Five-Minute Interview With Laura Bykowski
Five-Minute Interview With Laura Bykowski
Dec. 27, 2005
By Abny Santicola, associate editor, FundRaising Success
I recently had the opportunity to pose the following questions to Laura Bykowski, director of Web applications for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, regarding her organization's e-philanthropy efforts. Her responses are below:
FundRaising Success: How does your organization use the Web, e-mail, etc., to raise funds online?
Laura Bykowski: The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has a variety of Internet-based tools for raising funds online. All MSS chapters across the country have the ability to access these tools.
The majority of funds raised online are through MSS events -- the MS Walk, MS Bike Tour and MS Challenge Walk. These include e-pledges (online donations for an individual's participation in an event) and self-pledges, where an event participant can make a pledge during the online registration process for a particular event.
Event participants use our e-mail tools to raise funds online. They can send e-mail requests to friends and family that have links back to their personal or team Web page. Once on their Web page, people can make online pledges, and learn more about the event and the National MS Society.
Beyond special events, we also process general donations, memorial/tribute donations and membership gifts.
FS: How can event participants use the Web to raise funds?
LB: Event participants can:
- create personal and team pages to tell their story and why they're fundraising for the National MS Society;
- send fundraising e-mails to friends and family;
- send e-mails to recruit team members; and
- be notified via e-mail each time they receive an online pledge.
FS: What are some challenges that you've run into in trying to raise funds online and also through these individual fundraising pages?
LB: One of the biggest challenges is harnessing all the great ideas from our fundraisers and keeping our online tools up to date with the latest innovations. Because technology either advances or becomes obsolete, it's a challenging task to continuously modify our tools to stay current with the latest in online fundraising. However, there are many vendors specializing in online fundraising who work with us to stay ahead of the curve.
FS: What are some of the ways to work around these challenges?
LB: We've found some of the most creative ideas come directly from our chapters and event participants. It's important to let people know that their ideas are valuable, and when and how those ideas align with our overall strategic plan.
FS: If you could pass on one tip to other nonprofit organizations in regards to e-philanthropy, what would it be?
LB: Technology isn't responsible for raising money. People are. However, technology is the catalyst to engage and cultivate a broad network of potential donors. These donors have unique needs and varying levels of comfort with technology; therefore, it's important to carefully monitor your organization's online brand experience because it could be the first and only opportunity an individual has to connect with your organization.
