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May 16, 2008
How to Make Online Donations Surge
Simple changes can often make a huge difference in how much money a charity’s Web site raises.
Amnesty International learned that when it tested several different approaches to see what was most effective. Donordigital, a San Francisco consulting firm that helped the charity has released some of the results, the charity achieved.
Among the highlights:
- Increasing the size of a button that said “click to donate” resulted in 25 percent more gifts from people who landed on the donation page.
- A red “donate now” button produced 29 percent more gifts than the charity’s former gray button that simply said “submit.”
- Decreasing the amount of personal information people are required to enter before making an online gift made a big difference: When Amnesty removed online spaces for people’s professional title and suffix (e.g., Mr.), the number of donors increased by 31 percent.
To conduct the tests, Amnesty used a software program that randomly directed online visitors to slight different versions of the charity’s donation page.
Charities might be tempted to make the same changes Amnesty did to their donation page, but Donordigital officials said groups should do their own testing. “Results from your organization’s supporters may differ, so testing is paramount,” they write.
(To learn more about how organizations are experimenting with new online approaches to recruiting donors, see this Chronicle article.)
May 15, 2008
Raising Money by Cellphone: The Next Big Thing
Raising money with text messaging and cell phones will expand greatly in the United States soon, according to M. Sue Woodward, senior vice president of Virilion, a Washington consulting firm that helps charities use new technology to raise money.
Ms. Woodward spoke this week at the annual meeting of the Association Foundation Group, an organization representing charitable foundations affiliated with professional societies.
Cell phones are a good way to reach potential donors because people always carry them, noted Ms. Woodward.
But until recently, raising money through mobile text messaging has not been possible, because cell-phone carriers charged as much as 50 percent of money donated via text message. That fee covers the cost of charging cell-phone customers for any donation on their monthly bill.
That’s all beginning to change, said Ms. Woodward, pointing to the Mobile Giving Foundation, a new Bellevue, Wash., charity that is working with cell-phone companies to reduce the cost of text-message donations to 10 percent or less.
The foundation’s first text-message fund-raising campaign was held in February, when it placed a 10-second advertisement on television during the Super Bowl. Tom Brady of the New England Patriots asked viewers to text “FIT to 864833” to make a $5 donation to support a youth fitness program started by United Way of America. Of the $5 donation, at least $4.50 ultimately reached United Way.
United Way officials said they received about $10,000 in text-message donations made during the Super Bowl, and contributions have continued to trickle in as sports stations continue to broadcast the 10-second ad.
How to Market Like Jimmy Buffett
Jimmy Buffett is more than just a musician with a few hit songs.
Mr. Buffett is a major brand who has turned the message behind his breezy tunes into a license to print money though restaurants, drinks, books, and T-shirts.
What does this mean for charities?
Quite a bit, according to Katya Andresen, vice president of marketing at Network for Good.
Ms. Andresen writes on her blog that Mr. Buffett has become a successful brand because he follows three basic marketing principles.
His message is simple. His message is consistent. And his message is hopeful.
Mr. Buffett doesn’t try to do too many things. He tries to promote fun — and he never deviates from that message.
“While I know it’s easier to sell margaritas or pigs than it is to promote the end of poverty, the principles remain the same,” Ms. Andresen writes. “Stand for something compelling and hopeful. And stand for it over and over, over time. It works.”
May 14, 2008
What Drives Disaster Donations
Stephen J. Dubner, writing on The New York Times’ Freakonomics blog, says it’s a safe bet that you haven’t donated to help cyclone victims in Myanmar. Why not?
Well, for starters, news-media attention tends to drive donations. Americans gave about $1.92-billion to help victims of the 2004 tsunamis, compared with just $150-million after the earthquake that struck Pakistan the following year.
Mr. Dubner ventures that most of his readers probably remember news-media coverage of the tsunamis and Hurricane Katrina, but probably not much at all from the Pakistan earthquake. He highlights a recent paper by Philip H. Brown and Jessica F. Minty, produced by the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan, showing the impact of news-media attention on donations to relief groups following the 2004 tsunamis.
The study showed that “an additional minute of nightly news coverage increased donations by 0.036 standard deviations from the mean, or 13.2 percent of the average daily donation for the typical relief agency. Similarly, an additional 700-word story in The New York Times or Wall Street Journal raises donations by 18.2 percent of the daily average.”
And what drives news-media attention of disasters? Mr. Dubner takes the cases of the Myanmar cyclone and the China earthquake, and cites several reasons why coverage has been lacking.
- The focus on the presidential campaigns is squeezing out attention to other issues.
- Most Americans probably couldn’t find Myanmar on a map.
- Covering far-away disasters is expensive and time-consuming.
“So given the particulars of the disasters in Myanmar and China, as tragic as they are, I feel pretty confident in predicting that U.S. charitable contributions in each case won’t be very large,” says Mr. Dubner. (For an update on giving so far, see this Chronicle article.)
He wonders: “Does this mean that human beings are shallow and selfish — that they only give to a cause when it is attractive to them on some level? Will the future produce some sort of ‘disaster marketing’ movement in which aid agencies learn to appeal to potential contributors?”
What do you think drives donations to disasters? Why do some crises generate outpourings of support while others generate few donations, if any at all?
Raising Money in an Election Year
The presidential election and other Congressional contests could cause problems for charities that use direct mail to raise money, according to the Russ Reid Company, a Pasadena direct-marketing consulting company.
As in past election years, the United States Postal Service will process an avalanche of political mail in 2008. In fact, to make sure it’s handled in a timely fashion, the Postal Service puts a label on campaign mail so that handlers can give it priority over many other types of mail, including charity appeals.
With this year’s presidential election, along with races for 435 seats in the House and 33 in the Senate, “the biggest impact on nonprofits who use direct-response fund raising will be clutter,” Russ Reid said in a press release.
The company recommends that charities consider paying more to mail some appeals at first-class rates, which get about the same speed and attention as political mail in election years. Or, as campaigns head into the final six months, those planning a late summer or fall direct-mail campaign might want to do mailings a few weeks earlier than planned to ensure timely delivery.
What challenges or opportunities do you face in this election cycle? What lessons can be applied from previous election years? Use the comment box below to let us know how your organization’s fund raising is affected by the 2008 campaign. (For more on charities and the campaign, see our special section.)
May 13, 2008
Reaching Female Donors Online
How can you design your Web site to appeal more effectively to female donors?
Lisa Witter, chief operating officer of Fenton Communications, in New York, and co-author of the book The She Spot: Why Women Are the Market for Changing the World — and How to Reach Them, — offered five suggestions in an online discussion today with Chronicle readers.
- “Feature real people. Stock photos look like stock photos. Try, as much as you can, to put up images of real people with real names.”
- “Get personal. Women want to go to a Web site and know that real people are behind it. In your ‘about us’ section list real people’s names that donors, volunteer, and activists can contact.”
- “Invite her input and help her connect. Remember that women seek opportunities to share their opinion and connect to others — that’s how they demonstrate their investment in things they care about.”
- “Don’t think pink. Don’t just assume that all women like pink and flowers. Women have really high B.S. meters. Don’t talk down to them.”
- “Let others do the talking. Women really care about what other people think about your organization. Use third-party testimonials as much as possible.”
The Psychology of Charity Auctions
What makes a charity auction successful?
The marketing expert Seth Godin says the answer lies in the mindset of the bidders.
If they come to an auction looking for a bargain, the event will likely fall flat.
But if the event can get the bidders to want to overpay for items, it will likely exceed its target, Mr. Godin writes on Seth’s Blog.
Mr. Godin cites a recent auction by the Robin Hood Foundation in New York that raised more than $24-million for the organization as a prime example.
Fund raisers, of course, have to walk a tricky path to create an atmosphere in which bidders compete to overpay. But Mr. Godin says once that atmosphere exists, it tends to snowball.
“The challenge is to create social approval for what would otherwise be bad auction skills,” he writes. “Enlist a few stooges in the audience in advance, then start by auctioning off that $20 bill. When it goes for $45 and the winner gets an ovation, you’ve set a tone.”
Mr. Godin will take questions from Chronicle readers during a free online discussion on Tuesday, May 20, at noon Eastern time.
(To read about why many fund-raising auctions seem to be losing steam, see an article by Chronicle columnist Bob Levey.)
What Women Want From Nonprofit Causes: Online Discussion Today
More and more women are making big gifts to charity, but many fund raisers struggle with how to best communicate with women donors.
What can your organization do to more effectively reach female donors and volunteers? What can charities learn from companies that promote products and services to female consumers? And how can this approach help your charity connect with men as well?
Lisa Witter, a marketing expert and author, will answer those and other questions today at noon Eastern time in a live discussion with Chronicle readers.
Ms. Witter is chief operating officer of Fenton Communications, in New York, and co-author of the book The She Spot: Why Women Are the Market for Changing the World — and How to Reach Them.
This discussion is open to everyone, not just Chronicle subscribers. You will have a chance to ask Ms. Witter questions from noon to 1 p.m. A full transcript of the discussion will be available after the discussion.
May 12, 2008
Economic Turmoil is Putting a Damper on Some Capital Campaigns
The rocky economy is making itself felt in capital campaigns across the country, according to an article in the current issue of The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
Among 35 fund raisers and other officials now engaged in campaigns who were interviewed for the story — and in an additional 20 interviews with consultants and other fund-raising experts — some common themes emerge.
- Numerous campaigns have depended on at least some big gifts that are not materializing because donors have experienced recent losses in income or assets.
- Many donors are putting off making any decision to give a big gift now.
- Some campaigns are being put off for now amid nonprofit officials’ concerns about the economy, while others are being extended to give fund raisers more time to reach their goals.
Is the poor economy hurting your capital campaign or other fund-raising efforts?
May 11, 2008
First Ph.D. in Philanthropic Studies Is Awarded
The United States may lead the world in charitable fund raising and philanthropy, but the country’s first Doctor of Philanthropic Studies, who graduated today in Indianapolis, is Chinese.
Yue (Jen) Shang, a native of Beijing, studied for her Ph.D. in Philanthropic Studies at Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy, where she will soon join the faculty and help teach fund raisers and other nonprofit officials about donor behavior and other topics.
Ms. Shang, who wrote her dissertation to shed light on why donors give, plans to return to China and conduct research on the psychological underpinnings of philanthropy there.
Ms. Shang was joined in the ceremonies by three fellow students who are expected to finish requirements for their philanthropic studies doctorates this summer. Altogether, 31 students have been admitted to the Ph.D. program, which prepares students to teach and conduct research in philanthropy.
Ms. Shang is one of 10 foreign students in the Ph.D. program, which began in 2004. The other students are from China, Taiwan, Ghana, Germany, Japan, Latvia, South Korea, and United Arab Emirates.
Perhaps the philanthropic studies degree will help promote the spread of civil society to other parts of the globe. What do you think?
—Holly Hall
Copyright © 2008 The Chronicle of Philanthropy