Giving in a digital world

Mapping the Social Networking world – handy country-by-country data

Posted by Bryan on June 8, 2009

One of the regular topics that comes-up when I’m discussing the potential of online social networks with fundraisers from outside the UK is just which social networks are dominant in their particular country. Because, contrary to how it might feel from the UK or US perspective, when you go further afield the Social Network world doesn’t start and end with Facebook.

So, I’m always on the look-out for data which helps shed some light on the relative strengths of different sites across different countries – and two such sources cropped-up over the last couple of days that I thought you might find useful, wherever you happen to be based.

The first is from TechCrunch.com, who have just updated their global valuation of social networks. While this is certainly interesting from the overall valuation standpoint, it’s also great that they have provided a link to all of the Comscore base data underpinning their model – which gives a handy snapshot of unique visitor numbers for 26 social networking sites across 17 countries.

The second is a little less robust, but still provides some useful insight into the different sites prevalent in different countries. This comes from Vincenzo Cosenza’s blog, where he has used Alexa and Google Trends for Websites data to develop his own visual mapping of the Social Networking world.

While I’m pointing-out free research relating to Social Networks, you might also want to take a look at the Nonprofit Social Network Survey Report released a little earlier this year. This is US-based, but provides some interesting insights into where and how US nonprofits are active on Social Network sites, which should also be of interest to anyone interested in this area of nonprofit communications and fundraising.

Posted in Facebook, MySpace, Online fundraising, Social networking | Tagged: Bryan Miller, Facebook, MySpace, Online fundraising, Social networking | Leave a Comment »

Twollars – a Twitter based fundraising currency

Posted by Bryan on May 31, 2009

There has been a lot of discussion this year about the potential value of microblogging service Twitter to nonprofits, so I’d imagine there will also be a lot of interest in the latest version of the Twitter-based virtual currency – the Twollar.

Described as “a currency of appreciation” for Twitter, the idea is that every Twitter user is given 50 Twollars and can then use these to thank or reward other people who use Twitter – perhaps in thanks for a particularly useful Tweet or as a reward for engaging on a website.

But the interesting thing is that you can also give your Twollars to a charity which uses Twitter – by sending a Tweet as shown in the screengrab above. The receiving charity can then convert them into real money (at an exchange rate of 10 Twollars to 1 $US) by selling them back to Twitterers who have used-up their 50 allocation, or companies who want to make use of Twollars as part of a reward or loyalty programme. And, all money goes directly to the charity with no cut going to the folks behind the Twollar site.

I really like this initiative, and guess it could have some real fundraising potential if companies start to use Twollars and thus need to purchase them in large volumes from charities – and charities can engage with enough Twitter users to keep them stocked-up.

However, one thing struck me as I checked my own Twollars page (which you can do here) and found that I had indeed been credited with 50 Twollars. What is there to stop me spending the rest of the afternoon opening new Twitter accounts so as to snag a big pile of Twollars for myself? Perhaps not a bad thing if I then donate them all to good causes – but it does seem like an easy way to subvert the Twollar economy?

This aside (and perhaps there is a way to stop such Twollar-piling that I haven’t picked-up on?) there are already over 50 charities from all over the world signed-up to ‘trade’ Twollars, and any interested in giving the scheme a go can register here.

Posted in Online fundraising, Twitter | Tagged: Bryan Miller, Online fundraising, Twitter, Twollar | Leave a Comment »

US retailer lets donors choose in Facebook charity campaign

Posted by Bryan on May 22, 2009

I just spotted this fun video from the American Red Cross encouraging people to vote for them in the “Bullseye Gives” campaign being run on Facebook by US retail chain Target, and it reminded me that I’ve been meaning to mention the campaign since it launched earlier this month.

From May 10th to May 25th, US Facebook users can go to the Target Facebook Page and vote (once daily) for which of the ten charities listed they would like to receive a share of a $3 million donation from the retailer. The charities in the list being the American Red Cross, the National Park Foundation, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Operation Gratitude, Feeding America, the Parent Teacher Association, HandsOn Network/Points of Light Institute, the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the Kids In Need Foundation and the Salvation Army. After May 25th the final voting results will be announced and the $3million split between the charities accordingly.

It’s classic viral marketing stuff – authentic, very simple and highly ’share-able’.

And, of course, the power of it being on a social network like Facebook is that each time someone votes they can also publish that vote on their Facebook feed so all their friends see it – and so the reach of the campaign grows and grows, without the need for lots of forwarding of intrusive emails to your friends.

Apparently Target has been giving 5% of its income to charities since 1946 – which now adds-up to $3 million a week. But this campaign clearly represents an excellent new way to spread the positive brand impact of this long standing philanthropy and attract massive new numbers of fans to the brand’s Facebook Page – currently standing at 322,916.

It’s also a far cry from the Facebook promotional tactics that Target got accused of back in 2007. When it was criticised for encouraging members of its ‘Target Rounders’ word of mouth marketing programme for students not to mention their association with the brand when posting positive comments on the newly launched Facebook page.

Looking down the comments on the Target page today, the vast majority are highly positive – presumably without any form of encouragement other than the great opportunity being offered to help raise funds for a preferred charity. So, the shift to an authentic and honest reason to enthuse about the brand looks like a good lesson learned by Target’s marketing people – and it’ll be interesting to see if they roll-out the campaign beyond May as an ongoing part of their CSR programme.

Posted in Online advocacy, Online fundraising, Social networking | Tagged: Bryan Miller, Bullseye Gives, Facebook, Online community fundraising, Online fundraising | Leave a Comment »

2009 email fundraising and advocacy benchmark report just released

Posted by Bryan on May 17, 2009

It’s May again, which means that the latest update of the annual M+R and NTEN eNonprofit Benchmarks Study has just been released.

The study, which provides cause-specific benchmarks across a range of email metrics is based on data from 32 US nonprofit organisations, but I’ve always found the results to be a good steer for European nonprofits too.

The headline take-out is that despite the recession most of the organisations taking part in the study saw their online fundraising up overall from 2007 to 2008, driven by more donors giving online but at lower average values than seen previously.

Beneath this overall trend is a wealth of data across both fundraising and advocacy activities that anyone involved in email communications is bound to find useful.

You can download a free copy of the 2009 report here.

The eNonprofit Benchmarks Study was first released in 2006, so it offers the potential to examine the latest data in the context of previous years to illustrate some multi-year trends. Unfortunately the latest report doesn’t provide much insight beyond the 2007 to 2008 comparisons, but you can still download the 2008 Report and also the 2006 Report (there wasn’t one in 2007) to look at the trends yourself.

Posted in Email, Online Campaigning, Online advocacy, Online fundraising | Tagged: Benchmark, Bryan Miller, Email, eNonprofit Benchmarks Study, Online advocacy, Online fundraising | 1 Comment »

Crowdfunding – a Web 2.0 twist on what community fundraisers have always done?

Posted by Bryan on May 15, 2009

There was quite a bit of talk of Crowdfunding in some of the sessions at this week’s IFC Online eConference and that reminded me of an article I was asked to write a while back for Professional Fundraising, the Monthly trade magazine for the sector in the UK, specifically about how online fundraisers might learn from commercial crowdfunding initiatives.

It was a timely reminder, because the article has just been published online as well as in this month’s printed edition – so you can read the whole thing here (for free;-).

There are a fast growing number of examples of great nonprofit crowdfunding sites coming from the US (e.g. Kiva, DonorsChoose, SocialActions), UK (e.g. TheBigGive, SeeTheDifference) and other parts of Europe (PifWorld, JimmyTheManTours).

But I’d be really interested to hear from anyone who knows of any from further afield – especially Latin America or Asia Pacific regions? If you spot any examples, let me know.

Posted in Online fundraising, crowdfunding | Tagged: Bryan Miller, crowdfunding, DonorsChoose, IFC Online, Jimmy The Man Tours, Kiva, Online fundraising, Pifworld, See The Difference, SocialActions, The Big Give | 1 Comment »

500+ attendees from 42 countries attend the first ever IFC Online eConference

Posted by Bryan on May 14, 2009

It’s been an interesting three days this week, with the first ever IFC Online eConference taking place – bringing together an estimated 500+ attendees from 42 countries world-wide, through an entirely online conference.

Unlike traditional ‘real world’ conferences, it’s tricky to be sure just how many people are ‘attending’ an online conference. The IFC Online organisers at The Resource Alliance tell me that 387 ’sites’ signed-up for the event, but the number of individuals at each ’site’ who watch the sessions can vary massively – from one individual to, in this case, a group of more than 70 people who gathered together in Jerusalem to attend. So, I’m not sure exactly how many people attended the two sessions I presented, but I did spot around 160 ’sites’ logged-on in places ranging from the US and Latin America, right across Europe, to Singapore, Korea, and Australia – which made for a good crowd.

If you’ve never attended a big web-based conference like this, and it was my first time – both as an attendee and a speaker, then the screengrab above will give you a bit of a feel for how it works. Presenters speak over VoIP and use Powerpoint presentations just as if they were in a convention centre with people infront of them, and throughout the session people can ask questions and make comments by typing into the Chat/Q&A box. Must admit, when I kicked-off my session it felt a bit odd sitting all alone talking to my Mac – but once the questions started coming-in onscreen the whole thing came to life and it was great fun.

Some really interesting speakers too, including Scott Goodstein, External Online Director for Obama for America, and Premal Shah, President of Kiva. And what was particularly handy is that all sessions are recorded, so attendees can catch-up on any they missed or re-watch any session they found especially useful. (Except for Scott Goodstein’s session, apparently – which is a pain, as I missed that one myself).

So, all-in all, a very interesting and, by the looks of it, successful event – and a great extension to the Resource Alliance’s annual ‘real world’ International Fundraising Congress held each October in Holland.

One other thing that struck me was just how much more Twitter activity was going-on amongst the attendees at this event than at the main IFC just last October – when there were a lone two folks Tweeting for all they were worth. This time, there was a pretty constant stream of Twitter commentary coming through under #ifconline – and even a degree of consternation when Twitter went down for maintenance right in the middle of a session yesterday evening (London time).

Posted in Fundraising, Online fundraising, Twitter | Tagged: Bryan Miller, IFC, IFC Online, Kiva, nptech, Online community fundraising, Online fundraising, Twitter | 1 Comment »

See The Difference – a very ambitious initiative looking to change the nature of charitable giving

Posted by Bryan on May 5, 2009

As you’ll see from the promotional video above, the world of online charity crowdfunding ’supermarkets’ looks set to grow yet again later this year, with the launch of See The Difference.

Founded by former BBC Executive Dominic Vallely, See The Difference plans to engage supporters with a diverse range of projects from all around the world, through a video-based site that uses ‘digital storytelling’ to promote projects and, very importantly, to show donors just what a difference their support has made.

With a very impressive line-up of corporate backers – and endorsements from a diverse group of people from the Head of Individual Marketing at the RSPB to the editor of Heat Magazine – See The Difference is clearly a very ambitious initiative. Not only are they looking to raise £500m (€563m; $756m) over the next five years but they also believe that “See the Difference could ultimately become the standard way in which people choose and express the things they care about and the differences they want to make in the world”.

It all certainly seems very well planned and from what can be seen of the website on the video, the user interface looks pretty slick and engaging.

I wish the team at See The Difference all the very best, as this is just the type of innovative approach that is needed if we are going to see the real potential of online fundraising start to be released. However, £500m seems an incredibly ambitious target to set for their first five years.

The best performing charity crowdfunding site out there at the moment is probably Kiva – and even with its highly innovative ‘investment’ project funding approach and incredible levels of PR support they have just reached £47m (€53m; $71m) over their first three and a half years of operation. While at the other end of the scale, the recently launched video-based project crowdfunding site PifWorld seems from the statistics on its homepage to only have managed to raise £5,250 (€5,915; $7,922) over its first two months.

Here’s hoping that See The Difference can at least get their online giving going at the Kiva-levels – it’ll certainly be very interesting to see just how quickly the income grows once their site goes live. There are no details of a planned launch date on the See The Difference website, but you can contact them through the holding page and keep-up with the site’s development through their recently launched Facebook Page.

Posted in Online fundraising, crowdfunding | Tagged: Bryan Miller, crowdfunding, Kiva, Pifworld, See The Difference | 9 Comments »

Don’t let Twitter anxiety cloud your focus on key online priorities

Posted by Bryan on April 8, 2009

If you’re feeling lost or left behind in the whirl of hype that has grown-up around the micro-blogging service Twitter over the last few months then don’t worry – you’re not alone.

In the same week that internet traffic monitor Hitwise announced that UK Internet visits to Twitter are up 6-fold since January (making it the 5th most popular social networking site in the UK), analytics firm Webtrends just released results of research confirming that most marketers remain reluctant to use the service.

Based on interviews with 300 online marketing managers across the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Australia, Webtrends reports that so far just 2% of businesses have adopted Twitter as a means of communicating with customers. No surprise that email remains far and away the most popular means of engaging with customers online, while 6% are apparently now using blogs and podcasts.

The majority of respondents to the survey said of Twitter that they are simply “not sure how to use it, and even if they could they wouldn’t be sure of what to say, and who exactly they would be saying it to” – which seem to me like very good reasons to hold-off on adding it to their digital marketing mix.

Don’t get me wrong, as I’ve mentioned previously I do believe that Twitter has the potential to be a useful addition to the range of ways charities can engage with certain groups of consumers. However, in the light of another recent research report by website usability expert Jakob Nielsen, highlighting basic shortfalls in charity websites that directly impact on donations received, I also believe that most should have a lot of things higher-up on their digital ‘to do’ list.

My advice would be that you do keep an eye on Twitter, because it’s not going to go away. But don’t worry that you must get out there and start Tweeting immediately – especially if such Twitter anxiety clouds your thinking in terms of what your main online priorities should be.

It’s no use bringing people to your website, through whatever means, if you know that the vast majority don’t engage the way you want them to – with a donation or some other action. So, your first priority must be to optimise your site to ensure that your conversion rates are as good as you can make them. Simple improvements to things like site signposting and the all important donation page itself can make double digit improvements in conversion figures – so that has to be where you start.

And if you don’t actually know your current conversion figures, then you’ve got another top priority action – sorting-out your site analytics and reporting.

When you really understand the basics of what people are doing on your site and you have a plan for improving their experience – and thereby your results – then you can widen your thinking to consider new ways to get people to come to you. First-off, how well are your ‘traditional’ online activities working – email, natural search and online advertising?

Then, once you feel you understand these and have a plan for each, you can safely start to think more widely – into the Web 2.0 world of blogging, micro-blogging, online communities and the like.

Such prioritisation doesn’t necessarily mean a long delaying in thinking about what opportunities Web 2.0 approaches like Twitter might offer you – but it will help ensure that when you start testing them you’re far more likely to be successful.

Posted in Blogging, Email, Online advertising, Online fundraising, Twitter, Web design | Tagged: Bryan Miller, Fundraising, Online fundraising, Twitter | 2 Comments »

Social Actions – open source microphilanthropy in action

Posted by Bryan on April 3, 2009

Social Actions is a fantastic online initiative that aims to make it easier for people to make a real difference in the world, by essentially aggregating thousands of online microphilanthropic opportunities from over 50 different non-profits and other sources (at the last count) through one site with powerful search functionality.

However, what is really clever about the way that Social Actions works is that it is not just reliant on people visiting the site to search for opportunities to take actions they might be interested in. It can also ‘push’ action opportunities out to any other website through widgets that will present selected opportunities based on the specific content of the website in question. For example, there is one widget that can plug-in to any WordPress.org blog, identify the keywords of each blog post, and display related opportunities to take action. Now that is really smart thinking.

And that’s not the end of it. They are also harnessing the power of open source development through the provision of an open API that enables anyone to build an application utilising Social Actions’ aggregated data on microphilanthropic opportunities.

As I mentioned in my recent post about the new Kiva open API, the incredible power of this approach is that it offers the potential to massively increase the number of ways that people can engage with the opportunities on offer, and thereby the audience reach achieved, far faster than a single organisation could realistically achieve – by harnessing the creativity and technical abilities of enthusiastic developers right around the world.

To get the open source development ball rolling, Social Actions launched a ‘Change the web challenge’ during March to get people to come-up with new tools to share the microphilanthropic actions on offer – with $10,000 in prizes up for grabs for the best ideas. The deadline for submissions is today and so far an incredible range of creative applications have been submitted. The top 20 finalists will be announced on April 13th and the winners announced at the NTEN Nonprofit Technology Conference on April 28th.

There are several things that I especially like about the whole Social Actions initiative.

Firstly, the way in which it recognises and specifically works to meet the growing desire for people to be able to personally choose how they get involved with specific causes that interest them – in both financial and non-financial ways.

Secondly, because it goes out of its way to make making a difference easy for everyone. Not only through its aggregation of actions from a host of different sources, clever search functionality, and use of widgets to present specific, context-sensitive opportunities on other sites. But also by emphasising the massive impact that even the smallest action can have, if sufficient people are motivated to take it. Social Actions’ founder, Peter Deitz, defines Microphilanthropy as any small scale activity or gesture, facilitated by technology, that carries with it some intent to do good and has the effect of transforming communities for the better – which is a significant, and potentially very powerful, expansion on traditional thinking around online community fundraising.

Thirdly, the way in which they have so wholeheartedly embraced the whole open source philosophy – engaging the wider online community to help develop the tools with which they will subsequently take microphilanthropy action opportunities to countless more people.

If you haven’t visited their site before – then go and take a look, and have a think about what you might be able to learn from the way in which they are engaging with people online.

Posted in Online Campaigning, Online advocacy, Online fundraising, Widgets, crowdfunding | Tagged: Bryan Miller, crowdfunding, Online advocacy, Online fundraising, Social Actions | 3 Comments »

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