NCVO - Online Fundraising in 20 mins

Effective Online Fundraising:The incredibly simplified,

shortened, slashed, re-jigged,compressed,20 minute guide.

Simon Frank & Anna King, beautiful world

26 October 2010

April 10, 2023 www.hellobeautifulworld.com

Why should charities invest inonline fundraising?

• Print no longer rules the world

• Wide adoption of digital media– Mobile handsets increasing Internet usage

• Response rates dropping– Cost per acquisition rising

• Reliance on Face-to-Face– Too many eggs in one basket

• Future proofing strategy


What are the benefits of online fundraising?


Benefits

• Lead times can be shorter

• Get results almost instantly

• Adjust continually throughout campaigns

• Test propositions discreetly and roll out quickly

• Social media is a great way to test a proposition without committing budget– If it’s not good enough to pass it on,

it’s probably not good enough


Other positives

• Get to know and engage with prospective donors

• Deepen relationships with existing supporters– A vital set of tools to stem attrition– Use rich content to provide a richer experience– Opportunity for dialogue– Opportunity to work together

• Emergency fundraising– Quick, instant and very flexible


Other postives

• Not just a set of tools for you– Your donors are also empowered to fundraise and

spread messages via them• Emergencies• Events fundraising• Personal appeals

• Self-selecting donors– Have a higher lifetime value if you value them


Am I a little dumb or is all this online stuff really

rather complicated?


If online seems confusing, don’t feel bad.

It’s not you, it’s because it was invented by guys like this:


We’re working in a very imperfect environment here.


So, how does online fundraising differ from other

kinds of fundraising?


Well, fundamentally, it doesn’t.


What’s the most commonreason why anyone gives to charity?


Because they were asked.


Well, guess what, the same goes for online.


Simple then?


Simpler than you might think…


Let’s have a quick look at the tools at your disposal?


Tools:

• Your website

• A microsite

• Someone elses website:– Just Giving– Virgin Money– Be my Charity– See the Difference– Ploink


Tools:• Facebook

• Twitter

• Online display ads

• Emails

• Twibbon

• Blogger outreach

• SEO


Tools:• Youtube

• Google

- Adwords

- Ad planner

• Flickr

• And there are more….


We now have multi-channel lives.


And donors expect us to use those channels


When shown a list of communication tools and asked which charities should use more … only ‘social networking’ and ‘communication by email’ were chosen by the majority.

Sources: National Statistics, CommScore global, YouTube & FacebookSource: How to Connect with Donors, CAF, February 2010

• “Waste less funds on glossy reports and ‘magazines’”

• “Stop the endless mail outs, especially those with gifts”

• “Bring in e-mail only communications for regular supporters – will reduce costs”

• “Reduce physical mailings to reduce costs – more electronic mail”

• “I want to emphasise e-mail with weblink rather than post … would have just as great an impact on me”

• “Must reduce the amount of unsolicited mail they send. It must cost a fortune and is often very high quality.”

• “Make more of electronic mailings and social networking”

Source: How to Connect with Donors, CAF 2010

“It makes sense to continue investing in online fundraising and testing what works, because if we invest only in the traditional side, the charity will fall behind the times.”


Sharon Schofield, Deputy Director of Fundraising and Communications, The Brooke

‘About two-thirds of donors who give in response to direct response TV adverts do so online, and people who sign up online tend to stay with the charity for longer. Income raised online grew by 48 per cent in the past financial year.’


It’s very hard to cut through the general noise and

gain people’s attention.


It’s even harder to do it in a way that gains trust.


That’s why social media is such a valuable tool.

People trust word of mouth.


Enough already! Show me some online fundraising.



This email caughtthe attention of Adam Waller at beautiful world…note the subject line.

“This is quite an interesting take on the emergency appeal. A

relatively modest target with a very specific action and a tight,

tangible deadline.”Adam Waller



Note the Facebook and Twitter share buttons on the side.


Now I can tell my friends

So how did it perform?



It got more than the total: nearly 300% ofthe target.

Here’s another example:



One Friday afternoon a distress Tweet was sent out by Childsi on behalf of baby Joey, who needed to be flown to South Africa from Uganda for a life-saving operation.


There was alsoan email


And there was a simplefundraising page onJust Giving.

You or I could have set this upin a few minutes.

Baby Joey’s desperate situation proved impossible to ignore.

Their tweets ignited a social media bush fire.

People forwarded their emailto their friends.



Two days later this appeared on Facebook.


As the gifts came in, the thanks rolled out.


Donors were kept informed and involved via the web site.

A great campaign.Cost next to nothing.

Involving.Emotional.Effective.

Saved a life.How brilliant is that!



It worked because they work so hard with social media.

Social media is your friend


Integration is key to success.


Integration: on and offline

• This means doing much more than trying to drive existing donors to give online, by including URL in mail packs– This will have limited impact

• All acquisition, using any medium, should ideally be accompanied by– Paid search– SEO– Online content


Taking an integrated approach

Initial advertising results gained with best site. Multiplied in future campaign typically 3 to 5 times

More than a giftCentrepoint’s new virtual giving site


At last a virtual gifts site that actually engages both the giver and the recipient.

Centrepoint Virtual Gifts

• With the Centrepoint Virtual Gifts website we have:o Put fundraising back into virtual giftso Integrated it with Facebook and other social

mediaoCreated an engaging experience – for

donors and recipientsoDeveloped a virtual gift site that sells itself

How will donors discover it?



Facebook tab


Facebook app


On Twitter


Email


As a mailer


Facebook Ads andonline banners

Is it working?



It’s early days but…

In its first two weeks we have had5 gifts of £1,600and a wide spread of other gifts.

Donations that high are about as rare as rocking horse ****!

Some simple tips


Be found easily


Be understood easily

Provide tools to help people help

Be responsive

Make giving easy


Don’t force too many clicks on people

Make your landing page clearand engaging, or pay the price


This makes watching paint dry look likefirst class entertainment

Don’t forget to ask


Keep donors involved, report back.

Use social media to punch aboveyour weight

Make use of what’s out there,You don’t have to re-invent the wheel


Make use of rich media - video, sound bites, photos

Say thank you - it costs nothing

Users spend 80.3% of their time on web pages above the fold


So put the important stuff there!

Thoughts to take away…


• Online offers an opportunity to be more engaging and human, not more geeky

• It is an imperfect environment without many rules: experiment and learn

• Online media are constantly evolving

• They have changed:– How we behave & communicate– How we relate to brands – including charities– How we make decisions

• And it’s going to keep changing!

Group Exercise


The brief… You need to raise £20,000 in 4 weeks for Tommy, a little four

year old who needs an urgent operation to save his sight

You have a Twitter account with a small following. You have a small budget to create some online banners and/or Facebook ads. You have access to Tommy and his parents and you have a video camera.

How will you engage people?

Where might you advertise?

What would you use to hook people emotionally?

Where would you get people to donate?

How would you phrase your ask?

What would you urge people to do?

Groups Report Back


Questions and Discussion


Thank you!

Twitter: www.twitter.com/goodbook

Email: [email protected]

Slides:www.slideshare.net/simongfrank


NCVO - Online Fundraising in 20 mins

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Transcript of NCVO - Online Fundraising in 20 mins