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| Good Causes but little online presence |
May 7, 2004 |
By Andy Pedersen
It’s always said charity begins at home, but will it ever begin at the home computer?
Like banks and bookstores before them, Canada’s charitable organizations stand to reap considerable rewards from the Web. Establishing a presence online can help spread the word about their causes, make it easier for people to donate and even cut down on the cost of processing those donations.
But unlike banks and bookstores, the philanthropy sector is moving online with a certain amount of caution.
“I don’t think many non-profits have really cottoned on to the advantages the Web offers,” said Alex Mayer, director of corporate marketing for the Canadian branch of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF-Canada). “[Going online] hasn’t been inexpensive for us, but we’ve found the rewards have been more than worth the expenditures.
”WWF-Canada leveraged the support of some Internet giants — AOL Canada, Sympatico and Lycos — to build a full-service Web site. And since going live with it 18 months ago, the charity’s revenue from e-donations has more than tripled, while its processing costs dropped by almost three-quarters.
Those are impressive numbers, but not enough to budge many other charities, who remain standing at the edge of the pool barely testing the water.
“We’ve deliberately chosen not to be a front-runner on this because it’s still pretty expensive,” said Katherine Marshall, marketing and development director for the Ontario branch of the Canadian Cancer Society, one of the country’s biggest charities. “The technology is definitely becoming more cost effective, but the bulk of our donations is still coming in through the more traditional ways.
”Last year, for example, just $800,000 of the $70 million the Cancer Society received in donations came via the ’net. One reason for this may be that people living in Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island simply do not have the option to donate online.
But Marshall and her counterparts at the country’s other major charities know their sector is increasingly becoming part of the wired world.
“When I think about my own personal life and the impact the Web has had on things like paying bills and finding information, I can’t help but think that it will influence the way people give to charities as well,” Marshall said.
When charities such as the Canadian Cancer Society do decide it’s time to go online in a big way, they’d do well to follow the lead of WWF-Canada. The managers there realized a couple of years ago that, as an environmental charity, many of its prospective Web visitors would be younger, more ’net-savvy citizens.
And since WWF-Canada was part of a larger global organization that had dozens of ongoing projects and causes, it had a tremendous amount of information to get out there.
GOING ONLINE
“We wanted our site to address what we call ‘The Three I’s,’” said WWF’s Mayer. “We wanted it to inform, inspire and involve the general public.”
So WWF-Canada solicited the help of AOL Canada, Lycos and Sympatico. In return for heavy promotion on the site and the opportunity to be involved with some of WWF-Canada’s other activities, the Internet heavyweights helped build the new site, and the results have been impressive.
“We have significantly increased our revenues through the Web site,” Mayer said. Two years ago, 17 per cent of WWF-Canada’s revenue came over the Internet. Last year its Internet revenue more than doubled, to 38 per cent.
“And this year, we’re already up to 46 per cent,” Mayer said. “So we’re certainly seeing strong growth.
”The site’s not just bringing in more money for the WWF, it’s also reducing paperwork and saving money.
“E-business is green business. As conservationists, that’s very important to us,” Mayer said. “And because the Web site’s tied directly to our back-end operations, we can issue tax receipts and process donations much more cost efficiently than we ever could with phone or mail orders.
”The system works so well, in fact, that even phone or mail-in donations are processed by the staff through a Web interface. “It’s really quite impressive,” Mayer said.
FUNDING THE INITIATIVE
But what about Marshall’s point that such systems are expensive for a charity’s budget? Mayer admits the WWF wouldn’t have been able to mount its site without the considerable help of its corporate partners.
“They have done hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of work for us,” he said. “I cannot stress enough that if it weren’t for the help of our partners, we just would not have been able to afford this Web site.
”So what’s the Canadian Cancer Society or another charity to do if it wants to follow in WWF’s footsteps? The most important step, Mayer said, is for organizations to find an internal Web champion — someone who not only understands the medium but who can also work with potential partners.
“I doubt many non-profits have a Web manager — somebody focused on the medium and familiarizing the powers that be within the organization with the considerable benefits it offers,” he said.
“I know it’s not easy. Most charities are pretty thin on the ground when it comes to staff. But putting somebody on the task can be very rewarding.”
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