E-Fundraising: Starting the Online Relationship

1. E-Fundraising: Starting the Online Relationship Webinar presented Friday, April 30, 2010 By Rob Lavery CFRE Resource Development Consultant Southern Ontario Library Service

2. Agenda • Setting the Context • How do we get started? • Internal Readiness • CanadaHelps.org. PayPal • Other Service Providers • Next session

3. Some Context for Online Giving • Perception that it’s a minor source of funds • $3.1 billion in 2008 • 89 million donors in 2008 • From 2008 to 2009, 65% of nonprofits experienced increased online giving (2,335 nonprofits) • Nearly half of online giving in 2009 is processed in the last quarter of the year, with fully 30% in December alone. • Average online gift in 2009 was $145 – slightly down from 2008 • Average gift to Haiti relief efforts was $124

4. Some Context for Online Giving • Online as a component of your FR program • Another way to ask • High level of convenience • Average gift larger than other methods • Cost per $ raised lower • Acquisition cheaper • Younger demographic, resulting in lifetime value greater

6. Some Context for Online Giving • Benefits of Online Giving • Donors find you • Less expensive than offline • Faster than offline • Automated • Interactive • Viral • Online donors give more

7. Some Context for Online Giving • Disadvantages • Convincing the board • Spam • Online donors are harder to renew • Online donors are younger • Online is not tangible • Losing its lustre?

8. Some Context for Online Giving • Most people don’t give online because they’re scared • Of those who visited a charity’s website, 60% go to donation pages • Of those who visit donation pages, 30% begin a donation transaction • Only 3% complete the gift • As a preference, online giving increased from 4% to 10% - but still lags behind in-person and mail • Barriers to online giving were expressed a number of ways – don’t trust the internet, questions about security, don’t know who’s getting the donation – all were really concerns about security.

9. Recent observations • 51% of Major Donors prefer donating online over traditional channels • 80% of Major Donors give online • Huge year over year increases for events and other online programs

10. Getting Started – Internal Preparedness • Money – processing credit cards costs $ • Staff – increased activity, robust website • Time – immediate results?

11. Getting Started – Internal Preparedness • Planning Process • Create a website that reflects your strategic development plan and integrates your offline program • Create a donor-centred website • Make the website interactive • Discover • Do Something • Donate • Drive people to your website • Capture visitor information • Send outgoing appeals

12. Getting Started – Addressing the Barriers • Security – • Are you currently setup for e-commerce? • Are you trust-worthy? • Alternatives to doing it ourselves? • CanadaHelps.org • PayPal • Other contracted services

13. CanadaHelps.org • Its mission is to provide low-cost online donation services to donors and the Canadian charities they support. • A charity helping charities • A public foundation

14. CanadaHelps.org • Secure online donations • 3% per-transaction fee • Wide range of donation options: • monthly giving • peer-to-peer fundraising/giving pages • in memoriam donations • in honour of donations • donations by fund/campaign • gifts of securities

15. CanadaHelps.org – Benefits of Registering 1. Offer online donations to your donors with the Donate Now! Button 2. Affordable online donation solution 3. Offer many giving options to donors 4. Access donor information instantly 5. Customization of the donation process 6. Ensure the security of your donors online

16. CanadaHelps.org – Admin Cost • The 3% covers the costs of processing the transaction, specifically: • Credit card fees • Banking fees • Disbursement costs • Receipting, processing etc… • 97% gets deposited in your account

17. CanadaHelps.org - Benefits • Enhance your profile through customization • Fund designations • Security and Privacy • Funds are disbursed weekly by EFT directly into your bank account • Tax receipts are issued automatically • New partnerships and products • Non-exclusive • Don’t need to set up your own merchant account for online donations • Fully bilingual donation process • Quick and easy registration • You’re there already!

18. CanadaHelps.org • A quick tour • Link from Barrie PL • Donor interface • Giving Pages • Types of donations

19. PayPal – another option • Pay Pal has huge reach • 100,000+ nonprofits worldwide • Raising $850 million annually • High level of concern about financial information security • Paypal offers secure accounts • Paypal has a high conversion rate for express checkout • fewer abandoned transactions – almost 30% higher • Reports include full contact information, amount of donation and method of payment • Paypal widgets on social media sites • Contract with Paypal • Pricing – 1.9% + $0.30 to 2.9% + $0.30 depending on volume

20. Artez – Another Option • Artez Interactive • Major Event Module • Personal Giving Pages • Direct Donations • Tribute and In Memoriam • Merchandise • Mobile Communicator • Vendor for major pledge events in the province

21. Convio – another option • New vendor for Run for the Cure • Offers similar functions as Artez

22. Mistakes to Avoid • Thinking this is a silver bullet • Isolating the program • Thinking there is a relationship • Are your constituents ready? • Is it easy to find? • Is it easy to use? • Do you have a backup plan?

23. Next week • Developing the donor experience, now that you’ve got them • Online stewardship • Social media • Optimizing your online presence • Integration of online/offline • What’s next?