Embracing digital fundraising
Mary Jane Edwards looks are the potential of digital fundraising and how to harness it. This article was first published in JAM (issue 58 / April 2015).
Article snippet:
Clarity in communications
Tell donors exactly how their money will be used. The Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith is currently doing
great job in bringing its latest capital campaign to life. Rather than just asking donors for money, they have let supporters know exactly what part of their redesign plans you can make happen, from purchasing a kettle to supplying a square foot of flooring. Similarly, Cancer Research UK’s award-wining MyProjects site was also one of the first to adopt broader crowdfunding principles by allowing supporters to view and choose from a range of potential cancer research projects.
Provide feedback and show value. Once money is donated, thanking and showing value is essential. Charity: Water is rightly feted for its excellent use of in-field blogging, photo posting and GPS logging of wells built to bring donors closer to the impact that their support is having. Their use of storytelling is also an effective transparency tool. The excellent DonorsChoose site (USA) also features student and teacher voices prominently in the requests, and encourages as much thanks and feedback as possible.
To read the full article download Embracing digital fundraising.