There are a variety of strategies which work best and some which don't. I found this About.com article which provides tips on how to make a fundraising drive successful, such as creating target dates, providing a focus for a successful campaign and importantly, graphical-user interface in providing for an efficient presentation and ease-of-use in the donation process. While there are a variety of different sites and programs, here are a few I've stumbled upon and found to be helpful in the process of asking and giving, the digital way.
Causes on Facebook
Founded in 2007, Causes is an online fundraising component for Facebook. With about 100 million users, 350,000 fundraising campaigns and $25 million raised, it is also the largest of its kind. The key advantage to Causes is its simple to use format, in which users can join or create a cause, invite people to participate and donate. With Facebook causes, users can create fundraising/non-profit campaigns, invite people to join those campaigns and ultimately contribute to the campaigns. For the fundraiser, donation goals, birthday wish donations (in which users can donate on behalf of a Facebook or Causes user during his/her birthday to a charity) and petitions can be created in an effort to promote ideas and encourage contributors to donate. For example a non-profit group can set up a goal of $500 in a month for a campaign to support after-school programs for inner-city students. Some users commit long-term to causes, even using the site as a means to connect with others and provide their input into the causes they support. The best part of Causes is it's absolutely free for non-profits. Donations are processed through the Network for Good donation service which charges donors 4.75 percent fee for tax receipts provided to the non-profits. Additionally, Causes, like Facebook, is place where donors can network and connect with other donors, share their thoughts, post on campaign walls and provide input into their ideas. There are no specified limits to how much money a non-profit can accept through Facebook causes. Usually most non-profits will engage in smaller-scale and short-term fundraising drives such (i.e. $5,000 in one month). However, some of the larger scale projects such as the Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta have accepted as much as $1 million in donations and have one million users. It is recommended that users looking to create campaigns provide continuous The key disadvantage, however to causes, is that it is intended for 501(c)3 non-profit organizations. To accept donations, one must be registered as a non-profit and listed on the non-profit database Guidestar. So, for example, if you are start-up unregistered non-profit (for example a group that wishes to become a non-profit), an individual or a business looking to create a fundraising effort to save the whales, or feed the homeless, then Causes is not an ideal option. Anonymous donors are also accepted. However, if an organization were to provide a reward to donors, it would be advised that users donate in name, such is the case with any other fundraising project. Additionally, for now, only U.S. non-profits may use Causes, though they are planning to add more countries in the future. Causes is the site I primarily use in the donation and charitable networking campaign. I have worked with causes on a variety of campaigns. More recently, I have began using Causes with one of the non-profit organizations I work for, Wells Bring Hope, a group dedicated to bringing clean water to the people of Niger by drilling wells. One of our recent challenges came from an anonymous donor who committed to donating $3,000 if 1,000 people become fans of our Facebook page, or $3 for every Facebook fan. Through causes we have been able to integrate our Facebook page campaign with our causes page. Additionally, here are several causes pages I have developed over the years; Project Accountability, a non-profit gang-prevention organization I worked for as part of a senior-year project at my university. The Global Summit, a global policy and sustainability conference held in San Francisco. Empowerment Works, the group behind the Global Summit
Jumo
Jumo is one of the newest online fundraising websites, founded by Facebook Co-Founder Chris Hughes. The site is currently in Beta, having only launched on November 30, 2010. Jumo in many ways is similar to Facebook and Causes in that it is a social networking site dedicated to non-profit causes, accepts donations and allows social media users to connect with others, like any other social media site. I chose Jumo, particularly because one of the non-profit organizations I work for, Wells Bring Hope, began using Jumo, in addition to causes, to accept donations. It differs from causes in that the site is a different interface and provides a more Facebook-ish GUI, allowing people to follow sites, comment, post, share links/video/news and, of course, donate. What sets Jumo apart according to its website, "Jumo aims to build lasting relationships to the causes you care about. We’re not interested in a one-time donation or a $10 text message to a cause or organization you never return to; Jumo is interested in building an informed community of people invested in the long-term successes of effective organizations. We provide meaningful opportunities to make a difference in the world around you." Like Causes, only 501(c)3 registered non-profits can accept donations and are processed through Network for Good which charges donors a 4.75 fee in addition to what they donate. Considering its beta stage, there is still room to grow, although a number of non-profit charities such as Teach for America and the American Red Cross have joined in.
Chipin
ChipIn is a simple fundraising website and widget that accepts donations through PayPal, thus unlike Causes and Jumo, anyone can set up a fundraising campaign and accept donations. For example, if I wanted to create a fundraising effort to save a community theater from closing down but don't have a non-profit or any other means of funding, then ChipIn probably works best. Creating a fundraising campaign on ChipIn is real simple, as a prompt, the sites asks your email address, how much you wish to collect and what are you collecting for. From there, you can set up a ChipIn widget for your website or social media page. ChipIn works on a variety of programs such as WordPress, TypePad, MySpace and Facebook. The advantage, or disadvantage, depending on how one views it, however, is that all funds go exclusively to PayPal rather than a specific fundraiser-based programs like Network for Good. This works because it does not require a fundraiser to have a non-profit organization. However, since transactions are made through PayPal, transactions can be less secure than Network for Good, as PayPal accounts are personally managed. Nevertheless, the funds received and managed are in the hands of the fundraiser(s) which ultimately helps. However, while there is a widget, there is yet to be an actual Facebook application, like Causes, which can be featured on a site, so one may want to create a FBML page, which is basically Facebook's HTML feature, and implement it there. More information on creating an FBML page can be found here. From there a user can add a FBML page and implement the code provided for the widget there. I particularly looked into ChipIn after doing some research and reading into a few articles. There have been various charities I have donated to using the ChipIn platform and so far they appear to work quite well.
GiveForward.org
GiveForward is similar to ChipIn in that anyone can create a fundraiser campaign for a variety of causes, ranging from paying for one's medical bills to building schools in the third world. It is considered to be a more popular tool among individuals looking to generate revenue to fund a variety of causes. For example, in 2009, two sisters raised $31,000 to fund a kidney transplant using GiveForward. From a personal standpoint, I have little experience with GiveForward, but its simplistic user-friendly interface makes creating a fundraising effort, and donating to one, real easy and on my research, an efficient tool in implementing a donor-based cause, hence the reason I chose and recommend it. GiveForward, unlike Jumo or Causes, is not a social networking site. Really it is a simple donation site, where fundraisers can create campaigns, post pictures and videos and content and accept donations. Donors are listed on the site and may post optional thank you messages. The key advantage to GiveForward is that anyone can create a fundraising campaign, not just nonprofits. However GiveForward charges fundraisers six cents for every dollar raised. Only credit card transactions are accepted. For fundraisers, donations are directly processed, rather than through Network for Good, and donations are distributed to fundraisers on a monthly basis. The key to campaign success is how the cause is promoted. GiveForward.org, may be a well-known site among fundraising/non-profit circles, however for those less familiar, GiveForward provides an online widget which can featured on websites and social media pages. That can be found by clicking the "Get The Fundraisers Widget" button on the middle-left hand of a campaign page and shared with Facebook friends, linked to Twitter followers and even featured on websites. The widget is a key element in increasing awareness about a cause. However, while there is a widget, there is yet to be an actual Facebook application, like Causes, which can be featured on a site, so one may want to create a FBML page, which is basically Facebook's HTML feature, and implement it there. Access to the FBML feature on Facebook can be found here. From there a user can add a FBML page and implement the code provided for the widget there. Given its success the site has received quite some press from the Wall Street Journal, NBC and Mashable.
FirstGiving
FirstGiving is a similar website to GiveForward. FirstGiving is the U.S. version of JustGiving, a U.K.-based non-profit fundraising site which has since expanded. Again, like GiveForward, Causes, Jumo and ChipIn, the easy to use interface is the key attraction and in my research provides specific details as to how an organization or an individual can set up a page and launch donor campaigns. Non-profits such as the YMCA and Habitat for Humanity use this tool. What drew me to FirstGiving is its user-friendly interface akin to GiveForward. Like GiveForward, fundraisers can create sites and accept donations. FirstGiving accepts both non-profit and individual fundraisers and users can showcase their sites and campaigns on their websites and social media sites. The disadvantage with using FirstGiving, however, is, like GiveForward, there is a 6 percent charge administered to fundraisers. However, unlike GiveForward, fundraisers get their money weekly, rather than monthly. Like the many other widgets fundraising sites use, FirstGiving recently launched a Donate Now component, though it's currently in BETA stage and links to instructions are not available. Nevertheless the site is credited with having 8,000 non-profit users, 13 million donors and $1 billion donated.
So there is my brief guide on social media fundraising sites. Hope this helps. Enjoy.
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