Christmas Unwrapped: A gift that keeps on taking

In some ways, charities that harness social networks are coming full circle, back to a time when giving was facilitated by word of mouth, says Owen Charters, president and CEO of CanadaHelps, a website for online giving. Today’s Facebook friend plays the same role as the canvasser from years gone by, a neighbour or friend knocking on your door and appealing for a donation to a particular cause.

Charities understand that giving is driven by impulses and emotional reactions — think of the cash canisters at the checkout counter or the appeal to donate a toonie to a charity as you purchase a bottle of wine. Technology is making giving even easier than that, allowing charities to gather donations anytime, anywhere.

Earlier this month, one of Facebook’s creators, Chris Hughes, launched jumo.com,a social network that links people to causes they care about. Those who sign up can “follow” certain charities and gather news about them on one central site. It also makes it easier to donate to the causes using the social networking platform. Last week, the Canadian Red Cross launched an iPhone application that lets users tell their friends about the charities they support and sets up safe methods of donation via PayPal.

“If you think of when you receive those appeals, you’re checking on your smart-phone,” says Ian Hembery, senior vice-president of Artez, the online fund-raising organization that developed the Red Cross mobile app. “If you say ‘Gee, I’m going to wait til I get back to my computer to act on that,’ it may pass your mind. It’s allowing people to act on the moment. And the moment of appeal is a very powerful one.”

Online solicitations gain extra power and traction from social networks that mail and telephone and television appeals can never achieve, adds Mr. Hembery. Next up are quick response codes on posters or adds that can be scanned by smartphones to bring donors directly to the donation website, a method many organizations have already started to use.

Online donations, popular among younger donors, are growing rapidly. In 1997, Americans donated US$300,000 to charities over the Internet. In 2009, they donated $15.4-billion online. And though that looks like astronomical growth, the amount is just 5% of the total US$303-billion collected from American donors.

“We think the next stage is going to be mobile and, really, that’s what our plan is,” says Mr. Hembery. “We need to figure out how the use of mobile phones and social networks can harness another generation of donors. That’s what we see as being our developmental thrust over the next two years.”

© National Post

Keywords: donations