E-Fundraising: Starting the Online Relationship
Webinar presented Friday, April 30, 2010
By Rob Lavery CFRE
Resource Development Consultant
Southern Ontario Library Service
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Agenda
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Setting the Context
How do we get started?
– Internal Readiness
– CanadaHelps.org. PayPal
– Other Service Providers
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Next session
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Some Context for Online Giving
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Perception that it’s a minor source of funds
– $3.1 billion in 2008
– 89 million donors in 2008
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From 2008 to 2009, 65% of nonprofits experienced
increased online giving (2,335 nonprofits)
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Nearly half of online giving in 2009 is processed in the last
quarter of the year, with fully 30% in December alone.
Average online gift in 2009 was $145 – slightly down from
2008
Average gift to Haiti relief efforts was $124
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Some Context for Online Giving
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Online as a component of your FR program
– Another way to ask
– High level of convenience
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Average gift larger than other methods
Cost per $ raised lower
Acquisition cheaper
Younger demographic, resulting in lifetime value greater
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Some Context for Online Giving
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Benefits of Online Giving
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Donors find you
Less expensive than offline
Faster than offline
Automated
Interactive
Viral
Online donors give more
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Some Context for Online Giving
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Disadvantages
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Convincing the board
Spam
Online donors are harder to renew
Online donors are younger
Online is not tangible
Losing its lustre?
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Some Context for Online Giving
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Most people don’t give online because they’re scared
– Of those who visited a charity’s website, 60% go to
donation pages
– Of those who visit donation pages, 30% begin a
donation transaction
– Only 3% complete the gift
As a preference, online giving increased from 4% to 10% - but still
lags behind in-person and mail
Barriers to online giving were expressed a number of ways – don’t
trust the internet, questions about security, don’t know who’s getting
the donation – all were really concerns about security.
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Recent observations
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51% of Major Donors prefer donating online over traditional
channels
80% of Major Donors give online
Huge year over year increases for events and other online
programs
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Getting Started – Internal Preparedness
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Money – processing credit cards costs $
Staff – increased activity, robust website
Time – immediate results?
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Getting Started – Internal Preparedness
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Planning Process
– Create a website that reflects your strategic
development plan and integrates your offline
program
– Create a donor-centred website
– Make the website interactive
 Discover
 Do Something
 Donate
– Drive people to your website
– Capture visitor information
– Send outgoing appeals
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Getting Started – Addressing the Barriers
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Security –
– Are you currently setup for ecommerce?
– Are you trust-worthy?
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Alternatives to doing it ourselves?
– CanadaHelps.org
– PayPal
– Other contracted services
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CanadaHelps.org
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Its mission is to provide low-cost online donation services to
donors and the Canadian charities they support.
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A charity helping charities
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A public foundation
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CanadaHelps.org
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Secure online donations
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3% per-transaction fee
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Wide range of donation options:
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monthly giving
peer-to-peer fundraising/giving pages
in memoriam donations
in honour of donations
donations by fund/campaign
gifts of securities
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CanadaHelps.org – Benefits of Registering
1. Offer online donations to your donors with the Donate Now!
Button
2. Affordable online donation solution
3. Offer many giving options to donors
4. Access donor information instantly
5. Customization of the donation process
6. Ensure the security of your donors online
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CanadaHelps.org – Admin Cost
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The 3% covers the costs of processing the transaction, specifically:
– Credit card fees
– Banking fees
– Disbursement costs
– Receipting, processing etc…
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97% gets deposited in your account
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CanadaHelps.org - Benefits
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Enhance your profile through customization
Fund designations
Security and Privacy
Funds are disbursed weekly by EFT directly into your bank
account
Tax receipts are issued automatically
New partnerships and products
Non-exclusive
Don’t need to set up your own merchant account for online
donations
Fully bilingual donation process
Quick and easy registration
You’re there already!
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CanadaHelps.org
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A quick tour
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Link from Barrie PL
Donor interface
Giving Pages
Types of donations
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PayPal – another option
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Pay Pal has huge reach
– 100,000+ nonprofits worldwide
– Raising $850 million annually
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High level of concern about financial information security
– Paypal offers secure accounts
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Paypal has a high conversion rate for express checkout
– fewer abandoned transactions – almost 30% higher
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Reports include full contact information, amount of donation
and method of payment
Paypal widgets on social media sites
Contract with Paypal
– Pricing – 1.9% + $0.30 to 2.9% + $0.30 depending
on volume
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Artez – Another Option
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Artez Interactive
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Major Event Module
Personal Giving Pages
Direct Donations
Tribute and In Memoriam
Merchandise
Mobile Communicator
Vendor for major pledge events in the province
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Convio – another option
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New vendor for Run for the Cure
Offers similar functions as Artez
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Mistakes to Avoid
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Thinking this is a silver bullet
Isolating the program
Thinking there is a relationship
Are your constituents ready?
Is it easy to find?
Is it easy to use?
Do you have a backup plan?
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Next week
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Developing the donor experience, now that you’ve got them
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Online stewardship
Social media
Optimizing your online presence
Integration of online/offline
What’s next?
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