To celebrate @NonprofitOrgs reaching 800,000 followers on Twitter, Nonprofit Tech for Good donated $800 to 32 nonprofits, specifically $25 each to the Africa Wildlife Foundation, Alley Cat Allies, Amazon CARES, Animal Defenders International, CARE, Conservation International, Doctors Without Borders, Dolphin Project, Elephant Sanctuary of Tennessee, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, Global Sanctuary for Elephants, Greenpeace, Human Rights Watch, International Anti-Poaching Foundation, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Mercy Corps, Mercy Ships, Natural Resources Defense Council, Oceana, Operation Smile, Performing Animal Welfare Society, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Sentencing Project, Sierra Club, UNICEF, Wild Animal Sanctuary, Wildlife Alliance, Wilderness Society, Women for Women International, World Food Programme, and the World Wildlife Fund. The 32 nonprofits were bookmarked for a donation and selected because they were effective at grabbing my attention and sparking an inspiration to give through their tweets.
The last time Nonprofit Tech for Good donated to a large volume of nonprofits – $25 to 28 nonprofits – 27% of the donations failed due bugs. The good news is that there were only three nonprofits that I was unable to donate to in this round of donations (thus 9%), but it was frustrating to see how many “Thank You” landing pages and “Thank You” emails are still underutilized and poorly designed (heavy on text, void of visuals, lacking in creativity). Preliminary results from the 2015 NGO Global Technology Survey reveal that social media is increasingly a primary source of online giving inspiration, but social media calls-to-follow were rarely integrated into the donation and “Thank you” process, and if they were, they were visually underwhelming.
That said, donating online to 32 nonprofits is tedious! After making 12 donations it was tempting to give up and donate to the remaining 20 nonprofits through the Give App (search “nonprofit name” > Tap to Give> Tap to Confirm > Done), but unfortunately the lack of activity on their social media profiles tells me that the entrepreneurs behind the app have yet to receive the funding they need to take the app to the next level and that’s too bad. Throughout the donating process I kept wishing there was a mobile app where I could donate to each nonprofit with just a couple of taps and in a fraction of the time I spent donating online. Yes, I could have used an online giving portal, but like most people, my smartphone is becoming central to my personal economics. A giving portfolio app is definitely an app whose time has come and interestingly enough while writing this post, a new app called Givolio appeared in my Twitter feed that plans to launch this fall. Please let it be well-designed, functional, bug-free, and fun to use because donating to 32 nonprofits through 32 different donation forms (some of which were downright nonsensical) is not an enjoyable experience. Not at all.
1. Three of the 32 nonprofits (9%) used their donation form to build their mobile list.
UNICEF
2. One of the 32 nonprofits (3%) accepted Bitcoin.
International Anti-Poaching Foundation
3. Two of the 32 nonprofits (6%) included the option to donate by e-check within their donation form.
CARE
4. Eleven of the 32 nonprofits (34%) included the option to donate with PayPal within their donation form. Three nonprofits (9%) used PayPal exclusively.
International Fund for Animal Welfare
5. Twenty-seven of the 32 nonprofits (84%) included the option to make a monthly gift within their donation form.
The Wilderness Society
6. Four of the 32 nonprofits (13%) included a light box to convert one-time donors into monthly donors.
Sierra Club
7. Six of the 32 nonprofits (19%) included the option to make an honor/tribute gift within their donation form.
Oceana
8. Sixteen of the 32 nonprofits (50%) had a one-page donation form.
Alley Cat Allies
9. 25 of the 32 nonprofits (78%) had mobile responsive donation forms.
Africa Wildlife Foundation
10. Two of the 32 nonprofits (6%) included a “Thank You” video on their “Thank You” landing page.
Doctors Without Borders:
11. Ten of the 32 nonprofits (31%) included a call-to-share the donation on social networks on their “Thank You” landing page. Zero featured a visually compelling call-to-follow on social networks.
Greenpeace
12. Two of the 32 nonprofits (6%) included a poll on their “Thank You” landing page asking what inspired the donor to give.
World Wildlife Fund
13. Two of the 32 nonprofits (6%) included a call-to-share the donation on social networks in their “Thank You” email.
Women for Women International
14. Seven of the 32 nonprofits (22%) included a call-to-follow on social networks in their “Thank You” email.
Mercy Corps
15. 1 of the 32 nonprofits (3%) followed up with a “Thank You” robo call.
To gain a better understanding of how nonprofits, charities, and NGOs worldwide use online technology, Nonprofit Tech for Good is conducting the first-ever Global NGO Online Technology Survey. The data will be used to compile a report about regional differences in how NGOs raise money online, use website and email communications, and embrace social media. Depending upon your answers, completing the survey should take no longer than three minutes. Your participation is greatly appreciated!
