Call to Action - Your Charity’s Engine of Engagement and Fundraising: The Theory and a Guide to Creating a Truly Effective Call to Action (CTA)

Charity Editor's Toolkit - Edition 5

Jun 17, 2025

Floral pattern illustration by Paul Hugh

A well crafted call to action is more than just a button on a page; it is the critical point where a reader’s interest converts into meaningful action. For charities, this is the moment a supporter decides to donate, a volunteer signs up, or someone in need reaches out for help. A powerful Call to Action (CTA) is the true engine of engagement and fundraising. If you don’t master this skill all your metrics will suffer.

This article will help by exploring the art and science behind creating compelling CTAs that drive results. We will delve into the psychology of persuasion, learn from the masters of copywriting, and provide a practical framework for testing and refining your CTAs to achieve your organisation's most important goals.

The Deep Science of Persuasion: Why People Click

At its core, a CTA is an exercise in persuasion. To craft one that works, we must first understand the psychological drivers of human decision making. This is not about manipulation; it is about communicating your message in a way that resonates with your audience.

The Principles of Influence

No discussion of persuasion is complete without Robert Cialdini’s foundational work. His book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, outlines several key principles that are directly applicable to charity CTAs.

Reciprocity: People feel obliged to give back to others who have given to them. For charities, this can be as simple as offering valuable content:
- Example: Instead of an immediate donation, offer a free, downloadable guide on a relevant topic. The CTA would be “Download Your Free Guide to Mindful Living.” After providing this value, a subsequent ask for a donation is often more effective
Commitment and Consistency: We have a deep need to be seen as consistent. Once we have publicly committed to something, we are more likely to follow through:
- Example: The “foot in the door” technique is a classic application. Start with a small ask. “Add your name to protect our green spaces.” Someone who signs a petition is psychologically primed to respond positively to a later, larger request, such as “Donate to our tree planting fund”
Social Proof: We often decide what to do by looking at what others are doing. When we are uncertain, we look for validation from the crowd:
- Example: Incorporate numbers and testimonials directly into your CTA. “Join 50,000 supporters changing lives” is far more compelling than a simple “Join us.” A donation form that states “Most people are giving £25” can also nudge behaviour
Authority: We are more likely to comply with requests from perceived authority figures.
- Example: Leverage the endorsement of a respected expert or patron. “Dr. Jane Smith recommends our approach. Support our research today.” This lends credibility to your request
Liking: We are more easily persuaded by people we like. The Nielsen Norman Group notes that this liking can be based on similarity or simple praise:
- Example: Use language that aligns with your audience’s identity. “Like you, we believe every child deserves a chance. Help us make it happen.” This fosters a sense of shared values
Scarcity: The less available something is, the more we tend to want it. This can apply to time, opportunities, or products:
- Example: Use time limits or exclusivity in your CTAs. “Double your donation: give before midnight Friday” or “Only 15 places left on our fundraising trek”

Beyond Cialdini: Deeper Cognitive Drivers

Other psychological concepts also offer powerful tools for crafting effective CTAs.

Loss Aversion: As documented by psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, the pain of losing is psychologically about twice as powerful as the pleasure of gaining. People are more motivated to avoid a loss than to acquire an equivalent gain:
- Example: Frame your ask around preventing a negative outcome. Instead of “Help us save the rainforest,” try “Act now to prevent the loss of another 50 acres of rainforest.” The second phrasing feels more urgent and critical
The Framing Effect: The way you present information (the frame) has a huge effect on how it is interpreted:
- Example: Breaking down a donation into a manageable daily or weekly cost is a classic framing technique. “Give £3 a month (just 70p a week) to provide vital support” makes the donation feel significantly more affordable than asking for £36 a year
Cognitive Ease: The human brain prefers to take the path of least resistance. The easier something is to understand and do, the more likely we are to do it:
- Example: Your CTA and the subsequent journey must be frictionless. Use clear, simple language. “Get your free guide” is better than “Ascertain how to receive our complimentary publication.” The design of the button itself, its colour, and its placement all contribute to cognitive ease

A Mini Guide to Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) for Charities

Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) is the systematic process of increasing the percentage of website visitors who take a desired action. It is not about guesswork; it is a scientific method for understanding your audience and giving them what they need.

Step 1: Define Your Goal and Metrics

You cannot optimise what you do not measure. Be crystal clear about what action you want a user to take on a given page. This is your ‘conversion goal’:

Macro conversions: The primary goals of your site (e.g. completing a one off donation, setting up a monthly gift)
Micro conversions: Smaller actions that lead towards a macro conversion (e.g. signing up for a newsletter, watching a campaign video, downloading a report)

For each goal, define how you will measure success. This is typically a conversion rate: (Number of Conversions / Total Visitors) * 100.

Step 2: Gather Quantitative and Qualitative Data

First, understand what is happening on your site using quantitative data.

Tools: Google Analytics 4 is essential
What to look for: Identify your most important pages. Where are users coming from? Where on the page or in the journey are they leaving (your ‘drop off’ points)? For example, do many users abandon your donation form on the payment details step?

Next, understand why it is happening using qualitative data.

Tools: Hotjar offers heatmaps (to see where people click) and session recordings. Surveys (like Google Forms, which is free) can provide direct user feedback
What to look for: Are users not clicking your CTA because they do not see it? Do they get confused by the form fields. Are there too many form fields? Does the page not give them the information they need to make a decision?

Step 3: Formulate a Hypothesis

Using your data, you can now form an educated guess about how to improve performance. A good hypothesis follows a clear structure:

"Based on [your data], we believe that [making this change] for [this audience] will result in [this outcome]. We will know this is true when we see [this metric] change."

Example: "Based on our analytics showing a high drop off rate on the donation page, we believe that changing the CTA button text from ‘Submit’ to ‘Donate Now to Help a Child’ for all visitors will result in more completed donations. We will know this is true when we see the donation conversion rate increase by 5%"

Step 4: Create Variations and A/B Test

A/B testing (or split testing) is the practice of comparing two versions of a web page to see which one performs better. You show version A to one half of your traffic and version B to the other.

Tools: Google Optimize is a free and powerful tool for this. Many email platforms and landing page builders have A/B testing built in
What to test: You can test almost anything, but it is best to start with elements that are likely to have a big impact:
- CTA text: “Donate Now” vs. “Give Today”
- Button colour: A high contrast colour usually works best
- Placement: Above the fold vs. at the bottom of the page
- Imagery: A picture of a person vs. a picture of a place
- Headlines: Benefit oriented vs. stats oriented

Crucially, only test one element at a time. If you change both the headline and the button colour, you will not know which change caused the difference in performance.

Step 5: Analyse Results and Implement

Run your test long enough to achieve a statistically significant result. This ensures your findings are not just down to chance. Tools like Google Optimize will tell you when this point is reached.

If your variation (Version B) is the winner, implement it on your live site. If it did not win, do not see it as a failure. You have still learned something valuable about your audience. Use that learning to inform your next hypothesis and test again. CRO is a continuous cycle of improvement.

Ethical Considerations: Persuasion vs. Pressure

For charities, trust is the most valuable asset. While these psychological and marketing techniques are powerful, they must be used responsibly. The UK’s Fundraising Regulator provides a Code of Fundraising Practice that insists on communication being honest, open, and transparent.

Avoid using “dark patterns”, which are user interfaces designed to trick users into doing things they did not mean to do, like signing up for recurring donations without clear consent. Your CTA must be a clear doorway, not a hidden trapdoor. The goal is to build long term, respectful relationships with your supporters, not to secure a short term gain at the expense of their trust.

Charity Editor's Toolkit