OK, it could be that I’m missing something obvious here — or that public broadcasting stations around the U.S. are missing something major. You tell me.
Why is it that I’ve never seen a public broadcasting site that accepts donations made via Paypal? I’ve looked at a lot of these sites, and it’s a mystery to me. I’ve been asking around to folks I know involved with NPR and PBS, but no one so far seems to have an answer.
This is especially puzzling since public broadcasting offers several of my favorite podcasts, including WNYC’s On The Media and NOW from PBS. Plus, every NPR station I’ve listened to in the past few years actively invites people to donate online.
…The problem is, their online donation forms are generally pretty cumbersome. Case in point: My local public radio station, Colorado Public Radio, really only offers “membership” options for online donations. That involves filling out a multi-page online form. There’s no way to make a quick one-time donation.
For many — perhaps most — people who use online media regularly, the key to successful transactions is to make it quick, simple, secure, and non-intrusive.
I understand that public broadcasting wants to hook people in for ongoing, not one-time, donations. That’s totally valid. However, I’d like to know what their average abandonment rate is on those forms. I’ll bet it’s pretty high.
Personally, I prefer donating by Paypal (and yes, nonprofits can and do use Paypal legally) because it allows me to limit distribution of my credit card information. I don’t want that information sitting on the servers of every place I do business with. That said, recipients of my Paypal payments or donations get my e-mail address. That’s how the system works. So they have a way to connect with me in the future.
Seems to me that Paypal is a friendlier, less intrusive way to start and build a donor relationship than forcing people to labor through a form and immediately become a member. I don’t see why public broadcasters don’t offer that option. It sure seems like they could use all the donors they can get — and you have to start somewhere with any relationship.
But, like I said, I might be missing something here. If anyone knows why Paypal would not be a good option for public broadcasting, please comment below. Thanks.
