Trust and charities: getting on the front foot

Over Christmas, I caught up with lots of friends and family I hadn't seen in some time.

Twice during this period, the conversation turned to charity. Once, ignoring the fact I was sitting there (despite knowing broadly what I do for a job) and the other time because I was sitting there. In other words, friends felt they could vent with/at me knowing what I do.

Both dialogues were similar. Murmurings of "not sure which charities I could trust" to "Can't believe they waste money sending me these letters".

At the heart of both of these tirades from those close to me, was a severe lack of trust born out of two things. No real education on how charities do their work and an inherent belief that if charities spend money it must be wasteful.

So after some pretty lengthy discussions about the world we live in and the economics of fundraising, I got thinking.

Are we doing ourselves any favors or do we sit on our hands and cop this flak?

Not surprisingly, for the most part its the latter. It's reactionary. And of course is hurts us as a sector.

I turned to the web to take a peek at whether organizations help themselves either 'organically' through search (in other words, are they helping themselves with the content on their sites), and/or through paid advertising.

Here is what I found.

The first screen shot here shows what happens when I enter 'which charities should I trust?'



The answer is not much. Wikipedia references to to charitable trusts, as opposed to trusting charities ranks first. In terms of paid ads (right hand side of the page) little action, and nothing at all from industry groups promoting giving and philanthropy.

Of course you'll notice that third on the organic listing is charity watchdog Charity Navigator. That's about as much air time as they'll get here, their measures flawed and destructive as they're based solely on unfair financial measurements and not on real charitable impact.

So where are we?

I found it interesting that industry bodies, nor charities for that matter have taken the bull by the horns here? Do we not talk about why we're a trustworthy organization that is having impact? Either within the content on our site, or by paying for keywords through Google ads?

Then this, when I typed 'which charities should i donate to?'



A slightly different story here. Whilst you could argue they're different scenarios, a much more proactive approach taken with several organizations (highlighted on right hand side) bidding for these keywords either using paid ads or through their Google Grants.

The point?

There's a lot written about mistrust of many wonderful organizations in our sector. We spend a lot of time talking about industry bodies, task-forces, working groups. All aimed at sticking up for what we do. Being on the front foot.

Yet there are some perfectly good opportunities to do this, very simply, very easily. And we're missing it.

Please get on the front foot.

For more stuff on how to use Google AdWords, visit an earlier post.

Jonathon

Thank you from MSF

Just received this from Médecins Sans Frontières Canada and was compelled to share it.

A wonderful way to say thank you, through the use of a remarkable story.

Why is it so good?

- It wasn't about MSF, it was about me. And my partnership as a monthly donor. In fact 11 times, I heard the words you/you're.

- The timing was great. Just as we are winding down for the Holiday season, a timely reminder of why I support MSF. How do you think I go into 2011 feeling about the work they do?

- A story. Yes, a wonderful, warm and moving story about a beautiful little girl called Mirlanda. Shared by video.

- The email did all the things it should, and easily. All the good stuff before the fold, was viewable as a landing page if not through your email platform and I could share it with a friend.

- It bought me really close. Not just through Mirlanda's story, but by showing me the sign made by the people of Haiti. Love it.

- I was thanked six times in the email. And genuinely.

Hats off to the MSF team for inspiring me, and hopefully many others at the end of 2010. Keep up the amazing work helping people like Mirlanda.

For more thank you tips, check out an earlier post here.

Jonathon

Fundraising resolutions: version 2011

Not a big one for forlorn new years promises, but thought it would be a bit of fun (and a good checklist to look back on) to pen some fundraising resolutions for 2011.

Here goes. My plan to become a better fundraiser next year.

- Increase my thirst for knowledge. Read more (blogs, articles, papers), absorb as much as I can from the thought leaders in our sector, be a bigger sponge for learning.

- Stop putting things off. As a wise school teacher once told me, 'procrastination is the thief of time'. Smart man he was. I need to just get on with things.

- Listen more. To those who I agree with, to those who think differently. Pause more often and simply hear what others have to say.

- Be tenacious about testing. Challenge conventional thinking, test more than ever.

- Look outside. Not just outside the walls of the agency, but outside the sector. Most of the new stuff I learnt in 2010 was from the commercial sector. Not because they're smarter, but because I looked more than I normally would outside our own world.

- Empower others to do even better. My job is about changing the mindset and actions of others as well as my own. Spend more time on changing behavior than I did in 2010.

- Get the balance right between learning from what worked and learning from what didn't. Not too much back slapping (the road to failure is paved with success), not too much castigating your own work.

When I think I've done what I said I would do, read the list again from start to finish.

What are your 2011 fundraising resolutions?

Jonathon

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Holiday giving online

Here's some data showing the spread of gifts given online through the months of November and December, last year. The data is from Australia.



Of course this is linked to when push activity is happening, as you will see from the period around the 10th of November, and the same time in December. When many charities send their first and second waves of their Holiday appeal.

What's more enlightening however are the spikes in the days immediately prior to December 25.

Added to that is the following piece of data which shows an even more stark upward trend post December 25th.



It's important to note this is data from North America, and there is definitely some end of year tax sentiment attached.

So what does all of this mean?

For me there are two things:

- It indicates the tremendous value in end of year e-pushes attached to your other channels. If you're not incorporating multi layered approaches, you should be.

- It isn't too late to appeal immediately prior December 25 and December 31. Don't assume the Holiday period ends when the Christmas calendar tells you.

A final health warning attached: apply the same principles to your digital activity at this time as you would any offline approach. Be relevant, clear, compelling, and make the decision to donate and the action attached really, really easy to complete.

Jonathon