the story so far: charity websites and email

© 2009 Fundraising UK Ltd

www.fundraising.co.uk

The story so far: charity websites and email(The good, the bad and just don't go there!)

Presented at Institute of Fundraising North, York12 February 2009

Howard LakeFundraising UK Ltd

[email protected]

01206 579081



since November 1994



Today

Don’t panic. Get the basics right. Website planning and design The use of email by charities Raising funds through your website



Guinness World Record

Between 6.16pm on 30 December and 6.16pm on 31

December 2004, the DEC website received 166,936

donations, raising £10,676,836 for the Tsunami Earthquake

Appeal. This is the most money ever donated online in 24 hours.

Guinness World Records



"New media is a very high-reach, low-cost medium driven by content. The great advantage for charities is that they have a great story to tell…

New media allows people to participate, so they're not passive

recipients of advertising."

Joe BarrellHead of Communications, Save the Children

Collecting by Clicks, by Trina WallaceSocietyGuardian.co.uk

17 May 2007



1. Website planning and design

How do you make a successful fundraising website?

Photo: Pink Sherbet on Flickr.comwww.flickr.com/photos/pinksherbet/253412963/



Clear thinking

Charity’s fundraising objectives?

Target audiences Fundraising priorities?

– Your top 3? Resources: content,

time, staff How to measure results?

– How do/would you?



More thinking

Third party providers e.g. Justgiving? Bmycharity?

Gathering visitor data (and using it)– Offer newsletter, alerts?

Giving – print-out forms e.g. direct debit, telephone number, and online credit/debit.

Legal issues e.g. copyright (inc. photos), charity number on every page

Domain name(s) – renewal dates?



Building it

Technology: content management system (database)– Make it easier– Ongoing access to

skills Is it accessible?



Building it (2)

Build to be found– Good <TITLE>s, meta tags, use

of keywords?



Building it (3)

Accept/encourage content from users

Use all easy-win opportunities e.g. RSS, Google Analytics, site map



Benefits of a site map

November 2007



Donate now button Make it prominent

and consistent on every page

Button or content?

But… don’t rely on it



Test prompted levels of giving

www.rednoseday.com16 March 2007



Testing the website

Test it yourself Ask friendly volunteers/supporters

to test it Check paths to giving … launch!



Easy errors

Forgetting to update your copyright notice’s year on your website.

(US figures for end of January 2007)

Source: www.blogbaud.com/2007/02/01/copyright-check-is-your-site-still-in-2006



Running and developing it

Timetable for updates – who, when, how?

Adding new features – your ideas, and your users

Continue cross-organisation planning

Watch and learn from other charities/companies/your users…



2. Using email

Why email? Basics – legal, responding,

signatures Email newsletters Viral emails



E-mail is important

Repeat after me: "Email is more important than my

Web site!"

Michael GilbertThe Gilbert E-mail Manifesto

April 2001



Web, web, web, web…

So long as online fundraising was defined by

the ability to take credit card transactions through a

web interface, I was a skeptic

Michael GilbertFrictionless Fundraising: How the Internet can

Bring Fundraising back into Balance

February 2003



Staying legal

Opt-in (or even better, double opt-in) is the key to successful email fundraising

Never spam or send unsolicited commercial email (UCE)

Data Protection Act 1998 Privacy and Electronic Communications

(EC Directive) Regulations 2003, in force since 11 December 2003



Answering e-mails to your charity

Does your charity have a policy? What about people on holiday? Are messages archived?



Use email signatures

Short – 6-7 lines Contact details, including web and

email Legally required details Fundraising call to action, including

web link Change call to action regularly



80% of Guide Dogs' income comes from legacies. They are crucial to maintaining our long-term commitment to meeting the mobility needs of blind and partially sighted people.

For more information about how you could help transform peoples lives forever with a gift in your Will, please contact Iain McAndrew on 0118 983 8284

Email: [email protected] or visit us at

http://www.guidedogs.org.uk/helpus/legacies.htm



E-mail newsletters for donors

The mailing list… is probably the most

powerful tool a non-profit has to connect campaigners.

Mike JohnstonThe Fund Raiser’s Guide to the

Internet1999, p.169



Combining media works

Response rates to direct mail fundraising appeals

may increase 18-20% when mailed to donors who have also signed up to receive e-newsletters from the non-

profit.Rick ChristNPAdvisors

February 2003



E-mail newsletter lifts giving

Stanford University e-mailed 36,398 alumni in 2000

“a greater percentage of recipients than non-recipients made a gift”

Reactivated lapsed donors: “among lapsed donors… 32% of recipients made a gift in FY2000 — compared to 22% of non-recipients”

@Stanford and Alumni GivingSeptember 2000



Make it easy for subscribers



Best day to send an email?

A recommendation on the best day to mail: today. As soon as you have something that your donors will want to read, get it

approved and send it right away. Now is always better than

later.

Shattering Online Fundraising MythsRick Christ and Heather Fignar

14 February 2005www.afpnet.org/ka/ka-3.cfm?folder_id=893&content_item_id=19829



Wood Green Animal Shelters and Dodger

The shelter needed £3,000 to pay for an operation to save Dodger. It

sent 200 emails to staff and supporters, which raised the

money in 48 hours - signing up 84 new donors in the process.

Step closer to the holy grailCaspar van Vark, The Guardian

8 November 2006



Use third-party tools

Charity Technology Trust– www.ctt.org

CharityeMail– www.charityemail.co.uk



Gather email addresses



Cultivate your mailing list

Respond to unsubscribe requests Design to get through spam-traps

and firewalls– Avoid certain words, don’t use just

graphics, avoid all CAPITALS Learn from delivery and

clickthrough reports



Emails can have viral effect



Other email opportunities

Sell adverts on your email newsletter ‘Email this to a friend’ on your website Don’t just ask for money e.g. solus Gift

Aid conversion? Offer sample text on website for free

ads in supporters’ email newsletters Branded email: address for life?



Action Develop e-mail signature and timescale Check legality/currency of existing e-

mail addresses Gather e-mail addresses Introduce e-mail newsletter Offer daily/weekly e-mail alerts Test direct e-mail campaign e.g. Gift Aid But don’t expect primacy of email to

last



Why fundraise with e-mail?

Yes, the Internet can facilitate spamming people with more and more

requests for money. But its low cost and high touch aspects can also

facilitate treating almost every donor with the care and depth of a major

donor. That is a genuine breakthrough with enormous rewards.

Michael GilbertFrictionless Fundraising

September 2004



3. Raising funds via your website

First, consider sponsorship– whole site, sections, categories, email

newsletter?

– But you’ll need stats (Google Analytics)



… and on the sponsor’s site



Getting the basics right

Support all your fundraising– events listing, tickets, selling t-shirts,

shopping list for trusts, big gift opportunities, legacies, Gift Aid, payroll giving, corporate support…

Make it easy to give– Paper forms, telephone, online donations– Named contacts for e.g. legacies, companies?

Make these measurable

Photo: Courtney Icenhour



Use humour

www.doogle.com (Guinness)22 March 2005



Humour: page not found



With a little help from your friends

Amazon associates

Everyclick Justgiving /

Bmycharity eBay for Charity The Big Give CAF YouTube

Google Adwords/Google Adsense

Facebook Causes MySpace Impact Bebobeone Giveit.co.uk Easyfundraising



London Marathon 2005

8,492 runners raised almost £5.3 million via Justgiving.com 3 days before the event. Includes nearly £1 million in Gift Aid

On 13 April, £250,000 raised online by runners

630 charities fundraising online with the Marathon



Amazon associates

List relevant books on your site, earn a share of sales income. Payment every month.



Easyfundraising.org.uk

Earn income on your supporters’ shopping online at 500+ stores.



Everyclick.com



Google AdSense

Let Google deliver context-relevant adverts on your site

Earn money every time an ad is clicked on



The BigGive.co.uk



CSRRegister.com



eBay.co.uk

£11,000 is raised on eBay for Charity every day

An eBay for Charity item sells every 2 minutes

eBay.co.uk has over 20 million users www.missionfish.org.uk

July 2008

£5,855,247 raised by 2,831 charities since 2006



Just when you were ready…

Photo: aloshbennett on Flickr.comhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/aloshbennett/2420671057/



So, what should you do? Get the basics of your website

and email communications right Use third-party online fundraising

tools Get ready to engage with your

supporters on their favourite sites…



A practical approach to success

Oxfam’s Web site is moving from being

‘about Oxfam GB’ to ‘being Oxfam GB’

Andrew HattonOxfam GBJune 2001



Find out more

www.fundraising.co.uk www.fundraising.co.uk/forum www.thecharityplace.org

(free registration required)



Thank you

Howard LakeFundraising UK [email protected] 579081

twitter.com/howardlaketwitter.com/ukfundraising

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