This is lesson twenty-nine. This is towards one of our missions. Education. You’ll learn everything about marketing - from the basics to the most advanced strategies - for free, thanks to VellumWorks.
Most charities focus on what they do.
Customer Journey Mapping forces you to focus on how it feels to experience it.
Every supporter, donor, volunteer, or beneficiary goes on a journey with your organisation, from first hearing about you to deciding whether to stay involved long-term.
Customer Journey Mapping is the process of visualising that journey step by step, identifying emotions, friction points, and opportunities to improve trust and engagement.
For charities, this is one of the most powerful tools you can use to turn one-off interactions into lasting relationships.
What Is Customer Journey Mapping?
Customer Journey Mapping is a strategic exercise that documents every interaction someone has with your organisation, across time, channels, and emotions.
It answers questions like:
How do people first discover us?
What do they experience before donating or volunteering?
Where do they get confused or drop off?
What happens after they take action?
How do they feel at each stage?
In simple terms:
A customer journey map shows what people do, think, and feel as they move through your organisation.
The Core Stages of a Typical Charity Journey
While every organisation is different, most journeys follow a similar structure:
1. Awareness
Someone first hears about your charity.
Touchpoints might include:
social media
word of mouth
press
search
community events
Key question:
Do people immediately understand who you are and why you matter?
2. Consideration
They explore your website, content, or social channels to learn more.
Touchpoints:
website pages
impact stories
emails
FAQs
social proof
Key question:
Is the information clear, trustworthy, and emotionally engaging?
3. Decision
They decide whether to donate, volunteer, sign up, or attend.
Touchpoints:
donation forms
sign-up pages
event booking
contact forms
Key question:
Is the action simple, reassuring, and friction-free?
4. Action
They complete the action.
This is where many charities stop. But it’s only the midpoint.
5. Confirmation
What happens after they act matters just as much.
Touchpoints:
thank-you emails
receipts
welcome messages
onboarding
Key question:
Do people feel appreciated, confident, and valued?
6. Relationship
Ongoing communication, updates, and engagement.
Touchpoints:
newsletters
impact reports
invitations
personal updates
Key question:
Do supporters feel connected, informed, and part of something bigger?
7. Advocacy
Supporters recommend you, fundraise, or speak about you.
This is the result of a strong journey. This is not something that you request.
Why Journey Mapping Matters for Charities
Because most problems aren’t about the mission. They’re about experience.
Journey mapping helps you:
identify drop-off points
reduce confusion
improve donor retention
strengthen trust
align teams around the supporter experience
stop guessing and start designing intentionally
It turns abstract “supporter engagement” into something concrete and actionable.
Emotions Matter at Every Stage
A good journey map includes emotions, not just steps.
Ask:
Where are people excited?
Where are they anxious?
Where are they confused?
Where are they reassured?
Where do they feel proud?
Fixing emotional friction often has more impact than changing tactics.
10-Minute Exercise: Create Your First Journey Map
Take a sheet of paper and draw a simple timeline.
Awareness
Consideration
Decision
Action
Confirmation
Relationship
For each stage, write:
what the person does
what they feel
what could be improved
Choose one improvement you can make this week.
That’s how CX improves. Step by step.
Why is this important to know?
Because people don’t remember campaigns. They remember experiences. Customer Journey Mapping helps you see your charity as supporters experience it, not as you intend it.
When you design journeys that feel clear, human, and supportive, people are far more likely to trust you, stay involved, and advocate for your mission.
At VellumWorks, we believe knowledge should be free. That’s why this series will guide you, step by step, through everything from the basics to the most advanced strategies in marketing: no jargon, no gatekeeping, just education that empowers.
