$2.5 Million And Counting?
To close out a week featuring online social networks, here’s a Washington Post report on the fundraising results from Causes, the personal donating application on Facebook and MySpace.
Launched a year ago, Causes has generated $2.5 million in donations to about 20,000 nonprofits. There are 60,000 users of the application daily on Facebook; 25,000 on MySpace … 12 million registered users overall. That’s about 21 cents a user. Is something wrong with my math?
Small Tiny potatoes at this point. Will it grow?
Once donors find a particular cause to support, will they begin to give more directly? I’m just not convinced that applications like Causes will serve as more than gateways or introductions for initial giving. I can’t imagine a recipient charity not trying to build a direct relationship with the donor. And if they reach out with any skill, the charity should be able to offer a relationship far more compelling than the original Causes connection.
There might be terrific applications and success stories on social network fundraising in the future, but I don’t think they will include Causes or the "mainstream" social nets. Rather, I think the successes will come from individual nonprofits figuring out how to use social networking tools to build and empower their own online communities.
Agree? Disagree?
Tom
Thanks to Philanthropy Today for the pointer.
Behavioral Science Q & A
Integrating an individual giving appeal with other communications from a charity can have both positive and negative effects, and the outcome largely depends on how it’s executed. Advantages of Integration Brand Consistency: Maintaining a consistent appearance and messaging across all communications can reinforce the org’s brand identity and strengthen brand recognition and trust among your […]
Read Full Answer
I’m not aware of any in-market tests specifically comparing recurring vs. gift frequency language. I suspect the answer might not be the same with all gift frequencies, nor with all people. It sounds like a great opportunity for you to test and find out what works for your audience. Based on the literature, here’s a couple […]
Read Full Answer
Based on what we know from existing data, those renewal notices can actually be pretty effective in getting people to donate. They tap into our psychology – creating a sense of urgency, reminding us of past support, and using personalization to make the message hit home. They’re playing on our natural tendencies to feel obligated […]
Read Full Answer
Interesting question. I had a quick look at the testing done on this topic. On the positive side, in all cases, over half of donors decide to cover the fee. In some cases, it goes as high as 65%. Not a negligible percentage at all. Here’s another test from iRaiser showing consistent results (see point […]
Read Full Answer
There’s just one thing to consider when designing a supporter journey: the supporter. More specifically, you need to take into account: Who the supporter is i.e. their identity, which is the reason they support this cause, and their personality, which describes the way they “see” and process the world. These will determine the kind of […]
Read Full Answer
I’m not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019’s charitable giving. The researchers didn’t find a reduction. Actually, they observed an “increase in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]
Read Full Answer