I'm Mark Phillips, the founder and CEO of Bluefrog. After a decade working for both ActionAid and YMCA England, I decided in 1997 to create the fundraising agency that I had been searching for.
This is my private space where I share ideas, results, research findings and the odd thought on fundraising. I try to avoid looking at my belly button and concentrate on stuff that will make fundraising more effective. It should all be stuff that you can actually use.
If you want to know more, click on the About button below.
I've always thought that we have a great deal to learn from the humble collection box.
Even with something as simple as a container with a hole in the top, testing shows that design, copy, and positioning will have a major influence over how much income will be generated.
But few people have given any real thought to how we can use the collection box to do much else than simply receive small gifts.
That was until Misereor, a German relief agency launched their Mit 2€ Viel Bewegen campaign – which translates to something like getting things moving with 2€.
They developed a box that doesn't just collect donations. It also demonstrates how the gift might be used and gets the donor online as well (through linking to Facebook).
As a means to engage passers-by it's pretty amazing. It was developed by software architect and electronics expert, Alexander Weber, who explains about the project in more detail on his website, Tinkerlog. The work was commissioned by German agency Kolle Rebbe.
It shows what you can achieve when you focus.
With thanks to fellow Bluefrogger, @ipolar for the tip off.
If you feel a little thirsty next time you're in Japan and decide to make a trip to your nearest vending machine for a refreshing beverage, you'll find more than a few cans of Coke on offer. You'll also be able to support the Japanese Red Cross.
The jointly branded machines give users the opportunity to donate their change simply by pressing a button. In response the donor receives an electronic thank you for their generosity. The machines also feature photographs showing the Red Cross in action.
The experiment is due to finish at the end of September, but if successful may well be rolled out to support future emergency appeals.
Japan has the highest number of vending machines per capita in the world and with one available for every 23 people in the country, it could be a very handy way to raise money.
Ok, that's probably an overstatement, but the robot fundraiser has finally hit the streets.
Called Don-8r, the robot relies on donations to keep it powered. During testing on the streets of Dundee, it collected £25.86 over nine hours (mainly from one and two pence pieces).
Anyone familiar with collection box fundraising will notice a flaw in the design – it's small enough to be picked up and stolen – so it currently collects with a minder in tow. But I'm sure it's creator, Tim Pryde, will tackle this problem soon.
As you'll read on Tim's blog, one way he's improved the design is by making the Robot stand out more. Flashing lights, waving flags, buzzers and bright electrical tape have all helped to increase income.
In that respect it's just like any other collection box. The more visible it is, the more it raises. You can read about other interesting collection box experiments here.
So much fundraising research concentrates on the relationship donors have with charities via direct mail that we tend to forget that cash is still the most common way to give.
The latest data from NCVO / CAF shows that 48% of donors gave cash gifts during 2008/09. And a significant proportion was given via the humble collection box.
A fair amount of creativity is used to make boxes more effective. Sofii features over a dozen examples that show the different ways that fundraisers have tried to increase income. The RSPCA nodding dog is probably my favourite.
But boxes haven't been completely ignored by researchers. There are a few studies that are worth sharing. Not just because they could help in the design of new boxes, but because they give us an insight into how donors think about giving more generally.
In Quirkology, Richard Wiseman recounts an experiment he undertook to see if he could influence the amount people donated by changing the appearance of a charity box.
He linked up with Borders bookstores and conducted a week long study across the UK. Participating stores received four charity boxes for the National Literacy Trust. All were identical in shape and size but each carried a different message:
Please give generously
Every penny helps
Every pound helps
You can make a difference
When the cash was counted up, one box outshone all the others. Every penny helps generated 62% of all donations, while Every pound helps trailed in fourth place with just 7% of the take.
Psychologist Robert Cialdini has an idea why changing just one word could have such a huge impact. As Quirkology points out:
"Many people are concerned that putting a small amount of money into a box will make them look mean, so they avoid making any donation. 'Every penny helps' legitimises even the smallest of contributions. In contrast, 'Every pound helps' confirms people's fears that their donation will appear paltry so they give nothing at all."
Box colour was also tested and red was found to be the most effective, perhaps because it is eye catching and carries a sense of urgency. This might cause problems for organisations with brand guidelines that preclude its use (when the Smithsonian first put up six-foot oyster-grey collection boxes back in 1993, they were so bland they were ignored by visitors).
Interestingly, the Quirkology experiment also uncovered the fact that London customers were most generous, donating over 20 times more than people in the store with the worst return, Birmingham.
Another experiment worth looking at was undertaken in New Zealand. It was motivated by research that I've featured in a previous post on prompting larger gifts through sharing social information.
The experiment took place in Wellington's City Gallery and ran for three years. Admission to the gallery was free, but donations could be dropped in a large transparent collection box in the entrance hall. The researchers manipulated the social information available to visitors by altering how much money was visible in the donation box. Depending on the day, visitors would see:
A few large denomination notes
A larger number of small denomination notes
A large number of coins
An empty box
They found that the money people dropped in the box mimicked what was already in there – notes generated notes and coins generated coins. However, when there were notes in the box, the number of donations fell. When there was cash in the box, the number of donations grew.
In short, the amount of money donated was pretty constant. What was perhaps most depressing was the fact that only 2% of visitors gave anything at all. The gallery could double income simply by charging a ten cent entrance fee.
This experiment usefully demonstrates that when giving is a public act, social norms come in to play. And how those norms are perceived is incredibly important.
When the norm is seen to be a gift of a few coins, more gifts will be generated. But set the bar too high and you move people out of a comfort zone that depresses income. Worst of all is to present a norm that it's OK to give nothing.
So what lessons can we learn from this that can be transferred to the world of direct mail fundraising?
First off, make your ask appropriate to your audience. I've posted before on the massive positive impact that the right financial request can make to the bottom line - click here to read it.
Second, use testimonials to show what other people are doing – giving. Normal people explaining why they have given can significantly increase response rates. I've often seen them beat celebrity endorsements. You can read more about my thoughts on the use of testimonials here.
Third, if people don't read your communications, they won't raise any money. Relevant and personal wins every creative test I've ever undertaken in direct mail.
Finally, giving should be enjoyable. If people get something out of donating to your charity, the cash will keep on flowing in your direction. By the sound of things, the people dropping hundreds of coins in this collection box aren't finding the process too painful.
I thought the donation meter might have been an Onion spoof
when I first saw it. Particularly when it was somebody called John W.
Hickenlooper talking about it. But they are real. Hickenlooper is Denver’s mayor
and he introduced them to help raise money for projects aimed at helping the
city’s homeless people.
The converted parking meters are placed near shopping malls
and outside stores in areas where homeless people might be found asking for spare change. They are a giving option for people who want to help but might be worried how coins dropped into a paper cup could be used. All money collected goes directly to provide services such
as counselling for people who abuse drugs and alcohol, through to medical help
and job training. It’s all part of Denver’s campaign to end homelessness,
Denver’s Road Home.
Does it work? Well, each meter raises about $55 a month. The original 36 meters were sponsored at $1,000 each so it generated about $38,000 in
the first 30 days. But it seems it might have been more valuable as a symbol to
focus people’s attention on the issue of homelessness. A local supermarket
chain, King Soopers, got involved and gave over $45,000 and other local
business have introduced inexpensive plastic meters, which are raising up to
$200 a time.
It’s not a new idea. The converted parking meters were first
introduced in Baltimore and now
they are popping up in other US cities too, with Atlanta being the latest city
to get involved.
The approach behind the programme is different from those we
might see in the UK from organisations such as Shelter, Centrepoint or The
YMCA. Hickenlooper talks about his homelessness programme in terms of the cost
benefit the city will receive. It’s about how much money that can be saved
through the project as much as it is about the people who need help.
It’s an interesting method which might have it’s roots in
Hickenlooper’s background as an entrepreneur whose business interests helped
redevelop the city’s downtown area. We often assume that the approach we use is
always the best one. Maybe Hickenlooper is tapping in to his own understanding
of donor needs here and generating both publicity and income as a result.
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