Alan Levine, AKA cogdog blog, is running a marathon to help support a cause he cares about - juvenile diabetes. Last year, Alan won the Beth 5.0 Flickr Photo Birthday Card Remix Contest and I donated 50 bucks to his cause. As I was casually planning the Beth 5.1 Flickr Photo Birthday Card Remix Contest (details to be announced in early 2008), I caught this post. So, I went over and pledged some support.
Thought this was hilarious to see my photo in here! Some good points about out to reach to Wired Fundraisers, I'm noticing that Peter uses one of my favorite social media demographic charts, the one of BusinessWeek that Jason Zanon of DIA tagged back in June. I've used in June and inserted it into a presentation I'm working now, but I am wondering what an updated version of that might look like? I wonder what the trend over the time will show?
A reader who writes the Flip the Bucket Blog left a question in the comments on another blog post. Can anyone answer? The question:
Are there charity badges that work in Australia?
I'm not sure whether they want donors to be able to contribute in Aussie dollars or have the merchant account it is linked to go directly to the nonprofit.
I know for my ChipIn campaigns, I've had a number of donors from Australia because paypal does currency exchange.
In case you are wondering about the connection to the jars with labels - the one above is from a photo I took of an art installation several years ago that had hundreds of glass jars with labels and objects inside. I thought about it because when I looked at Flip the Bucket's blog, I found this wonderful post about a giving jar.to encourage kids to give to charity. I wish I had discovered it for my recent post about encouraging children to give.
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After reading "Blogging for Good in the World - Successfully" by Cooper and Emily and thinking about of inspiring work that many have taken up for causes, including, Britt Bravo, 24 Hours for Darfur, Menu for Hope - Chez Pim, Katrin Verclas, Melanie Van Orden, Take a Stand, Nothing But Nets, Jenna Raby and Amy Jussel, I started to wonder what the secret ingredients are to success ... two came to mind and rhyme: Fashion and Passion
I recently read an article about fundraising on social networking sites. One particular quote jumped out at me, "The Facebook generation wears their causes like the way they wear their favorite fashion." While technically, I'm probably way over the legal age limit to be included in the Facebook Generation, nonetheless I'm once again wearing one of my one of my favorite causes as fashion on my blog this month.
Last month, I turned my blog pink in support of Breast Cancer and in September, I put on a red t-shirt to support the monks in Burma . This month's fashion statement is gray and green to match the colors of Creative Commons logo. But that's not all. I placed the photo of me wearing my newest Creative Commons T-Shirt on blog - and of course added it to my Facebook profile and on Twitter, you'll see the Creative Commons Logo with a donate message.
Why?
I have a strong interest in the future of my work and participatory culture. As an activist and evangelist for Creative Commons' values and tools, I want to do my part in helping to ensure that our culture remains as free and accessible as possible. That's why I also remixed the fundraising widget on my blog in support of Creative Commons Annual Campaign and gave some money too.
My colleague, Jason Zannon, of DIA, is trying to understand how organizations can identify and engage those passionate super activists?
And given that the network is increasingly going to be the point of contact between causes and people, both create an interesting strategic question for organizations that seems like a fruitful place for future investigation: how do you get those people involved?
Katya Andresen, Network for Good, offers some insights in the comments:
We, too, are working on understanding how to find more superactivists and how to make the long tail of less active evangelists more engaged. We've found the best approach is to recognize that motivation is not something you can create - it's something there based on personal experience. You just need to be in as many places as possible with your tools, so that when someone is in a place where they're feeling strongly about a cause, the easy way to act is right before them -- at which point they may become a more involved activist.
I agree with Katya that motivation is not something you can create - but you can inspire and ignite the super activist within. Maybe we need to make those super activists more visible and acknowledge them in a special meaningful way.
What have you learned about your organization's super activists? If your an organization, how will you inspire evangelists for your cause?
Maybe we all need to be role models. How do we inspire? Need some tips? Check out this resource!
The photo is from the Lolsaur which came from PodCamp Boston and is analyzed by Chris Brogan.
I thought about this somewhat silly meme today when I was reading "Five Top Tips for Online Fundraising from a Direct Mail Dinosaur"
1. Segment your file
2. Incorporate variable ask strings
3. Code, code, code some more
4. Analyze your returns
5. Evaluate your success on long-term ROI, not just revenue.
The article ends with a call to action "We must employ direct marketing techniques, both in the "new" and “old” media, to promote our uniqueness and raise the funds necessary to make our missions a reality."
Thinking about social media, as one of those forms of new media, how do these translate or adapt? Or do they become extinct?
Heather Cronk
1. Tell me about you .. how and why did you get involved with PledgeBank? What's your background?
My background is in campus organizing, and in helping college students connect with others working to create social change across perspective, issue, approach, and geography. I'm most passionate about bringing folks together to work toward justice, regardless of whether "conventional wisdom" would put those people in the same room together. I really like the idea of using online organizing tools to bridge the gap that many in politics and media tell us are unable to be bridged, and to provide a way for folks to "meet" one another virtually in a way that reduces anxiety and amplifies commonality. Online organizing tools give us a way to connect with others in meaningful and effective ways, and to take responsibility for the communities that we know best.
PledgeBank is a platform that gives folks a way to connect with others in ways that integrate with their everyday lives and capitalize on their wisdom, experience, and resources -- whatever
those might be. It's a project of a nonprofit organization called mySociety, based in the UK. I got involved with PledgeBank in April 2007, after a chance meeting with Tom Steinberg, mySociety's founder/director, at a conference on e-campaigning in Oxford, England during the winter of 2006.
2. How can PledgeBank help me and other bloggers change the world?
At its most basic, PledgeBank is a positive peer pressure tool. It is built on the premise that everyone is an expert on what needs to happen in their community to make it better and safer. Most people have some idea of how to better their community, but are unlikely to act on those ideas if they feel that they're alone. We think that, if folks had some kind of assurance that they wouldn't be the only ones to show up at a playground-build or a rally or a fundraiser or a river clean-up, they would likely be more willing to show up themselves.
It allows anyone to create a pledge to action that follows a simple formula: "I will do X action, but only if Y number of people will do Z action." For example, a pledge might read, "I'll organize a street party in my neighborhood, but only if 5 other people will help organize it" or it might read, "I'll organize a street party in my neighborhood, but only if 50 other people will attend." You can use the site to find others to help you get something done -- folks have used the site for a wide variety of projects, all needing broad support to actually work.
There are loads of uses for the site – everything from "I'll stop eating chocolate" to "I'll stop consuming any brands owned by tobacco companies." Really, the applications are pretty limitless. Individuals can use it for a neighborhood project, nonprofits can use it for fundraising or event planning or rallies or petitions, bands can use it to rally support for a local gig, small groups of people can use it to draft someone into a political race (which has been done successfully), staff of a company can use it to lobby for their employer to switch to serving fair-trade coffee (which has also been done successfully)…the possibilities are pretty endless!
Fundraising has traditionally been a lonely and frustrating process -- asking loads of people to donate to a cause or project with no assurance that there will be a return on that investment. Fundraising with PledgeBank, however, creates a type of social contract -- the people pledging their money are doing so on the condition that a certain goal is met. This conditional aspect means that there is a higher chance of folks actually following through when the target is met; in fact, we have seen a 75% return rate on money-related pledges, with pledge signers eventually donating anywhere from 50%-150% of what they originally pledged.
3. What are some inspiring examples about how people have used pledgebank to raise money or make change?
There are many good examples of people using PledgeBank to pull off remarkable work, including these:
First, there was a great pledge called "Draft Dana", in which New Jersey residents successfully drafted a woman into the race for New Jersey State Assembly in District 25. The pledge was successful, and Dana Wefer is on the ballot for the 2007 election. I think it's a great example of a group of people showing that there is widespread support for a candidate -- along the same lines as the "She Should Run" campaign that the Women's Campaign Forum is running. People, especially women, are generally more likely to act if they know that there are others supporting them, and PledgeBank really has incredible potential for encouraging smart people without "conventional" political experience (especially women) to run for local office.
Second, a pledge called "Employers Coffee" is an "anyone can do this" kind of pledge that, honestly, gives me chills (the good kind). Taking small steps in a workplace or school or faith community can, ultimately, have a large impact. This pledge was initiated in Edinburgh, and created a really interesting side conversation in the comments section. To create a pledge like this you don't need any special training or knowledge -- just a sense that a small change could be a helpful thing in making the world a better place.
Third, a pledge called "Bakul-Library" is definitely one of my favorite stories. It's awesome that they used PledgeBank, that they got over 1000 people to act (and to interact), and that they built a new library in India this past April because of it. It's a great example of loads of people pitching in what they have to create something useful to an entire community. If you read the comments section, you'll get a good idea of how people contributed to that project, from books to construction to money to contacts. And the Bakul Foundation, the creators of the pledge, set up a blog to document their work that has great pictures of the library.
4. What are your secrets to success using PledgeBank?
1) Be as concrete and specific as possible . You want folks to know that you've thought about this sufficiently and have a plan for action. PledgeBank lets you describe your ideas during the pledge creation process -- take advantage of that opportunity by including some history, some context, and your ideas for how to fix it.
2) Tell a story. Pledges always work best when potential pledge signers can identify with the story behind the pledge. Tell the story of how you got involved with the problem you're addressing and how fixing that problem will benefit your community.
3) Integrate other organizing tools. PledgeBank plays well with others -- you can share your pledge via Facebook, on your blog, on your MySpace page, and with sites like Digg and del.icio.us. Another fantastic feature of the site is that, with the click of a button, you can turn your pledge into downloadable flyers. Those are great for reaching out to those who may not have regular Internet access, or for whom you do not have an email address (neighbors, parents at your child's school, store patrons, etc.). And there is also an email-a-friend feature, which lets you reach out to folks for whom you do have an address.
All in all, PledgeBank can help you find a community of support for your ideas. Whether you want to lose weight with others, build a playground in your neighborhood, organize your child's school play, plan a holiday fundraiser, or draft a friend into a political race. Through positive peer pressure ("I will if you will") and some simple organizing tools that anyone can use, PledgeBank offers a way to utilize collective wisdom to solve community problems. What could be simpler, or better, than that?
Download sole24ore_fundraising.pdf
Hi Beth,
last week I talked on fundraising 2.0 with an italian journalist who's writing on IlSole24ore's technology insert"Nova24 " ("Il Sole 24 Ore" is the most important economic newspaper in Italy and the second, regarding readership, in Europe). As you can imagine, I mentioned your case history as the most relevant example of personal fundraising. As a result see attached the article. Is in Italian (sorry!) but I think you can get the meaning.
I hope you will enjoy it.
paolops. the title sounds like "grassroots fundraising".
--
Paolo Ferrara
Head of Communication and Fundraising
at Terre des hommes Italia
Paolo has an amazing set of resources about personal fundraising and online fundraising - check them out
Work
http://www.terredeshommes.it
http://www.terredeshommes.it/blog
http://www.iosonopresente.it
http://www.youtube.com/user/tdhitaly
http://www.myspace.com/terredeshommes
Blogs
http://fundraisingnow.wordpress.com
http://campagnesociali.wordpress.com
Slide Shows
http://www.slideshare.net/PaoloFerrara
Networks
http://marketingagora.wordpress.com/
http://marketing-crazy.blogspot.com/
http://www.milanin.com
Most of the findings of the recent Network for Good report follow my experience with personal fundraising, especially the point "You can raise more than you think." I would add, "in a shorter amount of time." I thought it would take two weeks to raise the $1,000 to send Leng Sopharath, a young Cambodian woman, to college. It took less than 24 hours to do it, plus we went over goal. So, I extended the campaign so we could send another young student, Chanphearon, to college. In less than a week, we're 2/3 towards that goal!
So, go donate and keep that smile on Schapheron's face. Then, think about the implications in this new report from Network For Good called The Wired Fundraiser by Katya Andresen and Stacie Mann.
Chanphearom's College Costs are 63% Covered! Yeah! 27% More To Go
It starts with a profile of the two types of Wired Fundraisers. I definitely fall into the first category ... except for my age.
Type 1: The Technology Transformed Personal Fundraiser
These individuals know the power of personal fundraising offline. They are the types that call on friends to support their charity run or bike ride, knock on doors in the neighborhood to raise funds for a local community project, or hold a dinner party to solicit donations for a charity. This fundraising technique has been very successful because as the old saying goes, people give to people they know.
These fundraisers, once they adopt Internet tools, are made more powerful. Tools like widgets and charity badges, combined with social media networks, enable these fundraisers to extend their reach and amplify their message. These fundraisers are passionate about their cause and this energy fuels the success of their cause.
Type 2: Fundraising Transformed Techie
A new group who weren’t fundraisers before. Now that evangelizing has become as simple as posting a widget on a MySpace or Facebook page, they are promoting causes. They tend to be dabblers in fundraising, with their degree of effectiveness contingent on their level of passion.
Both groups of Wired Fundraisers skew young, ranging from 20 years old up to 40 years old. Many of them are tech savvy, but the ones who are not are able to use the most basic forms of online communication like email to support their cause online.
The key findings:
1. When Wired Fundraisers Talk, People Listen: The messenger matters even more than the message. (I found this true in my campaigns when I've asked donors why they gave. "I gave because you asked me.")
2. Not Every Wired Fundraiser Is a Champion: The successful Wired Fundraiser has a relatively rare combination of true passion and a means to lend a sense of urgency to their cause.
This point come from some analysis of Six Degrees campaigns and an analysis by Justin Perkins of Facebook Causes:
Moreover, as with Six Degrees, a handful of fundraisers and Causes accounted for
the vast majority of giving. At the time of his analysis, there were about 8,000
Causes, and Care2 sampled about 10% of them. There were many zero dollar
donations in that sample (555 out of the 774 we sampled). Of the 218 causes that
actually had donations, the average money earned was about $290, and the average
number of supporters was about 6,600 (not including those with zero dollars). The
actual total donations ran from $5 to $22,871. “Pareto’s 80-20 law seems to apply,”
says Perkins. “A very small number of people on Causes give.” He notes the lack of
catalyzing events for many users: “A lot of people join a Cause because it’s cool, but
there’s no accountability to donate.”But Perkins adds: “What’s exciting, though, is that groups now have an increased
chance for getting money from the small number of superactivists and their personal
networks.” The superactivist can yield strong results.
3. Technology Makes a Difference: Widgets and social networks make existing personal fundraisers more effective. (I definitely think this true given my recent campaign experience. What I would like to see is some more efficiency!)
4. Smart Charities Embrace the Wired Fundraiser: And they find their own, “inner” Wired Fundraiser. (What is starting to happen now is the organization where I serve on the board, I've been asked - think you can raise this money on your blog? Hmm .. add another board recruitment category - blogger!)
The report ends with implications for both wired fundraisers and organizations. One particularly struck me:
You can raise more money than you think: Using web-based widgets or badges can raise more money than you think; set goals and you may be surprised at the results.
Every single one of the campaigns I've run, I've discovered that they surpassed the goal and that people beyond my original connection have donated. So, don't underestimate the power of a Wired Personal Fundraiser.
Last year, Sarah Bunting, who writes the blog Tomato Nation, a culture and humor blog, offered to shave her head if her blog readers donated to DonorsChoose.org, a site that allows donors to purchase school supplies for needy classrooms. Her readers responded, raising approximately $30,000 in a few days. Keeping her end of the bargain, she saved her hair off. And, if you don't believe me, you can view the video on YouTube. Her efforts were chronicled in a recent Wall Street Journal article.
On October 1, 2007, Sarah Bunting announced that it was time to do it again. (Not the head shaving, she has picked another type of humiliation.) She launched the month-long campaign with a goal of $40,000, again to support DonorsChoose.org. Just at the mid-way point, Ms. Bunting has raised $75,000! But she isn't going to stop fundraising until the end of the month.
Oh, the humiliation she selected? She will find a tomato costume and wear it all day.
I don't mean some wear-a-red-outfit-with-a-green-hat, only-go-outside-to-buy-milk bullshit either. I mean a big old spherical tomato-mascot rig, red tights, foam leaf hat, the whole bit — on the subway. To Rockefeller Center. Where I work, on the same floor as Saturday Night Live, 50 feet away from the president of Bravo. And then out for lunch, where I will pause to perform the post-kiss Angela dance from My So-Called Life in the plaza. And then back to work. And then out for a drink.
And I will film it.
The DonorsChoose.org Blogger Challenge is an initiative to help hundreds of thousands of public schools in need. DonorsChoose.org created a challenge platform which enables a blogger to select favorite classroom projects, set a fundraising goal, and customize the DonorsChoose.org page presenting his/her challenge. The challenger can then link to this page from his/her blog, call readers to action, and display an hourglass tracking progress toward the goal. More than a hundred bloggers have joined and the competition is heating up, but it’s not too late to create a challenge or to donate to another blogger’s challenge! The challenge will end at the end of October.
Leaderboards show the generosity each blogger has inspired from readers. And, Sarah's campaign is leaving the others in the dust! As of this evening, her campaign had raised over $80,000. The second place campaign is at $18,000 and being implemented by Fred Wilson. She's also well ahead of TechCrunch which has raised slightly over $5,000. Hmm .. maybe they should issue similar challenges to their readers?
I'm curious why Tomato Nation that has a technorati rank of 18,779 compared with AVC's (Fred Wilson) rank of 865 and Tech Crunch's rank of 4 has managed to raise so much more money? Is this a measure of engaged readers? Is this a statement about the generosity of comedy blog readers versus techies? Does it illustrate the problems of using the Technorati rank as any serious benchmark?
Sarah has been blogging about nothing else this month and acknowledging each gift and she has an engaged and generous readership. From my experience, you can't simply put the widget on the side bar, announce your campaign, and go on as business as usual. You, the blogger, has to be passionate about your cause - and it leaks out from your blog into the hearts, minds, and checkbooks of your readers! It has to be authentic!
Katya Andresen has noted that it works because: "The beauty of people-to-people fundraising is that it is based in two-way communication; it is a conversation between individuals rather than a speech from an organization. It puts your message in the mouth of the person most likely to prompt a donation: someone the audience knows. There are two useful social psychology theories at work here: liking and reciprocation."
From my experience doing several personal fundraising campaigns for Cambodian causes (see here, here, and here), I concur with Lucy Bernholz's analysis of the model of charity blogging is something to keep an eye on:
Regardless of what you think of the DonorsChoose model of giving, the fund development strategy here is worth looking at:
Watch the video, donate $1, pass it on
The most recent web fundraising campaign from Fight Hunger, an part of the UN World Food Programme to end Child Hunger by 2015 is elegantly simple.
The Campaign Video features a group of young supporters from all over the world asking us (in different languages) to donate a dollar and the impact that a one dollar donation can make in the life of a hungry child. The young girl in the orange t-shirt is one of the children featured in the video.
The campaign site is also very zen. It features a PayPal link with a dollar pre-filled and a pointer to the video.
Jasper, a dog living in Montreal, has setup a fundraising page on FirstGiving for the Sierra Club. Well, maybe his owner Lindsay Pierce in fact setup the page. In any event, he is pictured in the middle of the woods. The fund appeal is written from his perspective and asks visitors to contribute a small amount toward his $500 goal for the Sierra Club. Among the comments of people who have supported Jasper’s campaign: “Ruff ruff ruff!”, “go Jasper, go” and “way to go jasper”.
Peter Deitz from FOIK has the Top Ten Personal Fundraising Campaigns for this week here. Could not resist this one.
The above slide is from a session I did with David Wilcox in the UK on social media in January. I wish at the time I had Steve Bridger's excellent analysis and roundup of using widgets or charity badges for fundraising or advocacy, focusing on examples from the UK and beyond. Well done Steve!
Steve points out a new widget in the UK called Carebadges and notes it aspires to be the yellow bracelet campaign of the web. I like the analogy. He also writes about several other widget examples, but I won't spoil them for you - go read it.
Steve also points to an article from Dion Hinchcliffe called "Tracking the DIY Phenomenon" which explains perhaps why widgets have caught on. Hinchcliffe uses the analogy of Home Depot - that widgets have enabled users to create the DIY web, using these "off the shelf" tools to customize web content. He points out the concerns:
So while it's clear that there's a lot of value to end-users to repurpose the valuable functionality and information from elsewhere on the Web for their own needs, what does this confer to the Web sites that offer them? Doesn't making it possible for users to "peel off" the best parts of a site and stick them on their own ruin the monetization model that powers so much of the Web? I'm talking about page views and the resulting advertising revenue.
Interestingly, despite these concerns and others (like protection of IP displayed on someone else's site) I'm seeing Internet startups and successful online properties both take a careful look at "widgitization" and other forms of openness, like APIs. The value proposition of chunking up and modularizing content and services into bite-sized reusable pieces is becoming increasingly clear.
Here Hincliffe talks a lot about the power of the network effect as it applies to web content:
You move beyond the single Web site model and turn the entire Web into a content distribution system. Certainly, the rise of RSS and syndication proved the power of this model: the best content would rise to the top of the ecosystem it became part of us, and while the syndication ecosystem is now very large, it it's no match for the power and reach of the entire Internet.
He offers some points to consider when embracing the model of letting users innovate using your content and services in a widget form elsewhere on the Web, theoretically letting it be used in hundreds or even thousands of creative news ways.
Peter Dietz of First-of-its-kind Philanthropy Network is now tracking the top ten micro-philanthropy campaigns. This week's top campaign is: Knitters Without Borders.
But the one that is most clever is #10 -"Help Me Support Special Olympics (while I freez my ** off) Here's Peter's description:
Erin Ennis took a winter dip in Vermont's Lake Champlain last Saturday as part of fundraising effort for Special Olympics Vermont. Before taking the plunge, he setup a group fundraising page at FirstGiving. His page features a famous clip of George Castanza shouting "I was in the pool, I was in the pool." For Seinfeld buffs, this pop culture reference immediately connects the entertainment world to Erin's bold fundraising effort. Erin also links to the full clip at YouTube. Very creative. People who have donated have enjoyed the opportunity for innuendo, "SOMEONE here had to make a Constanza reference! Go Erin! You'll warm back up...", "I wanted to give more, but ... you know ... shrinkage", "Better you than us, dad!"
The whole Seinfeld clip is posted over at YouTube, (another example of the content control bubble bursting?)
A lot of people have asked me about those widget fundraising campaigns I did last December. So, if you're interested, you can learn more.
ChipIn asked me to write up a formal case study on my first personal fundraising campaign using their tool.
Using the ChipIn Fundraising Badge for a Personal Fundraising Campaign
How I raised over $800 for a Cambodian Ophran's College Education in A Couple Weeks
The lessons learned from my action learning experimentThis case study walks you through the step-by-step process of using the ChipIn widget to implement a successful a personal fundraising campaign on behalf of any nonprofit organization or cause. The tips and techniques shared in the next few pages will help your organization guide supporters and transform them into effective fundraisers for your organization's cause or program. The case study looks at how to set a realistic goal, crafting an effective message, identifying likely prospects, incorporating social networking sites into your implementation efforts, and how to best use the Chipin widget.
It's a narrative "wikitation" and you can find it here
While in the UK two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Nick Booth of Podnosh Podcasting face-to-face. We've "met" each other virtually via blogging, but with the opportunity to come to Birmingham -- having some face time to talk about the social web - along with Steve Bridger and David Wilcox was extremely valuable. (Soon, I will post my video of my interview with Nick and some video shooting techniques)
He did an interview with me about widget fundraising -- its brief - go take a listen.
Hats for Health is an idea that comes from John Powers, one of my blog readers. He sent me a batch of hats for my birthday, along with the history and how he is connecting the idea of making party hats to stamping out water-borne diseases in the developing world.
Thanks John!
Many of you already know about my first personal fundraising campaign to raise money to cover the cost of the college tutition and living expenses for Leng Sopharath, an orphan in Cambodia. She is one of 18 students being sponsored for college through The Sharing Foundation's program. (More background here)
My family has been her sponsor for over a year. Our support goes beyond just writing a check (and asking other people to write checks), but to provide emotional and moral support in the form of quarterly letters. My family and I write a letter together, include photographs and the kids make drawings for her.
Dr. Hendrie, hand delivers the letters to each student when she goes over to Cambodia to oversee the programs every quarter. She spends meets with every student, takes their photos, and collects their sponsor letters to bring back to the donors. Here is an example of last quarter's letter and photos from her to us.
So, I have a week to prepare the letter and I thought that since so many of you have helped Leng Sopharath, that you should let her know that there are lots of people wishing her success and cheering her on!
So, here's what to do BEFORE Jan. 11th:
1. Leave a comment in this post.
2. If you would like to include a picture of yourself and you have a flickr account - please include the url. I'll print it out and put it in the packet.
In both my campaigns, I let the fundraising widget/badge remain on my sidebar even after the campaign was over and we had made our goal. More out of laziness versus strategy. In both instances, there were additional contributions - or the "bounce." So, don't take down your widget immediately! Be a lazy slob like me and raise a little extra!
One of the things that the Sharing Foundation's founder, Dr. Hendrie, is obsessing about this week is the best way to say thank you to donors who give to you online. Her biggest concern about doing online fundraising is that we would loose our personal connection to donors if sent out "form" emails. She always like to say, "We write every donor a personal thank you no matter the size of the gift!" People appreciate that, particularly when the physical thank you is written on a card created with a drawing by a child in Cambodia who has benefited from TSF's programs. (See above)
How do you translate a personal touch to email?
Last week I blogged about an Ipod/Toilet paper holder over at Netsquared. So, somehow I'm stuck on the theme of toilet paper holders as gifts. This one records a message or music. I learned about it from the site Changing the Present,
a donation portal that also lets you set up a wish list of causes to
support in lieu of gifts for the holidays or other occassions. I received a press release from a marketing agency on behalf of this effort, so take it with a grain of salt. Not sure I'm understanding it, but it looks like other donation portals with some glossy marketing.
Nonetheless, I wholeheartedly agree with the concept and philosophy that giving donations to causes is better than giving stuff -- and we've been doing this for years on our own directing people to give gifts to charities we care about. When people ask about holiday gifts - we direct them to the Sharing Foundation, When give gifts, we give to the Sharing Foundation (and a few other causes), and make "in honor of" gifts. The Sharing Foundation sends a personalized, made in Cambodia, thank you card designed by one of the talented orphans we're supporting for high school and art lessons no less!
So, what I wonder is how many people go "cause shopping.?"
Changing the Present has a clever section on their site called The Stupid Gifts Hall of Shame where you can vote or share a picture of a stupid gift you've received. They are still building out the content on the site and there is a growing list of nonprofit recipients.
Peter Dietz has written another article on his micro-philthantrophy site, First-of-Its-Kind, about a service called GiveMeaning, as described by Peter, "another online community that provide a platform for group fundraising over the internet. The website helps networks of small-scale philanthropists develop and fund solutions to pressing social problems."
Peter gives us analysis of the landscape:
Building a community of small-scale philanthropists sounds like a novel idea. The reality is that GiveMeaning faces a crowded marketplace for its concept.
The world of group fundraising websites has already witnessed its first round of consolidation. In November 2006, WhatGoesAround.org announced that it would merge with NetworkforGood, the online giving portal that AOL, Yahoo, and Cisco Systems launched together in 2001.
With the launch of ChipIn last month and the continued growth of sites like FirstGiving and Fundable, GiveMeaning confronts a sizable challenge from its counterparts in the private sector.
And then goes on describe the features.
I've come across two personal fundraising campaigns that use the
metaphor of wishes, pay it forward, or gift economy and are
aggressively incorporating social media techniques into their
strategies.
8 Wishes is
a personal fundraising campaign launched by Paul Sanchez who is riding
his bike around around the entire United States on behalf of kids with
dyslexia (learning disabilities). Paul has 8wishes - he hopes to earn
$1 million so that he can give 100 kids each $10,000 to use to go to
college. According to Liz Strauss, of the Successful Blog,
in the week since his launch, he has received 15,000 hits and raised
over $3,000 towards his goal from 123 contributors. His deadline is
Jan 10th, so check it out! His campaign video is here.
If you could make one wish for the world, what would it be? That's question the "Gifter Site, a series of experiments in social giving to change the world, is asking. So, here is how it works.
You can post your wish as a comment
over The Million Dollar Blog - the Internet Wishing Well, and for each
comment they donate $1 to charity. They are challenging people to
make it a million dollar blog post, with 1 million comments. Here's a
few of the wishes:
I wish that everyone can plant one tree. Big or small..it doesn’t matter…just plant one tree.
Stop the genocide in Darfur, that’d be foremost.
A better world for my children, and the children of everyone around the world.
What's your wish this holiday season?
