This is of course a friendly request (and I stress that), not a demand.

Greenpeace has been conducting an exemplar online advocacy campaign — centered on Shell Oil’s Arctic drilling plans — for about the last 30-odd days. The Agitator first wrote about the campaign on March 13.

Over this period, the campaign brilliantly grew and involved a following of nearly 7 million supporters, as Greenpeace’s six-member ‘boarding party’ climbed onto Shell’s massive drilling rig being towed through the Pacific en route to the Arctic..

I received four update emails (that I can recall), and each opened the gateway to an array of engagement opportunities with the boarding team via social media. Indeed, via social media, one could have spent hours/days interacting with the campaigners.

In my latest update, received today, Greenpeace proposes “A big brainstorm” and asks: What comes next?

I give the campaign a solid A+ as an activist initiative.

But I also wanna know … is this raising money? And/or … what’s the plan for doing so?

I can recall only a couple of instances in the communications I received where a ‘donate’ button ever appeared, and even then the ‘appeal’ — which overstates it — was  clearly secondary to generating activist excitement and engagement. In fact, one would have worked hard to find a ‘donate’ option.

These are smart folks, so I’m certain the muted approach was very deliberate, and I don’t have much quarrel with that.

But nevertheless, the giving option was there, however muted, and as a fundraiser I’m dying of curiosity as to how many donations might have found their way to Greenpeace as a secondary benefit.

Moreover, Greenpeace has captured, so far, nearly 7 million email addresses!

Some of these, like mine, they obviously already had.

Somewhere in the bowels of Greenpeace, I assume a massive de-duping process is underway!

And I further assume that sooner or (not too) later the fundraising shoe will drop, and I will be asked, straight up, no holds barred, to donate …

“It has cost us $$$ to track this mother of an oil rig across the Pacific, and this campaign is just getting warmed up … Now we need you to dig in …”

Otherwise, speaking as a fundraiser, this campaign will disappoint me for the first time!

Tom

P.S. I know Greenpeace staff are reading The Agitator. So, when you have a moment, please share with us your fundraising strategy around this campaign … show us the money!