Group Fundraising 101From Benchmarks to Success Stories

Presented by Peter Deitzmicro-philanthropy consultant

http://www.socialactions.com/peter

webinar hosted by:

Revised with advice on using Facebook

in yourgroup fundraising

strategy

Introduction

• Definition

• Benchmark Figures

• Facebook and Group Fundraising

• Overview of Services

• Tips for Success

Consultant to non-profits and philanthropists

About Micro-Philanthropy blogger

Author of several articles on distributed fundraising

Founder of Social ActionsU.S. citizen living in

Montreal

Group fundraising is…

• The process of gathering money and other

gifts in kind, by empowering individuals to

solicit money from and communicate with

perspective donors of their own choosing

through the use of blogs, widgets, images,

video, offline events, and social networks.

By contrast, traditional fundraising is the process of soliciting and

money or other gifts in-kind, by requesting donations from

individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental

agencies.

You know it’s group fundraising when…

• Your supporters are using blogs and other social media to communicate your organization’s mission and solicit money from people you don’t know;

• You are showing people how they can create fundraising pages or widgets in support of a program or project.

From Flipping the Funnel: Give Your Fans the Power to Speak Up

Turn strangers into friends Turn friends into donors

And then... do the most important job:

Turn your donors into fundraisers.

A few notes about group fundraising

• The messaging of a group fundraising campaign and the list of perspective donors are ‘user generated’

• Offline equivalent: A combination of child sponsorship drives and UNICEF Halloween boxes

• Group fundraising goes by several names▫ Person-to-person▫ Network centric▫ Collaborative▫ Peer-to-peer ▫ Distributive▫ Grassroots▫ Viral

• In April 2007, group fundraising web sites generated $3 million in donations through 8,602 campaigns.

• To date, group fundraising is responsible for at least $44 million dollars in charitable giving.

• At last count, there were at least 19 services for implementing a group fundraising event or strategy.

How much can you raise using a group fundraising service?

Benchmark Figures for Group Fundraising Platforms

High Low Benchmark

Average donation amount $55 $30 $43

Average amount raised per campaign

$3,230 $119 $692

Average number of contributors 40 4 16

Benchmark figures for group fundraising campaigns

Benchmark figures for “successful” group fundraising campaigns

High Low Benchmark

Average donation amount $149 $36 $57

Average amount raised per campaign $11,393 $5,158 $9,018

Average number of contributors 269 48 157

Compared to Other Online Fundraising Benchmarks

Group Fundraising

Convio E-Benchmarking

eNonprofitBenchmark Study

Open rate --- 22% 25%

Click-through rate

--- 3% 1.5%

Response rate Possibly 35% 0.28% 0.3%

Average Amount

$43 $56 $70Getting people to start campaigns is the hard part. Once they’re started, the results will exceed what you could have accomplished on your own.NetworkforGood reports that 76% of donors say they are influenced by friends and family when choosing an organization to donate to.

High Low Benchmark

Commission 15% 0% 4.4%

Processing Fees for Group Fundraising Platforms

Platform Commission

GiveMeaning 0%

ModestNeeds 0%

DonorsChoose 2.5% + optional

15%

ChipIn 2.9% + $0.30

DropCash 2.9% + $0.30

JustGive.org 3%

CanadaHelps 3%

ChangingthePresent 3% + $0.30

SixDegrees 4.35%

Platform Commission

Project Agape 4.50%

Change.org 4.50%

MyCause 5% plus bank fees

JustGiving 6.40%

FirstGiving 7.35%

Fundable 9.9% + $0.30

BringLight < 10%

Kiva.org 10% (optional)

GlobalGiving 10%-15%

LinkedIn NA

How significant are the Facebook fundraising applications?

Observation 1 of 3

Facebook is very crowded.

Observation 2 of 3

You can use all five applications.

Observation 3 of 3

Nothing beats “post an item.”

20 group fundraising platforms you need to know about

Raise Money for… (part 1)

501c3 Organizations Only Anyone with a Paypal account

Teachers in the U.S.

Individuals in Need

Australian OrganizationsInternational Development

U.K. Organizations

Raise Money for… (part 2)

Canadian Organizations

Politicians in the U.S.

Group fundraising services share donor data with…

The recipient organization* Only the campaign organizer

No one

* Most of these services provide individuals with the option to disclose donor data to the recipient organization

Group fundraising platforms are..

Commercial Nonprofit

Campaign organizers can produce fundraising widgets

Yes No

Campaign organizers can set a fundraising goal

Yes No

Four paths to group fundraising success

Path 1 of 4

Sympathy for the campaign organizer

Path 2 of 4

A clear picture ofwhere the money is going

Path 3 of 4

Matching funds combined with a deadline

Path 4 of 4

Creativity & humor work in group fundraising

Fund-a-stache participant for 2007

Mira Seeing Eye Dog Fundraiser

Comparing Tips for Success

Group Fundraising Conventional eFundraising

• Design a connectivity strategy (not technology)

• Be nible, be quick• Push power to the edges• Meet them when and

where they are• Give them what they need• Get out of the way• Develop new evaluation &

feedback mechanisms

Souce: Power to the Edges: Trends and

Opportunities in Online CivicmEngagement

• Budget for success• Grow your email list• Increase retention of list

subscribers• Carefully track marketing

and recruitment efforts• Carefully target and

segment e-mail messages• Act quickly to respond to

timely events

Source: eNonprofit Benchmarks Study

Tips for Campaign Organizers

• Adopted from What Kevin Bacon Knows about Web 2.0: Six Degrees of Person-to-Person Fundraising

1. Build a great campaign2. Donate to your own campaign3. Post your campaign on your web site and / or blog4. Add the campaign to your email signature5. Send the link to people in your email address book6. Ask bloggers to join your cause7. Bookmark your campaign on aggregation web sites8. Take your cause (and laptop) everywhere9. Thank people and report back on progress made

Sources

Show Me the Numbers: Can Group Fundraising Help You, Peter Deitz, June 2007

How to Use the Internet for Group Fundraising, Peter Deitz, October 2006

Raise Money on Facebook: Four Fundraising Applications You Need to Know About, Peter Deitz, September 2007

Flipping the Funnel: Give Your Fans the Power to Speak Up, Seth Godin, January 2006

The Online Marketing (eCRM): Nonprofit Benchmark Index™ Study, Convio, January 2007

eNonprofit Benchmarks Study: Measuring Email Messaging, Online Fundraising, and Internet Advocacy Metrics, M+R Strategic Services and Advocacy Institute, February 2006

Power to the Edges: Trends and Opportunities in Online Civic Engagement, The e-Volve Foundation and Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE), May 2005

What Kevin Bacon Knows about Web 2.0: Six Degrees of Person-to-Person Fundraising, NetworkforGood, May 2007

Contact Information

Peter DeitzMicro-Philanthropy Consultant

http://www.socialactions.com/peterpeterdeitz@gmail.com

514-907-8725 – Montreal718-766-5367 – New York City215-825-7445 – Philadelphia