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February 26, 2009

Charity's Online Fund-Raising Pitch Features Humor

Ken Gordon, editor of nonprofit JBooks.com, did not exactly take to the experience of writing his first appeal letter. “It was excruciating,” he says.

Other words he uses to describe the task of asking readers of his charity’s books for money? “Humiliating,” “horrible,” and “painful.”

But from pain comes, well, inspiration. While mired in the December appeal-letter doldrums, Mr. Gordon got an idea for how to poke fun at the process of writing solicitations, and himself, in dramatic style.

He enlisted the help of former Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky (one of JBooks.com’s authors), another friend who was involved with improv, and a former producer at WGBH who’d worked with JBooks.com’s parent organization Jewish Family and Life Media.

Together, they produced a video (“The Spiel, or Send Money”) that Mr. Gordon hopes will raise funds for his charity — and save him from writing too many more appeal letters.

Mr. Gordon is publicizing the video through the charity’s e-newsletters and by reaching out to journalists.

“Our idea was to use humor as a way to differentiate ourselves and at least get the word out about JBooks,” he says. “Where else are you going to see Robert Pinsky singing with a Casio?”

What do you think of the video as a way to raise money? How would you suggest Mr. Gordon publicize the video and use it to generate donations?

— Caroline Preston

Thursday February 26, 2009 | Permalink

Comments

1. I think the approach is poorly conceived. Did he say “Jews by books?”
   People should feel motivated to support a good cause for its own sake.

   — K Lewis    Feb 26, 12:52 PM    #

2. I couldn’t see or find the video. But I will say that humor could work well, depending on the mission of the charity. I work for a children’s cancer charity and, while we aim to keep things light and optimistic, out and out humor probably wouldn’t work so well…

   — Jeremy Shatan    Feb 26, 02:21 PM    #

3. Anything that can make your organization stand out from the crowd can catalyze supporter growth. As long as it’s within some boundaries so that you don’t drive away more supporters than you attract.

   — Mark Gorman    Feb 26, 02:22 PM    #

4. He said “Jews buy books”. Self-depricating humor and inside jokes might work on your base, but you probably need something broader to explain your cause and gather new donors.

   — D Plaster    Feb 26, 05:59 PM    #

5. I agree with #3; when you’re using online tools, it’s wise to try a lot of different approaches at once, and see what works. Humor will motivate some people to donate, while a different approach might work for others — so I think fundraisers should try them all. I’ll bet even a children’s cancer charity could raise significant cash if it found an appropriate way to use humor. Bit of a tall order, but if the children were seen laughing, for instance, it would put people at more at ease about the subject matter and permit them to identify more fully with the children. On the Web, you’re dealing with people en masse, so the key is to try many different approaches and, within the bounds of appropriateness, not be afraid to fail on the way to learning more about your audience.

   — jeremy@grassrootsgivinggroup.com    Mar 13, 06:13 AM    #

6. I like it. But did it work? How much did they raise?

   — marjorie fine    Mar 23, 12:10 PM    #

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