Care2's Digital Engagement Blog

Justin interviewed Dick McPherson and Lisa Daniels of McPherson Associates on online fundraising--its history, how it relates to direct mail marketing, and where we can expect it to go in the future. McPherson Associates has a solid history of helping nonprofits with both direct mail and online fundraising campaigns (basically, both Dick and Lisa are expert campaigners). In the interview, Dick shared his thoughts on the strengths and weaknesses of email as a more social tool, as opposed to direct mail as an essentially solitary and contemplative tool. Some changes he expects for the future include increased cell phone giving, project based giving (as opposed to general gifts to an organization), increased activism by donors in turning out other potential donors, and the integration of shopping into supporting a cause. Lisa gives us a specific example of modern marketing: the McPherson Associates campaign for the Amsterdam-based women's advocacy group Mama Cash--the "88 Day Campaign." She explains their success from tailoring the technology of the campaign to their target audience. Listen to the interview below and tell us your thoughts!

By Olga Woltman, Vice President, M+R Strategic Services

For all the online petition naysayers out there here's a great example of how powerful online organizing is becoming. One of our petitions on Care2 has collected almost 2200 signatures. Not impressed? Well, what if I tell you this petition is urging the maximum sentence for a man who killed his ex-wife's dog in a town of 1,250 residents? The Twin Cities' Pioneer Press found it worth reporting on in the article How a dog's death was heard 'round the world: Wisconsin case shows the growing popularity of online petition drives.

Justin recently wrote an interesting article for Get Active about online communities. Here's an excerpt:

By Michael Stein, writer and Internet strategist

David Atlas, a blogger on MediaPost's E-mail Insider, recently wrote an entry about that little button that every e-mail marketer should fear: "report as spam." His post, "Complaining About Complaints: Part I," brings up some subtleties about customers who click (or want to click) the dreaded button. It's not like a phone call or a letter, which take time and consideration--the customer may report an e-mail as spam due to a transient mood, machine-click and skew statistics by sending their complaint multiple times, or, as one reply brought up, forget that this action will block all e-mails from this address (even ones they may want). There can also be problems from the opposite end of the spectrum--people who really do think the e-mail is spam, but are worried that clicking any links will just encourage the sender. Add to this the difficulties of calculating the percent of total e-mails that generate complaints, the absence of information that tells you if the complaint is vehement or just disinterested, and even the  possibility of sabotage from competitors (OK, maybe not so much of a concern for non-profits), it's pretty hard to respond effectively to complaints. So what is a concerned non-profit to do? Stay tuned for part II, where Atlas will talk about systems for managing complaints that address these issues, and share your thoughts here!