How Did Online Fund Raising Fare In 2008?

Online giving remained relatively strong in 2008, despite the creaky economy.

Full-text article by Caroline Preston available via The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 1.06.09.

Rapid Donor Cultivation

Common Knowledge presents a new concept in online fundraising—Rapid Donor Cultivation (RDC). The motivation for this service is the maximization of the return on investment (ROI) of a nonprofit’s email subscriber acquisition efforts.

The background paper is available via Common Knowledge (free registration is required).

Perfecting Your Page: Can donation page optimization boost online giving?

Read a new 5/9/08 report from Donordigital on webpage optimization:

Overview

Online fundraising has become a growing source of income for many non-profits over the past 10 years. But while organizations typically spend lots of time spent developing clever, creative, and inspirational online content, they often overlook more mundane aspects of online appeals that can make a big difference in converting advocates, subscribers, and other supporters into donors. Specifically, while email and web page copy may persuade people to "click to donate now," less than half of those who click through to the donation page (and often just a few percent) typically complete the donation transaction. Marketers are increasingly turning their attention and resources to landing page optimization.

In partnership with Donordigital, Amnesty International USA embarked on a project aimed at improving donation landing page conversions before the important end-of-year fundraising season in order to increase total donations.

View the report.