October 29, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
The goal: Use online fund raising as a way to compensate for declining donations from direct mail.
The problem: In 2008, donations produced by direct-mail appeals dropped in size by 9 percent, and 18 percent fewer people responded to its mailings to potential donors.
The approach: This month, the aid group unveiled an online tool modeled on appeals used by charities for marathons and other events. People create an account on the Doctors Without Borders Web site and then raise money from their friends. In turn, participants receive updates about the group’s response to a fictional meningitis outbreak. They learn about aid work through missives from staff members describing how a wary village leader doesn’t want doctors vaccinating children in his community, or how refrigerators storing the vaccines have broken down.
The cost: About $100,000.
The results: In its first two weeks, the campaign has raised $25,000.
Extra benefits: The campaign helps reinforce the group’s long-held policy of not accepting earmarked gifts, which is intended to keep the flexibility to respond to needs as they emerge. The fictional example “is really giving people a view inside what we do as an organization,” says Jennifer Tierney, development director at the charity. “We talk about our independence, but I want donors to be able to say exactly what that means.”
— Caroline Preston
