This document provides guidance on online fundraising. It discusses who engages in online activities and how to effectively raise funds digitally. Key recommendations include building an email list, understanding supporters, telling a compelling story, making targeted donation asks, optimizing your website, tracking engagement, and testing different strategies. A case study shows how Oxfam increased year-end donations by focusing a fundraising push around a specific problem and public goal. Overall, the document outlines best practices for digital fundraising through email, social media, and web platforms.

1. Online Fundraising
(Thanks to Lauren Miller of Blue State Digital for some of this great content)

2. What We’ll Cover
• Who’s Online and What Are They Doing?
• What It Takes To Raise $ Online
• Internal Organization
• Step-By-Step Guide
• Case Study

3. Who’s Online?
Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project
April 2009 Survey

4. What Are They Doing?
Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project
April 2009 Survey

5. What It Takes To Raise $ Online
• A great story
• Some good luck
• A clean website
• Supporters who can
help carry your message
• A solid theory of change

6. Internal Organization
Fundraising
Online
Presence
Field/Organizing Communications

7. Internal Organization
• Online fundraising is about money, but also about
intense internal cooperation
• Coordinate fundraising across channels
– new media, phone banks, field, direct mail
• Communications and field
– Can provide great stories to highlight for fundraising
– Assist with list-building and fundraising asks

8. Step-By-Step Guide
1. Build your email list
2. Know your list
3. Tell your story
4. Make your ask
5. Maximize your website
6. Track & engage
7. Additional fundraising methods

9. 1. Build Your Email List
• Collect email addresses through:
– Petitions
– Pledges
– Donations
– Tell a friend
– Social networking sites
– Offline activities
• Partner with organizations who have a similar
mission and goals to do an email swap

10. 2. Know Your List
• Where did the people on your list
come from? Why did they join?
What are they expecting?
• Did they sign-up based on a
particular petition or cause?
• Segment your list:
– Interests
– Donors v. non-donors
– Recent donors v. lapsed donors
– New donors v. reoccurring
donors

11. 3. Tell Your Story
• Invite a conversation with your supporters
• Use voices and personalities from your organization
• Be creative – and use both email and web
• Share what’s happening out in the field
• Ask supporters for their input and FOLLOW UP

12. 4. Make Your Ask
• It's not just about donating – it’s about empowering
and providing a way to take action
• Set goals and deadlines
• Plan around key milestones
• Use personal stories as often as possible
• Take advantage of breaking news

13. 4. Make Your Ask
• Be transparent. Tell your supporters what you want
to do, what it’s going to cost, and what change will
result from their donation
• Start with a small ask (e.g., $10 or $25)
• After people donate, slightly increase the amount in
the next ask (e.g., $50 or $75)

14. 5. Maximize Your Website
• Make it as easy as possible to
– Donate
– Signup for email
• Engage and empower your
supporters
• Share personal stories
throughout your site

15. 5. Maximize Your Website
• Content on your site should match the content in
your email campaign

16. 5. Donation Page
• Make it as easy as possible
for supporters to donate
• Don’t stand in the way!
• Thank supporters after they
donate
• Use a targeted landing
page to encourage
donors to share with friends

17. 6. Track & Engage
• Monitor your initiatives and track the progress
• Segment your list and conduct A/B testing
• Keep the conversation going – provide updates/
action items
• Expect a drop-off rate with email addresses and
donors
• Continue to build and refine your list

18. 6. Track & Engage: A/B Testing
• Gives a better picture of what does/doesn’t work so
you can maximize future asks
• Things to test (one at a time)
– Subject line
– Sender
– Phrasing of the ask
– Small graphic
– Length of email
– Placement of donation link

19. 6. Track & Engage: Metrics
• Different types of metrics to look at:
– Open rate
– Click-through rate
– Average donation
– Number of donations
– Increase in donation amount
– Forward to a friend

20. 7. Additional Fundraising Methods
• Splash page (home page takeover)
• Name the fundraising campaign
• Feature personal stories
• Text-to-donate campaigns
• Match two donors and introduce them to each
other
• Dollar for dollar matching
• Recurring donations

21. Case Study: Oxfam
• Background Info: November, 2008, the economy
was terrible and Oxfam’s appeal was generating
50% of last year’s total, even though the audience
had grown by 50%
• Instead of continuing their standard end of the year
appeal, they decided to focus on a single problem:
100 million more people went hungry in 2008, and
they gave it a name: the Global Hunger Epidemic

22. Case Study: Oxfam
• A/B email test: (A) referred to and (B) did not
refer to the financial crisis as a challenge in
their work. Email B outperformed A, so they
didn’t mention the crisis in their appeals
• Set a public goal of raising $2m online by
Dec 31. Promoted it in email and web copy,
along with a thermometer graphic
• Created a short video and included it on
landing pages

23. Case Study: Oxfam
• Added two appeals to schedule
without sending more messages by
replacing an e-newsletter and a
yearly giving appeal
• Included a hint of guilt-inducing
language in last email of the year
• Added a home page takeover
during December (only displayed
once per visitor using cookies)

24. Case Study: Oxfam
• Results
– Increased end-of-year
giving by almost
$200,000 over 2007
– Brought in over 3,500
more donations
– Exceeded their goals
Case Study courtesy of M+R Strategic Services
http://www.mrss.com/oxfam-eoy-2008-fundraising.pdf

25. Contact Info
New Organizing Institute
(202) 558-5585
info@neworganizing.com
www.neworganizing.com
www.twitter.com/neworganizing