Best Fundraising Website – II
Frankly, I’m astonished.
On Friday, not the optimal email message day according to all the stats on such matters, The Agitator (or at least Tom) recommended our pick of the best fundraising website out there.
Nearly 3,500 individuals have read that email, with almost 1,000 clicking through to check out the recommended site. [And no, I’m not going to repeat the link, I’m too disgruntled to be that helpful.]
Yet, as I write, only four readers have commented (all agreeing the site was pretty good, with one reader suggesting two others).
That’s what astonishes me.
We’re supposed to be in the Brave New World of online fundraising. One would think there would be ENORMOUS interest in each other’s notions of a best fundraising website … especially when most nonprofits can’t get 95% of the visitors to your sites to do anything … to respond or engage in any way!
I expected dozens of comments, either saying The Agitator’s pick sucked eggs compared to sites X, Y, or Z; or agreeing with us but adding a few others for all to consider.
Somebody out there must be proud of the fundraising effectiveness of a website they manage or have created … some nonprofit webmaster or online fundraising consultant must think they done a pretty damn good job.
So why are there no other recommendations? Some hypotheses …
1. Our Feedblitz stats are all screwed up … only four people actually read the original post and they were delighted to comment.
2. Our case for our recommended site — and the site itself — was so compelling that readers have simply been left speechless. There’s nothing to add and no other site comes close.
3. No one is really interested in online fundraising (we’re all too busy with online social networking) … the post got a big “Ho Hum.” [Now we might be getting warm]
4. It’s too hard coming up with sound criteria or performance indicators to make an empirically-based judgment, so everyone is shy about claiming they have (or have seen) a “best” fundraising website. [I think we might be getting warmer still]
C’mon folks, there must be a few other sites worth bringing to the attention of our audience.
Tom
P.S. One commenter recommended the sites of Project Hope and the Children’s Hospital Foundation. IMHO, the former is good — it’s got the fundamentals down, including personal fundraising pages — but not special. The Children’s Hospital Foundation site is superb, in terms of both concept and execution. It’s built around very effective story telling (about successes), including those invited from donors; offers multiple giving options, clearly presented; excellent homepage presentation of appeal to donate; video via YouTube channel (could be more featured on main site).
And a comment from Jay reminded me of the importance of offering personal giving options (by program/project) and then reporting to the donor around that specific program or project. I posted on this back in March, using the example of My Projects, an online fundraising initiative of Cancer Research UK. To me, this is the ultimate in online donor relationship building.
23 responses to “Best Fundraising Website – II”
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 orgās brand identity and strengthen brand recognition and trust among your […]
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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. Hereās another test from iRaiser showing consistent results (see point […]
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Thereās 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 āseeā and process the world. These will determine the kind of […]
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Iām not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019ās charitable giving. The researchers didnāt find a reduction. Actually, they observed an āincrease in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]
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Hmm. I think people may not post comments because they can’t see where their comments will be posted.
For me at least, I am new to agitator and I have never tried to follow a “see comments” link because it is kind of hidden. I never really looked for one, but I have never really seen one either. I believe it is hidden beside the facebook symbol actually, and it looks like the comments are attached to a facebook page, which I would not be interested in viewing. I don’t personally enjoy time spent on that site as is.
Another thing, I actually clicked the see posts, but where are the posts? I got sent to this area where I am writing this, but there are no posts to be seen.
Regards,
Lliam
Maybe a combination of hypothese nr 2 and the fact that it was Friday? Can’t expect to make people both click themselves to the recommended site AND comment on it now, can you? š It was anyway a very inspirational site, beautiful and effective in its communication.
In my case I guess it was simply lack of time last friday. But also some hesitation to refer to the first website that came to my mind. Mostly because you are looking for the best fundraising website. This site may not be the best fundraising website, but I do think it’s one of the best charities on public campaigning. Especially considering their not so warm-and-fuzzy topics. It engages people to take action and combines it with simple to the point fundraising requests.
Agree or disagree, my vote goes to: http://www.waronwant.org/
Tom,
I considered checking out your recommended site (and almost did click through), but simply didn’t have time. I work in direct mail. I realize both (onilne and DM) are important and must coexist, but right now DM is my focus. One of these days, in my free time, I fully intend to check out Project Hope’s site. Don’t despair.
Ali
We are a development department of 1/2 a person: me (I also manage programs and run special events) and we are in the midst of our annual appeal and two weeks of special events. I did, however check out the website and appreciated the post…just didn’t have time to comment.
I’m always looking at non-profit websites for ideas and inspiration. I have several that I think are amazing… but unless these sites translate into funds raised for the cause, not so sure I could validate them as one of the best. But if we’re talking how they look and appeal to me… here are some of my favorites:
http://www.bloodwatermission.com/
http://plantwithpurpose.org/
http://www.wfp.org/
Tom,
Thanks for the reminder. I was trying to see the site on my Blackberry last week and I couldn’t make it out, so forgot to look again.
I think Charity: Water has a beautifully designed website, but I have to admit that it is intimidating. I wouldn’t know where to begin to offer the “mycharity: water” feature. I’d love to have something like that. I don’t have the skills to create such a beautiful website myself and I don’t have the money to pay someone to do it. Any suggestions out there? We are working hard to find the money, but what do the rest of us little people do in the meantime while we strive to be more like Charity: Water?
Oh, by the way, most of us don’t have movie stars to put on the front page either. I’m hoping the smiling faces of the kids we serve will suffice. š
-Kim
P.S. Here in my neck of the woods, Mercy Corp, Oregon Community Foundation, and Nonprofit Association of Oregon (new, so still being developed) both have lovely, easy to navigate, informative websites:
http://www.mercycorps.org/
http://www.oregoncf.org/
http://www.nonprofitoregon.org/
I didn’t comment when I read the original email because I could not think of a great fundraising web site. Most, if not all, of the nonprofit web sites I visit do not have a great unified fundraising call to action. There are so many competing communication objectives at most nonprofit organizations that the “fundraising” objective does not get enough attention to make it stand out.
I didn’t click or respond because I was already familiar with the program and its (awesome) website. I did, however, file your message in my “Ideas” folder for when we do our website redesign. Does that help?
HI, I’ve been a fan of charity:water for some time now, and have recommended it as a model nonprofit fundraising site in my presentations and talks.
What I love about charity:water is that they can connect the donor directly (as I understand it) with the well that the donor is helping to build. So the donor sees, feels and understands the direct impact of his or her gift.
This is another example of innovative fundraising sites that connect donors directly to the beneficiaries of their gifts (eg DonorsChoose). It’s a trend that I think many nonprofits better be aware of – because it changes the style and nature of fundraising dramatically!
As you comment frequently, donors will give more when they see the impact of their gift. Sites like DonorsChoose and Charity:water do this beautifully – something we can all learn from.
Well, for me – I am busy. I often check Agitator when I have time as I am a one person office. This might be once a week. So maybe, just maybe there are other people out there like me. As much as I like reading the site, and going to do some exploring – doing my job is a higher priority for me. Being berated for not commenting enough? No thanks.
Thanks for commenting on the site I mentioned, Tom. I think part of what makes Project HOPE’s website so compelling to me is knowing where they started. Seeing the before and after is quite remarkable, even if the end result isn’t at the level of charity:water or the Children’s Hospital Foundation. I have a jpg screen shot of their original home page. Send me your email address, if you’re interested in seeing it. — Tina
Was home with a cold on Friday, but just clicked over to Charity:Water to see what the fuss was about. They do great work, have slick design, but not a single story of someone who actually benefitted from their work. It looks great, and Will & Jada are a bonus, but I think it would be more likely to drive action if it connected a compelling, heart-wrenching story with someone who took the time to check out their page. The statistics are heartbreaking but abstract, and nothing like one well-told story. The Children’s Hospital link today hit that mark much better (although, was it just me or was that site kind of busy? If I didn’t have ADD before, I might now).
Thanks for commenting on the sites I mentioned, Tom. I think part of what makes Project HOPE’s website so compelling to me is knowing where they started. Seeing the before and after is quite remarkable, even if the end result isn’t at the level of charity:water or the Children’s Hospital Foundation. I have a jpg screen shot of their original home page. Send me your email address, if you’re interested in seeing it. — Tina
Hi Tom,
I think more of us clicked through and saw the site then you might think … regarding comments … so you don’t feel that all your efforts go unappreciated … I will share a couple of things that I review when looking at a site … first I think about more than pretty pictures … I look at site functionality – which walks a fine line with user experience. Also, I question is a site flexible and scalable … but the bottom line through all of this … does it raise dollars, sign up new constiuients, and show the organization’s best store front window to the world about who you are and what you do.
As a follow-up I would really be intesrested in knowing a few of the site stats if they would be willing to share.
OK, sorry Tom for not commenting. I’m not much of a commenter on websites (though I admit that I benefit greatly from some comments, I have a hard time justifying this use of my time at work…)
Another reason that I did not comment on the website was that I *immediately* began drafting a new landing page for our website after clicking through to the one you promoted last week. For that, I am extremely grateful to the Agitator.
You see, your intended effect worked – you scrambled my own sense of what our website is supposed to do and sent me off to improve.
We do not stand on the shoulders of giants yet, but we are climbing up on one’s back now, thanks to your help!
In regards to a website I would recommend, I just made a gift to the Oregon Environmental Council because I like their group and their website reinforced the good thoughts I had about them:
http://www.oeconline.org/
Thanks for the extra motivation!
Perhaps a more telling indication might be how many people made an online gift — which I did — as a result of “clicking through” to this wonderful group that I didn’t know anything about.
Keep up the good, if occasionally disgruntled, work!
Laura
Good morning, Tom.
I am one of the many who clicked throughā¦ Was not really impressed, and I am not a fan of Will Smith. So I didnāt take much away from it.
I am impressed by the Civil War Preservation Trust website:
http://www.civilwar.org/
Thank you for the daily spill of information for us fundraisers!
Kindest regards,
Jeff
I did click to check out the “best” – I too was not impressed and because I was not impressed I did not comment. Water is a necessity of life – no one would disagree that it’s a great cause, but the best fundraising site – don’t think so.
Jeff,
I just looked at the Civil War Preservation Trust page. As a site for information about battlefields I think it was pretty good, but as a fundraising site I think it falls short. Here is an outstanding opportunity to tell a compelling story about a site to connect a potential donor to the work they do. Instead there are some statistics and a laundry list of places that need saving. I can only imagine the huge numbers of letters, accounts, etc..from soldiers or others about the battles/sites that would tell the story of their importance much more than an organization saying “this is important”. That said, our site has a long way to go in this regard as well.
Katie
One site that I’ve always found very donor friendly and engaging is Best Friends: http://www.bestfriends.org/. Their stories, video and email marketing are top notch and I like the focus on success.
I also like the Somaly Mam Foundation’s site: http://www.somaly.org/ (“as little as $10 a month changes a victim’s life”)
Tom,
I agreed with your best website and like many who receive direct mail and emails did not respond. If I was truly passionate (agreed or disagreed) I would have responded. I disagree with Project Hope and Children’s Hospital Foundation – not dynamic nor engaging enough for me to even click on any available link.