Today I joined a group of fundraisers at a workshop organised by the Institute of Fundraising on using the web for fundraising. It was given by Howard Lake of UK Fundraising, a hugely valuable resource (not least for its rich collection of news and articles pulled together from across the web).
Lots of food for thought during the day, but Howard rightly spent a fair amount of time encouraging folk to get the basics right – think about what your website needs to do (for you and your readers) and do that well. Look for web developers who will provide you with a content management system that takes care of the basics: consistent branding & formatting, accessibility, site maps, good navigation, generation of information that helps search engines, and so on. Make sure you have set aside the time & resources to keep content fresh and relevant. And never forget the “ask” (for money, time, expertise or whatever) from your supporters.
In many ways, it’s not so very different from what’s needed from commercial websites, just a different application. For “customers”, read “supporters”. Instead of sales, look for donations (or both!), but in all cases, make it easy for people. As with e-commerce sites, don’t put barriers in their way, don’t mislead them or confuse them.
Did you know that online supporters generally give 25% more than offline supporters? Or that DEC’s Tsunami appeal made it into the Guinness Book of Records for donations in a 24-hour period? Or that some of the most innovative & successful online ideas come from charities (like Oxfam’s Unwrapped)? It’s worth paying attention to what the “third sector” is doing with the web – they may well have things to teach the commercial world.
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