Four Tips to Tackling Emergency Web Fundraising

Four Tips to Tackling Emergency Web Fundraising

April 11, 2006

By Abny Santicola, editor, FundRaising Success Advisor

Like many organizations in 2005, the North Shore Animal League America was faced with the challenge of raising funds fast to respond to Hurricane Katrina. Speaking in a session at the DMA Nonprofit Federation Conference in Washington, D.C., in February, Vice President of Development Alesia Soltanpanah said that during its Katrina-relief effort, the organization created a page much like its home page devoted to Katrina donations.

This was one of four tips Soltanpanah shared for organizations faced with the challenge of emergency Web fundraising. They are:

1) Create a light version of the home page that will be less likely to crash with the heavy traffic that comes in during a crisis.

2) Get the new home page up fast. Try for same-day turnaround, even on a weekend, and keep the focus on the emergency.

3) Organize a crisis communications team and hold regular meetings on emergency messaging for the Web.

4) Be prepared for Web downtime.

The Katrina home page, Soltanpanah said, used Web-safe colors, limited graphics and a clear "donate" button, as well as interactive elements to drive traffic and donations.

Surveys, she added, "can be fun and educational."

"They also can be used to gather information from donors/visitors," she said, recommending that surveys be kept short and simple. She also recommended using a chat or celebrity/expert column, made interactive through a Q&A.

Other interactive elements organizations can employ include:

• Summary of giving. This gives donors "a reason to visit, especially at the end of the year," Soltanpanah said, adding that organizations should incorporate an ask during tax season.
• Personalized donations. "E-cards always work because it allows for immediate gifts during holidays and tells others about your organization when they are sent," she said.
• Advocacy. Asking donors to take an action on one of your campaigns makes them advocates for your mission and often leads them to encourage others to support your cause, Soltanpanah said.

Just having a Web site isn't enough though. One key tactic for driving traffic to your site is public relations. According to Soltanpanah, Howard Stern mentioned NSALA on his show last year and helped the organization raise more than $1 million online and on the phone. You can also offer special incentives to entice visitors to provide e-mail addresses, e.g., "access to experts, celebrities, personalized updates and other e-mail only offers," she added.

As a result of these efforts, NSALA went from an opt-in e-mail base of 33,000 in 2004 to 80,000 in 2005. The organization raised $1.1 million in three months, netting an average online gift of $73.28 in 2005 as opposed to an average gift of $44.51 in 2004.

Alesia Soltanpanah can be reached via http://www.nsalamerica.org