities focus on outcomes like donations rather than just website visits.

Cover the Fee refers to a feature in donation forms and checkouts that allows donors to voluntarily cover the incurred payment fees. Soulclick also offers this option. In opt-in procedures, where fee coverage must be actively selected, around 60% of users opt to cover the fees. In opt-out procedures, where fee coverage is enabled by default and can be deselected, over 70% choose to cover the transaction fees.

Cross-media Fundraising delivers campaigns and engages donors across both analog and digital channels to achieve a specific fundraising goal with a broad audience. The goal is to increase a campaign’s reach and overall impact.

Typical campaigns combine traditional elements like fundraising letters with digital tools such as email campaigns, Meta and Google Ads, and dedicated fundraising landing pages.

With tools like the Donation Shop or Campaign Links from Soulclick, Nonprofits can effectively plan, launch, and analyze cross-media fundraising campaigns.

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) refers to a security vulnerability in web applications where an attacker injects malicious scripts into content delivered to users. These scripts are executed in the user's browser without their knowledge, allowing the attacker to steal sensitive data. In the context of online fundraising, XSS could be used to display a look-alike donation form on your website, enabling attackers to steal donor information or divert donations to fraudulent accounts. XSS vulnerabilities typically occur when a web application fails to properly validate or sanitize user input before displaying it on a webpage. To mitigate XSS risks, developers should implement input validation, encode outputs, regularly update their web technology, and use security features like Content Security Policy (CSP).

Crowddonations typically involve collecting small amounts of money from a large number of donors through online platforms. This allows for the funding of larger investments and projects through private donations. In addition to raising funds, crowddonation campaigns can be highly effective in raising awareness and building a community. Soulclick also offers various possibilities and features for setting up crowddonation campaigns.

Charities that accept Crypto Donations provide their donors with the option to contribute online via cryptocurrency (e.g., Bitcoin or Ethereum). Donations are typically converted automatically into a fiat currency (e.g., CHF, EUR, USD) through specialized providers like Coinify. Crypto donations are widely debated in the non-profit sector, primarily due to the high energy consumption associated with mining (sustainability) and concerns about potential money laundering.

Customer Experience (CX) refers to the overall experience that customers have with a brand across all touchpoints. In online fundraising, this is often referred to as Donor Experience (DX). DX encompasses all interactions donors have with an organization – from their first visit to the website to the thank-you email following a donation.

A positive CX requires a consistently donor-centric mindset within the organization. The quality of the Donor Experience depends largely on the people who directly or indirectly interact with donors.

In digital fundraising, CX is closely linked to User Experience (UX), which should also adopt a user-centered approach to ensure a seamless and positive experience.

Customer Insights is a discipline of market research and is often integrated into the donor journeys of larger fundraising organizations with the help of marketing automation platforms. At its core, it involves regularly surveying customers and incorporating their wants and needs into the ongoing development of the service offering. Customer Insights is frequently paired with a practice known as reply management, where staff respond to positive or particularly critical feedback.

Customer Relationship Management helps NPOs to systematically build and extend relationships with target groups. Whether you are an individual donor, online sponsor or major donor, CRM actively manages all customer relationships and interactions. In line with the "corner store" principle - know your customers and provide them with optimal support. Modern tools enable the automation of processes or sophisticated attributions (see Business Intelligence). Soulclick Manager is not a CRM system, but has extensive options for managing online donors. An API interface to your CRM is recommended in particular for large transaction volumes.

Data Governance refers to the framework and practices an organization establishes to manage, protect, and ensure the quality of its data. It encompasses policies, standards, and responsibilities that guide how data is collected, stored, accessed, and used. For charities, especially in the context of online donations, a clear data governance framework is crucial for protecting donor data, ensuring long-term independence from software providers, and enhancing donor relationship management.

A Data Processing Agreement (DPA) governs the relationship between an organization (the controller) and a service provider (the processor) concerning the processing of personal data. The DPA ensures that data processing complies with applicable data protection laws and includes provisions on data security, purpose limitation, and data deletion. A DPA should therefore be established between charities and fundraising agencies when exchanging and processing sensitive data.

Dead Links, also called broken links, are hyperlinks on a website that no longer lead to an active page. Dead links can be both internal (linking to 404 pages on your own website) and external (linking to third-party pages that no longer exist). Dead links may negatively impact SEO rankings and reduce conversions, particularly on critical pages like donation campaign pages. Monitoring and fixing dead links is essential for maintaining strong search engine visibility.

Designated Giving refers to a donation earmarked for a specific purpose or project in Fundraising. The alternative concept is unrestricted donations, which can be used for any projects and funding needs the charity may have. When donors contribute designated funds, however, they expect these resources to be used exclusively for the predefined purpose. This form of giving allows donors to specifically support a particular area or a special project. Particularly with small donations, designated giving can be counterproductive, as it may exponentially increase administrative overhead.

A Design System includes the standards, guidelines, and components for designing and developing user interfaces (UI). It encompasses elements like grid systems, gutters, and spacers, which ensure consistency and scalability on a website. A design system is an integral part of any major web project, especially when charities develop digital products.

Benefits of a design system:

• Efficiency: Reusable components accelerate design and development procedures.

• Consistency: A standardized design ensures a professional appearance and enhances the user experience.

• Scalability: New features and pages can be efficiently designed, tested, developed, and integrated.

A well-built design system lays the foundation for high-quality, scalable websites and impactful fundraising platforms in the nonprofit sector.

A Digital Audit examines an organization's digital landscape, including the tools, channels, and touchpoints in use. For nonprofits, this typically includes the website, donation platform, social media channels, newsletters, and CRM systems, which are assessed for their strengths and weaknesses.

The Digital Collection is the modern form of traditional donation gathering that typically takes place during a church service with a collection plate. It enables online and mobile giving through websites, apps, or QR codes. The QR code is especially convenient: when scanned on-site in the church, it directs donors straight to a secure digital payment page.

In religious fundraising, collections play a central role in funding projects and covering the ongoing costs of the church community. Hybrid formats, such as livestreams, can combine both analog and digital donation options. Soulclick offers customized digital donation solutions and fundraising tools for religious organizations, meeting the growing need among congregants for flexible giving options.

Digital Fundraising is a broad term encompassing resources, processes, tools, and structures aimed at raising donations online. It includes platforms like Soulclick, social fundraising, digital campaigns, as well as email and newsletter marketing. Digital fundraising enables charities to reach a wider, often younger audience while making their fundraising efforts more efficient through the use of new technologies.

A Digital Fundraising Strategy sets out the strategic vision and plan for expanding online donations. At its core, it focuses on building a digital fundraising architecture that enables charities to deliver their message effectively and efficiently across various touchpoints (both online and offline), integrating them into a seamless donor journey. The website plays a central role, as all other channels and tools—such as social media fundraising, digital campaigns, or email automations—consistently drive traffic back to this key touchpoint. At Soulclick, we design the website with fundraising in mind, centering it around a powerful donation shop within our e-commerce platform.

A Digital Product is a web-based software solution specifically designed and developed to meet the needs of its users. Unlike a traditional website, a digital product is built for long-term use and is continuously further developed to meet evolving demands and needs of users.

Soulclick offers nonprofits a ready-to-use toolkit that allows them to create professional digital products without any programming effort. The product is continuously optimized and new features are developed, to eliminate the need for a complete relaunch every few years.

A Digital Strategy extends across the entire organization and sets the direction for a successful digital transformation of a charity. At its core, it’s about holistic organizational development, not just about advancing technology and tools. It also includes developing new skills and adopting agile working methods within the organization. A digital strategy is built on a thorough analysis and outlines a clear digital vision, strategic goals, and a mid-term plan with cost and revenue projections for the next 3 to 5 years. A key element is the digital fundraising strategy, which focuses on securing the organization’s funding through digital donations.

The term Digital Transformation describes an organization’s evolution into the digital age to meet the changing needs and behaviors of its target audiences.

For nonprofits, digital transformation means preparing for online fundraising by developing internal skills, leveraging new tools and approaches such as crowd donations and peer-to-peer fundraising, and building an integrated system architecture.

A Digital Wallet is a software application that securely stores users' payment information and passwords for various payment methods and websites. This allows users and donors alike to make electronic transactions safely and conveniently. Digital wallets can also store other important information such as loyalty cards, tickets, and digital identification. Commonly known digital payment wallets include PayPal and Apple Pay, the latter being a mobile wallet that allows contactless payments via cellphone. Digital wallets are also widely used in the cryptocurrency sector, with examples such as Ledger Nano S and Trezor.

DKIM stands for Domain Keys Identified Mail and is a method of email authentication which provides emails with a signature that is assigned to the domain of your organization. This authenticates emails and makes it more difficult to forge the sender. The DKIM entry can be made with the support of our team. In this way, we ensure that appeals for donations, acknowledgements, etc. from our platform contain a trustworthy and traceable sender. This has a positive effect on the performance of your email automations.

A Domain is a unique, unambiguous name on the Internet under which websites can be accessed. The name, which can be freely chosen according to certain rules, is made up of different elements in a hierarchy. The entire name (e.g. https://www.soulclick.ch) is referred to as a fully-qualified domain name (FQDN), while the ending is called a top-level domain.

Domain Authority (DA) is a metric developed by the SEO provider Moz, which indicates the relevance of a website or domain for search engine rankings. The DA score ranges from 1 to 100 – the higher the score, the more likely the website is to rank well in search results on Google and other search engines. While it is not a direct ranking factor, it serves as an indicator. Domain Authority is determined by various factors, such as the number and quality of backlinks, the ratio of backlinks to outbound links, the SEO relevance of the content, as well as the structure and usability of the website.

DNS stands for Domain Name System and is a protocol for resolving names. Websites are generally accessed by calling up IP addresses. However, as letters are easier to remember than cryptic combinations of numbers, domains have become established. The IP and domain are uniquely matched by the DNS entry. When setting up a Soulclick donation portal (subdomain setup) a DNS entry is also made.

Domain Reputation (DR) is a metric that measures the trustworthiness and credibility of a domain, and it is particularly relevant in email marketing. The DR score influences how likely it is that emails from a domain will be successfully delivered or end up in the spam folder. Domain Reputation depends on several factors: the frequency of email sends, spam reports, authentication through protocols such as SPF and DKIM, as well as the general behavior of users interacting with the domain. It is assessed by various organizations, including email providers (Google, Microsoft, Yahoo), security services, and other internet service providers (ISPs).

Donation Forms are simple checkouts with integrated payment processing that are commonly embedded on websites as I-frames or widgets. Due to their simplicity and ease of integration, they are a popular way for nonprofits to collect online donations. However, compared to more advanced tools and technologies like donation shops, the customization and automation capabilities of donation forms are quite limited. Thus, they are better suited as an entry-level solution, particularly for smaller charities.

Donation Matching or matching donation refers to a fundraising practice where a foundation, company, or other institution agrees to double (or match) the amount of private donations made within a specific timeframe. These campaigns are often tied to a specific cause and capped by a maximum donation amount. Donation matching is a hybrid instrument, combining elements of both institutional and public fundraising, and is frequently used by companies as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy, as it publicly highlights the connection between the donating organization and the company.

A Donation Platform is generally understood to be a website operated by third parties on which NPOs can publish their own fundraising campaigns. GoFundMe is one of the best-known donation platform internationally, although there are many other platforms. The providers charge different fees and generally act as financial intermediaries. In concrete terms, this means that they accept donations and pass them on. This means that they are obliged to comply with the legal and, in particular, accounting requirements of the respective country. Although Soulclick allows you to build your own donation platform (see donation store), it is purely a software operator with its own payment gateway solution.

Donation Shops help your organization to present various fundraising activities and campaigns in one place on the website. This creates clarity and transparency and ensures that more donations are made online. With its Form and Shop products, Soulclick provides an innovative store construction kit including CMS, automation, analytics and payment gateway. This allows you to build your own donation portal without any programming knowledge.

A Donation Widget is an embedded mini-tool on an charity’s website or landing page. It allows users to donate directly on the page without being directed to a third-page.

Widget-based donation forms are often used for campaigns, blogs, or partner pages – they simplify the donation process and build trust by keeping donors on the site. They are also highly customizable (e.g., donation amounts, colors, or payment methods) and can be easily integrated into existing websites.

In a Donor Base Analysis, data from donors within the CRM database is analyzed to gain crucial insights for marketing and fundraising. The data set is often enriched beforehand to help shape specific target groups using additional segmentation attributes, such as demographics, psychographics, or behavior.

Once these target groups have been established, media analyses can offer further insights into the most effective channels for reaching them.

Donor-Centered Fundraising (DCF) is an approach that places the wishes of donors at its core. The goal is to build strong personal relationships with supporters by tailoring fundraising activities to meet their specific needs. Key elements of this approach include personalized communication, gratitude, and transparency about the impact of donations. A well-functioning Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is essential for its successful implementation.

In contrast to Community-Centered Fundraising (CCF), which focuses on the needs of the supported community, DCF emphasizes strengthening donor engagement and loyalty.

The Donor Experience (DX) covers all interactions donors have with an organization. It starts with the initial visit to the website and continues through post-donation communication. A successful DX depends on a donor-focused approach within the organization. In online fundraising, Donor Experience is closely tied to User Experience (UX), which ensures an intuitive and satisfying donation journey.

The Donor Journey describes the path a donor takes across all touchpoints with a nonprofit organization – from the first interaction to long-term engagement. It reflects a holistic approach to fundraising – not just through individual campaigns or donation appeals, but as a consistent and meaningful overall experience (see also Donor Experience).

Typical stages of a donor journey include:

1. Awareness: The person becomes aware of the organization or a specific cause.

2. Interest: She or he develops interest in the organization’s work or a particular project.

3. Consideration: Potential donor considers whether and how he or she would like to support.

4. Action: They make their first donation or get involved in another way (e.g., volunteering).

5. Retention: The relationship is nurtured and strengthened over time.

Effectively managing the donor journey helps organizations better understand their supporters, engage them more strategically, and build lasting loyalty – both online and offline. Digital tools like donation platforms, automations, and content hubs are key to designing modern, impactful donor journeys.

The term Downtime describes the time during which a digital service or software is not available to users due to problems or malfunctions. The opposite term is Uptime. Early detection software (downtime alerts) can help to identify and inform about downtimes. SLAs (service level agreements) are used to regulate service availability on the part of service providers for troubleshooting. At Soulclick, we also determine your accounts availability and response time, depending upon the chosen SLA package.

Duplicate Content involves substantial blocks of identical or very similar content appearing on multiple webpages within or across different domains. This issue can arise from technical problems, such as multiple URLs pointing to the same page, or from intentional copying (compare black hat SEO). Duplicate content may negatively impact a website's ranking on search engines, as Google and other search engines may struggle to determine which version is the original or most relevant. Avoiding duplicate content involves using canonical tags, setting up proper redirects, and ensuring unique and valuable content across all pages.

Ease of Use is a UX-discipline that refers to how simple and intuitive a product or service is for users to interact with. In the context of digital tools and software, e.g. for charity users, ease of use is critical because it directly impacts user satisfaction, adoption rates, and overall effectiveness. A system with good ease of use allows users to complete tasks efficiently, without unnecessary complexity, thereby minimizing frustration or the need for extensive training. For online fundraising tools, ease of use not only improves conversion rates but also plays a key role in building trust. A well-designed donation form should intuitively guide users through the donation process, ensuring transparency by e.g. clearly displaying fees and notifying users that a donation confirmation will be provided. This transparency and smooth experience help assure donors of your charity’s trustworthiness, encouraging repeat donations.

eBill Donations is a Swiss donation method that allows donors to give directly through their online banking. They receive a digital donation invoice (eBill) that can be paid securely and conveniently with just a few clicks – without the need for additional payment forms. For nonprofit organizations, eBill is a alternative to traditional direct debit methods (LSV) and is particularly well suited for recurring donations.

Integrating eBill into fundraising platforms like Soulclick enables a highly user-friendly and trustworthy donation process.

Ecommerce encompasses the online buying and selling of goods, services, and donations through websites and online platforms. For charities, it includes processing online donations through donation forms and establishing donation platforms and shops. Soulclick is the first full-scale ecommerce platform that assists charities in setting up donation shops and websites on a single content management system.

Elasticsearch is a powerful search and analytics engine based on Apache Lucene, enabling the fast processing of large amounts of data. Typical applications include full-text search, log analysis, and data analytics. Soulclick’s on-page search leverages Elasticsearch to deliver relevant results from the donation shop or content hub in real time, ensuring donors quickly find the content they need.

Email Marketing is a crucial instrument in digital fundraising, especially when significant online donation volumes have already been generated with a large subscriber base in place. Email marketing enables charities to target donors with personalized communication, while keeping them informed about campaigns, projects, or current fundraising efforts. Marketing automation is a discipline within Email Marketing, where donor journeys are pre-defined and automated. Once a specific trigger is reached (e.g., filling out a form), messages are automatically sent to donors. For effective e-mail marketing, a strong data foundation, including clear segmentation of target groups, is essential. For organizations with larger audiences (~15k+), A/B testing is a great way of systematically optimizing open and click-through rates.

Employee Matching Gift programs are typically part of a company's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts. In an Employee Matching Gift program, the company matches or supplements its employees' donations to charities or nonprofit projects. From a company perspective, this strengthens employee engagement while also emphasizing social responsibility. From the perspective of nonprofits, Employee matching gift programs are a sub-discipline of community fundraising and an important tool in both offline and online fundraising.

Engagement Rate refers to a metric that measures the level of interaction a piece of content (e.g. an online ad or a social media post) generates from its audience. Engagement typically includes actions such as likes, comments, shares, or clicks. The engagement rate represents the total number of engagements in relation to the number of followers or impressions a marketing action generates. In digital fundraising, the engagement rate is a key metric, as higher engagement rates often indicate stronger audience interest and involvement, which can lead to higher conversion rates and growth in online donations.

An ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software helps organizations with comprehensive resource planning (HR, projects, finances, etc.). ERP solutions typically cover core processes ranging from production and procurement to financial management. ERP software is also utilized in nonprofit organizations, for example, to manage project and program work or handle financial operations.

Facebook Donations was a popular and highly successful fundraising tool for many years, also in Europe (with the exception of Switzerland, where the tool was never available). However, in the summer of 2023, Meta (formerly Facebook) discontinued several services, including recurring donations, and switched its payment provider to the PayPal Giving Fund (PPGF). Meta also informed users that the donation service on Facebook and Instagram will be discontinued in Europe as of July 2024. Facebook donations were primarily used in peer-to-peer fundraising (e.g., birthday campaigns) and events (such as streaming). To fill this gap, Soulclick offers alternative tools for NPO websites.

A Favicon is a simplified logo variant displayed in the browser tab, bookmarks list, and address bar next to a website's URL. Typically 32 x 32 pixels in size, favicons enhance quick brand recognition and give the website a professional and appealing appearance. To ensure favicons function seamlessly across all devices and services, they should be uploaded in the .ico file format and added to the website’s HTML file or via a link tag in the header.

First-Party Data refers to information that nonprofit organizations collect directly from their users, donors, and supporters. This data is typically gathered through their own platforms, such as websites, apps, or social media channels, and includes contact information, histories, personal preferences, or web activities. With stricter data protection regulations and the phasing out of third-party cookies, first-party data is becoming increasingly important for organizations. It is considered particularly reliable and valuable—and compliant with data protection laws, provided users have consented to its collection (see Consent).

A Floating Header (or sticky header) is the top navigation element of a website that remains visible as users scroll, essentially "floating" along with the page. This way, the header stays in view at all times. In online fundraising, the header often features a prominently placed donation button – making it easy for users to donate at any time.

Frameworks simplify programming and reduce development time by providing pre-built components, structures, and security features for web development. Almost every common programming language has its own frameworks – Soulclick, for instance, uses the Django framework. Based on the Python programming language, Django is not only developer-friendly but also includes an easy-to-use content management system (CMS) to help fundraisers efficiently manage content.

Frontend Development refers to the client-side aspect of web development. In the frontend, the user interface of an NPO website is programmed—the part that donors directly interact with. Even today, websites' frontends are primarily built using the programming languages HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Effective frontend development ensures that the website is responsive and delivers a seamless user experience across a wide range of devices and browsers.

A Functional Specification Document (deutsch: Pflichtenheft) translates business requirements outlined in the requirements specification into technical specifications (“How do we implement it?”) and provides a detailed description of the requirements for a new software system. It serves as the foundational document for executing a software project and is typically developed in collaboration with the future implementation partner.

Fundraising Agencies are specialized service providers that support nonprofits in raising funds. Some agencies take on operational tasks, such as running campaigns or securing grants from foundations. Others focus more on strategic aspects, such as building structures, tools, and processes to make fundraising sustainable and efficient.

The Fundraising Funnel, or simply Funnel, is a tool frequently used in digital fundraising. It visualizes the key stages of a donor journey and illustrates the success of individual initiatives and campaigns. By clearly presenting donation revenues, conversion rates, and other KPIs along the funnel, it helps build a deeper understanding of online fundraising and enables more effective management. The typical stages of a fundraising funnel are: 1. Awareness, 2. Interest, 3. Consideration, 4. Action and 5. Retention

Fundraising Instruments help charities attract new donors and engage existing ones. Various tools – such as one-off donations, crowd donations, or peer-to-peer fundraising – serve different purposes within the fundraising mix. With Soulclick, charities can easily implement a range of fundraising instruments, enabling them to tailor campaigns to specific donor groups.

A Fundraising Platform refers to third-party services like GoFundMe that offer Fundraising-as-a-Service, as well as fundraising platforms and donation shops operated directly on a charity's domain. Soulclick’s e-commerce toolkit enables charities to build their own platforms. This is an exciting alternative for fundraising organizations looking to elevate their efforts, comparable to platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce in the commercial sector.

Fundraising Software is a general term for industry-specific software solutions that help charities raise funds, manage donor relationships and run campaigns efficiently. Fundraising software includes both online fundraising tools like Soulclick as well as CRM systems and marketing automation platforms.

Gated Content refers to online material that is only accessible to users after they provide contact information or an email opt-in. It is commonly used in lead generation to attract potential supporters. Typical examples of gated content include whitepapers, webinars, or exclusive reports.

The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into effect on May 25, 2018, is designed to protect the privacy and personal data of individuals within the European Union. It regulates how organizations, including charities, fundraising agencies, and software companies, must handle personal data such as names, email addresses, and donation histories.

The following key guidelines apply:

• Consent: Organizations must obtain explicit consent from individuals before collecting or using their personal data for fundraising, marketing, or other purposes.

• Transparency: Clear communication about how data is used, stored, and processed must be provided to donors and supporters.

• Right to Access and Erasure: Donors have the right to access their data and request its deletion (the "right to be forgotten").

• Data Security: Charities, agencies, and software providers are responsible for securing personal data against breaches and must report any breaches within 72 hours.

GDPR gives individuals more control over their data and imposes strict penalties for non-compliance. Any organization that handles and processes personal data is required to adhere to strict data and permission practices concerning the collection and use of personally identifiable information (PII).

For example, GDPR mandates that any organization outsourcing personal data processing (such as fundraising data) to a third party must establish a Data Processing Agreement (DPA), ensuring that both parties comply with the regulation.

GET Parameters are pieces of information added to a URL and transmitted to a website to enable personalization. For example, they can be used to pre-select donation amounts in a donation form based on the user's choice in an email template or to personalize landing pages.

Example:

https://example.com/donation?amount=50&greeting=Dear%20Mr.%20Roth

• amount=50 transfers the donation amount of CHF 50.

• greeting=Dear%20Mr.%20Roth personalizes the greeting on the donation page.

UTM parameters are a specific subtype of GET parameters designed exclusively for tracking marketing and fundraising campaigns. In contrast, GET parameters have broader applications, helping to create a dynamic and personalized donation experience.

Google.org provides charities with up to $10,000 per month in free ad credits through its Google Ad Grants program. This enables charities to run search ads at no cost, helping them increase visibility and reach more donors through fundraising campaigns. Google Ad Grants can be seamlessly integrated with Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to track the entire donor journey.

The program is limited to search ads and does not include other formats like display, discovery, or YouTube ads. Additional limitations include a maximum cost-per-click (CPC) of $2 per keyword, and the fact, that Ad Grants ads are always ranked below regular (paid) Google Ads. As a result, most nonprofits use both the free Ad Grants and paid Google Ads formats to scale their online fundraising efforts.

Google Ads (formerly Adwords) is Google’s advertising platform that allows nonprofits to create targeted campaigns and reach more potential donors and supporters. Through Google’s advertising ecosystem, nonprofits can run paid search ads, display ads, and YouTube advertising. To evaluate the success of these campaigns (e.g., increased donation revenue), accurate tracking is essential. The direct integration of Google Ads with GA4 facilitates this. After verifying their nonprofit status, organizations can also access the Google Ad Grants program, which provides accredited charities with up to $10,000 USD in free ad credits per month. Managing Google Ads campaigns requires regular maitenance and performance optimization, including refining keywords, budgets, and ad groups (see Media Spend).

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the latest version of Google Analytics and is widely used by nonprofits to analyze and manage digital fundraising efforts. This free tracking tool replaced the old Universal Analytics (UA) on July 1, 2023. GA4 measures page views, interactions, and events (e.g., downloads). The tool must be tailored to the specific needs of each organization during setup. At Soulclick, for example, we implement e-commerce tracking for our clients. This allows nonprofits to capture and optimize every interaction and stage of the donation process, similar to a traditional online shop. For data visualization, tools like Google Looker Studio are often used, providing a user-friendly interface. GA4 also supports cross-platform tracking, enabling nonprofits to monitor user interactions across both websites and apps.

Google Display & Video 360 (DV360) is a programmatic advertising platform that allows advertisers to manage their digital campaigns across various channels, including display, video, audio, and TV, all within one platform.

Google’s Keyword Planner is a free keyword research tool available within the Google Ads account. It assists in identifying relevant keywords for paid advertising (SEA) and search engine optimization (SEO). Beyond keywords and search volume, it provides insights into competitiveness and cost-per-click for each keyword. With this data, charities can strategically allocate their budgets and optimize their efforts in online fundraising.

Google Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio) is a free data visualization tool. In online fundraising, Looker Studio enables data from various sources to be displayed in interactive dashboards and reports, allowing campaigns and fundraising efforts to be optimized more effectively. While Looker Studio itself is free, connectors to external data sources like Supermetrics or Catchr typically incur additional costs.

Google Search Console is a tool provided by Google that helps organizations optimize their websites and content for organic search. It is primarily used for on-page search engine optimization (see: SEO) and enhances organic rankings. Therefore, it is recommended using Google Search Console on nonprofit websites.

The Google Tag Manager (GTM) allows the integration of marketing tags to track website interactions and conversions without needing direct access to the website’s code. GTM is a user-friendly tool for easily implementing tracking measures on a website (see UTM parameters).

Grant Management encompasses the process from identifying funding institutions to applying for grants and managing and reporting on received funds. Funding institutions can include foundations, public sector entities, or other institutional donors. Specialized software solutions assist fundraisers in managing grants, while donation shops and fundraising platforms can be effective tools for increasing the visibility of larger projects or closing funding gaps by means of private donations.

A Gridsystem provides web designers and developers with a foundational framework to create visually appealing and responsive websites. It can be likened to a skeleton, encompassing key parameters such as columns (vertical divisions of the design into sections), gutters (spacing between the columns), and margins (whitespace between the content and the screen edges). By employing grids, designers ensure a modular and consistent layout that works seamlessly across all devices.

A Hard Bounce occurs when an email cannot be delivered to the recipient's inbox for permanent reasons. Common causes include invalid email addresses, non-existent domains, or the recipient's server rejecting the email. Unlike soft bounces, which may be temporary, hard bounces signify a permanent failure. Managing and potentially avoiding hard bounces is crucial in email marketing (e.g., newsletters or marketing automation), as high bounce rates can negatively affect your organization’s sender reputation and overall deliverability.

The Header refers to the section of a website typically located at the top. In HTML, it is defined using the <header> tag and usually contains navigation, a logo, and call-to-action buttons. Sticky headers remain visible as users scroll, allowing easy access to navigation at any time. On a fundraising website, the header should be lean and concise to guide donors through your organization's work, essential reports and support options.

A Headless CMS is a content management system without a built-in frontend for content display. It consists solely of the web application’s backend, where content is managed and delivered to various devices through APIs. By decoupling front and backend, content can be deployed across multiple platforms like web, apps, or smart TVs, making the solution highly flexible and scalable.

While web development with a headless CMS may initially incur higher costs due to its API architecture, it allows for later modernization of the user interface without the need to completely redevelop backend logic.

Heat Maps display a website’s engagement data as a graphical representation, helping organizations better understand user behavior. The intensity of activity on different sections is shown using color gradients—darker colors like blue represent areas with low engagement, while brighter colors like yellow or red indicate high activity. In digital fundraising, heat maps provide insights into how visitors interact with donation pages or key content, which in turn helps improve the overall user experience and maximize conversions.

A Hero Image refers to a large, prominent banner image placed at the top of a website’s homepage or landing page. It often includes key messaging, a headline, and sometimes a call-to-action (CTA) button. The hero image is designed to grab users’ attention immediately and convey the core value or purpose of the website in a visually engaging way.

In digital fundraising, a well-chosen hero image can highlight current campaigns or showcase a charity’s impact in an emotional and engaging way.

Hosting involves storing and managing the files and data necessary for a website to run smoothly. Web hosting providers supply the required servers and cloud infrastructure, which need to be managed either by a web agency or internal staff. Hosting prices vary significantly based on performance, cloud location and service level — as a general rule, you get what you pay for.

In the case of SaaS services like Soulclick, hosting costs are included in the platform’s subscription fee. Soulclick simplifies hosting for charities by offering built-in hosting services, making the deployment of websites and donation portals quicker and easier. Hosting performance depends on the service level agreement (SLA). For organizations with emergency campaigns and high donation volumes, we strongly recommend our SLA Pro variant.

A Hover State is a visual effect applied to elements like buttons and links when users hover over them with their mouse or trackpad. These effects—such as changing color, adding an underline, or triggering an animation—enhance the user experience by providing visual feedback and making the site feel more interactive. In digital fundraising, hover effects can however, draw additional attention to call-to-action buttons and help increase conversion rates. However, hover effects do not work as effectively on mobile devices, so their usage should be limited.

Hreflang is an attribute of a website’s HTML code used to inform search engines like Google or Bing which language version of the webpage should be displayed to users in different regions. In multilingual countries like Switzerland, correct language targeting is a key aspect of providing a good user experience. For international charities, Hreflang is also essential in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to ensure that the correct language version is indexed in different countries.

HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) is the foundational language used to structure content on web pages and emails. It consists of tags and attributes that define how text, images, links and other user interface elements are displayed in a browser, HTML is essential in web development to create and organize content in a structured way.

Basic knowledge of HTML is useful for anyone working with web content or email templates, as it allows for customization of elements like text formatting, images, and hyperlinks. Understanding HTML can also help troubleshoot display issues and improve the overall user experience in online donations.

An I-Frame (also known as an inline frame) is an HTML element used to embed content from third-party websites. While the service itself (e.g., a form) operates on a third-party host, it is displayed on the embedding site. Typical donation forms, like Soulclick Smart, are integrated into nonprofit websites via I-Frames (or native plugins). I-Frames allow complex features, such as online payment, to be added to a website without programming. However, they raise questions about data privacy (e.g., where the data is hosted) and data ownership (e.g., what happens to your data). These factors should be carefully considered when choosing a provider.

An Image Alt Tag (also known as "alt text" or "alternative text") is a descriptive text embedded in the HTML code of an image on a website. Most CMS platforms allow users to add alt text to images and videos (called video alt tags). Alt tags are especially important for search engine optimization (SEO) and accessibility, as they help visually impaired users understand the content of the image. A well-written alt tag should therefore be concise, informative, and accurately describe the image content.

Impact Investing is an investment strategy aimed at generating both financial returns and positive social impact. Impact investors support organizations or projects that address issues such as renewable energy, education, or healthcare. For nonprofit organizations, impact investing can serve as a crucial funding source beyond traditional fundraising methods.

In countries like Germany and Switzerland, website owners are legally required to publish specific information about their identity — especially when collecting donations online.

A proper legal disclosure (commonly referred to as an Impressum) should include:

• Name and address of the organization
• Legal form and authorized representatives
• Contact information (email, phone)
• Register entry (if applicable)
• VAT ID number (if applicable)

Failing to provide this information can lead to legal warnings or fines. A transparent Impressum also builds trust with online donors. In addition, some payment providers require it to verify the organization’s identity.

Institutional Fundraising refers to the targeted acquisition of funds from institutional donors, such as foundations, corporations, governments, and other public institutions. This process involves identifying suitable funding sources, preparing grant applications, and building long-term relationships with potential donors.

The term Institutional Readiness refers to a charity's ability to innovate and evolve. In digital fundraising, new strategies, technologies, and working methods come into play that nonprofit organizations must learn to adopt. This includes:

• The willingness and ability of the leadership team to drive digital transformation, make necessary investments, and guide the organizational development process.

• A clear commitment from all staff to the importance of fundraising, along with the implementation of an integrated communication and fundraising approach focused on the market and customer needs.

• Willingness to build additional resources and skills within the organization and to adopt new agile working methods.

• Establishing a scalable architecture with a connected tool landscape and a powerful data management system.

• A culture of innovation that embraces experimentation, accepts mistakes, and focuses on continuous optimization rather than isolated projects.

iPaaS refers to a cloud-based service that connects various software applications and data sources through API integrations. It acts as a managed service with numerous prebuilt connectors, enabling seamless data exchange between systems without the need to build and maintain complex custom integrations.

Popular iPaaS solutions include Zapier, Make (formerly Integromat), MuleSoft, and Workato.

Interaction Design (IX) is a field within User Experience Design that focuses on how users interact with web elements, such as buttons and navigation. Well-executed interaction design ensures that an NPO’s website is intuitive, easy to use, and engaging. In digital fundraising, effective IX is crucial for creating a smooth, user-centered donation process, ultimately leading to higher donation revenues.

International Fundraising involves soliciting donations across national borders, often to finance global projects. For nonprofit organizations operating internationally, it's crucial that their online donation tools meet the different requirements of various markets. Key considerations include:​

• Support for Multiple Currencies: Enabling donors worldwide to contribute in their local currency.

• Multilingual Capabilities: Donation forms and the software interface should be available in the languages of the target audiences.

• Flexible Customization: The ability to tailor the donation tool to local contexts (e.g., design, linguistic differences, currency formats).

• Local Payment Options: Integrating region-specific payment methods, such as SEPA in Europe, TWINT in Switzerland, or iDEAL in the Netherlands.

• Compliance with Legal Regulations: Adhering to local data protection laws and tax regulations is essential to avoid legal complications and build trust with donors. ​

Soulclick offers a comprehensive platform that supports international fundraising efforts by providing features like multi-currency processing, multilingual interfaces, and customizable donation forms, ensuring that nonprofits can effectively engage donors across different regions. 

IP Tracking enables the identification, tracking, and monitoring of the IP (Internet Protocol) address of a device when it connects to a network, such as when visiting a website. An IP address is a unique identifier assigned to each device on a network, and IP tracking helps gather information about the location, behavior, and preferences of website visitors.

In digital fundraising, IP tracking offers valuable insights into where donors are located, what devices they use, and how they engage with online content or donation platforms. This data can be leveraged to optimize website content and more effectively target fundraising efforts.

However, due to privacy regulations like GDPR, IP tracking must be handled with caution, ensuring that personal data is anonymized and properly protected.

The Issuer is the entity that issues credit cards to consumers and charges credit card transactions to the accounts of the respective cardholders. In Switzerland, issuers include UBS, Credit Suisse, Viseca, and Swisscard. Obtaining a card from an issuer requires a credit check. The first universal credit card, which could be used independently of specific merchants, was issued by Diners Club. Umbrella brands like VISA and Mastercard operate under an association model. Issuing banks, or issuers, are members of these associations and participate in national and global committees, where common standards are defined and agreed upon.

JavaScript (js.) is a versatile programming language widely used to add interactivity and advanced functionality to websites. In digital fundraising, it’s often used to create interactive forms, pop-ups, or integrate third-party tools such as inline donation forms.

While HTML structures content and CSS manages design, JavaScript enables dynamic features like real-time updates, form validation, and more complex interactions. However, it should be used sparingly to preserve performance, particularly on mobile platforms. With modern CSS, many animations and visual effects can now be achieved without relying on JavaScript.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) help charities, particularly in digital fundraising, to better understand how effectively they are achieving their objectives. KPIs are vital metrics that serve as benchmarks to assess performance and track progress over time. By analyzing KPIs, nonprofit organizations can identify strengths, uncover weaknesses, and make data-driven decisions to improve donor journeys, campaigns, and content. Common KPIs in digital fundraising include conversion rates, average donation amounts and donor retention rates.

A Keyword is a word (short-tail) or phrase (long-tail) that users search for on search engines like Google or Bing. Keywords are essential for on-page SEO, helping websites appear and rank in search results for relevant queries. Overloading a page with too many keywords, known as keyword stuffing, is considered a black-hat SEO tactic, and pages are usually downranked as a result. However, with a targeted keyword optimization strategy, nonprofits can increase their digital visibility and generate more online donations.

Keyword Analysis, or keyword research, is the process of identifying relevant search terms that users enter on Google and other search engines. It is a core element of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and paid search campaigns (SEA). Keyword analysis is often carried out using the Google Keyword Planner. The process involves analyzing:

• Short-tail keywords: Single terms, such as donate.

• Long-tail keywords: More specific phrases, such as donate for children.

These keywords are then strategically incorporated into web content to boost visibility. A thorough keyword analysis, paired with content optimization, helps charities reach more potential donors - and ideally, encourage them to make a donation

Keyword Optimization refers to the process of optimizing website content with specific search terms (keywords) to improve visibility in organic search results. The goal is to attract more qualified traffic to the website.

As part of search engine optimization (SEO), keyword optimization plays an important role in digital fundraising – especially when potential donors search for specific topics, projects, or charity brands. As a result it can have a direct positive impact on online donation revenue.

Keyword optimization is most effective when combined with a clear content strategy and technical SEO. Tools like Google Keyword Planner, Seobility, or Ubersuggest are a great help in research, analysis, and ongoing performance tracking.

Keyword Stuffing, also known as keyword spam, is an outdated SEO practice where a webpage is overloaded with excessive keywords or phrases in an attempt to manipulate search engine rankings. This black-hat tactic involves unnaturally repeating keywords in the content, meta tags, or alt attributes, often resulting in poor user experience and irrelevant content.

Search engines like Google have evolved to detect high keyword density, and websites that overuse keywords are typically penalized or downranked. Instead of keyword stuffing, a balanced, relevant, and user-focused content strategy should be applied to improve SEO performance. Nonprofits can enhance visibility and build trust by focusing on high-quality content rather than keyword overuse.

A KYC (Know Your Customer) process involves verifying the identity of organizations or individuals within the context of financial services. Its purpose is to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, or fraudulent activities – which is why KYC is a key component of regulatory frameworks such as Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations.

KYC is also relevant in digital fundraising: When donations are processed through software solutions like Soulclick and Soulclick onboards payment contracts on behalf of a charity, we are legally required to carry out a KYC procedure. This includes reviewing the following information:

• Legal form and authorized representatives of the charity
• Commercial register excerpt or organizational statutes
• Valid legal notice (impressum) and contact details
• Proof of identity of the responsible individuals

KYC is not only a regulatory requirement – it also builds trust with donors. It ensures that every donation form is operated by a legally verified organization.

A Lead is a person or organization that expresses interest in an organization's work and may potentially become a supporter, volunteer, or donor in the future. In digital fundraising, a lead is often defined as someone who has opted in to receive communications from the charity. As a result, these potential supporters regularly receive newsletters or transactional emails with personalized content. Lead generation is a key tool in online fundraising, often serving as the first step toward an online donation.

Lead Generation aims to attract and convert prospects into subscribers (see first-party data) and is an important community-building measure in online fundraising. Typical lead generation strategies for charities include gated content (e.g., offering a downloadable project report in exchange for an opt-in), email subscription forms on the website, or lead generation forms on platforms like Facebook (e.g., offering testament guides to potential legacy donors).

Lead Nurturing is a discipline of marketing automation focused on guiding leads toward the next best action in the donor lifecycle. The goal is to achieve internal marketing and fundraising objectives in a structured and largely automated fashion. Lead nurturing models are part of the Soulclick Automation Module. For example, newsletter subscribers can be encouraged to make an initial donation, or one-time donors can be converted into recurring supporters. This is achieved through timely, behavior-based, and personalized email automation campaigns.

The Lifetime Value (LTV) represents the cumulative value of a donor over her or his lifetime. The LTV can be calculated for individuals, segments, or cohorts. LTV analyses are used in fundraising to retrospectively (past-oriented) or prospectively (future-oriented) determine the monetary value of a target group. These analyses provide critical insights into which target groups have established long-term successful relationships with the organization and where resources for marketing activities and relationship management should be allocated.

Link building refers to the process of systematically acquiring backlinks – external links from other websites that point to your own. It is a off-page SEO strategy that helps improve search engine rankings.

In digital fundraising, the following link building strategies are commonly used:

• Content marketing: Publishing own content on other websites (e.g. studies, infographics, guides).
• Press & media outreach: Mentions in relevant media, online newspapers, or blogs.
• Partnerships & collaborations: Mutual linking with e.g. project partners abroad.
• Directory listings

Important: The quality of the linking websites is essential. Backlinks from untrustworthy sources can harm rather than help your search engine rankings.

With LLMO (Large Language Model Optimization), website content is specifically optimized so that AI language models like ChatGPT or Gemini can better recognize and recommend it. Similar to search engine optimization (SEO), LLMO is tailored not for search engines, but for AI tools.

In digital fundraising, LLMO helps boost the visibility of your organization’s content and attract more traffic. A clear structure and easy-to-understand language are essential. Well-written FAQs (frequently asked questions) moreover increase the chances of being used as a source by AI systems.

Local SEO aims to improve an organization’s ranking for regional searches (e.g., “charity near me”). For nonprofits with local services (like counseling centers) or regional fundraising events (e.g., a charity run), Local SEO is a crucial tool in the online marketing mix. It helps increase reach and makes it easier for target audiences to locate the organization on platforms like Google Maps.

Key Local SEO measures include setting up and completing a Google My Business profile, ensuring consistent NAP data (name, address, phone number) across all channels, and utilizing local keywords and landing pages (e.g., “addiction support Solothurn”). Additionally, positive Google reviews, local media mentions, and regional links can enhance Local SEO impact.

A Long-Tail Keyword is a specific search phrase consisting of three or more words. Compared to short-tail keywords, which are single terms, long-tail keywords are much more specific and often lead to higher conversion rates. An example of a long-tail keyword might be “donate for children” or “donate to projects in Nicaragua.” Nonprofit organizations should optimize their web content not only for individual keywords but also conduct targeted long-tail keyword research and incorporate these terms into their content.

A Lookalike Audience is a group of users who share similar characteristics or behaviors with an existing audience. Platforms like Facebook Ads or Google Ads use data from existing audiences (e.g., website visitors, donors, or email subscribers) to identify and target (see: targeting) new potential users who are likely to have similar interests or behaviors.

In digital fundraising, nonprofits use lookalike audiences to reach potential donors who resemble their current supporters. This targeting strategy helps organizations expand their reach by identifying users who are more likely to engage, donate, or participate in campaigns, based on shared traits with existing donors.

A Low-Code Application is a software application built using a low-code platform, which allows developers to create applications with minimal manual coding. Instead of writing extensive lines of code, developers (and even non-developers) can use a graphical interface with drag-and-drop components, templates, and visual workflows to build the application. This approach significantly accelerates development, making it easier to create applications quickly and with fewer resources.

Machine Learning is a branch of artificial intelligence (AI) that allows computer systems to learn from data and make predictions or decisions without being explicitly programmed for specific tasks. Machine learning algorithms identify patterns and relationships in data, enabling systems to improve accuracy and performance over time as they process more information.

In digital fundraising, machine learning can be used to analyze donor behavior, predict donation trends, and personalize communications. For example, charities can use machine learning to identify trends or potential donors who are more likely to contribute.

Marketing Automation supports the software-driven automation of communication and fundraising processes. The approach aims to create personalized digital dialogues with target audiences, thereby sustainably enhancing the commercial impact of digital fundraising. At Soulclick, marketing automation is used to extend donor journeys and increase lifetime values. Online donors are systematically re-engaged and informed about new fundraising campaigns.

The Marketing Funnel refers to a framework for tracking, measuring, and managing performance in digital marketing. In the context of fundraising, it is often referred to as the Fundraising Funnel. Ultimately, the funnel serves as a tool for measuring and optimizing the donor journey (see Conversion Rate Optimization).

Media Analysis systematically examines and evaluates media content to gather relevant information on public perception, topics, and trends. For nonprofits, it offers valuable insights into how and where they are perceived, which messages resonate well, and which media channels are most relevant. Comparative data and benchmarks can also support online fundraising efforts. This approach aids in aligning marketing and fundraising strategies with the needs and behaviors of target audiences.

Media Spend refers to the budget a nonprofit organization allocates specifically for advertising and marketing across various channels in online fundraising. This includes only actual ad expenses, such as Google Ads, social media, or YouTube ads – costs for creatives, production, and related tasks are not included. With effective tracking, media spend per channel can be optimized, for example, by using CPA (Cost per Acquisition) as a metric.

A Mega Menu is a website navigation type that promotes a flexible structure and clear organization. Unlike dropdown menus, which typically includes only a single submenu level, mega menus can feature multiple levels and categories, as well as images, icons, and call-to-actions. This approach helps charities create user-friendly websites and showcase their digital offerings while seamlessly integrating numerous indexed pages, which can boost SEO performance and support their online fundraising goals.

A Meta Description is the short text displayed in search engine results (SERP) below a webpage’s meta title. It concisely summarizes the page content and should include relevant keywords. The ideal length is around 150 to 160 characters to ensure it displays fully. A well-crafted meta description can increase the click-through rate (CTR), bringing more donors to the website. If users don’t add a meta description, search engines will automatically generate one based on the page’s content.

A Meta Title is the title of a webpage that appears in search engine results (compare SERP). It summarizes the page content and should contain relevant keywords. The ideal length is between 50 and 60 characters to avoid being cut off. A well-crafted meta title enhances the click-through rate (CTR) on Google and other search engines, driving more web traffic.

Micro-Giving refers to donating small amounts – often between CHF 1 and 10 – collected through digital channels or in-app donations (e.g., PayPal or TWINT). Examples include round-up campaigns during online shopping or micro-donations via payment apps. For nonprofits, micro-giving offers the opportunity to collect many small donations while engaging younger audiences that are not part of traditional donor segments. Successful micro-giving relies on low entry barriers and clear communication about the impact these small amounts can achieve.

A Minimal Marketable Product (MMP) is an evolved version of the Minimal Viable Product (MVP) and represents a product that is market-ready and functional. For an NPO website, an MMP might include a web solution that integrates all essential aspects of a donor journey, such as a donation portal or a storytelling section. The goal is to design the product in a way that leads to measurable increases in online donation revenue.

A Minimal Viable Product (MVP) refers to the minimum scope of a newly developed product (e.g., an NPO website) that should be achieved in an initial development phase. The aim of this approach is to quickly deliver a "usable product" through an agile process. Based on this MVP, feedback is collected and incorporated into a refinement phase, which involves revising, adjusting, and optimizing the product. While development may conclude with the MVP in pilot projects, in most cases, the MVP serves as the foundation for further development into the Minimal Marketable Product (MMP).

Mobile-First Design is an approach to UX design where websites, emails, and other digital assets are initially developed for mobile devices. Larger viewports, such as tablets or desktops, are then adapted from the smallest device size. With the majority of web traffic now coming from mobile devices, Mobile-First Design is the preferred choice for organizations focused on user-centered digital design. Consequently, this approach should also be adopted in online fundraising, for example, in the design of campaign pages or donation forms.

Mobile Fundraising refers to the collection of donations or engaging supporters through mobile devices. Today, mobile usage accounts for about 60% of global web traffic, making it essential for charities to adopt mobile-first approaches and optimize their user experience for mobile devices. In online fundraising, mobile technology is used through methods such as text messages, mobile-optimized donation forms, dedicated fundraising apps, or QR codes.

Mobile Giving (also known as Mobile Fundraising) refers to donating via mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets. Donors can give directly through mobile-optimized donation forms, payment apps (e.g., TWINT or PayPal), or SMS donation campaigns.
With the growing importance of mobile devices, mobile giving has become a key part of online fundraising. User-friendly, responsive donation forms and fast payment methods are essential to increase giving on the go. Tools like Soulclick’s donation forms and donation shops are specifically designed for mobile donations.

A Mock-up is a detailed visual draft of a website, app, or product. It’s a key tool in UX/UI (User Experience/User Interface) design, used to present ideas, define layout and structure, and offer an early preview of the project’s visual elements.

Unlike a wireframe, which is a basic outline, a mock-up provides a more polished design featuring realistic elements like colors, typography, images, and graphics. However, mock-ups lack interactive functionality, such as clickable buttons - that level of detail is typically introduced at the prototype stage.

Moodboards are design sketches that help establish an initial direction for future web design in collaboration with the client. This is followed by a first draft in the form of a mock-up and then the screen design. For larger web projects, a clickable prototype is often developed before finalizing the screen design. Moodboards, mock-ups, and screen designs are typically created using UX/UI tools like FIGMA or Adobe XD.

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a simple yet effective method for measuring customer satisfaction and loyalty. Participants are asked how likely they are to recommend an organization on a scale from 0 to 10. To calculate the NPS, the percentage of detractors (those rating 0-6) is subtracted from the percentage of promoters (those rating 9-10). Neutral responses (7-8) are not included in the calculation.

Originally developed by the consulting firm Bain & Company, NPS is also widely applied in the nonprofit sector. It serves as a key performance indicator (KPI) for benchmarking against other organizations and assessing the effectiveness of customer retention strategies. The NPS concept is particularly popular in the USA, where the benchmark for nonprofit organizations ranges between 30 and 50, depending on the sector. An organization with a score of 50 or more, thus demonstrates a very strong donor loyalty.

Newsletter Marketing is a subdiscipline of email marketing, focused on sending updates to donors and other target groups in the context of online fundraising. It is a key tool for charities within their digital fundraising strategy, providing donors with regular updates about the organization to build trust and strengthen long-term relationships with supporters. Smart email marketing tools can handle not only newsletters but also marketing automation tasks.

The Next-Best Action (NBA) approach focuses on user needs, motivating or prompting users to naturally take the next step in their customer journey (see CTA). The goal for the organization is to move as many users as possible to the next stage (see Lead Nurturing). In online fundraising, an NBA might involve encouraging a one-off donor into a regular contributor.

Nofollow or rel="nofollow" is an attribute value used in HTML links to signal to search engines that an external link should not be crawled and that no link equity (SEO value) should be passed through it. This attribute is commonly applied to avoid endorsing certain external sites, particularly in cases where links might be paid for, user-generated, or untrusted. It is a measure used to prevent any association with unethical practices (e.g., purchasing links), which could otherwise negatively impact a website’s ranking.

A Noindex Tag is commonly used on a website to instruct search engines not to index a specific page, preventing it from appearing in search results. The noindex directive is typically added in the head section of the HTML as a meta tag. It's important to note that pages with a noindex tag can still be crawled by search engines, but they will not be included in search result listings.

A Nonprofit CRM is a customer relationship management software specifically designed to meet the needs of fundraising organizations. It is also referred to as Donor Relationship Management. The core focus of a Nonprofit CRM is to manage and strengthen donor relationships throughout the entire lifecycle, from recruitment to retention and recovery.

Online Donations refers to the process of donating money to a cause or nonprofit organization through the internet. These donations are typically made through digital platforms such as a nonprofit's website, third-party fundraising platforms or social media channels.

Online donation platforms, such as Soulclick, often include secure payment processing and are integrated into donation forms, social media campaigns, or specific fundraising events.

Online donations are crucial for reaching new, younger target groups and lowering barriers to giving, allowing supporters to contribute anytime and from anywhere. Donations can be one-time or recurring, helping organizations maintain a consistent flow of contributions over time.

Online Fundraising is a broad term for all measures, tools, and resources that nonprofit organizations use to generate donations over the internet. Also known as digital fundraising, it encompasses online donation software, email campaigns, and platforms like social media or crowdfunding sites, allowing organizations to reach a wide audience. An essential aspect of online fundraising, particularly in the early stages of donor engagement, is effective communication through targeted content and compelling storytelling.

An Online Fundraising Tool is a specialized software solution designed to help nonprofits collect online donations. It typically includes a donation form with an integrated online payment solution (see: payment gateway). Advanced tools like Soulclick provide additional features, such as:

• Fundraising hubs such as a donation shop

• Dashboards for data analysis

• Email automations

• Content hub for storytelling

• Integrations with third-party systems (e.g., CRM systems)

On-Premise (short: On-Prem) is a software deployment model where customers operate their software on own servers and infrastructure. Over the last years, the market has shifted significantly from On-Premise to SaaS and Cloud Computing solutions, which generally offer more flexible scalability and lower setup costs.

With On-Premise software, the responsibility and costs for maintenance, security, and updates lie with the customer. This can be particularly challenging for small and medium-sized nonprofits with limited IT knowledge.

Open Banking allows third-party providers and software platforms to access and use banking services and applications directly through API interfaces. With Open Banking, your organization can, for example, track invoice payments via Soulclick. The bank reconciliation feature enables the automation of downstream financial and communication processes, which can be particularly beneficial when managing high transaction volumes.

Opt-in refers to the process of obtaining explicit consent from users before processing their personal data. It’s commonly used in email marketing to send newsletters or automated emails to users who have subscribed on your organization’s website. Under European Data Regulations (GDPR), organizations are required to use a double opt-in process for extra verification, which often involves asking users to confirm their subscription through a link sent to their email. This additional step ensures that the user’s information is correct and that the consent is intentional.

In Organic Marketing, charities use high-quality content to reach their target audience without using paid advertising. The goal of organic marketing is to improve visibility on search engines and social media to gain more followers and increase organic web traffic. Typical organic measures are:

• Landing pages and blog articles

• Social media posts

• User-generated content

• Email marketing

• Search engine optimization (SEO)

• PR

Effective organic marketing not only strengthens online fundraising but also enhances a charity's credibility – particularly among younger audiences.

Page Views count how often a webpage is accessed by users. Each visit to a page is recorded as a Page View, regardless of whether the same person visits the page multiple times. To further evaluate the reach and relevance of a website, the following KPIs are often used in addition:

• Unique Visitors: The number of individual users who have visited the website.

• Page Hits: All server requests required to load a page, including HTML, CSS, images, and other files.

Paid Marketing in online fundraising involves leveraging paid advertising to increase the reach and conversions of fundraising campaigns and digital platforms. Unlike organic marketing, paid strategies deliver fast, measurable results but often come with higher costs.

Common paid marketing formats for nonprofits:

1. Google Ads and Ad Grants

2. Social Media Ads (especially Meta Ads)

3. Video campaigns on YouTube

4. Google Demand Gen or PMAX campaigns

5. DV360 (Display & Video 360)

A key success factor in paid marketing is the strategic allocation of the media spend across channels that resonate most with donors. Comprehensive media analyses provide critical insights into channel effectiveness, helping to distribute the advertising budget in a way that aligns with donor preferences. Additionally, effective tracking offers valuable data for continuous campaign optimization, ensuring better performance throughout the campaign’s lifecycle.

Pay-As-You-Go is a widely used pricing model for Software-as-a-Service products, where customers only pay for what they actually use. Unlike transacSciher tion-based fees, users don’t pay per donation but per feature they choose to activate. This makes expenses more predictable and transparently tied to the selected feature set. At Soulclick, for example, nonprofit organizations can choose the features they want to use – the more features they select, the higher the monthly fixed fee.

A Payment Gateway is a digital gateway between the donor and the nonprofit organization in Online Fundraising. When all security and commercial requirements are met, the gateway opens to ensure a secure transaction. The gateway facilitates a seamless transaction, encrypts payment and credit card data, and forwards it to the payment institution (see Acquirer). Once the payment is approved, it is confirmed via a success message and subsequently processed.

A Payment Token in online donations is a secure, unique identifier that represents sensitive payment information, such as a credit card number, without storing the actual data. Payment tokens are commonly used to protect donor information by replacing sensitive details with a randomly generated string (= the token) of characters. This token can then be used to process payments instead of the real data. Soulclick utilizes payment tokens to handle online donations and safely manage recurring donations without needing donors to re-enter sensitive information. Since payment tokens require a secure infrastructure, they incur processing fees.

PayPal Donations is one of the most popular forms of online donations in many European countries in which PayPal is the dominant payment method, including Germany. Since donors with a PayPal account don’t need to enter personal payment details, the checkout process is very smooth and conversion-friendly.

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) is an online advertising model where advertisers pay a fee each time a user clicks on their ad. It is widely used on search engines, social media platforms, and display networks. PPC campaigns allow businesses to target specific keywords, demographics, and interests, ensuring that ads are shown to relevant audiences. This model is cost-effective because advertisers only pay when users actively engage with their ads, helping to maximize ROI by focusing on the clicks most likely to convert into customers.

PCI Compliance refers to adherence to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), a set of security standards designed to ensure that all companies accepting, processing, storing, or transmitting credit card information maintain a secure environment. Created by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) — which includes major credit card companies like Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and JCB — PCI DSS aims to protect cardholder data, reduce credit card fraud, and safeguard sensitive financial information. Soulclick also complies with PCI DSS standards, ensuring that online donations are processed in a secure environment.

In Peer-to-Peer Fundraising (P2P), supporters create their own fundraising campaigns on behalf of a charity. Online donation platforms like Soulclick make it easy for supporters to launch and manage their own fundraisers. P2P fundraising is especially popular with local organizations aiming to engage and grow their community. These campaigns can be inspired by a variety of occasions, such as birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, or memorial donations.

A Persona is a theoretical model representing a typical donor, described based on various segmentation criteria, such as demographics, psychographics, and behavior. Personas are used in communication and fundraising to customize messages and campaigns for specific target groups. They can be developed by using data e.g. from surveys, focus groups, donor data assessments, and Google Analytics metrics.

A Petition collects signatures to raise awareness of social, ecological, or political issues through both analog and digital media, applying pressure on political decision-makers.

Platforms like Avaaz and Change.org offer digital signature collection and often combine this with fundraising campaigns. This approach allows them to expand their reach through paid advertising and attract additional supporters.

Phishing is a type of cyber attack in which attackers use deception to trick individuals into providing sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords, credit card data, or other personal details. Attacks typically involve fraudulent emails, messages, or websites that appear to come from a reputable source.

In digital fundraising, phishing poses severe risks to a charity's reputation and donor trust. Attackers may create fake donation forms or fundraising emails that imitate the nonprofit’s brand to fraudulently solicit donations.

A Plugin is a small module that extends the functionality of a website or software. Plugins provide end users with flexibility without significantly increasing the complexity (codebase) of the application. They can be used, for instance, to expand the design options of a modular website or to offer additional services, such as SEO monitoring.

Product Ownership is a pivotal role in agile software development, particularly in frameworks like Scrum. The Product Owner (PO) is responsible for maximizing the product's value and guiding the development process from a strategic perspective. This includes managing the Product Backlog, which prioritizes requirements, tasks, and opportunities for improvement.

Core responsibilities of the Product Owner:

• Prioritization: Determining which features or requirements should be developed first, based on their importance to stakeholders.

• Stakeholder collaboration: Working closely with clients, users, and other key groups to align the product vision with their expectations.

• Clear communication: Setting clear goals for the development team and ensuring everyone has a shared understanding of the product’s requirements.

While the Scrum Master focuses on team dynamics and process efficiency, the Product Owner is responsible for shaping the product’s vision and ensuring its alignment with business goals and user needs.

Profiling involves systematically collecting and analyzing data to create detailed target group profiles. The resulting personas are typically based not only on traditional sociodemographic characteristics but also on behavioral patterns.

This approach enables a more tailored and targeted engagement in digital fundraising. However, strict compliance with legal data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR) is essential.

Programmatic Advertising refers to the automated buying and selling of digital ad spaces using software and real-time bidding (RTB) rather than manual negotiations. This system leverages algorithms to target audiences with precision, bidding on ad space in real-time auctions. By analyzing data such as user behavior, demographics, and browsing habits, programmatic advertising allows advertisers to efficiently reach their ideal audience.

Public Fundraising refers to the targeted acquisition of donations from individuals, including single donors, benefactors, and online contributors. This is achieved through various channels and methods such as mailings, face-to-face campaigns or online fundraisers. While public fundraising primarily seeks unrestricted donations, appeals and campaigns can still be project-specific and personalized.

Pull Marketing focuses on attracting potential donors who are actively searching for specific topics. Nonprofits achieve this through methods like organic social media posts, blog articles, or search engine optimization (SEO).

Pull strategies are highly effective for driving organic reach and traffic in online fundraising. However, they rely on the target audience already being interested in the topics. To effectively promote new content or campaigns, nonprofits should pair these efforts with push marketing measures to proactively generate attention.

Push Marketing involves online fundraising activities that proactively deliver (or "push") content to potential donors. It is primarily used for campaigns and includes paid ads (e.g., Google Ads, Meta Ads) and email campaigns.

Push strategies are highly effective for generating quick awareness. However, for a balanced online fundraising, nonprofits should also leverage pull marketing to build long-term organic reach and trust.

A QR Code (Quick Response Code) is a specialized matrix barcode that can be scanned by QR readers or mobile phone cameras. QR codes are commonly used in offline fundraising to provide donors with a quick and easy way to donate directly online. Soulclick also offers a QR code generator that can be easily integrated into mailings, directing donors to a dedicated online checkout form.

A QR Donation allows donors to scan a QR code with their smartphone, taking them directly to a secure payment page or donation form. The simplicity of this process encourages spontaneous giving, and QR codes can easily be integrated into fundraising letters, emails, posters, or videos. Soulclick provides a QR donation option through its Direct Checkout feature.

A QR-IBAN is a special type of IBAN (International Bank Account Number) that facilitates easy payment of invoices via QR codes. In Switzerland, the QR invoice replaced traditional payment slips in 2022 and has since become the standard for billing. With the QR-IBAN, many details (e.g., recipient information or invoice amount) are pre-filled in the payer's e-banking system, simplifying the payment process. In Soulclick checkouts and donation forms, donations can be made via invoice. Donors then receive an email with a QR invoice attached as a PDF. Like all other payment methods, this option can be enabled or disabled as needed.

Recurring Donations are automatically debited from the payment method at predefined intervals. At Soulclick, donors can choose to donate monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually, and they receive an email notification before and after each debit. Recurring donations are commonly used for memberships, patronages, or digital sponsorships.

A Release (or software release) refers to the launch of a new version of a software product – it typically includes new features, improvements or bug fixes. There are three different types of releases:

• Major release (e.g. from version 1.9 to 2.0): significant new features or structural changes
• Minor release (e.g. from 1.4 to 1.5): smaller improvements and feature updates
• Patch release (e.g. from 1.2 to 1.2.1): short-term bug fixes and stability improvements

At Soulclick,we also publish regular new releases - with each new version, the platform is extended by new fundraising features, usability improvements or technical optimizations. Upcoming releases are communicated transparently through release notes on our website and regular release call webinars.

Remarketing, also known as retargeting, focuses on reaching users who previously interacted with a brand (e.g., through a website visit) via ads on third-party platforms, such as Gmail and social media. These additional touchpoints increase the likelihood that users will take the desired action, such as making a donation. In online fundraising, remarketing is an effective tool for re-engaging supporters and drawing their attention to current fundraising campaigns, petitions, or similar activities.

Reply Management is a discipline of customer service management which is also utilized by nonprofits. It involves systematically capturing and responding to feedback and inputs from supporters and donors. Using Customer Insights, feedback is actively solicited. Ideally, valid feedback is directly integrated into the ongoing development of communication and fundraising strategies.

Requirements engineering refers to the process of gathering, defining, documenting, and managing customer requirements in IT projects. It plays a particularly important role in large, complex digital projects in charities and companies alike. In this context, needs are captured in the form of user stories and implemented iteratively through agile sprints. It is a common method of 

A Requirements Specification (german: Lastenheft) outlines the expectations and requirements of a charity for a software system ("What do we want to achieve?"). It defines the key goals, functions, and parameters of the planned solution from a business perspective. A requirements specification is often created to evaluate an online donation tool or CRM software and serves as a foundation for the pre-selection of suitable tools as well as for developing a functional specification document ("How do we implement it?").

Responsive Design is a web design approach that ensures websites dynamically adjust to the user’s viewport, device, or orientation (such as landscape mode). This approach, a major milestone in web development, was introduced by Ethan Marcotte in 2010. It relies on a flexible grid system that allows for scalable design, accommodating screen sizes from the smallest to the largest.

Ideally, responsive design is implemented using a UX/UI design system (such as Figma) that defines the standards and key parameters for web developers. Additionally, responsive design provides the foundation for building digital products with a mobile-first approach.

Responsiveness refers to a website's or application's ability to adapt flexibly to various screen sizes, devices, and orientations (landscape and portrait), delivering an optimal user experience for online fundraising. While responsive design lays the groundwork for layout adjustments, responsiveness also encompasses the technical implementation needed to ensure seamless functionality across all devices and screen formats.

Responsive Retrofitting involves scaling down an existing desktop-first website to make it mobile-friendly and responsive. This approach is particularly common fro large-scale, older media websites (such as newspapers) that face challenges in fully transitioning their digital presence into the mobile-first era. Responsive retrofitting typically includes:

• Simplifying navigation to suit touchscreens

• Prioritizing essential content and reducing secondary elements,

• Optimizing images and assets to improve load times on mobile devices

• Reordering layouts to improve readability and accessibility on smaller screens

While responsive retrofitting helps bring legacy websites into the mobile-friendly realm, a mobile-first or progressive enhancement approach is clearly preferred for new projects to ensure an optimal experience across all devices.

ROAS stands for Return on Advertising Spend and is a commonly used key performance indicator in online fundraising. ROAS is primarily evaluated in paid digital campaigns on platforms like Google or Meta, showing the ratio between donation revenue and advertising spend. For example, a ROAS of 3 means that for every Swiss Franc invested in advertising, CHF 3 in donations was generated.

The robots.txt file allows web developers to specify which subpages of a website may or may not be crawled by search engines. For example, admin pages can be specifically excluded from crawling using the Disallow directive, while other pages can be permitted with the Allow directive.

The Scope defines the deliverables of the upcoming implementation sprint in a digital project. Scoping is conducted after the requirement engineering phase. Larger web, CRM, or automation projects are typically implemented using agile methodologies, with their scope defined in advance.

Screen readers are input and output tools for people with visual impairments. They allow users to have website content read aloud or navigate the screen using speech or Braille output. As a key instrument of digital accessibility, they ensure that people with limited vision can access the content of nonprofits and participate in fundraising campaigns.

Search Engine Advertising (SEA) refers to paid advertising measures on search engines. SEA is a key discipline in online fundraising, helping organizations expand their reach and drive more traffic to their website through paid media. Advertisements are strategically displayed for specific keyword groups to target the right audience effectively.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) refers to optimizing a website for search engines. SEO includes both the optimization on a website's domain (on-page SEO) and external content (off-page SEO). Key aspects of SEO include: - Local SEO: Enhancing local search visibility. - Off-page SEO: Focused on backlinks and external signals. - On-page SEO: Primarily keyword optimization within the site. - Technical SEO: Improvements in page speed, accessibility, and more. - Additional Measures: Domain reputation, UX/UI, page experience, and related factors. All Soulclick products are continuously optimized for SEO and updated with a range of standard SEO features, such as improved loading speeds and accessibility.

The See-Think-Do-Care Framework is commonly used in online fundraising campaigns, breaking down the donor journey into four phases. Each phase has distinct goals and thus uses different messages and content.

In the See phase, for instance, the goal is to reach as many potential donors as possible and spark their interest, while the Think phase focuses on presenting specific ways to support the cause. The Do phase prioritizes conversions and the Care phase aims to build strong relationships with donors.

For small-scale campaigns with limited resources, the focus is often only on the Think and Do phases, leaving out the other two.

An SEO Ranking refers to the position a website holds in the organic (unpaid) search results of a search engine. The higher the ranking, the more prominently the site is displayed, increasing its visibility to users. ​

Search engines like Google utilize complex algorithms to evaluate and rank websites. Key factors influencing SEO ranking include:​

• Quality and Relevance of Content: High-quality, informative, and relevant content is favored by search engines.
• Backlinks: Links from other reputable websites serve as trust signals and can enhance a site's ranking. ​
• User Experience (UX): A user-friendly design, fast load times, and mobile optimization contribute to a better ranking. ​

In online fundraising, achieving a strong SEO ranking is crucial for directing potential donors to your website. Effective search engine optimization increases visibility, thereby enhancing the success of fundraising campaigns.​

The Search Engine Results Page (SERP) displays search results to users on platforms like Google or Bing. SERPs typically include 1-3 paid ads at the top, followed by 10 organic listings, with additional ads sometimes appearing at the bottom. Traffic from SERPs falls into two categories: Paid Search and Organic Search. Paid Search refers to search ads that organizations pay for to rank higher, while Organic Search includes non-paid results, where sites compete for higher visibility through Search Engine Optimization (SEO). In digital fundraising, high SERP visibility is crucial for driving online donations and attracting new donors.

A Service-Level Agreement (SLA) is a formal contract between the customer and the software provider. It outlines operations, support, availability, and other critical aspects of daily business interactions. For business-critical applications, SLAs mitigate risks by specifying resolution times and software uptime. Soulclick's SLAs guarantee the seamless and secure operation of your account and are an essential component of our SaaS delivery model.

An integrated system architecture requires a central data hub, known as the Single-Point-of-Truth (SPoT). Typically, a CRM or data warehouse serves as the SPoT, connecting surrounding systems such as marketing automation, web, and fundraising tools via API interfaces.

By synchronizing relevant data attributes, a centralized and reliable information base is established. This allows charities to analyze donor, transaction, and communication data, enhancing the effectiveness and management of fundraising campaigns.

Single Sign-On (SSO) allows users to log in to a digital service repeatedly with a one-time registration, such as via a Facebook account. In online fundraising, SSO can streamline the donation process by enabling users to complete transactions without inputting personal details.

A Sitemap visualizes the hierarchy of a website, including its navigation structure and internal linking between subpages. Wireframes are often used alongside sitemaps during the conceptual phase. In the Soulclick setup, we review your website structure and provide specific recommendations for the optimal integration of the donation section.

The Slug is the part of a webpage’s URL that typically follows the top-level domain (e.g., www.helvetas.ch/donate). It indicates the path to a specific page and should ideally contain the main keyword of the subpage, making it easier for search engines to find relevant content on the website.

Social Fundraising encompasses all activities in which individuals collect donations through social networks or online platforms, encouraging friends and family members to join in. It includes crowdfunding campaigns, peer-to-peer fundraising, and social media campaigns. Soulclick offers a powerful toolkit for social fundraising, helping charities to build their own community. Social fundraising is a broad term that covers various disciplines, such as community fundraising, where local supporters engage in a social project.

Soft Bounces occur when emails cannot be temporarily delivered. Causes can include full inboxes, temporary server issues, or attachments that are too large—these delivery issues usually resolve themselves over time. However, Soft Bounces should still be monitored, as they can negatively impact the sender's reputation and deliverability, just like Hard Bounces.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is a cloud-based software delivery model. Unlike traditional on-premise applications, where the software user is responsible for hosting, infrastructure, and maintenance, the SaaS model shifts these responsibilities to the software provider. Under a SaaS licensing agreement, aspects such as maintenance, updates, security, and more are handled by the provider on behalf of the customer. In return, an ongoing fee is charged. Soulclick is exclusively provided and operated under the SaaS model (see SLA).

An SDK (Software Development Kit) is a collection of tools, libraries, plugins, sample code, and documentation used by developers in software development. SDKs simplify the development process by providing pre-built components and program elements, streamlining workflows, and enhancing the final product.

A Staging Environment is a dedicated test environment used to test changes, amends or new features of software or a website before its release. Thanks to staging, major changes can be thoroughly tested without affecting the live environment (production). This makes the staging environment a crucial component in agile software development for charities, as it ensures the stability and functionality of an application before its official release.

A Sticky Header, also known as a floating header, is the top navigation element of a website that remains fixed and visible while scrolling. This keeps the navigation constantly accessible and easy to use. In online fundraising, a sticky header offers the benefit of keeping the donation button in the users' view at all times, encouraging spontaneous donations.

A Subdomain is an additional part of a main domain – for example, donate.vivamosmejor.ch, where donate is the subdomain of vivamosmejor.ch. Subdomains make it possible to seamlessly integrate third-party services like donation shops or blogs into a website. Technically, this is managed through DNS records that point the subdomain to the server of the external provider. Typically, a CNAME record is used to map the subdomain to another domain name.

Swissfundraising is the association of fundraising professionals in Switzerland. It advocates for the interests of its over 1,000 members (as of 2024) and fosters connections among diverse stakeholders through events, online platforms, and working groups. The association also organizes the annual Swissfundraisingday, a key event for networking and professional development within the Swiss fundraising sector.

System Architecture describes the structure and design of an organization's IT system, defining how various software solutions are connected and communicate (e.g., bidirectional or unidirectional). System architectures can be built using two different approaches:

• Best-of-Breed (BOB): Individual specialized software solutions for specific tasks (e.g., marketing automation) are connected to a central data hub (single point of truth) via API interfaces.

• Best-of-Suite (BOS): A single integrated platform is used, bringing together all required functions within one system.

An intelligently designed and integrated system architecture is essential for success in digital fundraising. All systems—from donation forms to CRM and email marketing tools—must work together seamlessly, enabling fundraising campaigns to be delivered in a personalized and effective manner. The Best-of-Breed approach is especially recommended for small to medium-sized organizations, as integrated solutions like Salesforce can quickly become costly and lead to a high dependency on a single provider.

Targeting refers to addressing specific target groups in marketing and fundraising. By leveraging data and technology, the right message is delivered to the right audience at the right time. Digital fundraising offers options like retargeting and lookalike audiences, enabling a more personalized and efficient approach than traditional offline fundraising.

Technical SEO involves optimizing a website’s code and infrastructure to ensure high visibility in search engines. Effective technical SEO leads to faster-loading pages and a user-friendly design, which can positively impact online fundraising. Typical technical SEO measures include optimizing page speed and sitemaps, adhering to Core Web Vitals best practices, and implementing SSL certificates.

In Tip Models, donors are asked to add a voluntary tip on top of their donation. Unlike cover-the-fee approaches, which pass on transaction fees to donors, tip models have no fixed fees to cover and rely entirely on donors’ willingness to support the platform’s operation.

A TLS Certificate (Transport Layer Security) ensures the secure, encrypted transfer of data between a web browser and a website’s server and is a key security factor in online fundraising. It protects sensitive information, such as payment data during online donations, from being intercepted by third parties. TLS certificates come in three validation levels:

• Level 1 certificates: Quick to install and often free, such as those from Let’s Encrypt.

• Level 2 certificates: Require verification of both the domain and organization.

• Level 3 certificates: Offer the highest level of security with comprehensive validation of the domain, organization, and legal details (e.g., public registry).

As a general rule: the higher the level, the better the security – although this also involves more effort and higher costs.

A TLS certificate also improves website loading speed and SEO ranking, positively impacting digital fundraising. For large digital platforms with significant online donation volumes, a Level 2 or 3 certificate is recommended.

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is a cost evaluation method that considers overall costs incurrred over the entire lifetime of a software product. TCO is an important evaluation criteria, as ongoing operational costs often weigh more heavily than initial purchase costs. A thorough TCO analysis helps avoid unexpected expenses during operation. The key cost factors within TCO include:

• Acquisition

• Setup and Installation

• Recurring License or Subscription Fees

• Integration and Customization

• Extensions and Upgrades

• Training

• Maintenance and Support

• Service-Level Agreements

• Payment and Transaction Fees

• Scalability Costs with Growth

• Updates for Data Protection and Compliance

The TCO approach provides nonprofits with full cost transparency, helping to realistically assess a fundraising tool’s long-term economic viability. A careful TCO analysis ensures that the chosen solution is not only cost-effective in the short term but also economically sustainable in the long term, effectively supporting the organization in achieving its fundraising goals.

Touchpoints are points of contact along the customer journey where interaction and communication with users take place. Touchpoints can take various forms, such as donation newsletters, physical mailings, or personal conversations. Touchpoint analyses are particularly used in digital fundraising to enhance the effectiveness of campaigns (see CRO). Soulclick integrates multiple touchpoints into seamless donor journeys.

A Tracking Pixel is a tiny, invisible image embedded in a website or email via an HTML code snippet. It tracks user behavior—such as page views, clicks, and engagement—to gather data for marketing purposes (e.g., retargeting). When a user loads a page containing a tracking pixel, it sends information back to the server, allowing marketers to analyze data and optimize campaigns based on user activity.

Transaction Costs refer to the fees incurred by online donation tools for processing online donations. Most platforms charge transaction-based fees, meaning a percentage of each donation is allocated to cover the operation of the software solution. These costs are typically composed of the following components: - Acquiring Fees: Merchant fees for facilitating contracts with VISA and Mastercard. - Card Fees: Charges associated with the specific payment methods. - Gateway Fees: Costs for maintaining the technical infrastructure that ensures secure and encrypted payment transfers. - Platform Fees: Costs for operating the SaaS solution, such as a donation portal. At Soulclick, we maintain transparency by distinguishing between external costs (acquiring, card fees, gateway) and internal costs (platform). External costs are passed on directly at a 1:1 rate, while the SaaS platform is offered at a fixed fee.

Most online fundraising tools charge a percentual fee per donation, in addition to a fixed monthly fee. These Transaction Fees are controversial in online fundraising, as they are directly tied to the donation amount, meaning the software provider's earnings scale with the success of the fundraising organization. For this reason, at Soulclick, we have chosen an alternative pricing model with a transparent fixed price for our software, while the payment fees are settled directly between the charity and payment providers.

Tutorials provides guidance on how to use a digital platform. Tutorials are typically shown to new users at the start to ensure smooth platform usage and proactively address common questions.

Twint Donations include all online and in-app donations processed via Twint, Switzerland's most popular payment method. Twint is particularly well-suited for spontaneous donations (e.g., at events) and for engaging a younger audience. However, the payment platform has faced criticism due to its high transaction fees which reduce the net amount charities receive. Therefore, charities should leverage Twint’s convenience while also offering alternative payment methods, such as credit cards, Google Pay, or PayPal, to provide donors with more options.

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) refers to the verification of a user's identity using two different, independent components (factors). 2FA is used in login processes for applications and data that require enhanced protection.

Unit Donations is a fundraising feature of the online donation tool Soulclick. With this feature, donors can contribute specific units, such as meals, trees, or aid packages, instead of just a monetary amount. A specific donation goal is set when launching the campaign – similar to traditional crowdfunding – which further encourages people to participate.

Uptime refers to the amount of time a digital service is available and fully functional for users – as opposed to downtime. High uptime is especially important for nonprofits that rely heavily on online fundraising as part of their income mix.

In general, the higher the uptime, the more reliable the digital infrastructure. Uptime levels of 99.9% or 99.99% mean that a service is unavailable for only a few hours or minutes per year. These levels are often guaranteed through a Service Level Agreement (SLA), which also defines response and resolution times.

At Soulclick, we also define uptime and support availability in our SLAs to ensure maximum operational stability for our fundraising platforms.

UTMs are URL parameters (e.g. utm_source and utm_medium), added to the end of a URL. They enable tracking of performance and user behavior on specific pages. When a link with a UTM parameter is clicked, the data is sent to Google Analytics, allowing interactions to be tracked effectively.

URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator and refers to the unique web address used to access a resource on the internet — such as a webpage, image, or PDF. A typical URL consists of several parts, for example:

https://www.example.org/donation-form

• https:// is the protocol
• www.example.org is the domain
• /donation-form is the path to the specific page

In online fundraising, URLs play an important role — e.g. for donation forms, tracking links, or campaign landing pages. Clear URL patterns improve a website’s trustworthiness and search engine optimization (SEO). So-called UTM parameters can also be added to URLs to measure the performance of marketing campaigns.

User-generated Content (UGC): UGC refers to any content—such as text, images, videos, or reviews—created by users rather than the brand or organization itself. Often generated through social media platforms, UGC provides authentic, relatable content that enhances brand credibility. In digital fundraising, UGC can appear in peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns, where supporters share their stories, or in donor testimonials that showcase personal connections to the cause.

The User Interface (UI) refers to the visual design, layout, and interactive elements that users engage with when interacting with a digital product, such as a website or application. This includes buttons, menus, forms, typography, and color schemes. Effective UI design aims to make the interface intuitive, clear, and visually appealing, facilitating seamless user interactions.

In the context of online fundraising, UI plays a pivotal role in user engagement. A well-structured and aesthetically pleasing donation form, along with strategically placed calls-to-action, can significantly influence a user's decision to donate.

A User Journey describes the entire experience of users with an organization, from the first to the last interaction. It is a key instrument in the field of Customer Experience (CX), used to understand and specifically optimize user behavior across various touchpoints. A User Journey can, for example, start with a Google search ad, a social media post, or a donation letter that catches someone's attention.

Tracking technology such as Google Analytics provides powerful possibilities to monitor and optimize entire User Journeys from A - Z. Often times, the terms Customer Journey (CJ) or Donor Journeys are used in a similar context, referring ot the journey of donors.

User Stories are a key tool in requirement engineering, used to define the specifications of a website, CRM, or other software from the perspective of different user roles. They typically follow the format: "As a [role], I want to [goal] so I can [benefit]."

User stories clearly articulate user needs and outline requirements in simple, actionable terms. They foster collaboration between business stakeholders and development teams, ensuring alignment on goals and expectations for the final product.

User Tests are typically conducted during the development of new websites, online shops, and larger custom digital projects. Pre-tests are used to enhance user acceptance from the outset and to improve the maturity of the product. These often include both internal and external tests, such as lab tests or prototype testing.

UX/UI stands for User Experience and User Interface. UX/UI design is an essential discipline in modern digital development, where the user experience (UX) takes center stage. Following the principle "form follows function," this approach results in a logical yet emotionally engaging design (UI) with clear, customer-centric user journeys. For larger projects, prototypes are created and subjected to user testing before a relaunch.

UX Writing focuses on crafting user-centered text for websites and digital products. Microcopy, such as error messages, button labels, and help texts, plays a vital role in building trust and ensuring a smooth user experience. Effective UX writing can help reduce unnecessary bounces in donor journeys, particularly within donation forms. With the shift towards mobile-first design – given that the majority of web traffic today comes from mobile devices – UX writing must be brief, concise, and focused to fit smaller screens.

Soulclick’s donation portals and websites feature a wide range of default texts, including error messages and donation buttons, crafted in clear, human, and empathetic language to build a strong connection between the organization and its donors.

In web development, the Viewport refers to the visible area where a website is displayed in the browser. On responsive websites, the viewport adjusts dynamically based on the size of the browser window, the device, and screen resolution (e.g., the zoom level). Nonprofits should ensure that their digital platforms are optimized for the most common viewports to ensure websites and donation tools are displayed properly and provide a smooth user experience.

The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) is a global initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), focused on promoting an accessible internet. WAI develops guidelines and standards to ensure people with disabilities can access digital content without barriers. Its Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are particularly well-known, offering specific requirements and recommendations for accessible websites. Strong accessibility also benefits online fundraising, enabling campaign pages and donation forms to work seamlessly with screen readers or alternative input devices.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are standards set by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) that define specific requirements and recommendations for accessible website and digital content . The WCAG are internationally recognized and help developers and designers make content accessible to everyone – especially people with disabilities.

The WCAG are based on the POUR principles:

• Perceivable: Content must be designed to be perceivable through all senses (seeing, hearing, reading), for example, by providing alternative text for images.

• Operable: Navigation and functionality must be operable by all types of input devices, such as keyboards or screen readers.

• Understandable: Content and functions should be easy to understand and intuitively designed, using simple language and clear structures.

• Robust: Content must be compatible with various technologies to ensure accessibility across different devices and browsers.

With a Website Builder, so-called no-code websites can be developed using a drag-and-drop system. This allows users to develop and optimize websites entirely without programming knowledge. Users typically pay a monthly flat fee, which depends on how many features they actually use. However, websites created with builders offer only limited options for SEO or campaign optimizations. The most popular website builders include Wix.com, Webflow.com and Squarespace.com

A Website Relaunch involves replacing an outdated platform with a modern, future-proof digital presence. During the process, charities face critical strategic decisions, such as selecting the right tech stack or choosing between custom development and modular solutions.

A successful relaunch typically involves thorough requirement engineering to define objectives and needs, alongside the creation of a cohesive UX/UI design system to ensure consistency and exceptional usability. Larger projects often include user surveys and testing to validate decisions and optimize results.

For charities with smaller budgets, modular solutions like Soulclick provide a cost-effective, transparent, and flexible approach to building impactful fundraising platforms.

Whitelisting involves classifying a domain as trustworthy, preventing, for instance, emails from ending up in spam. Whitelisting can also be used to prevent fraudulent use of donation forms or other web services. It ensures that an iFrame donation form can only be operated on a specific, whitelisted domain. Our product, Soulclick Smart, is also whitelisted for the corresponding customer domain.

Wireframes are sketches of subpages created during website relaunches, often in collaboration with the client. Wireframing is a discipline within UX/UI design. Wireframes include the modules and rough content of future subpages, establishing their content priorities. The rule of thumb is: the more important the content, the higher it is placed on the page. Wireframes ensure that nothing is overlooked, priorities are set correctly, and a shared understanding of the future website’s structure and appearance is established.

An XML Sitemap is a file that lists all the important pages of a website, helping search engines like Google or Bing to crawl and index the site more efficiently. It provides a structured map of the site’s content, ensuring that search engines can discover and understand all relevant URLs, even if they are not linked optimally within the website. XML sitemaps are particularly useful for large websites or those with complex structures, as they help improve search engine visibility and ensure that all key pages are indexed properly for SEO.

Youth Engagement in digital fundraising refers to strategies and activities aimed at involving young people in online campaigns, donations, and advocacy efforts. This generation is highly active online, making platforms like social media, streaming services, and mobile apps essential for reaching them. Successful youth engagement often involves creating shareable content, using peer-to-peer fundraising, and leveraging influencers to promote causes.

ZEWO is the Swiss certification body for nonprofit organizations. It promotes transparency and accountability in the charitable sector by awarding a quality seal to organizations that meet high standards of governance, financial reporting, and ethical fundraising. ZEWO-certified organizations demonstrate responsible use of donations and a clear commitment to donor trust.