The NonProfit Times - August 15, 2008 - (Page 25) LIMITED ‘FACE’ TIME ager. He described as “in flux” how Causes fits within PETA’s “online toolbag.” Donations through the organization’s own Web site are always preferable to a third party so that will remain a priority, said Phillips. As a result, Causes ends up being a secondary way to get donations and probably won’t turn into a primary avenue. “I don’t think we’re alone in that boat,” he said. For PETA, Facebook is part of general outreach efforts so it’s not leveraged into a branch of online fundraising, Phillips said, but instead usually points back to its Web site for a more traditional fundraising channel. “We’re really at our infancy in taking full advantage of it,” he said. Phillips isn’t sure how Causes fits because PETA has a large online presence while it’s such a “new piece in the fundraising equation that it isn’t one that we would end up having as much control over” as a standard donation page or email, or any other donation channel. Even with a large Cause, there hasn’t been the quantity of donations to make a determination.“I imagine we’ll be able to answer that as time goes on. This time next year, we’ll have a clearer picture,” he said. Some nonprofits have a difficult enough time keeping a Webmaster, Phillips said, so they might not be able to take advantage for awhile. PETA is clearly one of the few most Web-savvy nonprofits, Christ said, and if they put Causes on a second tier of priority,“I wouldn’t argue with them.” He isn’t ready to take money out of a search optimization marketing campaign and put it into Facebook, but the $2.5 million Causes raised in its first year is a good start. “It’s small but how many nonprofits don’t have a budget of $2.5 million? The growth potential of that is not like a direct mail campaign. It’s not 10 to 20 percent, it could grow by ten- to twenty-fold in the current year, it has that potential,” he said. Christ expects the figure might be greater if you consider donors who visited the Cause but then perhaps donated directly by mail or through the organization’s site. Too many organizations are flirting with cool, fun things online and not focusing on fundamentals, Christ said, such as opening a PayPal account and compiling their donor information. Donors who go to the American Red Cross via Causes are entered into the organization’s e-communications strategy, receiving cultivation pieces like newsletters and appeals, as well as disaster alerts and information about store products.“We just start educating them and stewarding them with reports and all of the lines of service we do here within the Red Cross…to build their loyalty and build that relationship,” said Kimberly Reckner, manager, online fundraising unit, for the Red Cross. Typically, the Red Cross gathers donor data from Network For Good once a month. So within 30 days -- but no more than 60 -- a Causes donor could expect a response directly from the Red Cross, Reckner said. Donor data could be obtained more frequently if there’s a major disaster or if the organization knows more consistent data might be coming through. “We might balance it out with the traffic on that site,” she said. Reckner said the Red Cross is looking to integrate online and offline marketing, including testing offline mail pieces that aim to drive offline constituents to the Web, ultimately making them online donors. “We’re focusing on some constituent engagement and how we can integrate online and offline so we make sure we offer all options, however the donor would prefer to give to us,” she said. “Overall, the Facebook Causes application has been a wonderful vehicle, allowing us to connect with a population who we wouldn’t reach or make aware of our work through conventional measures,” said O’Neill, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital.“The support has been amazing, and truly represents the smart, well-informed, motivated, 20-something who wants to be part of an important cause that he or she feels strongly about.” NPT No Direct Response The NonProfit Times made $25 donations to the top five organizations on the Causes section of Facebook and to five other groups on the site. None responded directly to the gifts. Here are the organizations that received the gifts and their online numbers during the past months. TOP FIVE CAUSES (by number of members) Campaign for Cancer Research (Brigham and Women's Hospital, affiliate of Harvard Medical School) Members Donations March 27 3,104,446 $60,660 May 1 3,159,328 $62,445 June 9 3,208,354 $65,765 Stop Global Warming (Alliance for Climate Protection) Members March 27 1,767,383 May 1 1,820,334 June 9 1,870,519 Donations $22,202 $22,672 $23,555 NPT’S FIVE RANDOM GIFTS Animal Rights (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) Members Donations March 27 1,298,155 $21,482 May 1 1,334,700 $22,302 June 9 1,369,483 $23,450 Society Against Child Abuse (Prevent Child Abuse America) Members March 27 992,910 May 1 1,028,634 June 9 1,063,844 Save Darfur (Save Darfur Coalition) Members March 27 838,114 May 1 861,317 June 9 882,772 American Red Cross Causes Members Donations Donors May 1 173 147,961 $7,872 163 June 9 190 153,621 $15,848 321 Habitat for Humanity International Causes Members Donations Donors May 46 5,840 $805 22 June 9 44 6,093 $855 24 America’s Second Harvest Causes Members Donations Donors May 1 18 6,111 $310 12 June 9 20 8,267 $410 13 National Public Radio Causes Members Donations Donors May 1 13 7,871 $1,185 40 June 9 13 8,300 $1,220 42 Alzheimer’s Association Causes Members Donations Donors May 1 14 3,855 $365 12 June 9 14 3,989 $415 14 Donations $9,359 $10,340 $12,430 Donations $16,353 $18,341 $19,676 AUGUST 15, 2008 THE NONPROFIT TIMES www.nptimes.com 25 http://www.nptimes.com http://www.nptjobs.com http://www.nptimes.com http://www.exemptmagazine.com http://www.nptimes.com http://www.nptimes.com http://www.nptimes.com
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