The NonProfit Times - August 15, 2008 - (Page 23)

Limited ‘Face’ Time Most donors on Facebook go unthanked by charities BY MARK HRYWNA T echnology is fast. At any second a GPS unit can track your location and text messages can be sent between continents. Emails packed with data can be received within minutes, if not seconds. So what takes so long for nonprofits to acknowledge an online donation through the Causes application on Facebook? The answers vary, but in most cases, nonprofits are only just starting to develop strategies for how to handle Causes donations via Facebook, others are beginning to direct some resources to it, and still others have yet to realize they’re receiving donations. On May 1, The NonProfit Times made $25 contributions to 10 different Causes on Facebook, selecting the top five Causes (based on number of members) as well as five national organizations in a range of categories. While an immediate generic notification is sent by email to the donor from Network For Good, which processes donations for a cut of 4.75 percent, none of the nonprofits corresponded directly, by email or regular mail, at presstime, some six weeks after the donation. For many nonprofits, they’ve only just begun to catch up to Causes, which was launched in May 2007 by Project Agape. The Berkeley, Calif.-based start-up firm touted more than $2.5 million in donations in its first full year for nearly 20,000 different registered nonprofits, with more than 12 million Facebook users among 80,000 “Causes.” More important than the money raised, say supporters of Causes, is the engagement of Facebook users with the organization. The social networking site first was available only on college campuses, but has seen the average age of a user reach 35. Even some of the largest national organizations have only received a dozen or more donations via Causes and many said they were developing strategies in the coming months. Nonprofits generally respond to donations made on their Web Site or by mail within several days or weeks,but some either were unaware they were even getting donations via Causes or haven’t yet focused resources on Facebook. “No one should be throwing out their postage meter and entirely relying on online fundraising or on friend-to-friend fundraising, but it’s an important piece of the picture and it’s an increasingly big piece of the picture,” said Katya Andresen, vice president of marketing for Bethesda, Md.-based Network For Good. “It’s a new tool in the hands of thousands of people,”Andresen said.“You can’t replace all fundraising but it’s worth culti- vating.” Groups might not see a huge return, but a lot of people might become acquainted with the cause and end up donating to it in the future. Though he wouldn’t call Causes a passing fad,“it’s a fad that hasn’t really caught fire yet,” said Rick Christ, a managing partner with NPadvisors.com in Warrenton, Va. Very few Causes have raised $10,000 but many more have raised smaller amounts, he added. Although fundraising on Causes is peanuts for most nonprofits right now,“clearly, this is the front end of a wave,” said Christ, calling it one of the key trends in online fundraising. Nonprofits will see more advocacy online and more contributions online elsewhere on the Web in the future, rather than on their own sites, Christ said. More people are going to do more things on their own, whether through social networking sites, or other places like Second Life or eBay. “Nonprofits need to be aware of the whole Internet, not only their own site,” said Christ, who tells nonprofits that at any given moment, there are more people passionate about their cause not on their Web site than on their site. Nonprofits can either try to generate as much traffic as Facebook or go where the traffic is and “empower people to do more where they are,” he said, and right now, that’s Facebook.“When you dominate a market, you need to go to that domination and be part Limited ‘Face’ Time, page 24 NONPROFIT STYLES Continued from page 22 of the MISS Foundation in Peoria,Ariz., continues to make black bracelets a symbol for her organization and those mourning the loss of a child. She hasn’t seen a significant decline in sales in recent years and still gets bulk orders from hospices and hospitals to include in bereavement packets. The MISS bracelets are black with the inscription,“In mourning,”said Cacciatore, as “a kind of ritualization of the important part of the bereavement process.” In some cultures, people still wear black armbands when in mourning and during the Victorian Era it was black lapel pins, she said, so the bracelets have contemporized it. “It’s kind of made it a little more trendy to say, ‘I’m in mourning.’ A lot of people buy them when the initial trauma and death occurs, as an outward symbol of grief.” An all-volunteer organization, MISS Foundation has 77 chapters around the world.The bracelets are a “very tiny part of the annual budget,” Cacciatore said, as most of it comes from private donations. She estimates sales, not including bulk orders, of about 1,500 a month. The organization buys the bracelets for about 30 cents a piece and sells them for a dollar. Licensing their trademarks can mean millions for nonprofit organizations. For many years, Save The Children (STC) sold neckties featuring children’s artwork and designs. In an effort reinvigorate the market, the Westport, Conn.-based nonprofit tion.“It’s less on child-like art and a more design-centric line of product,” said Liz Sheppard, associate vice president for corporate partnerships. The ties debuted at an apparel show this past February in Las Vegas, where they were very well received, she said, sparking interest from five retailers. The ties were available for purchase on the Web beginning May 1. The classic line of ties will remain available. Considered a hallmark of STC’s products, the ties were launched in 1992 with Randa Accessories taking it over in 1998. “It was very successful until late, maybe the past year or two,” Sheppard said. “The designs were not refreshed enough. With apparel and accessories, it’s really about design. Any licensor worth The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation sells related merchandise for its their salt will tell you that. Team Challenge and other programs, such as fleeces and hats. Even if a consumer has an affinity for a product, they don’t like to licensee and created an new line of ties buy six of the same thing.” based on the regions where the charity Randa is licensed to use the STC tradeworks. In addition to collections that will mark and under that agreement has the represent Africa, Asia, Latin America and right to produce and market ties, based on the Middle East, STC will have a U.S. coldesigns the charity approves.“They do the lection as well as a special Darfur collecwill re-launch a new collection in time for Father’s Day this month. With interest waning on the retail front after many years, STC got together with its heavy lifting,” Sheppard said, with 3 percent of the retail price ($29.99) from each tie going to the charity. Last year, merchandise made up part of the $11 million in “other revenue,” and provided unrestricted funds for STC. The licensee is a privately held company, Sheppard said, so it doesn’t like to discuss revenue details. At one point, STC had a fairly robust children’s program but it ran into the same issue as the ties, and so the charity “pulled back on a number agreements,” said Kymm Carlson, associate director, retail partnerships and product marketing. Its children’s program ran the gamut, including things such as bedding, home furnishings and toys, but are no longer available in the general market. The market, Carlson said, has seen a significant shift in the market toward promotional children’s properties, Carlson said, with more competition from Disney and Nickelodeon while the retail world has shrunk to just several large entities, like Wal-Mart,Target and Kmart.“It’s become a very competitive market and you need to take a very strategic approach,” she said. While some licenses work out and others are successful and simply run their course, there have been those that just never did work for some reason. “Every once in awhile, you have a license with great intentions and it just doesn’t take off,”Carlson said,pointing to a doll licensee or two that weren’t as successful. NPT AUGUST 15, 2008 THE NONPROFIT TIMES www.nptimes.com http://NPadvisors.com http://www.nptimes.com

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The NonProfit Times - August 15, 2008 The World’s Best Fundraisers Holiday Jeer Contents ‘Donate Now’ Atlanta Luring Major Charities Expenses Continue To Put Stress On Nonprofit Budgets Fuel Costs Eating Up Food Banks Get An Email Address, Generate Income Unique Items Drive Fundraising Auctions Nonprofit Styles Aren’t Out Of Fashion Limited ‘Face’ Time NPT Jobs Resource Directory

The NonProfit Times - August 15, 2008

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