FUNDR AISING
For Charities Seeking to Boost Their Online Giving, It’s Game On
By Raymund Flandez
THE “donate” button is so 2011. Now a charity’s supporters can do much more: They can build a
virtual gingerbread house for Ronald
McDonald House Charities, play with a
virtual toy from their smartphones as
they donate to Toys for Tots, or see how
their donations are put to work at a virtual vending machine operated by the
conservation group Wild Aid.
Online games and other interactive efforts helped many charities increase donations during the crucial last
months of the year, and many experts
now expect to see far more of them in
the coming year.
Giving donors a specific activity, such
as making gifts or signing petitions online, makes their experience exciting
and keeps them involved with the charity in a way that is more powerful than
a standard donation page, says Claire
Kerr, director of digital philanthropy at
Artez Interactive, an online fundrais-ing-software company in Toronto.
But not all observers are sold on the
durability of the new approach.
“It sounds fun and exciting, but it de-
pends on who the donor audience is and
if it’s going to connect with them,” says
Farra Trompeter, vice president of Big
Duck, a fundraising and communica-
tions consultancy in New York. “Or will
it feel like a gimmick?”
Ms. Kerr agrees that the interactive
efforts can go overboard. Potential do-
nors could become distracted by long
quizzes or flashy animations in interac-
tive games that take a long time to load
on a screen, she says: “If no one hits the
WildAid’s Web site features an interactive machine (above) that shows
supporters how the charity uses donations of different amounts to
protect specific animal species. The Mercy Corps holiday “Gift-o-
Matic” (right) helped people select donations for friends and relatives.
‘donate’ button because they don’t finish
the game, then that’s a really big problem.”
Holiday Rituals
Charities that released new interac-
tive efforts during the holidays often
played off real-life traditions. For exam-
ple, at Ronald McDonald House Chari-
ties, a nonprofit that provides tempo-
rary housing for the families of young
hospital patients, visitors to the char-
ity’s Web site who donated at least $10
had the chance to beautify one of three
virtual gingerbread houses. Modeled af-
ter real Ronald McDonald Houses, the
gingerbread versions could be festooned
with candy canes, gumdrops, icing, and
peppermint wheels. The donor’s name
was then displayed with the decorated
house, which could also be shared with
friends and relatives through social
networks.
Attention to Social Media and Donors Who Stopped Giving Make a Difference
FRED HU TCHINSON CANCER RESEARCH CENETER
Guests at a gala for the Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Research
predicted that all types of giving were
on the rebound.
Atlas of Giving, an independent forecasting service, says gifts in November
increased 6. 3 percent, to $29.19-billion
over November 2010. Although it did
not have final figures by The Chronicle’s
press time, it projected a 4.8-percent increase, to $29.25-billion, in December
2011 from 2010. Additionally, it expects
total 2011 giving results to show an increase of 7. 5 percent from 2010; its 2012
growth projection is more modest, at 3. 5
percent over 2011.
Continued from Page 1
Smartphone Giving
Although the Salvation Army is still
calculating year-end donations from
some 7,000 community centers in the
U.S., it’s on track to match last year’s
haul of $142-million from its nationwide Red Kettle campaign. Online giving during the holidays rose 22 percent,
to $17-million, says Maj. George Hood,
national community-relations and development secretary.
“People are getting more comfortable
with online giving and using the chan-
nel more than the traditional mail re-
sponse,” Major Hood says. He says the
Salvation Army is waiting to hear re-
sults from a device that allowed donors
to donate by credit card using their
smartphones this holiday season be-
fore testing it some more this year. The
charity experimented with the device
in just four areas: Chicago, Dallas, New
York, and San Francisco.
Mini Campaigns
The increased focus of using social
networks proved a boon to Volunteers
of America Chesapeake, a Maryland
affiliate of the national charity. Before
introducing its “Five Weeks of Giving”
campaign in late November, the organization aggressively sought new fans on
social networks, such as Facebook and
Twitter.
And with those supporters, the non-
profit announced mini-social-media-
campaigns on weekdays during the
holiday season, such as “Make a Differ-
ence Monday” and “Tell Us Tuesday.”
Each week it released two videos, tak-
ing viewers behind the scenes at the
charities it serves. Volunteers of Amer-
ica also asked people to donate during
“Fund Friday.”
The result? Year-end giving donations
rose almost 70 percent, from $75,000 in
2010 to $126,000. In December alone, it
raised $104,000, a 65-percent increase
from December 2010.
“We asked our fans to interact with
