The document provides guidance on using websites and email for charity fundraising. It discusses planning an effective charity website, including clear objectives, design, legal issues, and testing. It also covers the importance of email fundraising, basics like opt-in lists and legal compliance, and strategies like email newsletters, viral emails, and gathering email addresses. Finally, it provides tips for raising funds directly through a website, such as online donations, events, shopping links, and working with third parties.

1. The story so far: charity websites and email Presented at Internet Fundraising & Social Media Conference Institute of Fundraising South West, Bristol 16 June 2009 Howard Lake Fundraising UK Ltd www.fundraising.co.uk [email_address] 01206 579081

2. since November 1994

3. www.professionalfundraising.co.uk January 2009 Research by Justgiving Photo: Jim Linwood on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/brighton/2153602543/

4. Today Get the basics right Website planning and design The use of email by charities Raising funds through your website Photo: PhineasH on Flickr.com www.flickr.com/photos/phinworld/1103555003/

5. 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

7. "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 Barrell Head of Communications, Save the Children Collecting by Clicks, by Trina Wallace SocietyGuardian.co.uk 17 May 2007

8. 1. Website planning and design How do you make a successful fundraising website? Photo: Pink Sherbet on Flickr.com www.flickr.com/photos/pinksherbet/253412963/

9. 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?

10. More thinking Third party providers e.g. Justgiving, Bmycharity, Virgin Money Giving etc 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?

11. Building it Technology: content management system (database) Make it easier Ongoing access to skills Is it accessible?

12. Building it (2) Build to be found Good <TITLE>s, meta tags, use of keywords?

13. Welcome to “ Home Page” 28 November 2006

14. Building it (3) Accept/encourage content from users Use all easy-win opportunities e.g. RSS, Google Analytics, site map

15. www.google.co.uk/analytics

16. Benefits of a site map November 2007

17. Donate now button Make it prominent and consistent on every page Button or content? But… don’t rely on it

18. Give donors what they want

19. Test prompted levels of giving www.rednoseday.com 16 March 2007

20. Testing the website Test it yourself Ask friendly volunteers/supporters to test it Ask people with different (dis)abilities Check paths to giving … launch!

21. 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

22. Photo: russelldavies on Flickr.com www.flickr.com/photos/russelldavies/375434178/

23. 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…

24. 2. Using email Why email? Basics – legal, responding, signatures Email newsletters Viral emails

25. Email is important Repeat after me: &quot;Email is more important than my Web site!&quot; Michael Gilbert The Gilbert E-mail Manifesto April 2001

26. Email will remain important* While social networking and mobile messaging are catching on with adults, email is still the workhorse of your online fundraising. Rick Christ npadvisors.com 19 February 2009 * for a while, at any rate

27. 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

28. Does your charity have a policy? What about people on holiday? Are messages archived? Answering e-mails to your charity Photo: humain on Flickr.com www.flickr.com/photos/humain/

29. 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

30. 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: iain.mcandrew@gdba.org.uk or visit us at http://www.guidedogs.org.uk/helpus/legacies.htm

31. E-mail newsletters for donors The mailing list… is probably the most powerful tool a non-profit has to connect campaigners. Mike Johnston The Fund Raiser’s Guide to the Internet 1999, p.169

32. 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 Christ NPAdvisors February 2003

33. 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 Giving September 2000

34. Make it easy for subscribers

35. 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 Myths Rick Christ and Heather Fignar 14 February 2005 www.afpnet.org/ka/ka-3.cfm?folder_id=893&content_item_id=19829

36. 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 grail Caspar van Vark, The Guardian 8 November 2006

37. Use third-party tools Charity Technology Trust www.ctt.org CharityeMail www.charityemail.co.uk

38. Gather email addresses

39. 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

40. Emails can have viral effect

41. 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. ask for Gift Aid declaration? Offer sample text on website for free ads in supporters’ email newsletters

42. 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 Gilbert Frictionless Fundraising September 2004

43. 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

44. 3. Raising funds via your website First, consider sponsorship whole site, sections, categories, email newsletter? But you’ll need stats (Google Analytics)

45. 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

46. Use humour www.doogle.com (Guinness) 22 March 2005

47. Humour: page not found

48. 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

49. 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

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

51. Easyfundraising.org.uk Earn income on your supporters’ shopping online at 500+ stores.

52. Everyclick.com

53. Google AdSense Let Google deliver context-relevant adverts on your site Earn money every time an ad is clicked on

54. The BigGive.co.uk

55. 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 £5,855,247 raised by 2,831 charities since 2006 www.missionfish.org.uk July 2008

56. Just when you were ready… Photo: aloshbennett on Flickr.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/aloshbennett/2420671057/

57. Monitor your name online

58. So, what should you do? Get the basics of your website and email communications right Use third-party online fundraising tools Monitor use of your charity’s name online Get ready to engage with your supporters on their favourite sites…

59. Photo: UKDevon on Flickr.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/10566958@N02/3517149689/

60. A practical approach to success Oxfam’s Web site is moving from being ‘about Oxfam GB’ to ‘being Oxfam GB’ Andrew Hatton Oxfam GB June 2001

61. Find out more www.w3.org www.wordpress.com / www.wordpress.org www.fundraising.co.uk www.fundraising.co.uk/forum www.thecharityplace.org (free registration required)

62. Thank you Howard Lake Fundraising UK Ltd www.fundraising.co.uk [email_address] 01206 579081 twitter.com/howardlake twitter.com/ukfundraising