Afp Conference 1

Catholic Relief Services

HOW CRS IS USING TECHNOLOGY TO BOOST

ONLINE GIVING

May 11, 2009

Online Giving

CRS showed 44% growth in online giving from 2007 to 2008.

Q: What changed?

A: Use of technology to further the reach of our appeals

Online Giving Strategy 2007

Online Giving Strategy 2008

Social Networks

Integration with Direct Mail

Banner Ads on Homepage, Blog and eNewsletter

Media & PR

E-mail Campaigns Google

Adwords

In other words...

For every campaign we attempt to push the “ask” to our supporters, and go out to where people are to pull people to our website to donate.

TEN REASONS CRS IS ON SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES

Part one

Ten reasons CRS is on social networking sites

1. Critical Mass: Of the Top 5 Most Visited Websites in the US:

– Facebook is #3 – YouTube is #4– MySpace is #5– (Twitter is #16)

(Source: http://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/US ) 

Ten reasons CRS is on social networking sites

2. The incredibly powerful, viral nature of these sites. When supporters act on our behalf, it broadcasts this action to their network of friends.

3. Online actions often inspire “real world” conversations.

4. Users often self-identify as Catholic, meaning often we can target specifically to this audience.

5. These sites enable a new opportunity to tell our story and increase awareness.

Ten reasons CRS is on social networking sites

6. We can establish relationships with younger donors/supporters (be where they are).

7. Multi-channel engagement – we encourage many of our house e-mail subscribers to find us on social networks as well.

Ten reasons CRS is on social networking sites

8. Enhanced/interactive user experience. We can communicate directly with supporters who reach out in a very personal way (and we’ve seen second gifts as a result.)

9. External feedback. Tools such as Google alerts, Technorati and Who’s Talkin* we can listen to what people have to say about us.(*http://www.whostalkin.com/search?q=Catholic+Relief+Services)

Ten reasons CRS is on social networking sites

10. It’s “almost” free (with the exception of some staff time) and the understanding that “you get out of it what you put into it.”

Ten reasons CRS is on social networking sites

CRS’ SOCIAL NETWORKING STRATEGY

Part two

Social Networking Strategy

The twin goals of having a presence on social networking sites are:

1. Increase awareness in a new audience of online Catholics

2. Use these sites as our own news channel and drive people to crs.org

How we are using these sites

• As a news channel we control - posting links to web stories/blog posts/press/new videos

• Increasing engagement/contests • Cross-promotion• Fundraising Appeals/Emergencies• Advocacy Actions • Communicating directly with supporters

Additional Considerations:

• Better metrics are needed to influence future decisions. We are investigating how best to track RIO.

• Analysis of overlap and “superfans.” Study who is supporting us through multiple networks and channels, and if this impacts giving in any way.

Additional Considerations:

• Facebook Causes has not been a great source of donations...for anyone.

It may be that the perfect app for this has yet to be created, or this may never be a revenue channel . What remains to be seen is if engagement in this space influences action in other channels (online, direct mail.)

SUCCESS STORIESPart four

Success StoriesBackpack Contest - GOAL: make our Facebook Fan page

more interactive...

And about 70 amazing testimonials from supporters!

RESULT: 225 new fans in 9 days - 5x the rate we would typically see over the same time!

Success StoriesGOAL: Increased traffic to www.crs.org

YouTubeGOAL: Increase number of people viewing our nonprofit channel on YouTube.

Notice what’s not here?

Fundraising.

Washington Post: To Nonprofits Seeking Cash, Facebook App Isn't So Green

But...

Success Stories• GOAL: Mobilize the power of our networks to take

action:CRS recently won a $200k grant from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters for our proposal helping coffee farmers adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Part of the process was online voting by the public and we asked our social networks to go to the site and vote for us.

The same day we posted this request, our votes increased fourfold and we kept that lead until the end.

INTEGRATED CAMPAIGNSBringing it all together

Social networks

Direct mail

Banner ads

E-mail

What Changed From 07-08?

• Launched an e-mail marketing program• Employed a social networking strategy• Better use of internal advertising space• Integration with direct mail• Editorial calendar• Google Grant• Engagement pathways

YEAR-END 2008

Our most successful online fundraising campaign to date (non-emergency).

• Three e-mail messages in this campaign (based on a direct mail piece)

• Banner ads on our website• Posts on our social networking sites. • Coordination with Google AdWords

This campaign raised $594k online.

YEAR-END 2008

Dec 11:Subject line: Urgent Appeal: Your gift to

CRS is vitally important!

Straight Appeal Static donation formRaised $112k

View the donation form

YEAR-END 2008

Dec 29:Subject line: Only 48 hours left to make a tax-

deductible gift!

Added “hotspot” textAdded video message from our

president (that plays right on the donation form)

Added a strong pull-quote

Raised $112kWatch the video

YEAR-END 2008

Dec 31:Subject line: Final Deadline: Last chance to

make a tax-deductible gift

New “hotspot” textKept video message from our

presidentNew pull quote

Raised $119kWatch the video

YEAR-END 2008

Watch the video that raised $244k

E-mailView this e-mail

Banner ad on crs.org

MOTHER’S DAY

Social Networking Channel

View our Facebook Page

View our Twitter page

Don’t be afraid to take a risk occasionallyDiversifyDon’t forget to see the forestDo what makes sense for your audienceDIY what you can

TAKEAWAYS

o DIOSA Communications “Best Practices” enNewsletters and webinars

o Hootsuite for Twittero Madeline Stanionis’ book, The Mercifully

Brief, Real World Guide to Raising Thousands (if Not Tens of Thousands) of Dollars with Email

RESOURCES

CRS social networking sites:

• Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Catholic-Relief-Services/21492729544?ref=ts

• Facebook Causes (Main cause): http://apps.facebook.com/causes/1613?recruiter_id=1465928

• Twitter: http://twitter.com/catholicrelief• YouTube: www.youtube.com/catholicrelief • MySpace:

http://www.myspace.com/catholicreliefservices

THANK YOU!

Laura DuringtonOnline Community Manager

Catholic Relief Servicesldurington@crs.org

410-951-7210