Charity websites lacking in donor engagement

I was reading the Village Vibes (the http://www.charityvillage.com/ newsletter) and came across this fast fact, which I found interesting:


Fast Fact: Charity websites lacking in donor engagement January 26, 2009 A recent UK study analyzing the websites of 15 major charities found that, overall, while most were following best practices of usability and design, few were using techniques to create a loyal, online visitor community. The study looked at 26 different factors and gave each charity a final score based on their performance in each area. Average marks were high in communicating the charity’s key message (78%), containing fresh content (78%), and having an easy-to-use search function (100%). But overall, only three charities were able to score above 70% on the entire survey, and none of the charities surveyed sent follow-up e-mails to donors within 30 days of a donation. -- dotMailer

Here's a link to the full article:

http://www.precisionmarketing.co.uk/Articles/258324/UK+Charities+fail+to+create+loyalty+.html

I find this interesting because the main comment is not about the content or design, but rather the follow up procedure. When building your website it's important to think of everything from all angles. If you are having a donation page, how are you receiving those donations? And how are you following up with the customer?

This applies not only to websites, but all of your communication materials. After you write a blog post, do you just leave it and move on to the next project? Will you reply to comments on the blog? What if you have to moderate comments? How will you deal with someone who is not as kind?

It's important to keep every aspect of your communications in check or you risk looking less than stellar.