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Mother’s Day Tribute Card Campaign

Posted by Alexis Nadin on April 9th, 2012

GlobalGiving’s Mother’s Day Tribute Card Campaign kicks off at 12:01 am EDT on May 1, 2012. GlobalGiving is offering $500 prizes to each of the top 10 projects with the most donors who make donations as gifts. Your project only needs 10 donors to qualify for a bonus prize. Take advantage of this popular holiday and fundraising promotion to drive more donations to your project!

How does it work?

Donors can make a donation as a gift to a friend or family member on your project on www.globalgiving.org by selecting the third giving option, “gift or in honor of,” under the orange donate button on the project page. GlobalGiving will send the gift recipient an email, print-at-home, or physical card. We offer several fun card designs and we give your donors the option to choose a design customized for your project, using your project’s main photo (this option is available for email and print-at-home cards).

The Tribute Card Campaign gives your donors an extra incentive to give to your project(s) during the first two weeks of May. A donation to your project is a fantastic (and easy) gift for Mom on Mother’s Day! It is also a great way to help your organization win an extra $500 in spending money for your programs. What donor doesn’t like to get extra value for their donation?

Terms and Conditions

  • $500 will be awarded to each of the top 10 projects with the most unique donors who make donations as gifts.
  • A project must have at least 10 unique tribute card donors to be eligible for bonus awards;
  • The campaign will begin on Tuesday, May 1 at 12:01 am EDT and will end on Sunday, May 13, 2012 at 11:59 pm EDT.
  • Paper cards, print-at-home cards, and e-cards are all eligible to be included in the campaign.
  • Donations made on www.globalgiving.co.uk or any GlobalGiving corporate sites (including Nike, Global Action Atlas, etc) are NOT eligible for this campaign.
  • Only permanent GlobalGiving partners (not those participating in the Monthly Invitational) are eligible for this campaign.
  • Projects must be live on the GlobalGiving site by 5 pm EDT on Monday, April 30, 2012 to be included in this campaign.
  • Only online donations will qualify for this campaign; no check donations will be accepted.
  • Unique donors are determined using numerous criteria, including name, email address, credit card number, mailing address, and IP address. We are monitoring these and other parameters in our system to ensure that only unique, distinct donors are counted towards the threshold.
  • Please note that GlobalGiving maintains the right to make a final decision on all matters concerning the adjudication of unique donors and final results of campaign.

Tips for Promoting your Projects

As always, we encourage you to use project reports, email newsletters, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media to spread the word about this campaign! Donors won’t give unless you ask. Here are some tips to help you craft your communications:

  1. 1. Share a direct link to the “gift or in-honor-of” tab on your project page.  Donors give when it’s easy. Include the direct link in all of your emails, project reports, and social media messages. Here’s how you create the direct link to the “gift” option:
  2. [Project URL] + ?show=gift
  4. See an example of the direct link here: http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/empowerment-of-teenage-mothers/?show=gift.
  1. 2. Market this campaign as a “last minute gift idea” for Mom! This campaign starts just 12 days before Mother’s Day. Remind your supporters that GlobalGiving offers e-cards and print-at-home cards, making a donation to your project the perfect last-minute Mother’s Day gift!
  2. 3. Give your supporters specific gift options–$50 provides a microloan to a woman in Uganda or $40 provides one year of school for a child in India. This makes it easy for your donors to decide what to give Mom!
  3. 4.  Encourage moms to ASK for a donation to your project as a gift for Mother’s Day! Ok, so your supporters have already made donations to your project as gifts. But, have they asked their family and friends for a donation as a gift for Mother’s Day? This is an easy way for your supporters to help you spread the word and mobilize more donors for this campaign!
  4. 5. Share a story and a photo of a child, woman, or furry friend that will benefit from this Mother’s Day gift.
  5. 6. Remind your donors about the added value of making a donation during this campaign—a $500 bonus awards for your organization! Tell your supporters exactly what you could accomplish if you qualify as one of the 10 winners of this campaign. Could you put another child through school? Could you save another acre of rainforest? Whatever it is, let your donors know!

Posted in Campaigns, GlobalGiving, GlobalGiving Tips | Comments Off

Go all out for the 1st Bonus Day of 2012 on March 14th!

Posted by Alexis Nadin on February 24th, 2012

We are quickly approaching the first Bonus Day of 2012! The Bonus Day will start at 12:01 am EST on March 14th, 2012.  GlobalGiving will be matching online donations made on Bonus Day at 30% until the $50,000 in funds runs out. We will also be offering additional prizes for organizations that raise the most on Bonus Day and have the most unique donors. See the official terms and conditions for Bonus Day below.

Last year, organizations raised over $800,000 in three Bonus Days. The October 19th Bonus Day brought in $294,173 alone!

Need some advice for Bonus Day fundraising? Check out our five best tips!

  1. Post a Project Report! This will get sent to all your GlobalGiving donors with the link directly back to your project page. Remember to submit the report no later than March 12th so it gets approved and emailed before Bonus Day! Check out a great Bonus Day report!
  2. Get your supporters to help out! Ask them to spread the word about Bonus Day and rally your donors. Make sure they are well-informed and give them goals for their outreach. Also, consider offering an incentive to the supporter that brings in the most donations!
  3. Start strong and early! Remember, Bonus Day ends when the matching funds run out, so make sure your donors don’t wait until the end of the day. Gain momentum early, Bonus Day starts at 12:01 EST (what time is that where I live?).
  4. Get excited and share! Share on Facebook and tweet on Twitter about this great opportunity and motivate your donors to give to your project. Have your friends and supporters do the same. Ask them to share, comment, like, and tweet at least once on Bonus Day to get the word out.
  5. Remind your donors the morning of Bonus Day! A quick reminder in the morning on Bonus Day can ensure your donors haven’t forgotten to give. Sending a short note and a link to your project page is a great way to make it easy for them to give! You might even want to call some major donors.

Bonus Day terms:

  • There is $50,000 available matching funds;
  • Matching is applied at 30% up to $1,000 per donor per project on March 14, 2012 between 12:01am and 11:59 pm EDT (GMT-5) until matching funds run out;
  • Projects must be approved and live on the GlobalGiving.org website by March 12th  to be eligible;
  • The organization that raises the most funds on Bonus Day will receive an additional $1,000 from GlobalGiving.
  • The organization that has the most unique donors on Bonus Day will receive an additional $1,000 from GlobalGiving.
  • Projects participating in the March Invitational Challenge are NOT eligible for Bonus Day
  • Only online donations (credit card or PayPal) are eligible for matching. Donations made by check or text-to-give are not eligible;
  • All online donations received through the GlobalGiving.org site will be eligible for the 30% matching funds and additional $1,000 prizes. Donations made on www.globalgiving.co.uk or any GlobalGiving corporate sites (including Nike, Eli Lilly, Global Action Atlas, etc) are NOT eligible for matching.
  • We encourage you to get donations in early, because matching funds will likely run out before the end of the day.

Please note that GlobalGiving maintains the right to make a final decision on all matters concerning the adjudication of unique donors and final results of Bonus Day and will adjust results accordingly.

Good Luck!

Posted in Campaigns, GlobalGiving, GlobalGiving Tips | Comments Off

Make the Most of GlobalGiving in 2012

Posted by Alexis Nadin on January 23rd, 2012

A few weeks ago, GlobalGiving announced our 2012 Calendar. It includes the dates of our 2012 Bonus Days—March 14, June 13, and October 17–along with our contests and campaigns for the year. In February, we’ll be hosting our first-ever video contest, giving your organization the chance to be featured in GlobalGiving’s Facebook and Twitter outreach. In May we’re hosting a Tribute Card Campaign in time for Mother’s Day and in September we’re offering our first-ever Fundraiser Campaign. Check out the calendar to learn more about these campaigns and more!

On Wednesday, January 11th, GlobalGiving hosted a training to go over this calendar and to help you develop a fundraising strategy for your project(s) on GlobalGiving in 2012. Listen to the recording here. Take a look at the presentation slides here. We’ve provided a brief summary of the training below.

Create Your GlobalGiving Strategy

Over the years, we’ve found that organizations are most successful on GlobalGiving when they take the time to set goals, create benchmarks, and make a plan for fundraising success. To help you get started, we’ve put together a strategy worksheet. When developing your strategy, make sure to:

  • Include your GlobalGiving strategy in your overall fundraising strategy.
  • Set ambitious, but realistic goals.
  • Plan a calendar. Take advantage of Bonus Days, fundraising campaigns, and contests on GlobalGiving to spur giving throughout the year.
  • Create quarterly benchmarks to help you evaluate your success.
  • Incorporate GlobalGiving’s Partner Rewards Program into your strategy. Understand what your organization needs to do to achieve Superstar status and integrate this into your strategy for the year.

When creating your GlobalGiving strategy for the year, consider whether your organization is making the most of GlobalGiving. There are three things you can do to optimize your fundraising on the site:

Attract New Donors

In 2011, 2.55 million individuals visited GlobalGiving. Over 102,000 donors gave to projects on the site. What can you do to attract GlobalGiving donors to your project(s)?

  • Write a compelling and easy to understand project description! Donors usually spend 30 seconds on a project page before deciding to give. So, grab donors’ attention right away with close-up, high resolution photos, a specific, action-oriented title, an easy to understand, jargon-free project summary, and tangible and realistic donation options. See a great example. Read additional tips for your project description here.
  • Improve your project ranking(s). GlobalGiving ranks projects on the site based on frequency of reporting, the number of donors, and the overall donation volume. This ranking is used to determine the order in which projects appear under each theme and country on the site, as well as the projects that are featured on the homepage. Learn more. You can find your project(s) ranking on the dashboard of the project entry system.

Engage Existing Donors

Attracting donors to your project(s) is only the first step in developing a long-term, valuable relationship with donors. In order to retain donors, it is important to recognize their donation and to continue to engage them through project reports, fundraising campaigns, and donor tools.

  • 46% of donors stop giving because they feel like their donations are not recognized or appreciated. (Read more.) Make sure to send a personal thank you to donors within a week of a donation being made. Read tips for sending a thank you email from the donation manager here. Use thank you notes to notify donors about upcoming campaigns and opportunities to get involved.
  • Campaigns are designed to help you keep your donors engaged! The deadlines and added financial incentives create a sense of urgency to give now. Campaigns also give your donors a reason to reach out to family and friends about supporting your cause. Use the calendar to identify campaigns to keep your supporters engaged throughout the year.
  • Build donation tools—recurring donations, donation as a gift, fundraiser pages—into your regular interactions with your supporters. Are they looking to support your organization around a holiday? Ask them to consider making a donation as a gift. Are they interested in supporting your organization long-term? Recurring donations make it easy!
  • Share success stories and opportunities to get involved through project reports. Don’t forget: project reports are emailed directly to your donors. Use reports as a tool to keep donors engaged and interested in supporting your work. Read more about great project reports here.

Become a Superstar!

We use the Partner Rewards Program to identify organizations to recommend to our corporate partners and to feature in our donor outreach. Superstar and Leader organizations are more likely to be recommended than Partner organizations. You can find your organization’s Partner Rewards Level on the dashboard in the project entry system. Learn how you can become a Superstar by clicking on your Rewards Level.

 

As always, we’re happy to work with you to develop your organization’s fundraising strategy. Set up a call with a GlobalGiving team member here.

Posted in Campaigns, Fundraising Tips, GlobalGiving, GlobalGiving Tips, Trainings | Comments Off

Holiday Fundraising Training – recording & slides

Posted by Alexis Nadin on November 14th, 2011

On Tuesday, November 8th GlobalGiving hosted a training on holiday fundraising. You can listen to the recording here. Read through the slides here.

The following blog posts provide an excellent summary of the information covered in the training:

Posted in Fundraising Tips, GlobalGiving Tips, Trainings | Comments Off

GlobalGiving Holiday Promotions

Posted by Alexis Nadin on November 2nd, 2011

Competition for your donors’ attention and dollars is fierce at this time of the year. We want to help your organization stand out with some exciting holiday promotions.

Tribute Card Campaign – $10,000 in bonus awards!

Did you know that donors can make donations to your project as gifts to friends and family? GlobalGiving will send the gift recipient an email, print-at-home, or physical tribute card. See an example of an email card here. It’s the third giving option under the orange “donate” button on every project page.

This holiday season, we’re giving away $10,000 in bonus awards to the top 15 projects with the most donors who make donations as gifts. This campaign gives your donors an extra incentive to give to your organization during the holiday season. The campaign launches at 12:01 am EST Wednesday, November 23rd and lasts through 11:59 pm EST December 31st.

Terms and Conditions:

  • $10,000 will be awarded in a total of 17 prizes
    • $1,500 will be awarded to the project will the most tribute card dollars
    • $500 will be awarded to 15 projects with the most unique donors giving tribute cards
    • An additional $1,000 will be awarded to the project with the most unique donors giving tribute cards
  • A project must have at least 10 unique tribute card donors to be eligible for bonus awards.
  • The campaign will begin on Wednesday, Nov 23 at 12:01 am EST and will end on Saturday,  Dec 31,  2011 at 11:59 pm EST (GMT-4);
  • Paper cards, print-at-home cards, and e-cards are all eligible to be included in the campaign;
  • Donations made on www.globalgiving.co.uk or any GlobalGiving corporate sites (including Nike, Global Action Atlas, etc) are NOT eligible for this campaign.
  • Only permanent GlobalGiving partners (not those participating in an Open Challenge) are eligible for this campaign.
  • Projects must be live on the GlobalGiving site by 5 pm EST on Tuesday, Nov. 22 to be included in this campaign.

PSST…As part of this exciting campaign, GlobalGiving will be launching e-cards that are branded for your project. Donors will be able to choose an email tribute card customized with your project’s main photo to send to family and friends.

Gifts for Good

Attract new donors to your project through our Gifts for Good campaign! Give away a gift—jewelry, scarves, and more—in exchange for donations of a certain amount ($25, $50, $75). Your gift will be visible in GlobalGiving’s Gifts for Good “store,” which will be featured in our holiday outreach. Use this opportunity to get your project in front of GlobalGiving’s 100,000 newsletter subscribers, 30,000 Twitter followers, and 28,000 Facebook fans.

Participating organizations are responsible for the gift fulfillment (including shipping and handling) of the gifts. GlobalGiving will provide you with the mailing addresses of participating donors. In exchange, you are required to mail (at your organization’s expense) the gifts to the donors. Only organizations based in the U.S or with volunteers in the U.S are eligible to participate.

Submit the Gifts for Good form by November 10th to participate. Email Alexis Nadin at anadin@globalgiving.org for more information.

Mobile Giving

Are you planning a holiday fundraising event? Use GlobalGiving’s text-to-give option to raise money for your GlobalGiving projects at the event! Your projects has its own specific keyword that people can text to donate $10 to your project. The $10-per-text donation is charged to the donor’s phone bill and the donation shows up immediately in our project entry system where you manage your donations.

Your text-to-give call-to action is: “Text GIVE <space> [PROJ. ID] to 80088 to give $10 to [PROJECT NAME] on GlobalGiving.” Wherever you include this call-to-action—brochures, slide show presentation, etc.—you MUST include the carrier compliance disclaimer verbatim visibly on the same page (see examples below).

Remember that text donations aren’t disbursed for about 3 months after they are made. You also do not receive names or contact information for your text-to-give donors. So think carefully about when mobile giving is the best donation option. Read more about mobile giving.

For messaging in print:
$10.00 donation to [PROJECT NAME] on GlobalGiving. Charges will appear on your wireless bill, or be deducted from your prepaid balance. All purchases must be authorized by account holder. Message and Data Rates May Apply. Text STOP to 80088 to STOP. Text HELP to 80088 for HELP. Full Terms: mGive.org/T. Privacy policy: goto.gg/privacy

  • This disclaimer must be in at least 12 pt font and not blend in with the background. IT must be viewable on the same page without scrolling.
  • “Help” and “Stop” language must be in bold
  • The Privacy policy and mGive.org/T hyperlinks must be active for web promotions

For announcements at events:
Strive to have a visual call-to-action with the full disclaimer visible during the event, but if it’s verbal only, please include: “Message and data rates may apply. Full terms at mGive.org/T”

Find the correct disclaimers for Facebook, Twitter, and other mediums here.

Want help developing your holiday fundraising strategy?

Join us on Tuesday, November 8th for our Holiday Fundraising Training or sign up for a one-on-one call with GlobalGiving to help plan your holiday fundraising strategy.

Date: Tuesday, November 8th
Times: 9 am EST (This time in your city) and 3 pm EST (This time in your city)
Webinar link: anymeeting.com/globalgiving1 *
*Audio will be available via the webinar link.
Sign up for a reminder.

Posted in Campaigns, Fundraising Tips, GlobalGiving, GlobalGiving Tips | Comments Off

Planning for success this holiday season

Posted by Alexis Nadin on November 2nd, 2011

Did you know that 33% of online giving happens in December?!

Why the flurry of online giving?

In the U.S., all tax deductible donations to non-profits must be made before the end of the year (Dec. 31st) to be eligible for deduction from that year’s taxes. December is also the month of popular American holidays, such as Christmas and Hanukkah. Last year, US retail e-commerce spending for the entire November – December 2010 holiday season reached a record $32.6 billion.

In the U.S, year-end fundraising traditionally begins the Monday after Thanksgiving (Nov. 28), otherwise known as Cyber Monday (which was the largest online spending day of 2010!) but it starts to ramp up for several weeks before. The fundraising seasons lasts until the end of the day on December 31st.

What should you do to get ready?

Make a strategy! Fundraising doesn’t just happen. You have to plan for it. Here are some basic tips for creating a holiday fundraising plan:

1) Set goals. Take a look at your holiday fundraising volume from last year. How much did you raise? How much do you need to raise this year? How much would you like to raise this year? How much do you think you can raise online? In checks? Via text-to-give? Give yourself a specific monetary and donor goal. You may even consider sharing your goals with your donors in your messaging.

2) Mobilize through a campaign. You won’t be the only organization fundraising this holiday season. You will be competing with other organizations for donations from your donors. Use a campaign to galvanize support. Looking for ideas? GlobalGiving has great holiday promotions going on this year. Read more here.

3) Create a communications calendar. Determine how you are going to communicate with your donors—email, Facebook, Twitter, etc.—and when. Think strategically about important dates in November and December:

Remember that you want to be present in your donors’ minds as they’re making giving decisions throughout the holiday season but without being annoying!

4) Develop your messaging. What are you going to say to stand out this holiday season? What photos are you going to show to introduce your donors to the people that they’re helping? What stories are you going to tell to help your donors understand the impact of your organization’s work?

Remember to keep your emails, project reports, and Facebook posts short and sweet. Make your messages about your beneficiaries—what they need and how your donors can help—not about you and your organization. Include a clear call to action and a link to your project page in each of your messages.

5) Evaluate your progress and prepare to be flexible. Why do you set goals? So that you can set benchmarks and evaluate your success. Set some time aside each week during the holiday season to evaluate your fundraising progress. Determine if you’re on track towards meeting your goals and, if not, what you need to do to meet your fundraising goals. Be prepared to be creative and to make last minute changes to your plan.

 

Want help developing your holiday fundraising strategy?

Join us on Tuesday, November 8th for our Holiday Fundraising Training or sign up for a one-on-one call with GlobalGiving to help plan your holiday fundraising strategy.

Date: Tuesday, November 8th
Times: 9 am EST (This time in your city) and 3 pm EST (This time in your city)
Webinar link: anymeeting.com/globalgiving1 *
*Audio will be available via the webinar link.
Sign up for a reminder.

Additional resources:

Posted in Fundraising Tips, GlobalGiving, GlobalGiving Tips | Comments Off

Mobile GlobalGiving

Posted by acarlman on October 20th, 2011

One of our core values is to never settle, so we’re constantly finding new ways to add value to your experience as a nonprofit partner of GlobalGiving. Today we’re excited to announce the soft-launch of mobile giving options for each of your projects on our site! This means that each of your projects has its own specific keyword that people can text to donate $10 to your project. The $10-per-text is charged to the donor’s phone bill and the donation shows up immediately in our project entry system where you manage your donations. (Please feel free to try it out now, and we’ll be doing a full-fledged launch to donors on Oct. 25.)

Why is mobile giving such a big deal?
In the last 3 years, more than 4.4 million Americans have made mobile donations through our partner mGive, resulting in over $50 million for nonprofits. Starting today, we’re making it possible for any project on GlobalGiving to receive text message donations from US donors.

Please read through this entire post to find out more about mobile giving through GlobalGiving! Here are the three main points we’ll cover:

  • You now have mobile giving capabilities for each of your projects (at no extra cost)!
  • Your text-to-give call-to action is: “Text GIVE <space> [PROJ. ID] to 80088 to give $10 to GlobalGiving’s  [PROJECT NAME] project”
  • You must include the carrier compliance terms anytime you invite people to text-to-give.

_______________The GlobalGiving Mobile Giving  Manual________________

What’s the mobile giving call-to-action for my projects?
Every GlobalGiving project has its own project ID number. You can find it on your project page above the project title. You’ll use that Project ID number to create you own text-to-give code.

Find your project ID just above the title of your project.

Once you’ve found the Project ID, you can enter it into the the magic formula for your mobile giving call-to-action:

“Text GIVE <space> [PROJ. ID] to 80088 to give $10 to GlobalGiving’s [PROJECT NAME] project. [DISCLAIMER.]”
or, for example:
“Text GIVE  7481 to 80088 to give $10 to GlobalGiving’s The Underdog Fund Project.  [DISCLAIMER]”

Some key points here:

  • [PROJ.ID] is your unique project ID number
  • There is a space between the word GIVE and your PROJ.ID.
  • You must include “GlobalGiving’s” as a part of the call-to-action because the charge will be listed on their phone bill as a donation to GlobalGiving. (It’s the law!)
  • [DISCLAIMER] indicates the required carrier compliance language.  You must include carrier compliance disclaimers whenever you talk about mobile giving. Look below to find out what the proper disclaimer is for your communication medium.

DID YOU CATCH THAT? You must include the [DISCLAIMER] – the proper carrier compliance language whenever you talk about mobile giving.

What is Carrier Compliance?
GlobalGiving, mGive, and the U.S. wireless carriers are committed to ensuring the future of the mobile fundraising platform. To that end, the carriers have implemented rules and regulations to address privacy and transparency to all wireless subscribers regarding mobile donations. These mandatory notices are required in all mobile calls-to-action across all marketing mediums in the form of disclaimers and terms and conditions. mGive provides the required terms and conditions, but it is GlobalGiving’s responsibility to disclose the required information within the disclaimer with all mobile calls-to-action in market.

Therefore, EVERY TIME you make a “call-to-action” (inviting people to text-to-give) YOU MUST include the correct legal disclaimers verbatim visibly on the same page. Find the type of medium you’ll be using to broadcast your call-to-action below, and then find the proper disclaimer to include:

For posts on Facebook or Twitter:
Terms: mGive.org/t
i.e. “Text GIVE  7481 to 80088 to give $10 to GlobalGiving’s The Underdog Fund project. Terms: mgive.org/t”

For other online messaging:
Note that your donation will be made to the GlobalGiving Foundation – The Underdog Fund. Charges will appear on your wireless bill, or be deducted from your prepaid balance. All purchases must be authorized by account holder. You must reply YES to confirmation message. Must be 18 years of age or have parental permission to participate. Text STOP to 80088 to STOP. Text HELP to 80088 for HELP. Message and data rates may apply.  Msg&Data rates may apply. Full Terms: mGive.org/T. Privacy Policy: goto.gg/privacy.

  • This disclaimer must be in at least 12 pt font and not blend in with the background. It must be viewable on the same page without scrolling.
  • “HELP” and “STOP” language must be in bold
  • The privacy policy and mGive.org/T hyperlinks must be active for web promotions

 

For messaging in print:
$10.00 donation to GlobalGiving’s [PROJECT NAME] project. Note that your donation will be made to the GlobalGiving Foundation – [PROJECT NAME]. Charges will appear on your wireless bill, or be deducted from your prepaid balance. All purchases must be authorized by account holder. Must be 18 years of age or have parental permission to participate.  Msg&Data rates may apply. Text STOP to 80088 to STOP. Text HELP to 80088 for HELP. Full Terms: mGive.org/T. Privacy policy: goto.gg/privacy

  • This disclaimer must be in at least 12 pt font and not blend in with the background. IT must be viewable on the same page without scrolling.
  • “HELP” and “STOP” language must be in bold
  • The privacy policy and mGive.org/T hyperlinks must be active for web promotions

 

For verbal-only calls-to-action at events:
Strive to have a visual call-to-action with the full disclaimer visible during the event, but if it’s verbal only, please include: “Message and data rates may apply. Full terms at mGive.org/T”

Got that? Ok. Now that we’re clear with the carrier compliance issue, we’ll move on to some other frequently asked questions.

 

What happens when a donor sends a text?
The best way for you to figure out how mobile giving works is to try it out yourself! If you’re in the United States, test it on your own project. If you’re not, please read the steps below to see how it works.

Step 1:
Donor texts: GIVE 7481 to 80088
Auto Response: To confirm your $10 donation to GlobalGiving reply with the word YES. Info? Visit: mGive.org/T or txt HELP. Msg & Data Rates May Apply

Step 1: Text “Give Proj.ID” to 80088 and get response

Step 2:
Donor must respond with: Yes
Auto Response: Thanks! $10 charged to your phone bill. Txt GIVE up to 3x for GG donations. Info? Visit mGive.org/T or txt HELP.STOP to end. Msg & Data Rates May Apply
Auto Response: Reply with YES for GlobalGiving Alerts to find out how your donation is used! Up to 4 msg/mo. Info? Txt HELP, to end txt STOP. Msg & data rates may apply.

Step 2: Reply with “Yes” and recieve “thank-you” message. After that, donors receive an invitation to sign up for mobile updates. (They must reply “Yes” to confirm.)

There are two VERY IMPORTANT things to note here:

  • Donors must first text the keyword to 80088, and then they must reply with YES to confirm their donation. Both steps must happen for the donation to go through.
  • The final auto-response message invites donors to sign up for future messaging. (They can also reply YES to this if they choose to do so.) This will be helpful if we want to send them to the GlobalGiving website to see project updates, for example.

How do we get the word out about our new mobile giving option?
We recommend spending some time thinking about how text-to-give will work best for your audiences. Here are two ideas:

  • At Events: Inviting supporters to make mobile donations during a live event could give you the opportunity to instantly engage or give in the moment. Potential donors may not have their laptops nearby but they will certainly have their cell phones handy.
  • In combination with other media: If you’re creating a video on YouTube, for example, you could easily add the text-to-give details at the end of the video so viewers can react quickly and easily without going to a different website.

You can tell your donors about mobile giving the same way you’d spread the word about your GlobalGiving project page(s). HOWEVER—and this is important, as we discussed earlier: whenever you spread the word about text-to-give options, you must abide by mobile giving carrier compliance laws. (See above explanation.)

Can we change the donation amount?
Donation amounts are set at $10, but most people can give up to three times to the same keyword/code, giving up to $30 to your project per billing cycle. (The number of maximum mobile donations per wireless subscriber billing cycle varies carrier.)

Are there any fees for mobile donations?
GlobalGiving will cover all the costs associated with maintaining a mobile giving account (through mGive) and distributing the money. Therefore, mobile donations are only subject to GlobalGiving’s standard 15% fee.

Normally, it would cost a nonprofit somewhere between $800 and $2000 per year to maintain a basic mobile giving account with mobile giving service providers, and then an additional fee (approximately $1.25) would be charged to each $10 donation. GlobalGiving is managing the account and covering all these expenses for our projects.  The fees associated with each transaction are covered by (and not charged on top of) GlobalGiving’s fee. We’re truly working hard to bring you more value in this partnership!

Will I see the money in my donation manager?
Yes, we’ve integrated mobile giving into your donation manager (GlobalGiving’s Project Entry System, also called PE), so you can see your mobile donations right after they happen!  The donation will simply show up as a mobile donation, but you won’t have access to the donors’ phone numbers or email addresses.

It is important to note that the mobile donations in PE are donation pledges. These pledges do not become actual, received donations until the wireless subscriber pays their phone bill in full. Common discrepancies between pledges and donations received include a bill not paid, a late payment, or the account holder disputes the charge (or donation added to the phone bill.) These situations happen at a very low rate, but it is important to note for reporting purposes.

How long does it take to receive money from mobile donations?
The distribution of funds is based upon the donor’s mobile carrier billing and payout schedule, and is then subject to GlobalGiving’s disbursement cycle. The mobile carriers require time to reconcile funds, so it could take 60-120 days, depending on the wireless carrier, to receive mobile giving funds in your account. We know that’s a lot of time. Unfortunately, we’re subject to mobile carriers’ conditions. (See the answer to the question above.)

Can I send Thank You’s or project reports to mobile donors?
Mobile donors will be automatically thanked via text message immediately after their donation. You won’t be able to send them personalized thank you emails from the Project Entry system (PE) like you could for an online donor.  Unfortunately, mobile donors may not receive project reports, either (they may simply be sent to the GlobalGiving site to view project reports but we can’t guarantee that they’ll receive specific notifications yet.) That’s why it’s important to consider when mobile giving might be the best strategy and when it might not be.

What about receipts?
Donations through our mobile giving platform are actually donations to the mGive Foundation, and not GlobalGiving. The mobile phone bill can act as a receipt, or a full mobile donation report can be viewed and printed at mGive.org/receipt (or mGive.org/r)

Are there customization options?
In the future it may be possible for us to set up “vanity” keywords for projects. It may also be possible to arrange for more sophisticated back-and-forth messaging campaigns for our project leaders, but there will be additional work and fees involved. Try out the mobile giving platform as it is for now, and stay tuned for more information about customized mobile campaigns.

Phew.  That was a lot of info.
We know. It’s a lot to take in. You deserve a coffee break. Fortunately, we’re having a webinar about mobile giving to help explain the details on October 25, 2011. Please attend the webinar at 9am or 3pm ET on that day, or look for the recap recording here on the Tools and Trainings Blog later.

In the meantime, just try to remember these three points:

  1. You now have free mobile giving capabilities for each of your projects!
  2. Your text-to-give call-to action is: “Text GIVE <space> [PROJ.ID] to 80088 to give $10 to GlobalGiving’s [PROJECT NAME] project”
  3. You must include the verbatim carrier compliance disclaimer anytime you invite people to text-to-give.

I have feedback!
Do you love it?  Do you hate it? We definitely want your feedback on how mobile giving works (or doesn’t work) for you! We’ll be listening to project leaders and to donors to find out how we can improve the mobile giving experience.  Please tell us how it’s going and how we can help you! We’d especially love to hear any feedback that you have prior to our public launch on October 25. Please ask questions or leave feedback below (that helps everyone learn!) or you ca email Britt at blake@globalgiving.org with your thoughts.

 

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Mobilize your donors on October 19th Bonus Day!

Posted by Alexis Nadin on October 11th, 2011

GlobalGiving’s LAST Bonus Day of the year is October 19th! Starting at 12:01 am EDT, GlobalGiving will be matching all donations (up to $1,000 per donor, per project) at 30%. We have $100,000 available in matching funds. Matching will last until funds run out (or until 11:59 pm EDT). See complete terms and conditions below.

Our partners have raised more than $600,000 through GlobalGiving’s Bonus Days this year alone! Why? Because donors love having their donations matched; it means that they’re really stretching their donation dollar. Donors are also more likely to give when there is a time limit (in this case, one day!). The sense of urgency reduces procrastination and compels action. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to mobilize your donors.

Here are our top six tips for rallying your donors on Bonus Day:

1. Identify advocates. Who are your organization’s biggest cheerleaders? Ask them to help you spread the word about Bonus Day. Consider giving them a specific goal—e.g. to raise $1,000 or to recruit 10 donors. Offer an incentive—a small gift, website recognition, etc.—to your supporters for fundraising on your behalf.

2. Post a project report. Did you know that your project reports are emailed directly to all of your project’s donors? This is a great way to notify your supporters about this matching opportunity (and it counts as your quarterly project report!).  Project reports are emailed the day after they’re approved, so be sure to submit your report by October 17th. See an example of a great Bonus Day project report. (more…)

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Local Partners Can Be Great Fundraising Assets!

Posted by Alexis Nadin on August 22nd, 2011

Guest post from GlobalGiving Field Intern, Meg Dallett.

Hi, everyone—my name is Meg Dallett, and this summer I spent two months visiting GlobalGiving partner organizations and holding online fundraising workshops in beautiful Cameroon.  My colleague and I saw some amazing work being done, but also a lot of unused potential in the area of fundraising, which is why I’m writing this blog post.  In a lot of cases, organizations based in the US, Europe and other developed countries have truly incredible teams working on projects overseas, but those Western organizations often miss a real opportunity by leaving local teams out of the fundraising process.

In all our workshops and fundraising strategy sessions in Cameroon, one of the most important things we talked about is the power of stories and photos.  Donors are more likely to give to an organization when they feel a connection to those they are helping.  The most effective way to make potential donors feel connected to the people your organization helps is to send information about people rather than numbers. For example,  you may want to introduce donors to a woman who can now afford to send her children to school because of your program, or to tell themabout a little girl that you helped escape from slavery. You can share these stories from the field using GlobalGiving’s project reports – the project reports are a great tool for you to use to update your donors!

The staff that you have working in the field may be in the best position to find compelling stories and take great photos.  There might only be one assistant who can encourage a boy to talk about what he went through, or one coordinator who knows the details of an entrepreneur’s success.   If you don’t get your whole team actively involved in your fundraising strategy, you could be missing out on opportunities to tell donors about your achievements!

We met with several staff members in Cameroon who had great ideas for fundraising, but they weren’t being given the opportunity to share them.  Some didn’t even realize their US-based offices were doing online fundraising at all.  One country director had been sending lists of statistics and achievements to her US-based fundraisers for GlobalGiving project reports, never realizing they would be sent to donors across America.  As soon as we explained the purpose of project reports, she realized she needed to completely change her writing style and began brainstorming creative ways to get the kids at her school in touch with donors!

If you’re using social media, we really recommend that you make your local teams a part of the conversation.  They can share experiences or funny stories on your Facebook page, or discuss challenges on Twitter.  The more people you have online engaging communities and talking about problems and successes, the more likely it is one of those discussions will be shared and forwarded. Remember, you’re building a network of people who care about the work that you do!

With thousands of projects on GlobalGiving (and across the web) all trying to attract donors, creativity is the key to success.  There are so many creative people on in-country teams—don’t let their ideas go to waste!

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Community Feedback: How To Get it, How To Use it

Posted by Alexis Nadin on July 1st, 2011

Perla Ni, CEO of GreatNonprofits and Marc Maxson, who manages GlobalGiving’s storytelling project in East Africa, teamed up to host a training on Community Feedback this week. Listen to the recording and check out a summary below!

“Customer Reviews” are a valuable source of credibility for companies. Amazon, Yelp, and ZAGAT use this feature to attract new customers. The company gains trusting customers without lifting a finger and past customers have a place to share stories about their experiences.

65% of online shoppers read reviews before making a decision. GreatNonprofits harnesses this new trend by allowing volunteers, donors, beneficiaries, and other stakeholders to review nonprofit organizations. These reviews, just like reviews for online stores, gives donors insight into what other stakeholders’ experiences have been like, thus giving the organization credibility. (more…)

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