Can Donors Find Your Vehicle Donation Program?

By Justin Ruffier, VP of Marketing, CARS

I recently spoke with a nonprofit that told me something interesting. They said most people don't donate to them unless they're asked through a campaign, email, or fundraising appeal. For cash donations, that's often true. But vehicle donations are different. Vehicle donations are a service, and more than half of vehicle donors are supporting an organization for the first time. They're actively searching online for a solution for a vehicle they no longer need and looking for a cause they want to support. You want donors to be able to find your vehicle donation program easily. Fortunately, a few simple improvements can dramatically increase your visibility online and make your program much easier to find.

1. Make Your Program Easy to Find on Your Website

When reviewing the visibility of your vehicle donation program, start by reviewing its placement on your website.

  • Is there a mention of vehicle donations on the homepage?
  • Is it listed on your Donate or Ways to Give page?
  • Does your organization have a dedicated vehicle donation page?

If your program is buried deep within your website, supporters and people searching online are unlikely to know its an option.


Great examples:

American Red Cross

Easy to find in navigation and dedicated pages.

image of American Red Cross website Click to enlarge



Red Sox Foundation

Homepage promotion and strong calls to action.

Red Sox site image Click to enlarge

2. Search for Your Program on Google

To see how you’re ranking online, start by conducting a few Google searches and noting how you show up.

Start with a few simple searches:

  • Car donation + your nonprofit name
  • Car donation + your city
  • Car donation + your state
  • Car donation + your mission or category

Here’s an example: LAist Car Donation

LAist web search Click to enlarge

As you review the results, make note of:

  • How many pages from your website appear?
  • Are your social media posts showing up?
  • Are competitors appearing alongside your organization?

Ideally, you want to own as much of the first page as possible.

3. Use This Donation Page Checklist

A great vehicle donation page should include all of these items. The more complete and helpful your page is, the easier it is for donors and search engines to understand your program.

Vehicle Donation Page Checklist

  • A clear headline that includes terms like “car donation program” or “vehicle donation program”
  • A short explanation of how vehicle donations support your mission
  • High-quality vehicle donation images or mission-related imagery
  • Icons or visual elements that make the process easy to understand
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Donor testimonials or success stories
  • Clear calls to action
    • Buttons instead of text-only links
  • Easy access to the donation form
  • Mobile-friendly layout
DAV site Click to enlarge

4. Create Supporting Content

Many nonprofits stop at a single donation page.The most successful programs build a library of supporting content around vehicle donations. This helps donors find answers, improves search visibility, and gives your organization more opportunities to appear in relevant searches.

CARS provides content, graphics, and marketing assets that nonprofit partners can use to strengthen their vehicle donation pages and build supporting content. All of these assets can be found in the CARS Content Portal in NAV. These resources can help you improve your website without starting from scratch.

Consider creating:

Vehicle Donation FAQ Page

Answer common donor questions and include state-specific resources.

Vehicle Type Pages

Examples:

  • Boat Donations
  • RV Donations
  • Motorcycle Donations
  • Truck Donations

These pages help capture donors searching for specific vehicle types.


Location Pages

Examples:

  • San Diego Car Donations
  • Orlando Truck Donations
  • Miami Boat Donations

Donor Stories

Share real stories from donors and the impact their gifts made possible.

These pages build trust and create additional opportunities to rank in search. They also make great topics for emails, newsletters, and social media posts.


Bonus Tip: Use Internal Links

One of the easiest improvements is also one of the most overlooked.

Link to your vehicle donation page from relevant content throughout your website.

Look for pages about:

  • Travel and transportation
  • Disaster preparedness mentioning vehicles
  • Transportation or automotive blog articles
  • Ways to Give pages
  • Automotive topics
ASPCA site Click to enlarge

Internal links help visitors discover your program and signal to search engines that the page is important. Think of them as creating a web of connections across your site.

Another way to find pages on your website is through Google.

To find relevant pages on your website, you can use your website’s search feature if it has one, or search on Google for site: https://(your url) “Keyword”, which will show you all the pages on that domain with the selected Keyword.

Google search of

Think of them as creating a web of connections across your site.


Key Takeaways

After Your Audit, Start With These Four Improvements

Once you've reviewed your website placement and checked how your program ranks in search, focus on these four actions:


Don’t rely only on a small mention on your Ways to Give page. A dedicated page gives donors a clear place to learn about the program and take action. You can always link to your organization’s page on careasy.org.


Make the program easy to find. A homepage mention or main navigation link can help more potential vehicle donors discover the option quickly.

Aim to create 2 to 3 new pages that focus on vehicle donations. Include a vehicle type page, like trucks or boats, a city-based location page, and a donor stories or full FAQ page.

Look for existing blog posts, donation pages, program pages, and other relevant content where you can link to your vehicle donation page.



Small improvements can have a big impact.

Most nonprofits already have a vehicle donation program. The question is whether donors can easily find it, or if they'll find someone else's first.

If you'd like us to review your program and identify opportunities, we're always happy to help.

Contact the CARS Marketing Team at marketingsupport@careasy.org for a complimentary program review.