Doing What You Do Best Offline, Online

Doing What You Do Best Offline, Online #12NTCbol

Anne Diaz, Causes Leah Newman, Village Enterprise Steve Cox, Room to Read

Welcome!

Your presenters:

• Anne Diaz, Product and Usability, Causes.com

• Leah Newman, Associate Director of Development, Village Enterprise

• Steve Cox, Online Strategy Manager, Room to Read

Slide 1 DOING WHAT YOU DO BEST OFFLINE, ONLINE

Who’s in the room?

Share:

• Your name and role at your organization

• One thing you want to learn from this session

• In one sentence: the best tip you’ve learned so far at NTC


How do you raise money offline?

Some assumptions:

• When you ask people for money in person, you’ve had some kind of contact with them before

• You research how much money to ask for beforehand – you set a realistic goal

• You tell stories of the actual work you do – and even bring donors to see your work in action

• You follow up with the donors who gave in person – whether at an event, or during a site visit or meeting – because individual donors can be your most consistent supporters

• Many of your largest, most consistent donors are your Board Members – people who are intimately familiar with the way your organization operates


The Data

Where this data comes from:

• 1,671 fundraising campaigns on Causes.com, from July 2010 to February 2012

• Of these campaigns:

- Fundraising goals ranged from $3 to $1,000,000

- Dollars raised ranged from $0 to $323,757


Successful Campaigns

• 78% set a deadline

- 1 week: 3%

- 2 weeks: 12%

- 3-4 weeks: 30%

- 4-5 weeks: 7%

- 5-6 weeks: 9%

- 6 weeks+: 36% • 22% set no deadline at all

Practice realistic urgency. Otherwise, give donors a chance to really get to know you first – but don’t forget about them.


• 58% set a deadline

- 1 week: 12%

- 2 weeks: 11%

- 3-4 weeks: 23%

- 4-5 weeks: 10%

- 5-6 weeks: 10%

- 6 weeks+: 66% • 42% set no deadline at all

Unsuccessful Campaigns

• Median goal: $751

• Median amount raised: $3,182

• Median percentage raised, over goal: 29%

Realistic fundraising goals lead to more enthusiastic participation from your supporters. Campaigns that get your core supporters involved first pay off in the end.



Unsuccessful Campaigns

• Median goal: $7,000

• Median amount raised: $50

• Median percentage raised, under goal: 99%

•Campaigns that raise $0: 41%


• Storytelling

- Successful campaigns used words like “Help” in the title, in lieu of “Give”

- All used at least one media item – photo or video – to draw people in

- Lower fundraising goals make it easier to tell a specific, tangible story, instead of a general, more distant one

Incorporating storytelling into online campaigns brings that personal touch to what can feel like an impersonal medium.


BUT….there’s no silver bullet to raising money online. You have to meet your supporters where they are.





Not all fundraisers ask for money


Steve Cox, Room to Read



Leah Newman, Village Enterprise




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Doing What You Do Best Offline, Online

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