A potential donor is ready to give fifty pounds a month to a local charity. Before committing, she asks one question: "How much of my money actually reaches the people you help?" The charity's website has an annual report PDF and a page of inspiring stories, but no plain answer. She hesitates, and the donation never happens.
Explaining where the money goes is one of the most important things a charity website can do.
Why donors ask
Donors want their gift to make a difference. Many have heard stories about charities spending heavily on administration. They want reassurance that their money is used well. That reassurance often decides whether they give, and whether they keep giving. Unanswered donor questions more generally are covered in donor questions that go unanswered on charity websites.
Being honest about running costs
Every charity has running costs: staff, premises, insurance, fundraising. These are not waste. They are what make the work possible. A good explanation says so plainly: "Every pound helps us run our services. About three quarters goes directly to frontline work, and the rest pays for the staff, buildings and systems that make that work possible." Honest explanations build more trust than claims that every penny goes to the cause.
What to publish
- A simple breakdown of how income was spent last year
- Examples of what typical gift amounts pay for
- What running costs cover and why they matter
- Whether donors can restrict their gift to a specific project
- A link to the full accounts
Example conversations
These scripts use information a charity might publish. Your answers should come from your own pages.
Donor: How much of my donation goes to the cause? Assistant: The "where your money goes" page explains that last year, most of the charity's income was spent directly on its services, with the rest covering staff, premises and fundraising that keep those services running. The full breakdown and accounts are linked on that page.
Donor: Can I choose which project my gift supports? Assistant: The donate page explains that you can choose to support the food bank or the youth programme specifically. General donations go where the need is greatest.
Donor: What does £10 a month pay for? Assistant: The page gives examples, such as a food parcel for a family each month. These are illustrations of the kind of help your gift supports.
Avoiding overstatement
Charities should be careful with specific promises. "Your £10 buys a food parcel" is fine as an illustration, but should not imply that the donor's specific gift is ring-fenced unless it is. Clear wording avoids misleading donors.
Sensitive questions
Some donors ask about difficult topics, such as salaries or past controversies. These deserve a thoughtful human reply. An assistant should share published information and pass anything sensitive to staff, an approach covered in how to handle sensitive questions in your chatbot.
Transparency for volunteers too
Volunteers also want to know their time is well used. Explaining how volunteer roles fit into the charity's work helps, alongside the practical answers described in volunteer enquiries that fizzle out without a reply.
Explaining offers plainly
Other organisations face similar trust questions about value. Coaches, for example, find that explaining exactly what clients receive builds confidence, as described in how coaches explain programmes and prices online.
Answering at any hour
SpideyChat for nonprofits shares your published spending information at any hour and points donors to the donation page. It does not make promises beyond what the charity publishes.
A "where your money goes" page
Write a short, honest page explaining how income is spent, with examples and a link to the accounts. Then let donors ask their questions when they are deciding. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about answers on the features page.