This document discusses trends in online fundraising. It notes the top five trends are having conversations on social media, telling great stories tailored to different platforms, testing content to optimize conversions, using social elements like polls and contests in campaigns, and mainstreaming social aspects of fundraising. It provides tips for online fundraising such as focusing on audience, platform, promotion, user-centric design, responding in real-time, measurement, and being willing to pivot. The document emphasizes the importance of having honest, fast conversations online and reaching out beyond normal expertise when needed.

1. jason@thinkcs.org jason.sean.potts JasonSeanPotts
Online fundraising – all you need to
know in an hour … maybe 
November 2012
by Jason Potts, Director

2. • Questions for you …
• Top 5 trends online fundraising
• What you need to get going?
• Stuff that’s important …
stuff that isn’t
• Questions for me …

3. • Questions for you …
• Top 5 trends online fundraising
• What you need to get going?
• Stuff that’s important …
stuff that isn’t
• Questions for me …

4. • Questions for you …
• Top 5 trends online fundraising
• What you need to get going?
• Stuff that’s important …
stuff that isn’t
• Questions for me …

5. Photo: flickr.com/photos/psd/10887656

6. 52 million views ….
Tell a great story in
the right way for the
platform and you can
get attention …
Photo: flickr.com/photos/robertsharp59/4446920696

8. A test
807 Visits
5.3% Conversion
69% Single gifts
31% Paypal single gifts
0% Regular gifts

9. B test
807 visits
6.1% Conversion
38% Single gifts
16% Paypal single gifts
46% Regular gifts

10. A test B test
Cash value Yr 1= X Cash value Yr 1 = + 40%
DD value Yr 1= Y DD value Yr 1 = + 100%
Total value over 5 yrs = Z Total value over 5 yrs = + 550%

11. Photo: flickr.com/photos/csessums/4978515540/

12. More than 55,000 supporters voted.
Which image do YOU think won?

14. And the Winner Is…
Email announcing the Winner includes renew or join language depending on audience

15. Communication Flow
• Email #1 – July 14
• Subj line: “Quick Poll: Which wolf photo do you like best?”
• Landing page/VOTE
– Members: Thank you + soft push to renew early
– Non-members: Thank you + soft push to join
• Email #2 – July 22
• Subj line: “And the winning wolf photo is…”
– Different variants for voters/non-voters (4 variants in all)
• Email #3 – ~July 29
• Early Renewal option for all donors
• Email #4 – August 28
• Email timed with DM piece
• Mail Piece – August 29 (in home between 9/5 and 9/20ish)
– Referenced online voting

16. The Results
• More than 55,000 voted
• Raised over $130,000 (from emails and ancillary
traffic)
• Over 2,000 new donors
• Early renewers received an ‘already renewed’ mail
version of the member card (generated an additional
$5,000)

17. Photo: flickr.com/photos/jonboy_mitchell/3022253307/

21. Results:
• 88% SMS, 22% online
• 70% people contactable, 15% agreed
to regular gift when called, half of
these send back the form, so 7.5%
conversion
• Raised most UNHCR Sweden ever in a
single campaign (2 weeks)

22. Photo: flickr.com/photos/mrs_logic/3799729875

23. An existing
campaign with a
social twist ...

24. Number of people
who entered
381
Insert copy from story

25. Number of people
who voted
9,404*
Number of people
who posted
something
10,000
Number of posts
54,656
* 8,188 of these were Canadian, Cities 1. St John’s 2. Toronto 3. Charlottetown 4. Ottawa 5. Montreal

26. Biggest group
75% female 25-44 female

27. Number of new likes during the
campaign
3,119
Number of new email addresses
3,260 (31% opt-
in)
Number of people who were
exposed to the campaign
Circa
* Approx. 1m people reached = 15.4m ad impressions + 5.8m app
1 million*
impressions divided by 15 (FB stat of how many times people viewed an ad)

28. Total number
of clicks
65,000
Total number of
Winner
email
impressions
from the app
5.8
Viral
effect million
First Second
email email

29. 22nd Feb
21% talking
about
as % of likes
76,865 likes, 2,613 talking about 3% talking about
them on March 3rd, Age is 45-54 as % of likes
26,329 likes, 2,080 talking about 7% talking about
them Daffodil month, Age is 18-34
as % of likes

30. Survey (10% posters)
53% type 1 19% type 2
56% of contributors were driven by the FB
ads
64% said reason for participating was to
advocate or build awareness of diabetes
(opportunity to feel heard about their
disease)
97% said easy to download and use
application
80% easy to post
82% said experience good, very good or
excellent

31. Survey (1.5% voters)
52% came through a friend or family member
57% said reason for participating was to
advocate or build awareness of diabetes
95% said easy to download and use
application
97% easy to vote
97% said experience good, very good or
excellent
93% would do it again (68% of these said
they would be willing to fundraise)

32. Open rates
(overall)
23.5%
What a cure and
ipad open rates the
same
Winner
announcement
44% posters
20% voters

33. $40,000 1 million
people = 4 cents per
exposure

34. Learning
• 30% uplift in DM appeal
• Could have been bigger, tech
issues and many people posted
to the Wall
• Better tracking for donations
• Making it a real conversation,
in real time
• More resources
• Prizes for creativity
• Seeding 2 weeks before

38. • Insert 0

39. Mainstreaming the social elements of fundraising …

44. • Questions for you …
• Top 5 trends online fundraising
• What you need to get going?
• Stuff that’s important …
stuff that isn’t
• Questions for me …

45. • Audience
• Platform
• Promotion – owned, earned or paid
• User centric design
• People, you need to respond in real time
• Measurement
• Pivoting

46. • Questions for you …
• Top 5 trends online fundraising
• What you need to get going?
• Stuff that’s important …
stuff that isn’t
• Questions for me …

47. • Having conversations can be scary and
demanding
• You may not have the expertise so you
have to be brave and reach out beyond
the norm
• As long as you are totally honest and fast
you’ll be OK

48. • Questions for you …
• Top 5 trends online fundraising
• What you need to get going?
• Stuff that’s important …
stuff that isn’t
• Questions for me …

49. Thank you
jason@thinkcs.org jason.sean.potts JasonSeanPotts