donations
If you work or volunteer for a charitable organization, you may not know that the median donor retention rate in 2013 was only 43%. That means only 43% of donors who made a gift in 2012 did so again in 2013.
According to an article in The Chronicle of Philanthropy, based on The 2014 Fundraising Effectiveness Project report, “For every $100 in new donations the 3,576 groups in the survey received in 2013, they lost an average $92 from supporters who failed to give again and others who contributed less than they had previously.”
And, even though the retention rate represents a slight increase over the previous year, it is still a big red flag for charities. It reinforces my saying:
No Marketing. No money. No mission.
The Ice Bucket Challenge is still going strong, having raised $62.5 million for the ALS Association as of August 23. Along with that, the criticism continues. Ad Age writer, Anne-Marie Kline, refers to this as “narcissism masked as altruism.”
Recent pundits include Pamela Anderson, who wants the ALS to stop using animals for research. (I understand her passion on this one.)
Bill Dwyre of the Los Angeles Times says, “The sad news is that we seem to need a viral Internet event to stir us up.”
A Catholic archdiocese in Ohio denounced donations to the ALS Association because of the organization’s position on embryonic stem-cell research.
As far as I’m concerned, they’re all wet! Continue reading
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. Continue reading
