Who could have predicted how successful and widespread the ALS Association’s Ice Bucket Challenge would be? It is a charity phenomenon that will go down in fundraising history.
It is also among the biggest viral hits in Facebook’s history! According to the Huffington Post, “2.4 million videos ‘related to the ice bucket challenge have been shared’ on the social network, and more than 28 million people have posted, commented or liked a post relating to the challenge.
As of yesterday, Wednesday, August 20, The ALS Association has received $31.5 million in donations compared to $1.9 million during the same time period last year (July 29 to August 20). These donations have come from existing donors and 637,527 new donors to The Association. Unbelievable.
Even though the original idea doesn’t belong to the ALS Association, the organization piggybacked on it and it took off like a rocket. Celebrities, politicians, and everyday people have jumped on the bandwagon. But, not everyone is über positive about the campaign.
Andrew Watt, president and CEO of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, says, “Obviously, the campaign is a success, but at the same time let’s not make more of this than it is. We’re not seeing a fundamental change in the nature of fundraising—it’s a clever use of social media. The challenge is like sponsoring a friend—we do it because of the connection, not necessarily the cause.”
The LA Times pointed out the drought California residents are contending with. “For some Californians stuck in an exceptional drought, watching people douse themselves with ice water flies in the face of the conservation rhetoric being stressed by state and local officials.”
EOnline says, “For starters, some people don’t understand the purpose of the campaign. The ice water bath is supposed to be a punishment for not donating, not a requirement. But some of the time people are just doing the ice bucket and not donating, and then challenging other people. Which is fine, sure, because at least it’s raising awareness for ALS research. But the point of this whole thing is to make people donate money.”
What do you think? Isn’t it difficult to knock success?
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