An online petition in 2003 pushed the Human Rights Campaign into the world of online fund- and friendraising. And the organization never looked back.

By Margaret Battistelli Gardner

The emergence of e-mail as a solid fundraising and advocacy vehicle also means that the e-mail team must be more intimately involved in the politics and programs of an organization because there’s less time for research than when the direct-mail pros are working on their mailings.

Special challenges
Like most organizations, HRC has its own set of mission-specific challenges when it comes to fundraising. First off, its core list is inherently limited. Turning to street and door-to-door canvassing helped alleviate the problem since a majority of the people brought into the organization via face-to-face fundraising, Grams and Crowley believe, are straight. But sexual orientation isn’t the easiest demographic to measure.