Tag Archive for 'giving'

Making Giving Fun: Case Study from Oxfam

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It’s the time of year again when organizations, large and small, try to break out the holiday wishes, stories, and campaigns to get one last donation, one last gift and one last pledge in before the new year.  Oxfam is no different, but the way they are going about it is!  They’ve created a space online where visitors can better understand some of the areas served by Oxfam, learn about the conditions and the needs of people there, and learn about the impact their specific gifts can make.  Take a closer look below: Oxfam’s Unwrapped Virtual Village!

The Virtual Village

When you visit the Unwrapped Virtual Village, you are given three different villages to help:

oxfam1

Hovering your mouse over one of the villages in the circles gives you a dexcription of what issues face that village and how you can help.  Clicking on one transports you to the village where you can click on items throughout the area that can help the local village members.

oxfam2

Clicking on one of the dots lets you see what it is with more detail and to “get the item” for the village.  So far, the experience has been like that of an educational game: finding and helping but also learning the real world side of it all.  Once you click on “get the item” though, you are give the opportunity to move from playing a realistic or educational game to actually buying an item and supporting the village in real life.

You can now click to get the item for the village in the game, or you can buy the item as gift via Oxfam.  What I like most is that the educational side of the scenario doesn’t stop: you’re given a case study about how, in this example, solar panels are actually impacting the lives of others.

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It is really important to me that organizations continue to educate their supporters about the work they are doing as well as how they as an organization as well as the supporters are helping and positively impacting the service areas.

Telling stories of impact comes both from the organization as well as from those supported…and even comes from those who support you!

A Little Story

I have a very close friend who came to me with a “problem” a couple holiday seasons ago.  The problem was that her family was very excited about doing something for the holidays that was going to really impact people around the world who were struggling more than they were and that they were really excited about an opportunity they had heard about to buy a goat from Scotland that would be taken to a village or a family in Africa.  She was thrilled that her family was excited to be philanthropic and support others, but she felt like they had made their decision of how to help without investing any time or due diligence into who they were helping and if what they were doing was really something needed.

She challenged them to investigate other options, who they wanted to help, and what could really do the most for them with the amount they had to donate or invest.  It turned out that they did not end up purchasing a goat from Scotland.

This story isn’t to say that people should stop funding or supporting programs that deliver livestock to needy areas, not in the least!  The lesson here to be sure you are educated about the impact you want to make and how best to make it.

I think Oxfam’s Unwrapped Virtual Village is a fun way to get the whole family involved in investigating and learning about issues in other parts of the world and choosing the gifts that they care about and know will also make a good impact.

What do you think?

Published on December 3, 2009 by Amy Sample Ward. 2 Comments

29-Day Giving Challenge: Here we go!

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I’m really excited to participate in the 29-Day Giving Challenge with Britt Bravo and many other changebloggers.  Britt is always a great insiprer for do-good-er-ness and I hope you’ll join me in 29 days of giving, leading up to the US Thanksgiving holiday!  I think this will be a great way to feel the giving spirit of Thanksgiving, as our new location in London, UK, isn’t naturally lending itself to celebrate this year.

DAY 1 (Oct. 30th)

The London Underground, or tube, has recently put up ads that ask when you last smiled at another passenger.  As a ‘foreigner’ I quickly noticed how many people here become quite steely on public transportation, there isn’t much conversation, let alone eye contact or smiles.  The ads suggest that you can change someone’s day by smiling at them on the tube.  So, I started doing it yesterday as my first day of giving: giving away smiles!

The results?  Well, as I’m sure you can imagine.  Some people were very confused, others just ignored it, but some smiled back and passed it on!  A smile can go a long way, start one today! :)

Day 2 (Oct. 31st)

Today, I guess I didn’t technically give anything away, but I put myself out there.  I joined School of Everything and created my teaching (and learning) profile.  This way, I can connect to people right here in Camden or around the world to share skills and knowledge that I have.  This is what the site says:

School of Everything connects people who want to learn with passionate teachers in their local area. The award-wining site is free to join for both people who want to learn and people who want to teach.

Teachers register online and create a personal page giving information on their lessons, the qualifications offered and the format in which they teach – for example workshops or one-to-one sessions. Potential pupils find a tutor who’s right for them simply searching by subject, learning category and location. They can then send them a message, arrange to meet and begin learning their new subject.

I met the co-founder, Andy Gibson earlier this week so School of Everything was on my list of things to investigate.  Once I visited the site, I just had to participate!  Try it out for yourself, or connect with me!  I’m looking forward to the connections, friendships, and all the shared learning to come!

Join in with the 29-Day Giving Challenge!

Published on October 31, 2008 by Amy Sample Ward. 0 Comments

Giving made green!

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Have you ever heard of Global Giving? Well, as the NYTimes just reported, Global Giving has gone GREEN!

Global Giving is a website that connects you to “over 450 pre-screened grassroots charity projects around the world. It’s an efficient, transparent way to make an impact with your giving.” Global Giving Green is way to help the fight on poverty while also fighting climate change with the same gift. Many projects in the past that have targeted poverty, have also contributed to climate change.

“GlobalGiving Green is a brand new way for you to help solve that dilemma. Using a unique scientific evaluation system, we’ve carefully pre-screened initiatives that offer win-win solutions — helping people while protecting the planet.”

Find a green project and learn more about Global Giving Green!

What projects serving communities has your organization undertaken with ‘green’ in mind? Do you think organizations need more help finding ways to green their work?

Published on July 29, 2008 by Amy Sample Ward. 2 Comments

Reflections on the “wired fundraiser” of America’s Giving Challenge

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The Sharing Foundation came out on top in its division of the Giving Challenge, which ended on January 31st. This is great news for the many bloggers and other social media community members that worked hard to promote the cause and garner so many donors. It was also a terrific learning experience for those of us involved. I have thought about “reflections” for the past few days now and wanted to share some early formulations:

What does timing matter?
The Challenge took place over the course of December and January. That is a very long time in the scheme of online fundraisers that many of us have been involved with in the past that may have had only a one day or one week window. I think that the longer time frame definitely had an effect on the “race” and posed a challenge for all organizations trying for the top: How do you keep donations coming through to the end?

In the Sharing Foundation’s case, Beth Kanter was the main ringleader and she had a great strategy of requesting donations whenever possible (in blog posts telling stories of those served by the organization, for example) and only really pushing a few times (like on her birthday 1/11 and at the end). It felt like a good mix – the constant option and then the intermittent request. I tried to do the same, including links to donate in blog posts dealing with the Challenge and then asking urgently at peak times.

What does the platform matter?
I found it interesting that in my personal involvement in the Challenge, I prioritized platforms on their timeliness. For example, I included links to the donation widget page in blog posts consistently throughout the Challenge, but put links and requests in Twitter on peak days like Beth’s birthday and at the end of the race. When there wasn’t as much urgency in recruiting new donors, it felt just fine to throw out the links and stories and thoughts in to blogs that could be read that day, or read days later in a reader etc. But on the days when we were really trying to get high numbers, I couldn’t handle only putting up a blog post (though I did); I needed to use Twitter and IM and emails.

This leads to the second part of the platform answer in that it really did seem to matter that the requests were peronal. I totally agree with the points Beth Dunn makes about the personal side of asking for donations. It means a lot more to people who don’t know anything about or have any connection to the Sharing Foundation to get a request from someone they know who does have that connection, than for “The Sharing Foundation” to send out a message to them asking for just $10.

What does the ask matter?
This one seems simple to me: It’s easier to give small. Think about it, if someone asked you to “Please donate $100 to The Sharing Foundation who helps Cambodian children get the education and services that are critical,” or “Please donate just $10 to The Sharing Foundation who helps Cambodian children get the education and services that are critical,” which would you probably do? Sharing stories and connecting on a personal platform with potential donors is crucial, but so is putting the “ask” into an amount that is doable and not overwhelming. People WANT to donation and help. So give them a way they can do it without hurting their own wallets, too.

I’m excited to hear about others’ reflections on the Challenge and to continue to share my own thoughts. What did you think as a fundraiser for the Challenge? What were your impressions as a donor?

Published on February 4, 2008 by Amy Sample Ward. 0 Comments

Online fundraising making the news

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Two great stories have surfaced involving online fundraising. What do you think?

PayPal has just released its PayPal Kit for Nonprofits which claims to take only 45 minutes to set up (even for people knew to the world of online fundraising and widgets)! Also, they are giving away $50 to the first 1,000 nonprofits that use the kit to generate $500 in donations by March 31st. Check it out and share your experience!

Kiva, an organization that lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world, has come up with a big problem! Potential donors are being turned away because there are no groups left who need loans! This is certainly not the case in the world, but for their website it is. These would-be donors are stunned at the idea of an organization saying, “No thanks; we have all the money we need!”

What is the real problem? Just like with many organizations, there is a lag in the process of connecting potential organizations needing funding with those to fund them. It is definitely a refreshing thought, though, that the number of donors and dollars is more than the need. If only!

Another thought about the Kiva crisis, is on timing. It is January, the month following a string of “giving-oriented” holidays. Could the higher-than-usual giving time of year been enough to fulfill Kiva’s needs? Once a new set of needy groups are up on Kiva’s site, it will be interesting to see if once again they are all taken care of!

Did you give to a charity online? Was it because of the holidays? Do you give more in the holiday season or all through the year – why?

Published on January 31, 2008 by Amy Sample Ward. 0 Comments

Only hours left!

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If you haven’t already done so, this is a last call to participate in the America’s Giving Challenge. A donation of $10 makes a huge difference! It is quick, easy, and very painless :)

Donate now!

Published on January 31, 2008 by Amy Sample Ward. 1 Comment

Razoo: Case Foundation interview

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Have you been following and participating in America’s Giving Challenge brought by the Case Foundation and Causes.

Recently, Razoo (a community united around making a positive difference in the world. Where passions are connected with actions, showing us that when connected, our small contributions add up to a big impact) talked with the Case Foundation to learn more about the Giving Challenge. Here is one of the responses:

How has technology changed the face of giving? As it has done in many areas, technology changes the relationships between people and between the information and resources they need to take action. In the area of giving, all the activity we are seeing is still nascent. People are still learning what the technology can do for them and what they can do with the technology. Still, it’s very clear that people, especially younger people, are ready to embrace these technologies not just as ways to socialize or entertain but as tools to affect the change they wish to see and as a forum for discussion and action.

Read the interview here and let me know what you think!

Published on January 4, 2008 by Amy Sample Ward. 0 Comments

America’s Giving Challenge: Importance of discussion

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I received an email from Beth Kanter about my decision to join her in championing the cause for the Sharing Foundation, which helps children in Cambodia receive the education and support they need. Beth asked:

What is the workflow for an effective cause ..? Suppose your
organization wanted to work with an intern to manage the cause with you. What’s on the to do list? How should the staff person manage the intern?

My initial response was two fold:

1. Build discussion

This is achieved by creating posts and questions on the Cause page so that when people click through from a blog or an invitation to join the cause, they are able to see people engaged and learn more immediately, without having to do the research themselves if they are unfamiliar with the organization. Identifying the most active participants in the cause and asking them to post a question, or better yet, asking them to respond to a question posted by the intern would be a good first step to getting conversations started on the Cause page.

2. Link to discussion

This is simply a matter of finding blogs and websites posting about and inviting others to the Cause, then putting links to them on the Cause page and thanking them for their shared support. This cross referencing will add to the information/education on the organization and therefore more people supporting it, while at the same time creating an opportunity for more participants in the conversation.

What do you think? Is conversation, the opportunity to ask or see other’s questions and answers about the work of an organization, something that positively influences your participation and support?

Also, today is Earl Kanter‘s (86th) birthday and Beth is encouraging all of us to donate $10 to our Sharing Foundation cause to celebrate. You can join the Cause now, too!

Published on December 23, 2007 by Amy Sample Ward. 2 Comments

America’s Giving Challenge: Early reflections

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The Case Foundation, Parade Magazine and Facebook Causes have joined forces for America’s Giving Challenge which has been talked about quite a bit by terrific cause champions like Beth Kanter, Soha El-Borno at Wild Apricot, Britt Bravo, and Allison Fine. Participating in the challenge means you could win $50,000 for your favorite nonprofit. Posting a charity badge on your blog or website or facebook profile, joining a facebook cause, and recruiting others to join and donate are all part of the process.

I am supporting the Sharing Foundation and Beth’s work to get $50,000 donated to them. I have a badge in my facebook profile and have encouraged/invited others to do the same. I have joined a cause and also invited others to it.

I could have chosen a different group and selected the badge and cause that corresponded to it, blogged about that cause and told stories of that organization’s work. I chose to support the Sharing Foundation, though, and support Beth’s work in outreach for its cause. Why?

Because when I thought about starting my giving challenge, I couldn’t decide who I would pick! There are so many organization all over the world that I love and support. Whenever I think about making small contributions of money, time, skills, effort, etc. in my life, I always think “together we can make a difference.” To me, this means that if my contribution is going to go the farthest, I will want to be sure that I have many others fighting with me. I decided, then, to team up with Beth for the Sharing Foundation (you should check them out, they are terrific!) and experiment, learn, and enjoying making a difference together.

Will you join us to make a difference? Here are some terrific calls to action from Beth:

  • If you are on Facebook, join the Sharing Foundation’s cause and recruit your friends.
  • Not sure if you want to join the Facebook cause? Watch this video
  • Be ready to celebrate [Beth's] birthday on January 11th with the minimum donation. This is a great way to let her know that you appreciate the blog as well as the work of the Sharing Foundation.
  • Not on Facebook? You can contribute through the widget that Michele Martin set up and is championing. (You can add the widget to your blog, facebook, website, etc!)
  • Are you a blogger? Please sign up to help me! You’ll find the information here
Published on December 21, 2007 by Amy Sample Ward. 2 Comments

Not just “grant” making

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Sean Stannard-Stockton at Tactical Philanthropy has been hosting a One Post Challenge this month, encouraging contributions to the blog from others in the philanthropic community. I wrote a post called Not Just “Grant” Making

As the holiday season is now in full swing and many organizations are launching online donation campaigns, I have been thinking more and more about how closely my personal views of “giving” have formed my professional ones.

I don’t think that our responsibility is to just dole out the cash—we have a whole lot more to offer!

Click here to read more and comment at Tactical Philanthropy!

Published on November 29, 2007 by Amy Sample Ward. 0 Comments