Who's ready to build a wall? We know you're all out there building your movements, but now it's time to get out the (digital) bricks and (virtual) cement and construct a donor recognition display that's worthy of your generous donors. 

If you're wondering why we've suddenly got our construction hard hats on, let us give you a tour through the donor recognition wall design zone—soon, you're gonna be a custom donor wall craftsperson.

What is a donor wall?

A donor wall is a way for nonprofit organizations to recognize and honor donors. Traditional donor walls are physical and typically located in a prominent area of the organization, but thanks to modern technology, nonprofits can build virtual donor walls or even hybrid donor walls, bringing creativity into conventional donor gratitude. 

Why are donor recognition walls important?

Donor recognition walls serve as a tangible way for nonprofits to acknowledge and thank the generous individuals, corporations, and foundations that have made significant contributions to their cause.

We're all about a personal note or phone call, but sometimes, a gift is so touching or transformative that it warrants a special type of recognition. Sometimes, a project is so big or such a game-changer that the nonprofit needs to honor everyone who contributed—think capital campaigns, for example. 

If your nonprofit is big on making donors feel like they're a crucial part of impact, you'll know that donor walls not only celebrate philanthropic efforts but also inspire others to give by showcasing the impact of charitable giving. 

Walls for major donors

Your major contributors aren't better or more generous than any other donors, but their gifts may have had a more outsized result on your mission. And especially if their major gifts made huge strides toward a major goal—maybe a new building, a mission trip, or getting a new program off the ground—building a donor wall that honors these major contributions is a great way to memorialize their generosity.

What are the benefits of donor recognition walls?

Donor recognition walls are a powerful tool for nonprofit organizations to show appreciation for their donors and to inspire future giving. These walls can be physical installations within a nonprofit’s building or virtual displays on their website. Here are some of the benefits of donor recognition walls:

1. Acknowledgment and appreciation
2. Inspiration
3. Visibility
4. Legacy

1. Acknowledgment and appreciation

We're just using our fancy words to say Grat-i-tat-tat-itude. Donor recognition walls provide a public platform to acknowledge and thank donors. Just like any other way to thank donors, they not only help strengthen relationships with current donors, they also encourage future giving.

2. Inspiration

And speaking of encouraging future giving... Donor recognition walls serve as inspiration for others to give. There are lots of donors who don't care about recognition or even want to be anonymous, but seeing other donor names honored and respected instills those warm fuzzies even for shy potential donors.

3. Visibility

It's common for awareness to be top of mind for nonprofiteers—but usually, y'all are thinking outside the org. A donor recognition wall can increase visibility ✨within✨ your nonprofit, helping to raise awareness about your cause. Prominently displaying the names of donors, the programs, and the impact they were a part of showcases the importance of philanthropy in making a difference.

4. Legacy

Donor recognition walls can serve as a lasting tribute to the generosity of individuals, families, businesses, or foundations who have supported your organization. It allows their contributions to be remembered and celebrated for years to come, ensuring that their legacy lives on within your nonprofit.

What types of donor walls are there?

The easy answer is "infinite"; the only limitations are your imagination. But the realistic answer is you've got your traditional donor walls (physical, in person) and your virtual donor walls (digital, online).

Physical donor walls

In-person donor wall ideas range from actual walls to garden stepping stones to wood panel plaque things to... well, anything physical. Classic designs on traditional walls can be a larger project, though, and the design process may need to run through a creative team to determine key elements. Despite that, a beautiful donor wall can be a solid piece of a high-level fundraising campaign.

Digital donor walls

Digital displays aren't necessarily faster or easier to put into place, but they do have their benefits, including ease of updating and maintenance, lower budget, interactive elements, and further reaching donor display.

Creative Donor Walls Ideas

Oooohhh! Our favorite thing: coming up with completely outrageous or, ahem, "creative" ideas for your fundraising efforts.

1. Fundraising goals historical timeline

Equate your fundraising goals with moments through history, and give your donor levels era-based names. You can tie the design to your org or mission's history, or you can connect actual historical periods. Don't forget about the future!

2. Interactive donor wall

How can you up the donor engagement of your digital donor recognition wall? Ask donors for a picture or to answer a question related to your mission. When your website visitors land on the wall, 

Make it an interactive experience! Instead of recognizing donors, allow your generous supporters to dedicate their gifts, with the dedications landing on your wall.

3. Add a sense of community

Showcase your community as a whole. There's a perfect way to tap into your community's pride, and it's by honoring the gift of that community itself. As you build your donor wall, include a section or a plaque with a few words about the collective of people who contribute a little bit every single day, in every single way. 

4. Future campaigns donor wall

Why not go aspirational? Use this as a major donor stewardship tool to show capital campaign donors what they can expect in the way of public recognition. While you wouldn't want to create a physical wall for this, a digital wall or callout on an annual report template would be easy enough to pull together.  

5. Team Member wall

Turn appreciation on its head with a display of appreciation for supporters who have given something different than money: their time, effort, and energy. Create a moment to honor your staff, board members, and volunteer team alongside your donors. 

Innovative Digital Donor Walls

Really cool digital donor wall designs are surprisingly hard to find, considering how extremely easy it is to use the internet and build websites 🙄

Having said that, we found a few that you should see—talk about inspiration; these will foster a sense of pride in your donor recognition program like nothing else.

1. The Humane League

The Humane League's Mended Heart Society members have an opportunity to celebrate their commitment to the cause while being celebrated themselves. This donor wall slider does more than just showcase donations, it humanizes and champions the people behind the gifts. 

Funraise CEO and Co-founder Justin Wheeler spoke on the Nonstop Nonprofit podcast about another organization that does this well:

"charity: water makes donors feel almost like they have FOMO. It's almost like you FOMO for not giving to charity: water. Because you want to be a part of that club."

2. DIGDEEP

Our fav water org has done it again! DIGDEEP's Giving Tuesday page makes great use of Funraise's donation progress bar and lists of both recent and top donors. This is an easy-to-implement, set-it-and-forget-it feature of Funraise's best-in-class campaign site tool.

3. and 4. Action Against Hunger

This is a two for one example—our favorite kind! The first best way that AAH is giving us all the inspiration is on their Take Action page. It shows all the ways that supporters can fundraise on AAH's behalf... and it uses real donors to showcase each action. Rob and Sonja's wedding is giving us serious FOMO. 

And the second-awesomest thing that AAH does is highlight their peer-to-peer fundraisers—in order of how much each has raised. Each fundraiser or team gets to choose their own name, add a photo, and write their story, and their donors are recognized individually as well. Talk about depth of donor appreciation—since this is one of Funraise's superpowers, it can be your superpower, too. 

Donor Walls Pitfalls

Putting together a donor wall is such a great way to honor your donor base. Don't mess it up by getting tripped up with these pitfalls—they're pretty much common sense, and you're a smart cookie, so we've got faith that you've got this. 

Branding

As with other fundraising campaigns, when you're putting together creative ideas, it's easy to deviate from your nonprofit's brand and go completely bonkers (ask us how we know.) But keep your branding and your nonprofit's story and mission in mind as you plan any web or physical properties.

Budget

Another B-word that you need to keep your eyes on. A traditional wall can get pretty expensive, and don't forget to keep in mind updating and maintenance as you plan. This is where online donor walls really shine: even complex projects can be built and maintained within your budget (of course, don't take our word for it—check for yourself!)

Update-ability

Speaking of maintenance, as you're planning your wall, think a year or 5 down the road. Will you need to update software or tech hardware (like computer screens, televisions, computers)? Or maybe you'll need to plan for quarterly cleaning days. How often will you update the plaques and names and levels?

Don't forget the gratitude!

This donor wall is gonna be amazing. So creative! So exciting! So important! 

So appreciative? Seriously, this is a wall that's all about appreciation for donors, so don't overlook the donor appreciation aspect. It's easier than you think to forget about the appreciation to donors aspect.

Private information

There are a lot of reasons someone might not want their identity splashed across your website or digital properties, including, but not limited to: fear of personal or familial retaliation, having domestic issues and not wanting to be found, being averse to the potential of further asks from other nonprofits, and more. 

These are different stakes than just making an anonymous donation, so be aware and get the donors' consent before you name them publicly.

Levels

We know that it's not all about the money at your nonprofit. So do your donors. When you have a donor who has given of themselves, it shouldn't matter how many dollar signs that generosity came with. As you build donor levels into your donor display, don't dismiss the small-but-impactful gifts that took a lot of heart.

FAQs About Donor Recognition Projects (answered by AI + a human)

How much does a donor wall cost?

A simple donor wall made of plaques or tiles can cost anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. On the other hand, a more elaborate donor wall with custom graphics, lighting, and interactive elements can cost tens of thousands of dollars or more. 

Digital donor walls are most common for nonprofits that already have a website. Because of that, they're often able to be built for little to no money. Obviously, bigger projects will take more time and resources, but usually the maintenance is easy and low-cost. 

What do you say on a donation wall?

When deciding what to say on a donor recognition wall, it's important to strike the right balance between gratitude and impact. Here are basic pieces to include on a donation wall: donor names, impact statements, personalized stories, and recognition levels

What is the purpose of a donor recognition wall?

The primary purpose of a donor recognition wall is to show appreciation for the generosity of donors and to inspire others to give. These walls serve as a way to publicly recognize and celebrate the individuals, businesses, or organizations that have supported the mission and work of the nonprofit.