Another brilliant email from charity: water

by Christiana Stergiou on 19 November, 2009

ethiopia-charity-water photo

The other day, I looked back on the emails I’ve received from charity: water. They’re all very good, but there was one that got me right where it should. In fact, I think it’s one of the best charity emails I’ve received all year.

I’ve been following charity: water’s meteoric rise for some time now on twitter and through their website. Since their inception three years ago, they have raised about US$10 million from 50,000 supporters. And as a result have helped almost one million people in 15 countries to access clean water. Their success has come as a result of sheer determination, brilliant networking and excellent fundraising.  (BTW, they’re looking for a director of fundraising.)

They are the most followed charity on Twitter, with over one million followers, have actually raised substantial money via twitter (more about that another time) and are doing so much right online to build a strong support base, as this recent email demonstrates.

What’s so great about the email I received from charity: water?

Let’s start with the subject line. It didn’t say: Latest news update from charity:water. It said: Will the beautiful women of the world please stand up.

The picture at the top of the email was of a proud and striking woman. It was clear that this was her story, and that of Program Director Becky Straw. It looked interesting and again I read on.

The intro from founder Scott Harrison went like this:

Our Water Program Director Becky Straw recently returned from Northern Uganda, where it all began for charity: water. In 2006, donors funded the first set of wells in a refugee camp that desperately needed clean water. Today, thanks to your continued help, we have 88 clean water projects serving over 58,000 people in Uganda. I hope Becky’s story touches you as it touched many people here in our office. – Scott Harrison

And Becky’s story was very moving indeed – mission-centered, highly descriptive and intensely personal. Here are just a few excerpts:

From my vantage point in the truck, I watch women gather up their children and move to the edge of the road to let us pass. Their feet are gnarled and calloused: a result of thousands of miles walked barefoot over rocks and mud. With babies strapped to their backs, their brightly colored skirts sway and their knees quiver and brace under the weight of water and children. Most balance pails on their heads, while some grip 80 pounds of water with sweaty palms, a bright yellow 5-gallon Jerry Can in each hand…

… This is when I met Helen Apio. While most women hung back politely, Helen jumped toward me and screamed two inches from my face. Technically, it was singing. But the high-pitched shrieking was so loud and reverberated with such energy and emotion, I knew I had to talk with her.

She told me about the new freshwater well in her village.

“I am happy now,” Helen beamed. “I have time to eat, my children can go to school. And I can even work in my garden, take a shower and then come back for more water if I want! I am bathing so well.”

I’m in awe of how they manage. But of course, they have no choice. The average woman in Africa walks three miles every day for water. Often, it’s water from putrid rivers or disease-infested swamps. Worldwide, women are more than twice as likely as men to collect drinking water.

And it gets even better. I recommend you read the full email from beginning to end here.

Finally a strong donate button on the bottom and, you guessed it, I pressed it. It’s interesting to note that all charity: water’s donations are processed through Paypal, including their regular monthly gifts. And it worked like a dream. (Their donate page is one of the best I’ve seen, too. So simple.)

Want more?

There’s a lot we can learn from charity:water. Check out this New York Times article about founder Scott Harrison. Or watch this video about how it all started for charity:water and their 3rd birthday fundraiser, Born in September.

I’d welcome your thoughts, so please comment. Link to your own examples of brilliant fundraising emails or please send your examples to me.

[photo credit: charity: water]

Share

{ 0 comments }

Do your fundraising communications work instantly?

by Christiana Stergiou on 28 October, 2009

Greenpeace welcome brochure coverGreenpeace Australia Pacific recently developed a good looking and effective suite of welcome materials for it’s new regular monthly givers. The great news is that they’ve already reduced the number of those cancelling their monthly gift in the first three months by 36 per cent.

Chris Washington-Sare, Head of Fundraising and Marketing, recently shared the experience of developing Greenpeace’s welcome process with an eager audience of knowledge-hungry fundraisers at the Australasian Fundraising Forum.

But I was curious and wanted to know more. So when I asked Chris to share even more, he didn’t hesitate.

How a background in typography helps make for a bloody good fundraiser

For many fundraisers, fundraising is their second or third career. Some started as journalists, some as teachers, some as nurses, but Chris started his working life as a typographer.

In case, like me, you have no idea what a typographer is, Chris explains that typography is the graphical arrangement of words and letters to communicate effectively.  It’s the analytical side of design.

“And the challenge is being able to not only have that analytical side, but also the free-spirited creativity that comes with really, really good design. I think the challenge I found with being a typographer was being able to be creative and spontaneous while also being able to communicate effectively.”

So, I imagine that a background in typography is, amongst countless other talents, going to stand you in good stead when you’re the Head of Fundraising and Marketing for Greenpeace Asia Pacific.

The main design mistake that nonprofits make (does this sound familiar?)

For Chris, it’s a very simple call: “If I can’t pick up something and get the essence of exactly what it’s saying within a heartbeat, then for me that communication has failed. It’s the whole idea of a single-minded proposition. What does this communication intend to do? If I don’t get it instantly, then there’s a problem.”

This guiding principle may frustrate those around him, and often the response is that you’ve got to give people the time to read through the materials, or to understand the complexity of the subject. Chris believes all this can all be done later. First things first: “do you get the essence of the message instantly?”

How one question can answer so much

Clarity of message was one of the key challenges when Greenpeace undertook to re-engineer its welcome process. Chris admits that the materials suffered because Greenpeace has so much to say, and therefore the materials reflected that and lacked coherence.

“In fact, the primary thing we needed to ask ourselves was, ‘What was the purpose of the welcome process’? And that was to stop attrition, specifically in the first three months. We then asked, ‘What is the essence of message we want to communicate?’ And that, quite simply was to say, ‘Thank you for being a Greenpeace supporter’. Once we clarified that, it became a lot easier to decide what we need to achieve and how we should go about it.”

From that starting point, Greenpeace brain stormed the problem and identified the need for external input to address the problem. As a result Greenpeace asked three agencies to tender for the project.

Chris’s primary criterion for selecting the agency was how well they answered the brief. Secondary criteria included the experience in working with nonprofits, experience in developing welcome and retention programs and price.

Chris says, “I really don’t believe in free pitches, so I don’t look for creative work; what I’m interested in is seeing their strategic approach to the problem.”

Chris’s tips to help you better understand and engage with design:

  1. You don’t need to have loads of money. Good process design actually comes from an understanding, in minute detail, how your business operates. It’s for you to question, ‘Is that the best way of running things?’ (As part of the welcome process, Greenpeace completely re-engineered its back office, including its database so staff spent less time stuffing envelopes and more time fundraising.)
  2. Develop a design brief. To make it simple, these four key questions will pretty much cover any creative brief: Who are we? What do we want to do? What do we require? And to whom are we talking?
  3. Develop an appreciation and knowledge of good graphic communication. You should be able to say, ‘I like this piece of marketing material, and I like it because it does this.’ That goes a long way in being able to communicate with the designer. And it doesn’t mean you’re asking a designer to imitate a piece, but it will help to steer them in a certain direction.
  4. Build a catalogue of the design, brochures, websites and graphics you like, and challenge yourself to be clear about why you like them. You can bookmark, categorise, keep notes and share with friends on an online bookmarking site like delicious.

Inspiration is everywhere

To help build your library, here are some of Chris’s favourite ‘inspiration’ resources, ranging from news to street art to record labels. Showcase of Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration, StumbleUpon, Wooster Collective, boomkat, Inspiration Room, as well as charity sites like Humane Chain and charity:water. (And one of my favourite is Greenpeace’s Dirty Kev micro-site. I’m sure modesty kept Chris from mentioning it.)

Want more?

Take a look at the Greenpeace Welcome Pack Exhibit on www.sofii.org, which will also link you through to many of the components of the Welcome Pack.

Share

{ 0 comments }

group laptops sitting_low

Top three fundraising blogs:

  1. Donor Power Blog. It was a sad day when Jeff Brooks left DPB in September 2009, but it’s worth digging deep into his many hundreds of posts to learn from his simply brilliant perspective on fundraisng. My special favorite is stupid nonprofit ads.
  2. Future fundrasing now, Jeff Brooks’ new blog will, no doubt, be spectacular, and is all about donors.
  3. The Agitator – daily posts that will give you access to good fundraising thinking and resources.

Top three fundraising resources websites

  1. SOFII – the Showcase of Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration. An online museum of the best fundraising from around the world. You simply must subscribe.
  2. UK Fundraising – all the latest news on fundraising in the UK, including a great blog aggregator.
  3. NTEN – the nonprofit technology network.

Top three fundraising e-newsletters

  1. Mal Warwick’s e-Newsletter has over 11,000 subscribers in 69 countries, and Mal continues to provide subscribers with great stories about the best direct marketing fundraising.
  2. Tom Ahern e-Newsletter – good, solid tips that will help you better communicate with your donors.
  3. And an Australian addition – Fundraising and Philanthropy’s e-Newsletter.

What do you think? Would you like to suggest some favorite bloggers, websites or e-newsletters that help you better do your job? Please comment.

Share

{ 5 comments }

Top five fundraisers on twitter

by Christiana Stergiou 25 October 2009

Twitter is a great way of connecting with other fundraisers. Here are my top five fundraisers to follow on twitter. Why don’t you join them and be part of the growing network of wired fundraisers who are using twitter to connect and learn.
@scottharrison (founder of charity:water and using twitter effectively to raise money)
@kenburnett1 (author of Relationship [...]

Read the full article →

Five books to help you fundraise better

by Christiana Stergiou 21 October 2009

Well, perhaps it’s not fair to say five. Every single Tiny Essentials of Fundraising book (about various topics, including fundraising, regular giving, major gifts and volunteer boards) is so short you can read it in your lunch hour. So I hope you and publisher Ken Burnett will forgive me for treating them as just one book. [...]

Read the full article →