When a donor taps a contactless donation device, the amounts on the screen do more work than most people realise. They are not just options. They are anchors, and they quietly steer the gift. Choose them well and the average donation rises. Choose them carelessly and you leave money on the table, or worse, you put a willing donor off entirely.
Why presets work
Faced with a blank field, many donors hesitate, and hesitation costs gifts. A clear set of suggested amounts removes that friction and offers a reference point. A donor who might have fished out a pound in coins will often tap five or ten pounds when those are the figures in front of them. The preset does not pressure anyone. It simply makes the easy choice a more generous one.
Choosing your tiers
Three or four amounts usually work better than more, because too many choices reintroduce the hesitation you were trying to remove. Set the lowest amount at a figure you are genuinely happy to receive rather than a token sum, and let the higher amounts stretch the donor's thinking without straying into the implausible. The right ladder depends on your cause and your setting, so it is worth testing a couple of arrangements and keeping the one that raises more.
Leave room for the custom gift
Some donors arrive with a specific number in mind, often a larger one. A custom amount option lets them give it without being boxed in by your tiers. Offering both, a short ladder of presets and a way to enter any sum, captures the everyday gift and the occasional generous one alike.
Order the amounts with care
Position matters as much as the figures themselves. People read a row of amounts from one end, and the first they see sets the reference for the rest, so a ladder that opens too low can quietly drag the whole gift down. Many donors also gravitate to the middle of a short row, which makes the placement of your preferred amount a real decision rather than an afterthought. The aim is a ladder that feels natural to read, with the figure you would most like to receive sitting where the eye settles, not buried at the far end where it is easily passed over.
Tie the amount to a purpose
An amount tied to a tangible outcome gives better than an abstract figure. Where it suits your cause, framing the suggested amounts around what they achieve helps the donor picture the difference their tap makes. On a DonorDynamics device this is handled through Give A Little, where you set the amounts, the cause and the messaging, and switch the right campaign on or off whenever you choose, all managed remotely.
Review and adjust
Donor behaviour shifts with the season, the campaign and the setting, so the amounts that worked last year may not be the best this year. Treat your presets as something to review rather than set once and forget. A small adjustment, informed by what your reporting tells you, often lifts the average gift more than any amount of new signage.
Want full control of your donation amounts and campaigns? See how the software handles it on the Give A Little page, or compare the devices that run it on our comparison chart.