Part 1 Leveraging the internet for community fundraising (revised edition)

Leveraging the internet for community fundraising (Revised Edition) Community Fundraisers Forum Thursday 26 th July 2007 MATT KEPPLE

Community fundraising today Community fundraising is about engaging groups of like-minded people in fundraising activity The internet has made it easier for like-minded people to get to know each other and form communities online Because the internet removes geographical boundaries, online communities can be bigger than their traditional offline counterparts Consequently, relationships with communities have higher value than before because online communities have significant fundraising potential

Overview of modern internet usage (‘Web 2.0’)

Web 2.0 More Transparency More Personalisation More User generated content Greater number of Niche communities

Web 2.0 Transparency People have easy access to subjective and objective information about brands, products and charities Honesty and Authenticity are essential News and Popular Opinion can reach a large audience And this can happen quickly

Web 2.0 Transparency Personalisation User generated content Niche communities

Web 2.0 Personalisation People’s tastes and preferences are being accommodated

User generated content People are expressing their creativity and individuality Their expression is public

People have a greater number of friends who have similar interests to them People are openly sharing their lives with other people People are having fun People are feeling at home in a community of people who share their interests and accept them for who they are Web 2.0 Niche communities

Approaching fundraising in online communities

Approaching fundraising We can assume that most people want to make the world a better place (M.T.W.A.B.P) Charities have a variety of resources

Approaching fundraising People want to make the world a better place Charities have a variety of resources

Charity resources ‘ Brand’ Being trusted – this counts for a lot Reputation and public perception Staff and their expertise Website Your community Existing supporters Existing corporate relationships Existing government relationships Existing media relationships

Approaching fundraising A new objective: Using our resources , what opportunities can we create for communities to make the world a better place in ways which will generate income?

Communities Definition Communities are groups of people who recognise each other as associates, friends or acquaintances and have common rights and privileges

Who our communities are Traditionally targeted communities Online communities formed through the internet Potential communities

Traditional communities Engagement through: Local community events Society or Members Club events Collections

Traditional communities These communities have shared locations or shared interests They can be targeted using traditional approaches – in person, events, phone, email The opportunity online: If they are members of social networks such as www.uniteddogs.com it is now possible to build meaningful individual relationships with the community members

Online communities Engagement through: Community-wide events Competitions Games Ask the community for their ideas for community fundraising Collections through ‘widgets’

Online communities: Widgets Widgets (e.g. the ChipIn Widget) are mini adverts that people can put on their websites, blogs and social networking profiles. People can create Fundraising Widgets which are adverts for a fundraising campaign. The Widget can show how much has been raised so far and when people click Donate, they will be taken to your charity’s fundraising page. www.chipin.com

Potential communities You could form an online community of your existing donors and supporters The Benefits: Opportunity to develop closer relationships with individual donors through easy one-on-one communication online Opportunity for supporters to share fundraising ideas and work on initiatives together

Fundraising from online communities using Wahblo

Wahblo is a marketplace for charity projects. People search for the causes which they care about and are shown relevant projects run by registered charities. How it works Homepage

Each project has a fundraising goal and people donate anything from £1 a month towards each of their projects. In addition to their current ‘String’ of projects, people have a Wish List of projects they would like to donate to. Based on people’s previous projects, Wahblo also recommends projects that they may be interested in. How it works String

Market research tells us that people want to know what their donations are achieving. This lack of transparency has prevented people from giving to charity. Wahblo lets you write Project Updates which are automatically sent to your donors letting them know what their donations are achieving. Donors can communicate with you and each other by joining the discussion around each Project Update. How it works Project Updates

How it works Your charity As a charity you can apply to have as many projects on Wahblo as you like. Your projects will appear on your Charity page which contains information about your charity and links to the profiles of the charity’s staff. Wahblo claims Gift Aid on your behalf and transfers donations to your account on a monthly basis.

How it works Marketing Project Invitations – Everyone who donates to guided to the Invitations Page on Wahblo which logs into their email address book and invites their friends and contacts to join them in donating anything from £1 a month to their project with them. Community Fundraising Widgets – the members of your online communities can put your Project’s Widget on their website, blog or profile and use it to encourage their own community of friends and fans to donate anything from £1 a month to your project. Public Relations Wahblo in Universities Student Reps and Studentbeans.com Partnerships with ethical brands e.g. Your Safe Planet and Make Travel Fair

Why it works Ethos Wahblo ticks all the boxes for online communities: Transparency – People know what their donations are achieving Personalisation – People can support the exact projects and causes they care about at that time User generated content – Project Updates are written by human charity staff and donors can join discussions around their projects Niche communities – People are part of a community of people who share their interests and who support the same projects as them Wahblo is the only service to cater for donors and UK charities in this way.

Tips for creating captivating fundraising ideas for online communities

Idea tips Opportunities online Online communities contain plenty of people with shared interests Online communities give their members new opportunities for people to express their interests together, i.e. Publicly for Public Recognition Collaboratively Competitively

Idea tips A new objective How can we get people to express their interests and/or creativity in ways which we can benefit from?

Idea tips A variety of ways to interact How can we get people to express their interests and/or creativity in ways which we can benefit from? In kind donations General fundraising and Fundraising for specific projects Consultancy Volunteering Staff recruitment Endorsements Trust and relationship

Search online for PART TWO of the presentation or contact the author. Matt Kepple [email_address] Skype: mattkepple Phone: +44 7950 421 815

Part 1 Leveraging the internet for community fundraising (revised edition)

More Related Content

What's hot

Similar to Part 1 Leveraging the internet for community fundraising (revised edition)

Recently uploaded

Part 1 Leveraging the internet for community fundraising (revised edition)

Editor's Notes