January 23, 2003 | Read Time: 3 minutes
Several nonprofit organizations tried new approaches to online fund raising during the year-end giving season, and some saw Internet contributions increase compared with the same period last year.
- The American Red Cross, in Washington, added a feature to its site — in time for the holiday giving season — that allows donors to make online contributions in honor or in memory of loved ones. During December, 444 donors made tribute gifts totaling $33,825.
In all, the Red Cross took in $673,005 through its Web site during November and December. The 2002 figure is down from the more than a million dollars donated online during the same period last year, in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, but represents an increase over the $516,025 in Internet gifts donated in November-December 2000.
- During the month of December, Groundspring.org — a San Francisco group, formerly known as eGrants.org, which processes online donations for more than 900 charities — handled more than $400,000 in electronic gifts. This figure was more than three times the amount the organization handled in December 2001.
- Heifer International, a Little Rock, Ark., charity that gives livestock to needy families in developing countries, raised $6-million online in November, December, and early January, up from $4-million during the same period a year ago.
Mike Matchett, director of marketing, says that the organization has been working for the past few years to raise its profile with donors. As a result of those communication efforts, Heifer was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show this fall and on The West Wing in early January, which Mr. Matchett believes helped the group’s online fund raising.
The organization sent its supporters a holiday-related e-mail message that linked to an animated “moo-vie” (http://www.heifer.org/moo) on its Web site explaining the organization’s mission and asking viewers to think about contributions to Heifer as an alternative to giving gifts such as Ginzu knives, Chia Pets, or a Singing Billy Bass Fish.
- Electronic donations to charities through Network for Good, an online giving site set up by AOL Time Warner, Cisco Systems, and Yahoo, totaled $6.5-million in November and December, compared with $2-million during the same period in 2001. The year-end donations accounted for a big share of the $16.9-million total made through the site in 2002.
New features on the site (http://www.networkforgood.org/donate) included an option for visitors to create a “wish list” of their favorite charities — similar to an online wedding registry — to share with family members and friends. Donors can also choose from a selection of “holiday gift basket” contributions. For example, the America the Beautiful “basket” distributes the donor’s contribution among four different environmental groups. Baskets focus on a variety of causes, including children, hunger, and housing.
- The Salvation Army tested a holiday campaign (http://www.ring2help.org) that allowed volunteers in Atlanta, Dallas, and Washington to raise money online as virtual bell ringers. Volunteers had their own Web pages, from which they could send e-mail messages asking their friends and family members to make an online donation to the local Salvation Army.
Major George Hood, national director of public affairs, says the organization was mainly testing the mechanics of the campaign. Even without much publicity, he says, participating divisions were able to raise $60,000. He expects most of the Salvation Army’s units to run online kettle drives this year. “We don’t want to replace the outdoor red kettles by any means, because it’s a highly visible appearance that we have during the Christmas season,” says Major Hood. “But the landscape is obviously changing, and there are more and more people using the Internet. With dignity, we want to take advantage of that.”
