Haiti and Individual Giving – and how it relates to you

I still continue to be amazed and moved by the generosity of so many in reaching out to Haiti and to reflect on the value of individual donors. We as nonprofits work so hard applying for grants when we should be putting that effort towards reaching individuals. In my last post I listed some important truths about giving illustrated by the outpouring for Haiti. What do these mean to your nonprofit?

• Communicate the need
• Communicate why you are effective at meeting that need—build your donor’s trust
• Pursue individual donors
• Make it easy. Make sure donors can give securely and easily through your website
• Look into a text campaign—a good fit for certain events or causes
• Invite people to participate at various levels of giving
• Repeat---Pursue individual donors. Put more energy into this than pursuing corporate donors, foundations, and government grantors.
  

A client recently had their first annual appeal. They raised $12,000 increasing their total contributions by 5%. Not a bad start for their first year. Most of their contributions had historically come from foundations and corporate funders. Tomorrow the nonprofit I serve with is going to look into getting the “donate now” button on our website and we are working on a grant application. I’ll keep you posted on the outcome of each.

Haiti and the Message about Individual Donors

As of January 21, over $305 million had been raised just eight days after the earthquake struck Haiti. This CNNMoney article goes on to discuss where the money came from and how it was raised.

The outpouring of donations for Haiti, and before Haiti, for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami illustrate a number of important truths about giving.

• People will give and give generously to a demonstrated need-they will give to hurting people in the US and they will give to people in need around the world.
• People give to organizations they trust
• The potential for individual giving is greatly untapped-for such a large amount to come in, in such a short period of time shows that people have money to give. Some people may have given sacrificially (another lesson for another time) but most probably will not miss the donated funds.
• People give when they process is easy. It is estimated that over half of the donations have been online contributions. The American Red Cross reports over 60% has been received online and 15-20% through its text campaign. That means that only 20-25% of the funds have come through the mail.
• A little goes a long way-by January 16, 700,000 people responded to the American Red Cross text campaign with donations of $10 each
• Although the giving includes corporate gifts the American Red Cross noted that about 15% of the donations are from corporate gifts—meaning 85% are from individuals. Individuals have historically represented the largest percentage of givers.
  

Yes, the circumstances noted are catastrophic, and have received a tremendous amount of media coverage, and the need is immediate. But then again, you aren’t trying to raise $305 million in eight days.