idealist.org

How Can We Use the Internet for Fundraising

Summary:

Eric Mercer prepared a comprehensive discussion of this question in October 1998. We also have a catalog of Internet services that may be useful to nonprofits.

Answer:

This item was placed in an archive with other early FAQ discussions of questions about accepting donations online on February 24, 2006. To see the other articles, open http://www.idealist.org/npofaq/0/1547.html —Ed.

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Veteran fund-raiser Tony Poderis has an essay on things to consider about fund raising online in "Fund-Raising With a Net"; see http://www.raise-funds.com/010902forum.html

Thanks to Eric Mercer for making the results of his careful study available
here: He points our that there are many things to consider when considering using the Internet as a development tool for a nonprofit organization. This wide-ranging essay includes many examples and live links to resource organizations, vendors,
commentaries and other useful information -- http://www.nonprofits.org/npofaq/0/1511.html

The ePhilanthropy Foundation has a brief anonymous questionnaire checklist on line that covers several ethical issues that come up in connection with online fundraising. See http://www.ephilanthropy.org/site/PageServer?pagename=selftest

See also http://www.nonprofits.org/npofaq/0/1491.html for an extensive listing
of a variety of Resources for Fundraising Online and links to several discussions of the the way these resources work.

A recent book, The Nonprofit Guide to the Internet: How to Survive and
Thrive, by Michael
Johnston (Wiley, 2nd edition, 1999) discusses this topic among many others.
You can order The Nonprofit Guide from Amazon.com using this link; a small
royalty will be paid which will be used to help support this site.

Mary Stewart Hall of Seattle University's Nonprofit Leadership Program (http://www.mnpl.org) summarized a research article in Fund Raising Management (Hoke Communications, 224 Seventh Street, Garden City, Long Island, NY 11530-5771. Monthly):
Nonprofits that create a web site primarily to raise money should assume
it may take several years before they actually recover their initial
development and maintenance costs, according to a new study in the
October 2001 issue of Fund Raising Management. Adrian Sargeant randomly
surveyed 138 nonprofits that use a web site to communicate with
stakeholders. She found 68.2% used their site to raise funds (among
other purposes). The average cost of the sites designed to raise funds
was $16,668 with an additional $ll,459 annually for site maintenance.
While the average amount raised by such sites was $21,753 annually, the
median income generated was a mere $250.

Sargeant explained this discrepancy by noting that 26 nonprofits had yet
to raise any money and most nonprofits were finding it took at least
four years before their web-based income was more than the development
and maintenance expenses. Sargeant also found, however, the nonprofits
that spent the most on designing their sites were also those who secured
the most web-based donations. Some 82% of sites provided a telephone
number for donors to call, 69% took credit card donations and 52%
provided a donation form to be mailed in with a check (some sites
offered all three formats).

For more information, read "Web Based Fund
Raising: Is Anyone Making Any Real Money?" by Adrian Sargeant, Fund
Raising Management, October 2001, pp. 20-24.

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Revised 9/4/99; 1/24/02, 9/12/03, 12/17/03; links updated 7/6/05, 7/10/05 -- PB