Look out - here comes community fundraising 2.0!

Time to revise our ideas of what community fundraising means, says Bryan Miller, and think about all those 'communities' online

Here’s a question for you... What image comes into your mind when you hear the words ‘community fundraising’?

I must admit that, until recently, my mental picture would have been of fundraising committees comprising ladies ‘of a certain age’ (i.e. quite old) arranging coffee mornings and bring and buy or garage sales, with the occasional sponsored event at the bigger end of the scale. And I don’t think I’ve been entirely alone in that.

The truth is that despite all the time and effort being invested by wonderfully dedicated groups of fundraising volunteers to raise money for the causes they believe in, the community fundraiser’s role generally doesn’t come across as the sexiest job in the fundraising realm. Their colleagues in ‘Direct Marketing’ seem to be the ones who do the ‘big stuff’, with mailings to countless thousands of people and perhaps even the occasional DRTV advertisement to add to their portfolio.

However, I think that could all be about to change and that, in the future, community fundraising may well become one of the most important areas of individual donor fundraising there is.

Let me explain why.

For the last few years both commercial marketers and charity fundraisers have seen the traditional direct marketing channels that they know and love deliver worse and worse returns. Certainly in the UK, and I understand in many other countries, direct mail response rates tend to be falling to the point that in many cases cold mail acquisition seems destined never to deliver positive ROI donors. Inserts and press advertising likewise, and the long awaited impact of email fundraising is generally still awaited.

Underlying this is the fact that we are currently living through a dramatic evolution in the way that consumers react to mass marketing and ‘mass’ fundraising. Increasingly people now either ignore or actively defend themselves from the ‘intrusive’ channels on which so many fundraising strategies are reliant. Whether that be opting-out of cold mailings and telemarketing, fast forwarding past your carefully crafted TV advertisements, or crossing the road to avoid your street fundraisers.

If consumers are rejecting traditional mass marketing where are they looking to help inform and guide their purchase or donation choices? The answer is that they are increasingly relying on ‘independent’ recommendations from friends, family, and others they perceive as individuals distinct from the brands being discussed. As an example, the latest data from technology market researchers Forrester revealed that 71 per cent of European consumers say they trust the opinion of ‘family, friends, and colleagues’ when seeking information about products and services. Compared to just 11 per cent saying they trusted email newsletters.

In reaction to growing cynicism about the messages being promoted by brands, including charities, consumers are turning to people like themselves for an honest view of the world. More and more they are using the Internet as the means through which they seek and share these views, taking advantage of the growing availability of Web 2.0 applications that massively simplify the creation and sharing of information between everyday users.

What we are seeing is the growing importance of self-defined, internet-enabled communities that are looked to as the source of trusted information and advice. Whether that be the global community of travellers who contribute to TripAdvisor.com or the more personal community of ‘Friends’ who can follow your every upload and daily musing on Facebook.

And if you thought that such Web 2.0 activity was only for young people, then you need to think again. Forrester’s latest research into engagement with Web 2.0 reveals that 56 per cent of UK Internet users in the 45 to 54 age group claim to actively read blogs and other peer-generated web content while 18 per cent have already joined some form of social network. That’s a way behind the 74 per cent of 18 to 24s and the 57 per cent of 25 to 34s who have joined social networks – but it’s still clear evidence that Web 2.0 use is maturing, and maturing fast.

There’s no escaping the fact that this type of social media adoption is a real and growing consumer trend, rather than a short-term technology fad. While the precise form through which people create and engage with their online communities will undoubtedly evolve over time, the volume and diversity of people getting involved is only going to grow.

With this in mind, it is clearly essential that individual donor fundraisers begin to consider how they can most effectively engage with such online communities. Mass e-mailings seem unlikely to be effective in generating much beyond negative comment. However, inspiring key individuals to spread word of your need for support with others within their trusted communities taps directly into the spirit of the times.

So, who might be best placed to develop programmes to engage, equip and support individuals fundraising within their own groups of friends and contacts? Step forward the community fundraisers. Bring on your knowledge of how to give individuals real personal ownership of fundraising events; how to equip diverse groups of people so they can explain your cause simply and effectively; and how to ensure that the money gets collected. Add to this knowledge of the ways in which individuals within your target audiences are engaging with each other in the Web 2.0 world and how fundraising might be introduced to this and we have fundraising’s latest discipline ‘Community Fundraising 2.0’

Some organisations are already starting to trial Community Fundraising 2.0 approaches and developing encouraging new income streams as a result. Here in the UK, development charity ActionAid is raising hundreds of thousands of pounds through its myactionaid.org.uk online supporter community. Still the global frontrunner in terms of fundraising innovation remains Kiva.org, with each individual project on its site backed by mini-communities of ‘lenders’ drawn from over 70 countries worldwide and income rising from $1million in 2006 to $16million in 2007.

It’s early days, and I’m certainly not suggesting that Community Fundraising 2.0 initiatives will be replacing the foundational income streams we currently see coming from things like direct mail appeals and recurring giving over the next couple of years. However, the way things are going, they may well represent one of the best medium to long-term growth opportunities in your fundraising portfolio – so are well worth taking a serious look at.

Bryan Miller is Planning Partner at WWAV Rapp Collins in London. You can read more of his thoughts on digital fundraising at www.givinginadigitalworld.wordpress.com

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