The Web’s Influence on Affluence
Friday, July 3, 2009 at 09:46AM | by
David M. Lawson abd Lori Hood Lawson
Despite all of the delayed campaigns, lower donations, budget-cuts, and general angst caused by the economy, major gift fundraising is still happening. Of course it is only happening for organizations that are staying engaged in the major gift process. The old maxim “if you don’t ask, you don’t get” is more true than ever as donors stop their impulse giving and move towards a more thoughtful approach that focuses their diminished capacity where they can receive the maximum return on their philanthropic investment.
In this difficult giving environment the web is positioned to play a more significant role in raising gifts in the mid to high range of your program. Studies like “The Wired Wealthy” helped to prove that larger donations can be effectively raised online and universities who have always led the way with major gift fundraising are now asking, and receiving, high-five and low six figure online gifts. It is understandable that the preferred measurement of success is money because it is tangible and undeniably important. Yet to fully understand the web’s full impact on major gift fundraising you must look at its intangible effects. First among these is the influence your web story has on a major gift donor’s decision to support you or not.
In the chart, “Usefulness of Charity Web Sites in Deciding to Give,” The Wired Wealthy study, produced by Convio, Sea Change Strategies, and Edge Research, segmented the wired wealthy into three clusters:
1. Relationship Seekers, those most likely to respond to opportunities to connect emotionally with your organization online;
2. All Business, those donors who visit charity web sites to donate, period; and Casual Connectors, those who occupy the middle ground between
3. All Business and Relationship Seekers. The chart below reflects those respondents who stated that a charity’s web site is very useful in making their giving decisions.
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