Group Fundraising 101: From Benchmarks to Success Stories (revised)

Group Fundraising 101 From Benchmarks to Success Stories Presented by Peter Deitz micro-philanthropy consultant http://www.socialactions.com/peter webinar hosted by: Revised with advice on using Facebook in your group fundraising strategy

Introduction
Definition
Benchmark Figures
Facebook and Group Fundraising
Overview of Services
Tips for Success
Consultant to non-profits and philanthropists
About Micro-Philanthropy blogger
Author of several articles on distributed fundraising
Founder of Social Actions
U.S. citizen living in Montreal

Group fundraising is…
The process of gathering money and other gifts in kind, by empowering individuals to solicit money from and communicate with perspective donors of their own choosing through the use of blogs, widgets, images, video, offline events, and social networks.
By contrast, traditional fundraising is the process of soliciting and money or other gifts in-kind, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies.

You know it’s group fundraising when…
Your supporters are using blogs and other social media to communicate your organization’s mission and solicit money from people you don’t know;
You are showing people how they can create fundraising pages or widgets in support of a program or project.
From Flipping the Funnel: Give Your Fans the Power to Speak Up
Turn strangers into friends
Turn friends into donors
And then... do the most important job:
Turn your donors into fundraisers.

A few notes about group fundraising
The messaging of a group fundraising campaign and the list of perspective donors are ‘user generated’
Offline equivalent: A combination of child sponsorship drives and UNICEF Halloween boxes
Group fundraising goes by several names
Person-to-person
Network centric
Collaborative
Peer-to-peer
Distributive
Grassroots
Viral
In April 2007, group fundraising web sites generated $3 million in donations through 8,602 campaigns.
To date, group fundraising is responsible for at least $44 million dollars in charitable giving.
At last count, there were at least 19 services for implementing a group fundraising event or strategy.

How much can you raise using a group fundraising service?

Benchmark Figures for Group Fundraising Platforms Benchmark figures for group fundraising campaigns Benchmark figures for “successful” group fundraising campaigns High Low Benchmark Average donation amount $55 $30 $43 Average amount raised per campaign $3,230 $119 $692 Average number of contributors 40 4 16 High Low Benchmark Average donation amount $149 $36 $57 Average amount raised per campaign $11,393 $5,158 $9,018 Average number of contributors 269 48 157

Compared to Other Online Fundraising Benchmarks Getting people to start campaigns is the hard part. Once they’re started, the results will exceed what you could have accomplished on your own. NetworkforGood reports that 76% of donors say they are influenced by friends and family when choosing an organization to donate to. Group Fundraising Convio E-Benchmarking eNonprofit Benchmark Study Open rate --- 22% 25% Click-through rate --- 3% 1.5% Response rate Possibly 35% 0.28% 0.3% Average Amount $43 $56 $70

Processing Fees for Group Fundraising Platforms High Low Benchmark Commission 15% 0% 4.4% Platform Commission GiveMeaning 0% ModestNeeds 0% DonorsChoose 2.5% + optional 15% ChipIn 2.9% + $0.30 DropCash 2.9% + $0.30 JustGive.org 3% CanadaHelps 3% ChangingthePresent 3% + $0.30 SixDegrees 4.35% Platform Commission Project Agape 4.50% Change.org 4.50% MyCause 5% plus bank fees JustGiving 6.40% FirstGiving 7.35% Fundable 9.9% + $0.30 BringLight < 10% Kiva.org 10% (optional) GlobalGiving 10%-15% LinkedIn NA

How significant are the Facebook fundraising applications?

Observation 1 of 3 Facebook is very crowded.

Observation 2 of 3 You can use all five applications.

Observation 3 of 3 Nothing beats “post an item.”

20 group fundraising platforms you need to know about

Raise Money for… (part 1)
501c3 Organizations Only
Anyone with a Paypal account
Teachers in the U.S. Individuals in Need

Australian Organizations
International Development U.K. Organizations Raise Money for… (part 2) Canadian Organizations Politicians in the U.S.

Group fundraising services share donor data with…
The recipient organization *
Only the campaign organizer
No one * Most of these services provide individuals with the option to disclose donor data to the recipient organization

Group fundraising platforms are..
Commercial
Nonprofit

Campaign organizers can produce fundraising widgets
Yes
No

Campaign organizers can set a fundraising goal
Yes
No

Four paths to group fundraising success

Path 1 of 4 Sympathy for the campaign organizer

Path 2 of 4 A clear picture of where the money is going

Path 3 of 4 Matching funds combined with a deadline

Path 4 of 4 Creativity & humor work in group fundraising Fund-a-stache participant for 2007 Mira Seeing Eye Dog Fundraiser

Comparing Tips for Success
Group Fundraising
Conventional eFundraising
Design a connectivity strategy (not technology)
Be nible, be quick
Push power to the edges
Meet them when and where they are
Give them what they need
Get out of the way
Develop new evaluation & feedback mechanisms
Souce: Power to the Edges: Trends and
Opportunities in Online Civicm
Engagement
Budget for success
Grow your email list
Increase retention of list subscribers
Carefully track marketing and recruitment efforts
Carefully target and segment e-mail messages
Act quickly to respond to timely events
Source: eNonprofit Benchmarks Study

Tips for Campaign Organizers
Adopted from What Kevin Bacon Knows about Web 2.0: Six Degrees of Person-to-Person Fundraising
Build a great campaign
Donate to your own campaign
Post your campaign on your web site and / or blog
Add the campaign to your email signature
Send the link to people in your email address book
Ask bloggers to join your cause
Bookmark your campaign on aggregation web sites
Take your cause (and laptop) everywhere
Thank people and report back on progress made

Sources
Show Me the Numbers: Can Group Fundraising Help You, Peter Deitz, June 2007
How to Use the Internet for Group Fundraising , Peter Deitz, October 2006
Raise Money on Facebook: Four Fundraising Applications You Need to Know About , Peter Deitz, September 2007
Flipping the Funnel: Give Your Fans the Power to Speak Up , Seth Godin, January 2006
The Online Marketing (eCRM): Nonprofit Benchmark Index™ Study , Convio, January 2007
eNonprofit Benchmarks Study: Measuring Email Messaging, Online Fundraising, and Internet Advocacy Metrics , M+R Strategic Services and Advocacy Institute, February 2006
Power to the Edges: Trends and Opportunities in Online Civic Engagement , The e-Volve Foundation and Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE), May 2005
What Kevin Bacon Knows about Web 2.0: Six Degrees of Person-to-Person Fundraising , NetworkforGood, May 2007

Contact Information
Peter Deitz
Micro-Philanthropy Consultant
http://www.socialactions.com/peter
[email_address]
514-907-8725 – Montreal
718-766-5367 – New York City
215-825-7445 – Philadelphia

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Group Fundraising 101: From Benchmarks to Success Stories (revised)

by peterdeitz on Oct 11, 2007

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Group Fundraising 101: From Benchmarks to Success Stories (revised) — Presentation Transcript