Electronic fundraising
Sean Triner’s 40th birthday appeal
A highly personal and very effective anniversary fundraising effort from an acknowledged master of the detailed, well-structured ask.
The atheist bus campaign
This is a perfect match between a brilliant idea that generates real public interest and the technology that can make it easily happen.
CARE USA donor acquisition chaperoned emails
CARE USA responded to the violence in Gaza with remarkable humanitarian aid and a strong call to action for new donors. Being ready to appeal for new supporters during emergencies, or at times when your issue is in the public eye can help you to acquire more donors for your cause. To acquire new online donors at a low cost, CARE sent chaperoned emails through online publishers.
Defenders of Wildlife: multi-channel direct marketing integration
With more nonprofits engaging in online marketing, those that are coordinating their messages or campaigns across many channels are standing out above the crowd.Defenders of Wildlife are leaders in the field and here we look at three of their campaigns to highlight some of the best multi-channel integrated marketing in the sector.
United Way impact calculator
The calculator allows donors to put in an amount and it lets them know the impact of their donation. This is a simple tool that any organisation with a website can easily do. It’s a great way for engaging donors.
Cure Cancer Australia: ‘can too’ sporting events
Young people raise money for a great cause while being coached by professionals in a whole variety of sporting skills.
GiveIndia’s electronic newsletters: opening a door to effective giving in India
E-mailed newsletters are common nowadays but few have the simple directness and sheer appeal of this example from GiveIndia. GiveIndia’s October 2008 newsletter starkly presents the great social challenges that face the sub-continent, but then it succinctly encourages donors by showing them how they can get involved and make a difference.
Greenpeace: the virtual march for whales
If only whales everywhere could realise the great things that are being done all around the world by ordinary people to protect them and make this planet a safe place for them.
DirectChange.org website
Is this the future of fundraising; giving donors direct control over where their money goes, instant feedback and the flexibility to decide what they will support, when and how? DirectChange.org is an exemplary use of new technology to bring new donors (and a new generation of donors) into charity to help meet urgent needs.
Friends of the Earth: carbon calculator
An enterprising and topical involvement idea, interestingly executed. FoE’s carbon footprint calculator will be irresistible for many people and is right on message for the charity. This exhibit should encourage other campaigning and social change organisations to search for similar ways of engaging supporters.
NSPCC Facebook
See how the NSPCC became the first UK charity to develop a fundraising application to run within Facebook. This exhibit shows how quickly fundraisers have to react to changing technology.
Greenpeace India: SMS lead generation
Face-to-face fundraising everywhere faces the same problems of high cancellation rates and low retention. This innovative, adventurous approach to pre-qualifying leads for F2F is particularly interesting in that it was first developed and tested in India. The SMS lead generation campaign is a filter mechanism designed to source ‘warm prospects’.
Greenpeace Italia: save the Parmigiano Reggiano from OGM
This email campaign is really a call to action, good image, very few words but with very high impact. It is perhaps one of the lowest cost exhibits on SOFII - and it might just be one of the most cost effective.
The Lost Dogs’ Home, Melbourne: Friend of PAWs microsite
Although in recent years the Internet has by any definition come into its own as an indispensable tool for fundraisers, most are still not adept at using the medium to acquire new donors. So the Lost Dogs’ Home’s successful experience of online acquisition should be closely watched by many.
The Chilean Bible Society: mobile phone texting campaign
SOFII’s first exhibit from Chile. This is a very clever use of text messaging with an intriguing involvement device built in, in the form of a Bible knowledge quiz. Each text generates a small donation and increases the sender’s bible knowledge, which must suit the Chilean Bible Society very well.
Canadian Diabetes Association: Diabetes Summer Surge Campaign
This exhibit is an excellent example of how you can maximise the potential of your existing donors in an impressively short amount of time.
Centrepoint ‘sponsor a room’: donor acquisition by press advertising, with TV and direct mail too
This exhibit is proof that traditional direct response fundraising can still work in the current fundraising climate. It demonstrates simple yet effective press advertising combined with a clever use of digital technology.
‘Just $5’ email appeal.
This is a simple yet effective fundraising email campaign, with straightforward wording and a low level ask.
Twestival - grassroots fundraising from volunteers.
Twestival is the largest grassroots social media initiative to date and has raised an outstanding $1.2 million for charities all over the world.
Capital Area United Way: a well-captioned photo is worth 1,000 words.
By re-designing their website and including a special online photo documentary Capital Area United Way found a way to tell their story and proved that a picture really can tell a thousand words.
Operation Christmas Child – the shoebox appeal.
This festive exhibit is a wonderful example of how one person’s idea (and a lot of help from volunteers) can really make a difference. Operation Christmas Child has maintained constant success over the past 20 years.
Wikimedia Foundation: how banners can enhance fundraising
This exhibits shows how Wikipedia have managed to involve thousands of committed volunteers to create, test and translate each banner that we see. This really is volunteer-led fundraising at its best.
The Girl Effect: starting conversations for change.
The Girl Effect organisation has admirably mastered the art of creating short and powerful videos that inspire and move both old and new supporters.
I CAN: the ‘adopt-a-word’ campaign
With its simple e-commerce solution, I CAN produced an appeal that is unique to their cause yet still maintains a broad appeal to a wide range of donors.
The Children’s Hospital Trust careometer viral campaign.
This exhibit shows how important it is to raise awareness of your cause and encourage people to care before you ask them for time or money.
Kids Help Phone: buy a kid some time
This exhibit demonstrates how a simple but powerful message combined with a comprehensive integrated campaign strategy can secure real success.
MSF warehouse: virtual catalogue and mass marketing campaign
This exciting exhibit proves that digital fundraising can work…as long as it works with the core values of the charity. This is a must-read for anyone considering a digital fundraising campaign.
CARE packages: returning to their roots
In this exhibit CARE looked back at their own history and decided to launch a new and improved version of their traditional CARE packages that were first introduced in 1946. Updated with a modern twist, this campaign demonstrates the future of online giving
The David Suzuki Foundation’s campaign for Santa Claus
Think of everything that Santa has done for you – now is your chance to help him.
Girlguiding UK Impact Report 2011
Annual reports and their latest sidekick the impact report mustn’t be boring – ever.
Change Heroes: a new fundraising platform
The aim of each of Change Heroes’ campaign is to bring together groups of 33+ friends to donate $3.33 a day for three months, which equals $10,000. This will enable their charity partners to build a school, library, or water project in a developing country.
The Centrale School of Paris alumni online challenge
This online promotion raised double the amount of previous offline activities.
Malaria No More and CollegeHumor: malarious
Malaria No More have discovered that laughter is a great entry point to learning – even about something as deadly as malaria.
Kiva: person-to-person micro-lending
The first video gives a real sense of excitement and shows vividly the scope of Kiva’s work. The second is the simple story of Pedro and his family and how Kiva’s lenders are helping him fight his way out of poverty.
Plan International UK’s ‘prospecting’ campaign
Sampling has become the primary route for selling software, music and film. Could it be applied to child sponsorship, which is such a desirable ‘product’ for many charities?
The Rhode Island Foundation’s annual report and legacy
To send or not to send? If you ask your donors if they want to receive your annual report, why do you think they don’t reply? It could be inertia, ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’. Maybe they think they'll be saving you time and money, they’re nice, considerate people after all. By the same token intertia will stop them going to your website to view your report online – and you will never know. If you send a printed copy, you know they have it and might they not be more likely to look at it, if it’s there in their hands? The stories here from Tom Ahern and the Rhode Island Foundatio show the power of the printed word.
