September 4, 2014 | Read Time: 2 minutes
The facts, at this point, are well established. On July 31, former Boston College baseball player Pete Frates posted a video of himself dancing to “Ice Ice Baby” by rapper Vanilla Ice. He challenged a group of friends to dump ice water on their heads or donate money to the ALS Association.
After that, the challenge, which had been quietly circulating for months, went berserk.
Four weeks later, the ice-bucket challenge for ALS had become one of the most notable and profitable flash-philanthropy campaigns ever. Since July 29, the ALS Association has received more than $100-million in donations. Celebrities and dignitaries have taken the challenge and countless nonprofit commentators have parsed it for it meaning.
Here are what experts consider the biggest takeaways from the wildly popular campaign:
Social Media Matters
Few dispute the growing influence of social media, but critics of “slacktivism” and “hashtag activism” initially were skeptical that the ice-bucket challenge would encourage actual giving. Then the money started rolling in.
“It’s tremendously validating because I’ve done a lot of research around the value of influence—now we’re seeing some numbers,” says Julie Dixon, deputy director of Georgetown University’s Center for Social Impact Communication. “We know if behavior follows intention, there should be tremendous value in people’s networks.”
Roger Craver, longtime fundraising consultant and editor of The Agitator blog, adds, “Once again it’s proven that people talking to their friends is more valuable than all the advertising and direct mail and online fundraising in the world.”
Don’t Try This at Home
Encouraging as the returns have been, there is a big caveat: The ALS Association didn’t start the campaign. And there’s no evidence a nonprofit could plan and execute something similar from the top down. If anything, the contrary seems true: Organic giving campaigns like the ice-bucket challenge have a spontaneous charm that contributes to their momentum.
“Everyone now is going to want to have their own ice-bucket challenge,” says Ms. Dixon. “And you can’t. You can’t manufacture virality.”
The best thing an organization can do? Be prepared for lightning to strike. That means having graphic designers, copywriters, and lawyers ready to promote and nurture a promising trend.
A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats
The ALS Association isn’t the only organization to benefit from the ice-bucket exposure. The ALS Therapy Development Institute raised $3 million. Project ALS brought in $500,000, nearly 100 times the amount received over the same time last year.
Then there are the imitators: the rubble-bucket challenge in Gaza, the rice-bucket challenge in India, and a suicide-prevention effort called “Doubtfire Face.”
So powerful was the ice-bucket allure that a public-relations firm notified The Chronicle when the actor James Franco wore a shirt made by one of its clients in his ice-bucket video.
The firm asked, “Chances are you’ve heard about the #ALSIceBucketChallenge, right?”
