Go to content Go to navigation Go to search

July 16, 2008

Compelling Stories Help a Charity Attract Gifts

The number of visitors to the DonorsChoose Web site who made donations increased by 66 percent after the charity redesigned its home page to emphasize the stories of teachers who were seeking support through the charity, an official of the charity told a group of nonprofit marketing officials meeting in Washington this week.

DonorsChoose, which allows donors to give money to buy supplies for public-school teachers, put teachers’ requests in a more prominent position on its site, and made it easier to click through 10,000 requests for aid, says Erica Goldman, vice president of consumer marketing.

Not only did donations from visitors increase as a result, but the charity saw a 62-percent increase in the number of visitors who browsed the teachers’ stories, she says.

The charity has provided more than $20-million worth of supplies to more than 55,000 teachers since it was founded in 2000.

The way the teachers tell their stories to engage donors also helps increase gifts, Ms. Goldman says. DonorsChoose volunteers and staff members make sure that every story contains the following elements:

• A hero. The teacher is always the hero, and always tells a story in his or her own words, Ms. Goldman says. “The teacher is able to communicate her story and challenges in a way that’s very specific, very textured, very concrete,” she says. If teachers don’t talk enough about their work and the class, the charity asks them to add more material.

• A challenge. The teacher describes what the class lacks and how the project will help meet a particular need.

• An ally. The ally is always the donor, Ms. Goldman says. DonorsChoose makes sure the donor is part of the story by asking each teacher to speak directly to donors about what they can do and how their donation will help. The charity has also enabled donors to post their own stories on its Web site about why they give. Some 47 percent of the charity’s donors do so, she says, and their stories stimulate gifts from others.

• A happy ending. “In our world, happy endings are when resources are delivered to the classroom and students have rich, meaningful learning experiences,” Ms. Goldman says. DonorsChoose sends the teachers disposable cameras and asks them to photograph the class and its use of the supplies. Then it mails photographs and thank-you notes from the students and teacher to the donor, along with a cover letter and a page detailing the project’s costs.

“Up to this point, the interaction has been all online,” Ms. Goldman said. “Now, the donor gets something tangible, hears the crackle of paper and can see the pressure of the crayons.”

That tangible evidence of accomplishment pays off in a big way for the charity, she says. Donors who receive the thank-you packages and make another donation give an average of 21 percent more than their previous gift.

— Elizabeth Schwinn

Wednesday July 16, 2008 | Permalink

Commenting is closed for this article.

Previous: Many Charities Don't Measure Results of Marketing Efforts, Study Finds
Next: Fund-Raising Consulting Companies Merge

---

Copyright © 2009 The Chronicle of Philanthropy