Catholic Relief Services HOW CRS IS USING TECHNOLOGY TO BOOST ONLINE GIVING October 26, 2009
AFP: CRS Fundraising And Technology102609
Dec 18, 2014
An overview of Catholic Relief Services use of Web 2.0/emerging technology to boost online fundraising.
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Catholic Relief Services
HOW CRS IS USING TECHNOLOGY TO BOOST
ONLINE GIVING
October 26, 2009
the official international humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic community. We alleviate suffering and provide assistance to people in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality.
Catholic Relief Services is…
Online Giving
CRS showed 44% growth in online giving from 2007 to 2008.
Q: What changed?
A: Use of technology to further the reach of our appeals
Online Giving Strategy 2007
Online Giving Strategy 2008
Social Networks
Integration with Direct Mail
Banner Ads on Homepage, Blog and eNewsletter
Media & PR
E-mail Campaigns Google
Adwords
What Changed From 07-08?
• Launched an e-mail marketing program• Employed a social networking strategy• Better use of internal advertising space• Integration with direct mail• Instituted an agency-wide editorial calendar• Google Grant allowed for more AdWords• Developed engagement pathways• Use of video in e-mails
In other words...
Since 2008, for every campaign we attempted to push the “ask” to our supporters, and go out to where people are to pull people to our website to donate.
EIGHT REASONS CRS IS ON SOCIAL
NETWORKING SITES
Why Social Networking Matters
Eight reasons CRS is on social networking sites
1. Critical Mass: Of the Top 5 Most Visited Websites in the US:
– Facebook is #3 – YouTube is #4– MySpace is #5– (Twitter is #12)
(Source: http://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/US )
Eight reasons CRS is on social networking sites
2. The incredibly powerful, viral nature of these sites. When supporters act on our behalf, it broadcasts this action to their network of friends. These online actions often inspire offline conversations.
See more comments like these on our Facebook Fan Page (click here)
3. Users often self-identify as Catholic, meaning often we can target specifically to this audience.
Eight reasons CRS is on social networking sites
4. These sites enable a new opportunity to tell our story and increase awareness.
5. We can establish relationships with younger donors/supporters (be where they are).
Eight reasons CRS is on social networking sites
6. Two-way Communication: We can interact directly with supporters who reach out to us – especially on Facebook.
With tools such as Google alerts, Twitter and Technorati, we can listen to what people have to say about us.Google AlertsTwitterTechnorati
Eight reasons CRS is on social networking sites
7. Multi-channel engagement – we encourage many of our house e-mail subscribers to find us on social networks as well, and vice versa.
8. It’s “almost” free (with the exception of some staff time) and the understanding that “you get out of it what you put into it.”
Eight reasons CRS is on social networking sites
DEBUNKED!!Social Networking Myths
Social Networking Myths
1. Every organization needs to be on social networks
2. Young people don’t use e-mail (sorta true)
3. Nobody is on MySpace4. Social Networking is the holy grail for
fundraisers5. Twitter will revolutionize everything
CRS’ SOCIAL NETWORKING STRATEGY
The Why and the What
Social Networking Strategy
The twin goals of having a presence on social networking sites are:
1. Increase awareness in a new audience of online Catholics
2. Use these sites as our own news channel and drive people to crs.org
How we are using social networking sites
• As a news channel we control - posting links to web stories/blog posts/press/new videos
• Increasing engagement/contests • Cross-promotion• Fundraising Appeals/Emergencies• Advocacy Actions • Communicating directly with supporters
Additional Considerations:
• Better metrics are needed to influence future decisions. We are investigating how best to track RIO.
• Analysis of overlap and “superfans.” Study who is supporting us through multiple networks and channels, and if this impacts giving in any way.
Additional Considerations:
• Facebook Causes (a Facebook fundraising application) has not been a great source of donations for nonprofits.
It may be that the perfect app for this has yet to be created, or this may never be a revenue channel . What remains to be seen is if engagement in this space influences action in other channels (online, direct mail), or if investing in awareness building will pay off in future donations.
SOCIAL NETWORKING SUCCESS STORIES
Looking back
Success Stories
Started building our networks in Feb 07RESULTS: Twenty months later...
As of 10/24/09:
• Facebook Fans – 5,547 members (View page)
• Facebook Causes – 3,790 members, $4,125 donated (View page)
• Twitter – 2,364 followers (View page)
• YouTube - 134 subscribers; most viewed video has been viewed 22,800 times! (View page)
• MySpace – 3,154 members (View page)
Success StoriesGOAL: Make our Facebook Fan page more
interactive. Backpack Contest:
And about 70 amazing testimonials from supporters!
RESULT: 225 new fans in 9 days - 5x the rate we would typically see over the same time!
Success StoriesGOAL: Increased traffic to www.crs.org
RESULTS: Through Google Analytics we can see it is working.
Success Stories
GOAL: Increase awareness of CRS in US Catholics.
RESULTS: Annual study reported that our “unaided awareness” among Catholics jumped from 11 to 22% in one year.
(Not solely from social networking but definitely a contributing factor).
Success Stories
GOAL: Mobilize the power of our networks to take action:
CRS recently won a $200,000 grant from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters for our proposal helping coffee farmers adapt to the impacts of climate change.
Part of the process was online voting by the public and we asked our social networks to go to the site and vote for us.
RESULT: The same day we posted this request, our votes increased fourfold and we kept that lead until the end.
...and so
• Maybe we should stop thinking of social networking as the new holy grail for fundraisers and recognize the viral power that lies within your networks can be harnessed for other means.
USE OF VIDEO IN E-MAIL APPEALS
Digital Storytelling
THANK YOU VIDEO
Sent Nov. 12:Subject line: In their own words
Timed to coincide with delivery of the Donor Appreciation mailing and pre-Thanksgiving.
Cultivational e-mail meant to thank donors and show how their generosity impacted the lives of three beneficiaries overseas.
View the e-mail
THANK YOU VIDEO
Recipients who clicked on the video image in the e-mail were taken to this landing page that housed the video.
View the landing page and video
The video link was also distributed on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace, as well as the video being posted to YouTube.
See Thank You video on YouTube
THANK-YOU VIDEO
RESULTS: We specifically did not include an ask in this campaign, so while it did not raise funds, we received over 25 heartfelt e-mails from recipients who had watched the video telling us how much it moved them. (see next slide)
The following month we raised $2.1 million dollars online.
THANK-YOU VIDEOHow extremely humbling it is to hear these
people thanking us in the US. I was deeply touched to hear such appreciation from those who have overcome adversities I will never be able to so much as imagine.
It is great to be reminded of the excellent work you do, and wonderful to hear first hand about what a difference it makes in people’s lives. Keep up the awesome work.
Thank for sharing such inspiring stories and kind words expressed by people touched by CRS support.
Against any hope, we're trying to give hope. God bless the whole CRS family.
Thank you for sharing the joy of these people with me. I am privileged to be able to help. God bless you and all you help.
Thank you for sharing this video with me. It
helped put faces on those I try to help with the very modest gift I give. It was very touching to see.
I was deeply moved watching the video! Thank you for presenting it.
Thank you so much for this video. It has
helped to open my eyes. Thanks! Thank you very much for sharing with me
the many 'Thank You's.
A sampling of the
feedback from the
Thank You video
INTEGRATED CAMPAIGNSBringing it all together
Social networks
Direct mail
Banner ads
YEAR-END 2008
Our most successful online fundraising campaign to date (non-emergency).
• Three e-mail messages in this campaign (based on a direct mail piece)
• Banner ads on our website• Posts on our social networking sites. • Coordination with Google AdWords
This campaign raised $594k online.
YEAR-END 2008
Dec 11:Subject line: Urgent Appeal: Your gift to
CRS is vitally important!
Straight Appeal Static donation formRaised $112k
View the donation form
YEAR-END 2008
Dec 29:Subject line: Only 48 hours left to make a tax-
deductible gift!
Added “hotspot” textAdded video message from our
president (that plays right on the donation form)
Added a strong pull-quote
Raised $112kView the donation form with video
YEAR-END 2008
Dec 31:Subject line: Final Deadline: Last chance to
make a tax-deductible gift
New “hotspot” textKept video message from our
presidentNew pull quote
Raised $119kWatch the video
YEAR-END 2008
Watch the video that raised $244k
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