The Nonprofit FAQ
| How will the Net affect the work of Fundraisers? |
| (Note 8/11/99 -- Adam Corson-Finnerty offers his own thoughts on the subject of using the net for "post dinosaur" fundraising, and a comprehensive set of links rich with examples and further discussions at http://www.fund-online.com/. A recent book, The Nonprofit Guide to the Internet: How to Survive and Thrive, by Michael Johnston (2nd editing, 1999) discusses this topic among many others. You can order http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=047132857X/internetnonprofi/ ">The Nonprofit Guide from Amazon.com using this link; a small royalty will be paid which will be used to help support this site. Jon Miskowski, 608/263-0299, wrote on Aug 10, 1995, to FUNDLIST (subscribe at [email protected]) on the subject: The Net: As we develop our home page, I'm wondering what fundraisers think about the potential for fundraising on the Internet? Could it be a direct response tool that's is a good as direct mail or telemarketing? What are fundraisers doing with the Net? What will we be doing? Also, if you've seen any recent articles about this, I'd appreciate the reference. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ James Bechtel responded later that day: I have also been thinking about its fund raising potential. (We are also constructing our home page.) I have decided that if you think of fund raising as a five step, on-going development process it will affect each step differently. RESEARCH (Who will give, how much, to what?) The internet and on-line services will revolutionize this aspect. You only have to look at today's Chronicle of Philanthropy and think of how much information is being added to the net every day to picture what will be available in the future. It has the potential to make the same research facilities available to a small store-front operation that in the past was only available to a major university. MARKETING (They aren't going to give you anything, if they have never heard of you.) Again I believe the Internet will have a profound effect on how we carry this out in the future. Just in simple communication with current donors we will be able to give them current information almost instantly. (For example the Oklahoma Metro YMCA, across the street >from the Federal building, was severely damaged in the blast. We received a huge number of calls from other YMCAs and people across the country.) We are currently thinking of starting our own listserv and having on-line newsletters. As we develop the Web site we could areas with information about all of our programs. It will also have a positive effect; by allowing organizations with smaller numbers of people with an interest in their mission, to find each other and share. If you are the Medieval French Poetry Society an ad in the WSJ would be a waste of money. However, a posting of your web site to history, poetry, and francophile groups will bring your kind of people rushing in. CULTIVATION (The closer you are to me and my organization, the more you are going to give.) This aspect will probably not be as revolutionary, but you could certainly e-mail 1000 Christmas greetings faster than making phone calls and cheaper than snail-mail. It will also increase market niching policies. If a prospect/donor is interested in the YMCAs' housing and active older adults and gang intervention programs it will be much simpler and cheaper to compose one e-mail with information about all three, than send three separate letters. THE ASK. (Ask and ye shall receive!) Currently this is probably the fund raising area with the least application to the net. While I have heard of on-line auctions and web sites with areas where you can pledge, I believe that we are just beginning to touch its potential. As the net speeds up I picture a direct mail piece that leads into a video of your program, with links to other information, and a second video of someone you know asking you for a donation. RECORDING and ACKNOWLEDGMENT. Recording will be simpler if people can just down load pledges rather than key them in. There also might be some benefit for organizations with multiple sites to have one remote repository for donor records. (Though there is always the question of data security.) Acknowledgment could be almost immediate and keyed to almost personalized information. For example a video thank you from the CEO and another video from participants in the programs in which the donor has expressed interest. I hope others can think of more ideas than I have listed.
Revised 9/4/99 -- PB |