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 Online Fundraising Handbook: Making the most of the Web and email to raise more money online
The Internet has opened up a whole new world that nonprofits large and small are using to expand their universe of influence and support. The Internet lets even small or local organizations reach out to potential supporters around the world and around the clock. Fundraisers are especially excited about online opportunities for locating new donors and for adding a new communication channel for cultivating existing donors, even if they are giving by mail or at events.
Most organizations are, or should be, using email and the Web as part of their fundraising programs. In addition to building relationships with your current donors, your online campaigns will help bring many more people to your site, grow your email list, and generally increase your visibility and activity on the Internet.
Building an online presence is about so much more than creating an online brochure for your organization. It’s about using the Internet to build relationships with constituents so your organization can better fulfill and support its mission. Often, this means using the Internet to complement existing programs; in other cases this means creating new programs that you couldn’t have dreamed of before.
Successful online fundraising programs generally have two major components. The foundation is an informative, interactive web site and an email communications program which, together, help build relationships with your web site visitors and the people you get to sign up for your email newsletter or online advocacy program. The second component, often overlooked, is a strategy for attracting new people – especially potential donors – to your site, so you can begin the relationship-building process.
This handbook is organized around these two components. In Chapters 2 through 5, we’ll talk strategy and offer nuts-and-bolts information on how to use your web site and email to build relationships with potential and existing donors. Then, in Chapters 6 through 8, we’ll discuss ideas and tactics for driving traffic to your site and developing special campaigns and promotions, including advocacy. Finally, in Chapter 9, we’ll pull all of the information together to help you outline your priorities, develop a plan, and determine the resources you’ll need. ...
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Presented by
Groundspring.org
Presidio Building 1014
PO Box 29256
San Francisco,CA 94129-0256
www.groundspring.org
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Internet Strategies for Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Why online fundraising • Who’s raising money online? • What nonprofits are doing online • Developing
your organization’s Internet strategy • Resources
Case Study: Family Violence Prevention Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Case Study: Doing Justice To Online Fundraising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Idea Hot Sheet: Online Fundraising Best Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Chapter 2: Acquiring and Cultivating Donors Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
How can you acquire new donors online? • How can you cultivate existing donors online? • Using
email to cultivate donors • Using your web site to cultivate donors • Integrating online fundraising
into your development program • Database integration • Donation portals, charity shopping malls,
and click-to-give sites • State registration requirements • Resources
Case Study: World Wildlife Fund Makes the Ask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Idea Hot Sheet: Major Gift Fundraising Online. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 22
Chapter 3: Email Messaging Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
“Permission” and “opt-in/opt-out” • Building your email list • Using Email and e-Newsletters •
Choosing an Email Messaing System • Resources
Case Study: Massachusetts SPCA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Idea Hot Sheet: Adding an E-newsletter Subscription Form to Your Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Idea Hot Sheet: Premiums are Primo Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Chapter 4: Catching Donors in Your Web (Site) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Developing content • Give your visitors something to do • Build community • Ask. Ask. Ask. •
Developing your site • Evaluating your site • Resources
Case Study: Surfrider Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Case Study: Ruckus Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Idea Hot Sheet: 10 Best Practices for Your Web Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Idea Hot Sheet: Effective Online Giving Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Idea Hot Sheet: Online Donation Processing Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Chapter 5: Driving Traffic to Your Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Publicizing your web site address • Search engines and Web directories • Links from local web sites
and portals • Using email • Newsgroups and Listservs • Creating word of mouth • Taking
advantage of holidays or special events • Evaluating traffic • Resources
Case Study: Driving Traffic to StopTheWar.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Chapter 6: Picking Your Partners and Promotions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Case Study: Big Brothers/Big Sisters of San Francisco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Chapter 7: Organizing Online Advocacy Campaigns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Incorporating activism into your web site • Email activism • Running an online advocacy campaign •
How effective is online advocacy? • Resources
Case Study: The Million Mom March . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Chapter 8: Prioritizing and Allocating Resources Online Fundraising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Short term priorities • Longer-term priorities • Allocating for your strategy • Resources
Case Study: Sample Online Fundraising Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Appendices: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Appendix A: Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Appendix B: Articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Appendix C: Sample Work and Data Flow for Email/Database Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
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