Fostering the ethical and efficient use of the Internet for philanthropic purposes. http://ephilanthropy.org
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Monday, September 9, 2002
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Issue 21 - One Year Later: September 11, Online Giving Up 120%, DC & Houston eTours, Nonprofits in Asia
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VOLUME 2
ISSUE 21
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Online Giving Continues To Grow
120% increase over 2000 Report
http://www.michigannonprofit.com/cgi-bin...
by Eric Morath
Article from MichiganNonprofit.com
Nonprofits are finding more donor dollars in cyberspace.
A survey published by The Chronicle of Philanthropy in June said the country's 126 largest nonprofits collected more than $96 million in online donations last year. Online giving increased 120 percent in 2001 compared with 2000, the survey reported.
On a smaller scale, Jonathan Smith found that raising $3,400 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society online was easier and more convenient than soliciting outside grocery stores, mailing donation cards or other traditional methods Michigan Team in Training in Madison Heights suggested.
Michigan Team in Training trains people to compete in endurance competitions, and those athletes collect donations for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Smith plans on biking 100 miles in Florida this October.
The Keego Harbor resident donated his time to create a Web site, www.fundraisingforleukemia.org , and surpassed his goal in less than two months with online gifts. As of Friday, he had collected more than $7,500.
"The Web site enables people who want to come and donate to donate rather than solicit people," he said. "People find it easier to use their credit card."
Michigan Team in Training took notice of Smith's success. "The site has gone well beyond what I thought it could do," said Campaign Director Tami Duquette.
She said Team in Training plans to expand online fund-raising efforts and to assist participants in creating sites like Smith's.
"The opportunities for nonprofit organizations to build a community and raise money online are undeniable," said Theodore Hart, CEO of Washington-based ePhilanthropyFoundation.org. EPhilanthropyFoundation trains charitable groups in online fund raising through seminars and Internet classes.
However, Hart said, a nonprofit's biggest pitfall in raising money online is thinking that if it builds a Web site, donors automatically will come.
"There is nothing different about building relationships online than offline," he said, "There are different tools, but the core of fund raising is connecting with causes the donor cares about."
He said nonprofits should first establish a simple site that explains the organization's history and mission. The site should collect e-mail addresses and ask for permission to communicate further, rather than immediately asking for a gift.
Michigan nonprofits also must be registered with the attorney general’s office to raise funds.
Alicia Marting, public-relations director of Flint-based United Way of Genesee County, said the group is considering using an online giving system as a complement to its workplace giving programs. She said the system could eliminate paperwork and increase participation.
However, Marting said the nonprofit needs a $10,000 investment in software, technology upgrades and staff training to set up a online giving program.
"We would have to weigh how much businesses would use the system compared to the cost," she said.
The Southfield-based Eastern Michigan Division of the Salvation Army is developing a local Web site to attract online donations. The Salvation Army's global site, www.salvationarmy.org, already collects gifts on the Internet.
William Weatherston, division executive director of development, said any local effort also would link to the global site because it is an established, secure way to give. Funds raised on the global site are sent back to the division where the donor resides.
Weatherston said online giving took off after Sept. 11, and now local organizations have to compete for online donors with national nonprofits, so explaining specifically how the donation will help is now even more important.
When donors research nonprofits online, they absorbs traditional cost of learning about the nonprofit through mail or solicitation, Weatherston said.
"It will probably be a more efficient and effective way to (donate)," he said. "So you need to have 'donate now' on every page."
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Copyright © 2002 ePhilanthropyFoundation.Org. All rights reserved.
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