Tag Archives: make-a-wish

Online Fundraising over $10 Billion in 2007

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Ted Hart provides a look at how online fundraising has grown from $0 in 1999 to $10.44 billion in 2007.  A graph and brief write-up is available at Slideshare.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently pointed out that while online giving still represents a small part of most nonprofits’ fundraising, for some charities they have become a major source of revenue,  These five organizations have done especially well, raising at least 10% of their donations online: Heifer International (28%), Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (27%), Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund (21%), National Multiple Sclerosis Society (15%) and Make-A-Wish Foundation (10%).

Are you waiting for ephilanthropy tools to work perfectly before taking the plunge?  If so, read Vin Crosbie’s take on Ted’s People to People Fundraising site on why tools are ‘good enough‘ to use now.

Tips for Online Success

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  1. After sending out email blasts, are you reviewing reports to learn how many of them were actually opened and what links were clicked?  See the recently released eNonprofit Benchmarks Study
  2. Have you tried ‘microsites’ – a separate page focused on a specific event or campaign with an strong call to action – see NothingButNets.
  3. Have you created an organization presence on social networking sites such as FaceBook and MySpace?   See this blog posting on Best Practices for Non-Profits Using Web 2.0 and Idealware’s Should Your Organization Use Social Networking Sites.
  4. Have you looked at Barack Obama’s web site, which has changed the landscape for online fundraising and engagement?
  5. Do you get ideas from other nonprofit organizations that have done especially well in raising money online?  According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy (June 12 issue), these five organizations have raised more than 10% of their revenues online: Heifer International (28 percent), Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (27 percent),Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund (21 percent), National Multiple Sclerosis Society (15 percent), and Make-a-Wish Foundation (10 percent).
  6. Do you participate in groups, both online and off, to share success (and failure) stories?  People in Nten are always willing to help.  Don’t forget about for profit groups – I recently discovered the Internet Strategy Forum, which discusses many of the online strategy challenges that we also deal with in nonprofit.
  7. Are you too busy to leave the office occasionally for a conference, such as this week’s Fundraising Day and Social Networking Symposium in New York?  If so, you’re missing the opportunity to learn from our colleagues.

Network for Good – Cultivating Donors Online

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Attended a very informative session yesterday by Katya Andresen of Network for Good on Cultivating Donors Online.  What was particularly helpful was her citing of specific nonprofit sites as examples of what she discussed, such as Make a Wish Foundation for overall fundraising expertise and MercyCorps as a model of how to recruit monthly donors.  Some major points covered:

  • Organization home page should not be an ‘About Us’ page – it should be about ways to engage your constituents
  • People give most frequently at year-end and in response to crises.  An appeal sent out between Christmas and New Years can be particularly effective
  • It’s best to limit appeals for donations to 2-3 times / year.  However, there should be many more communications used to thank constituents and tell them how their contributions have made a difference (not asking for money)
  • Three groups of people visit nonprofit web sites:
    • those ready to act now – make it very simple for someone to donate now
    • those interested, but not yet ready to take action – encourage email address submission (and explain why it will be in their interest to do so – most of us already get more email than we can handle)
    • those who just want information now but who may become donors later – make it easy to locate what they need
  • Send out multiple version of email appeals to see what works
  • Segment your database (an issue I’ve heard mentioned at many other seminars) – use simple criteria at first, such as who has attended certain types of events or who have been referred by specific sources
  • Instead of organizing web site by departments of organization, organize by what types of information visitors are most often searching for
  • ‘We need money’ isn’t enough of a message to attract donors
  • Use Google Alerts and Technorati to keep current with what others are saying about your organization and main areas of focus and to find people who are passionate about your cause

Katya was cited in Fundraising Success Magazine for her expertise in online fundraising, and this presentation showed why.  I would highly recommend this session, which is being offered again next week.  Details on are at fundraising123.org