Giving online is a convenient and secure way for donors to make a gift to your school, college or department. As more donors become comfortable with online banking and other web-based financial transactions, we continue to see the number of online gifts we receive increase.
You can add this convenient option to your website with a simple custom link or with a full-fledged custom design for the online giving application. We recommend first having a preliminary discussion with your UW Foundation development director and/or donor relations representative who can help with the process.
Setting up an online giving link
Create a Giving Link
One of the easiest ways for potential donors to make a gift is through online giving. The Foundation has helped campus units set up more than 600 online giving links that take donors from your website to the Foundation’s online giving form for your school, college, department or program.
The process to create a link is simple and fully automated, but any new link needs approval from both the Foundation and the dean or director in charge of the campus unit.
- A campus Web master makes the initial request for a link.
- The Foundation supplies a custom-created URL to insert into your website.
Adding a “Make a Gift” tab to Facebook
Make a Gift Facebook App
Facebook gives your school, college, department or program a unique opportunity to connect with alumni and friends. The Foundation has a Make a Gift Facebook app that you can add as a tab on your Facebook page. On the tab page, visitors will be able to learn about the impact of private support, search the Foundation’s database of funds and click-through to make an online gift on our secure server.
Adding the app to your Facebook page is simple. On this page select the Facebook page you would like to add the tab to and click “Add Page Tab”. This will add the tab to the left side of your Facebook page as “Make a Gift.” If you would like to customize the content displayed on the tab page, simply submit this form. We’ll review the content you’ve submitted to confirm it meets the constraints and intent of the app. We may make some minor edits to ensure it does and, once approved, your Make a Gift tab will display your custom content.
Developing a custom design
Download Resources
For more comprehensive customization, campus units can create a custom design for online giving to match their own website using template files provided by Foundation. Custom designs are subject to review, testing and approval by UW Foundation.
If your custom design is not approved by UW Foundation for stylistic or technical reasons, you will receive an explanation from the Foundation detailing the reason(s) for rejection. You’re welcome to revise and submit your custom design for reconsideration.
Upon approval, UW Foundation will send you an e‐mail notification including the additional “fbcd” URL variable you can add to online giving links to enable your custom design. For example: http://www.supportuw.org/giving?fbcd=3
Putting it all together
Once you’ve created a custom link and/or a custom design for online giving, you need to make it easy for visitors to your site to make a gift. A dedicated “Giving” page on your website is an effective way to do this.
When you set up your giving page be sure to include:
Lock Box Address
University of Wisconsin Foundation
US Bank Lockbox
Box 78807
Milwaukee WI 53278-0807
- Name, phone number and email address of your Foundation development director
- A few different giving opportunities, including
- a custom link to online giving
- descriptions of the funds
- the fund’s use and impact.
- Information about how to make a gift by mail, including the lock box address and how checks should be made out.
