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Giving goes techno
By Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf
September 22, 2008In an increasingly technological world, it’s becoming easier to donate to charity from home - or wherever you are - than ever before.
One wouldn’t necessarily think it, but last year alone, one TV show, in only one episode, managed to get viewers at home to contribute more than $75 million USD to charities in Africa and the US. That show: American Idol Gives Back.
Using ubiquitous technologies such as text messaging and online donations, the show was able to raise the funds from its viewership almost instantaneously. Such is the power and the impact of new technologies on the charitable sector.
1. Multiple appeals series.
Online messages sent as part of a cohesive, multiple appeal campaign over the course of three weeks receive best responses from donors, bringing in an average gift of $99 USD.
2. Deadline-driven campaigns.
Stand alone or multiple appeal series that use a deadline to drive giving are the next best way to elicit donations, bringing in an average gift of $93 USD.
3. Matching gift campaigns.
Stand alone or multiple appeal fundraising series that include a matching gift offer come in third, bringing in an average gift of $59 USD.
4. Dollar goals.
Stand alone or multiple appeal series that focus on reaching a specific monetary goal are statistically inconclusive.
--M+R Strategic ServicesGoing to the dogs
In July, 30 Canadian animal shelters across the country leveraged the use of technology to assist in raising needed cash to help care for abandoned dogs and other canines in need.The program, called Dollars for Dogs, was launched by major dog food company Pedigree, wherein people could type a text message with their cell phone, Blackberry or other PDA - in this case, it was a message with the words "help dogs" sent to code 707707 - and the user would be billed $1 by their carrier on their next statement, 100% of which would go, literally, to the dogs.
Campaigns like these are revolutionizing the voluntary sector and helping charities tap into funding by making giving user-friendly. But it’s not all just about reaching directly into the digital pockets of donors. Others are encouraging a more passive adoption of technology to get to where the funding is.
Plugging charities into the grid
Jane Zhang, director of corporate social responsibility for the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) and program manager for Techsoup Canada - a recent ITAC initiative designed to “increase the accessibility of technology for the nonprofit sector in Canada” - tells CharityVillage she believes technology is essential in helping break down barriers to fundraising for the voluntary sector.
“Technology...has the capacity to simplify tasks that might be tedious, freeing up valuable staff time that could be dedicated to other tasks,” she says. “Web 2.0 applications can be a very affordable and effective tool to complement offline activities and maximize fundraising efforts. With the right technology tools, small organizations will have the ability to reach out to more people, something that would have been very difficult to do in the past.”
She adds, “With technology, we are no longer limited by geographic boundaries. This can help bring together people from all over the world to support a cause, to help out for an event, and exchange knowledge. Organizations in rural areas no longer have to feel that they are alone in their work. Technology can give them access to global communities, resources and support.”
Swipe that thing
In Winnipeg, Marshall Posner, president of Planned Legacy, also believes that giving technology is a must for charities. His company relies on technology and works exclusively with nonprofits in North America, providing interactive, multimedia, donor recognition signage equipped with card swipe applications.
“Advances in technology and the way society communicates now require that nonprofit organizations become much more entrepreneurial in how they reach out to their staff, contributors, and the public if they want to compete for the fundraising dollar,” he says. “Everything just moves at a quicker pace now and there is a sense of immediacy. People just expect, and in fact often demand, that what they want be available immediately. If a person is engaged and involved with your [charity] and they want to help, why not give them the opportunity to give immediately when you have their attention?”
Harv Mock, VP of sales and marketing for Planned Legacy, adds: “Nonprofit organizations have traditionally been slow to adopt change, but multimedia displays, interactivity, and card swipe technologies have been in effect for years in the retail sector. Nonprofits...are now beginning to understand and appreciate the value of these technologies in their fundraising efforts. They are also realizing how much more effective they can be when communicating with contributors and reaching out to the public.”
Going online for a cause
And for those wishing to stay home (and who don’t necessarily watch American Idol), Canada has some fine options for giving from the comfort of your own laptop.Since 2000, a unique website has been around to help Canadians find and fund almost every charity in the country. CanadaHelps.org describes itself as “Canada's only donation portal that provides access to all of Canada's 80,000 charities, from national organizations like national cancer charities to smaller groups like local animal shelters and soup kitchens.”
A charitable foundation itself, it has helped the sector raise more that $10 million a year since its inception, simply by providing a means for the public to donate to the charity of their choosing via a user-friendly interface and secure online connection.
A similar concept and Internet site called Givemeaning.com - run by the Give Meaning Foundation out of British Columbia - hosts free fundraising pages for more than 1,200 charitable, nonprofit and grassroots project initiatives from around the world.
And there are many other technologies out there for the using. It’s simply a matter of figuring out which is best for any particular organization.
If you’re a nonprofit, charity or charitable foundation still intimidated by all the new gizmos, gadgets and technology, it’s time to jump on board the tech wagon. It could be the best way to keep your cause alive and relevant.
Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf is president of WordLaunch professional writing services in Toronto. He can be reached at andy@wordlaunch.com.
Reader response:
To be successful it’s not enough for a nonprofit to have a worthy cause: what connects people to its work and motivates them to donate? Online giving? That certainly makes “the ask” easier for nonprofit development teams, and easier for people to give, but technology doesn’t make nonprofits interesting or relevant, as Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf concluded in this week’s cover story (“Giving goes techno,” 22 September 2008).Conclusions like this only underscore the sector’s superficial view of branding. If nonprofits feel they lack relevance, perhaps it’s because the sameness of the usual tactics - whether logos, advertising, new buildings, or events - have lost their power to hold people’s attention. Everyone wants to know how to improve their odds of marketing in a fragmented marketplace, yet fundraisers doggedly persist with pursuing the formulaic and unmemorable. No wonder we end up talking about donor fatigue.
The latest tactic has organizations rushing to set themselves apart by engaging in online communities. But as more and more organizations try starting virtual conversations, the mushy, undifferentiated middle only gets larger and more opaque.
It’s more important than ever - especially if the economy veers toward recession and pools of “easy” donor money dry up - to think innovatively about meaningful differentiation. Differentiation depends on knowing something the next organization doesn’t. In the end, what determines whether you thrive, merely survive, or die, is the quality of the insights you deliver, not the delivery vehicle.
Good branders never stop communicating what they know. Consider why people give to the Mayo Clinic or Harvard Business School - or why they’re so successful at recruiting and retaining top employees. These two organizations use thought leadership to stand out in a cluttered marketplace. By ensuring engaging content is at the core of their outreach they convey depth and meaning, build audience share, and amass earned revenue.
Doing a good job at “the tell” should be fundraising’s first priority: build a communicating brand. The awareness, support, and sustainability nonprofits crave will emerge only if knowledge is the catalyst bringing individuals and organizations together. Once your audiences’ interests have been nurtured with mission-connecting communications, and you have a community relying on you for ongoing insights, then it will be time for “the ask.”
-- Robert Ferguson
The Knowledge Marketing Group
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