Firstgiving: Fundraising as Conversation

The thing I find myself repeating again and again on this blog is that new media and social networking are not ends in themselves. Your nonprofit's goal isn't to make the coolest advertisements or to have a presence on the most social networking sites. Your goal isn't to gain the most email subscribers; it's not even to receive the most donations. Your goal is to carry out your nonprofit's mission as effectively as you can. Or, as Holly put it more succinctly a few weeks ago, it's not about Twitter. It's about friends.

A donation should be the beginning of a conversation, not the end. That's part of why I'm fascinated by a new donations platform created by Firstgiving and its UK partner Justgiving.

Firstgiving lets anyone who cares about your nonprofit create an online campaign to raise money. Like other fundraising platforms, users can add badges to their own Web sites to advertise the campaign. But unlike most other platforms, nonprofits don't need to register in order to receive donations. This means that I could log in and create a campaign to raise money for any 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the U.S. Firstgiving would take a small percentage and mail the rest to the nonprofit.

I like the way that Firstgiving decentralizes fundraising, allowing users to tailor the message to their own purposes and social networks. The message can be silly (If we raise $5000 I'll shave my head!) or more serious: a person could raise money for a health nonprofit in honor of a loved one, or start a campaign as a way of thanking a nonprofit that has served her. Giving your supporters ownership of a message fosters a sense of belonging in your organization that can last a long time.

I've been peripherally aware of Firstgiving for awhile, but what brought it to my attention recently was the British Humanist Association's infamous Atheist Bus Campaign. I'm not writing to defend or decry the campaign's message (much has already been said about it), but one thing about the campaign is unavoidable: it evoked strong reactions.

The campaign quickly reached its goal, and is now well over £100,000. Even after several weeks, the campaign's comments page is more active than TechSoup's new-and-improved forums, but unlike our forums, each comment on that page represents a donation. If I could make one Christmas wish for your nonprofit, it would be that people would talk about you (and give you money) with this much vigor and excitement.

But as with all new media tools, remember not to entrust your marketing strategy to fads. Each excited online donation could represent a real long-term ally. Recognizing that potential and having the patience to nurture relationships is your job.

Take a look at the Justgiving blog for more on the Atheist Bus Campaign. For more thoughts on online fundraising, check out Online Donations and Your Nonprofit, A Few Good Online Payment Multitaskers, and Charity Badges: Turn Your Supporters into Fundraisers.

This post was corrected on December 19. We'd previously reported, incorrectly, that Firstgiving and Justgiving are nonprofit organizations.

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