Giving Bootcamp: The A to Zen of Tech-Savvy Giving

Giving Bootcamp

THE A TO ZEN OF TECH-SAVVY GIVING

Technology has made a huge impact on how we give and why. To keep up with all things technological, here’s our pick of the A-Z tech-savvy ways to give (and get others to give too).

A – AUDIENCE: BUILD A LOYAL FOLLOWING

Build an audience for your personal giving revolution or your favourite cause, by creating compelling content online. No matter what application/medium you choose (be it a website, Twitter, Facebook , a blog etc – see below) make the content gripping and update it frequently so that your followers get hooked.

B – BLOGS: SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS AND GIVING PROGRESS

The “giving blog” segment of the blogosphere is rapidly growing and beginning to fracture into fundraising blogs, social entrepreneurship blogs, donor blogs, not-for-profit technology blogs, cause blogs and philanthropy blogs. Choose the style of blog that best serves your giving goals.

C – COMMUNITY: HELP TO BUILD A COMMUNITY AROUND YOUR CAUSE

A website can be a community hub that provides easy and ready access to anyone with common interests, passions and needs. If done well, it can be a place where people can go to give support, receive support and be heard.

D – DONATIONS: MAKE PAYMENTS ONLINE

Go to GiveNow.com.au to make all your donations. Find the cause you want to donate to by keywords, interest area or geographical location. Over $12.5 million has been donated through GiveNow to thousands of community groups throughout Australia. By giving online you will free up the administrative resources of your favourite organisations .

E – EMAIL: START AN EMAIL CAMPAIGN TO PROMOTE GIVING

Despite its name, a “viral email” doesn’t have to be sick or evil. Viral emails can promote good giving. The process is simple – design an email that it is so clever, funny or unforgettable that the receiver feels compelled to forward it to as many people as possible. Look out for the GiveNow viral campaign – coming soon to your nearest inbox.

F – FACEBOOK: HARNESS THE POWER OF SOCIAL NETWORKING

Facebook , Twitter and even Google’s new Google Buzz site provide you with the ultimate in social networking. But instead of just chatting about the latest party, holiday or gossip, tell your world of friends and family about the cause or causes that matter to you. They’ll love you for it!

G – GIVENOW.COM.AU: HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

GiveNow.com.au is designed to inspire and transform giving in Australia, providing a range of free resources and innovative giving tools — a commission-free website listing thousands of good causes and creative ways to give and a personalised donations tracking service.

H – HOSTING: FIND A PROVIDER THAT WORKS WITH YOU

If you choose to start a website promoting good giving - shop around for the best web hosting provider. It’s a fiercely competitive business sector. Many give substantial discounts to people promoting good causes online.

I – iPHONE : IS THERE ANYTHING IT CAN’T DO?

SMS, MMS, email, Facebook and Twitter your giving message from the comfort of your own iPhone . Find an app that supports your approach. Don’t forget that you can also use it to phone a friend.

J – JOIN IN, JOIN UP! BECOME A MEMBER WHENEVER POSSIBLE

Having members or dedicated subscribers allows organisations to build a following. But most importantly, by collecting information about members, the organisations can learn more about what you want them to deliver. To find groups to join go to Our Community.

K – KIVA: GIVE A BUSINESS LOAN TO AN ENTREPRENEUR IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY

Microfinance institutions around the world, called “Field Partners,” post qualified entrepreneurs’ profiles on www.Kiva.org. Potential lenders can browse the site to select an entrepreneur they wish to fund. As the loan is repaid, the Kiva lenders can withdraw their principal or re-loan it to another entrepreneur. Go to GiveNow for the full low-down on Kiva .

L – LINKEDIN: HARNESS THE POWER OF BUSINESS NETWORKING

LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking site. Launched in May 2003, it is used for professional networking and is an invaluable tool for people in business. If you want to spread the word about good giving with people in your industry – this is a great resource.

M – MICRO PAYMENTS: SMALL DONATIONS ADD UP

Give what you can, when you can, through GiveNow . Take advantage of the monthly giving option so you can spread your payments out over the whole year. This will also create a reliable ongoing source of income for your chosen recipient.

N – NEWSLETTERS: SUBSCRIBE TO GIVING NEWSLETTERS

Gone are the days of the traditional, “place-my-logo-and-name-at-the-top,” and “stick a bequest form at the end” newsletters. Not-for-profit organisations have worked out that to attract a dedicated readership they must include articles of interest and other compelling, informative material. Subscribe to all the online newsletters put out by your favourite causes.

O – ONLINE GIVING: THE STATS

In the US a major study of online giving continues to show positive growth despite challenging economic conditions.

• Online revenue grew 46% in 2009 compared to 2008.

• 65% of the 1703 not-for-profits that participated in the study had a positive increase in online revenue compared to 2008.

P – PRESENT: A GIVING CERTIFICATE

The best present is one that can save lives, protect the environment and cure disease. Lots of not-for-profit organisations now give the option of purchasing an online giving certificate for someone, instead of making a donation. There are also websites dedicated to sending giving gift vouchers and starting a donation gift registry.

Q – Q UICK: GIVE IN A CLICK

There’s no faster way to make a contribution than by giving online. But if you think that it is only the young that know how to give online – think again. A new British survey shows that 70 percent of the 55 - 64 olds surveyed had made a donation online.

R – RECRUITMENT: FIND THE RIGHT VOLUNTARY POSITION OR HELP RECRUIT VOLUNTEERS FOR YOUR CAUSE

Volunteering to help in a community organisation is both socially responsible and personally satisfying. Australian community groups rely absolutely on the nearly 5 million volunteers who put in over 750 million hours of voluntary work each year. GiveNow.com.au is the place to explore how, where and who to volunteer with, region by region.

S – SEARCH ENGINES: TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Google, Yahoo ,… you know which one you like using the best. Now spend a moment learning how to use the Advanced Search option - so that when you search for causes online you don’t just find the organisations who have the resources to pay for Search Engine Marketing.

T – TWITTER: FOLLOW YOUR FAVOURITE GIVER OR CAUSE


Twitter is the “real-time information network powered by people all around the world that lets you share and discover what’s happening now....” You can follow your favourite giving mentor; search Twitter for what people are saying about, for example, philanthropy; or tweet about your own favourite causes. Either way you should sign up to follow GiveNow on Twitter.

U – USER GENERATED CONTENT: GET INVOLVED IN DEVELOPING ONLINE CONTENT

Interactivity is the key to a good website. If your favourite cause offers an opportunity for you to make a comment – do it! Tell the world your thoughts.

V – VOTING: USE YOUR VOTING POWER

In December, Chase Community Giving directed more than $5.4million to 100 causes around the world selected by its fans on Facebook . The campaign is the biggest not-for-profit effort undertaken on Facebook to date. It should not be mistaken, however, for a mere philanthropic effort. It was a blend of marketing, brand building, philanthropy, social outreach and extremely good PR during a difficult period for the banking sector.

W – WEB 2.0: THINK INTERACTIVE AND NETWORKED

The term “Web 2.0” is commonly associated with web applications that facilitate interactive information sharing. Examples of Web 2.0 include web-based communities, hosted services, web applications, social-networking sites, video-sharing sites, wikis, blogs, mashups , and folksonomies (from Wikepedia – another W). Every time you make a comment on GiveNow you are taking advantage of this software.

X – XML: SHARE YOUR CONTENT USING RSS FEEDS (REALLY SIMPLE SYNDICATION)

XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a set of rules for encoding documents electronically. Hundreds of XML-based languages have been developed, including RSS, which is the format for distributing news and other web content. You can take advantage of XML by adding video feeds to the giving news you are broadcasting on Facebook .

Y – YOUTUBE: LEVERAGE ONLINE VIDEO TO SPREAD YOUR GIVING MESSAGE

There is a “non profit and activism” category on YouTube that you might want to upload your clip onto. See if you can get more views than “1 Guy 600 Cups”

Z - ZEN: IT’S GOOD KARMA TO GIVE USING TECHNOLOGICAL RESOURCES

It’s a fundamental principle of inner peace that giving is part of a balanced way to live and think. Technology has taken our resources to a new level. It has expanded our giving horizons and made it easier and more accessible to anybody with access to a computer or a phone. So think Zen – good Karma equals good giving.