Printer Friendly
The Free Library
14,557,981 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

Tsunami Relief Efforts Show Trends in Online Giving, Reports GetActive; GetActive Software Technology Enables Key Charities to Raise Significant Funds Online.


BERKELEY, Calif. -- With over $350 million donated over the Internet to tsunami disaster relief efforts to date, nonprofit fundraisers are observing four trends in online giving, reports GetActive Software, Inc., a company that provides web-based relationship management services to nonprofits such as CARE USA, Oxfam America and Save the Children USA. GetActive's clients have raised over $30 million online since the disaster struck Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, region of Asia (1990 est. pop. 442,500,000), c.1,740,000 sq mi (4,506,600 sq km), bounded roughly by the Indian subcontinent on the west, China on the north, and the Pacific Ocean on the east. :

--a large percentage of relief agency financial support is coming via the Internet;

--a vast majority of gifts to relief agencies are from new donors;

--more than half of new online donors are asking to not be contacted again by relief agencies;

--nonprofits of all sizes are collecting relief funds online.

The most notable online giving trend is that a large percentage of relief agency support is coming via the Internet. Three GetActive clients -- Save the Children USA, CARE USA and Oxfam America -- are reporting that 31%, 38% and 80% respectively of total tsunami giving have come via their Websites.

Save the Children USA, in Westport, CT, has raised $31 million for its relief efforts, with $9.5 million from the Web. CARE USA, in Atlanta, has collected $16 million for its relief efforts, with Internet gifts accounting for $6.1 million of that total. Oxfam America, out of Boston, has raised $19.5 million, $13 million of which has come in online. Oxfam International affiliates have together raised more than $73 million for relief efforts.

"For this emergency, we've needed a whole new yardstick to measure the volume of donations that we've received online," comments David Moore David Moore is a common English name and may refer to:
  • David Moore (botanist) (1808-1879), English botanist
  • David Moore (Colonel), American Civil War soldier
  • David Moore (footballer), English footballer and team manager
 of Oxfam America. "People are sending us unsolicited donations via every means -- online and by phone. For a few days between Christmas and New Year, our Website was taking in over two million dollars a day. Donors are able to make an immediate online donation for relief, and we are then able to send them email updates about our long-term efforts to help rebuild these devastated dev·as·tate  
tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates
1. To lay waste; destroy.

2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark.
 communities."

"At the peak, our online giving was coming in at the rate of $89,000 per hour, with traffic to our web site over 8 times the normal rate for December -- a typically heavy month," reports Ed Granger-Happ of Save the Children USA. "The scalability and reliability of GetActive's system allowed us to handle this surge. The bottom line -- we were able to get more resources to the field faster to assist with our relief efforts for children."

Another online giving trend is that the Internet is becoming a vehicle for anonymous donors to make impulsive im·pul·sive
adj.
1. Inclined or tending to act on impulse rather than thought.

2. Motivated by or resulting from impulse.



im·pul
 gifts. GetActive clients are noting that a vast majority of gifts to relief agencies are from new donors, due to the sheer volume of global aid support by individual donors, many of whom are making gifts via the Web for the first time.

A third online giving trend is that more than half of new donors are asking to not be contacted again by relief agencies. "We usually hope to obtain donor information," says Toby Smith an Internet strategist strat·e·gist  
n.
One who is skilled in strategy.

Noun 1. strategist - an expert in strategy (especially in warfare)
strategian

market strategist - someone skilled in planning marketing campaigns
 with CARE USA, "but we're looking on the bright side and are happy to see the donations when they're most needed."

A fourth online giving trends is that nonprofits of all sizes are collecting relief funds online. Entrepreneur Pete Kirkwood who is now based in Phuket, Thailand got involved in tsunami relief with his family foundation, The Shawnee Institute. He was in the U.S. when the waves struck Asian shores, and quickly built an online campaign using GetActive tools before returning home to Thailand. "We were able to get up and running very fast. Within five days we had gone from no organization with no list or funds to a full-blown online campaign. So far, we've raised over $71,000, with over $30,000 coming via our Website, and expect ultimately to raise significantly more."

"More than $215 million was raised online in the aftermath of the U.S. terrorist attacks in September 2001. This provided the first concrete evidence that online giving was growing into a major fundraising channel," comments GetActive CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board.  Sheeraz Haji. "We're honored to be able to serve our clients at a time like this."

GetActive provides service to numerous organizations involved in tsunami disaster relief including: Acumen Fund Acumen Fund is a non-profit global venture fund targeting the four billion people living on less than $4 a day. Its aim is to help build financially sustainable and scalable organizations that deliver affordable critical goods and services that improve the lives of the poor. , CARE USA, Center for Inquiry, Heifer International Heifer International is a non-profit charitable organization based in Little Rock, Arkansas, dedicated to relieving global hunger and poverty. It provides gifts of livestock and plants, as well as education in sustainable agriculture, to financially-disadvantaged families around , NetAid, Oxfam America, Save the Children USA, The Humane Society of the United States The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is a Washington, D.C-based animal welfare advocacy group. It is the largest animal welfare organization in the world, with nearly 10 million members and a 2006 budget of US$103 million. , The Shawnee Institute, United Animal Nations, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest not-for-profit federation of businesses, representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations in the United States. As of 2003, the chamber was comprised of 3000 state and local chambers and 830 business associations. .

GetActive is closely monitoring fundraising trends in the wake of the tsunami disaster, and makes its findings available online at http://www.getactive.com/tsunamirelief/.

Tsunami relief online giving trends have been observed as a result of GetActive analysis of aggregate client data, and through client interviews.

About GetActive Software, Inc.

GetActive Software is a leading provider of relationship management products that help organizations recruit, engage, and retain constituents online. GetActive's web-based solutions include data management, email messaging, fundraising, advocacy, events, community, and website management. The GetActive database-driven platform integrates with offline systems and tracks online interactions, creating a 360-degree view of constituents. GetActive has more than 400 clients, including The Humane Society of the United States, AARP AARP, a nonprofit, nonpartisan national organization dedicated to "enriching the experience of aging"; membership is open to people age 50 or older. Founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus as American Association of Retired Persons, AARP now has over 30 million , AFL-CIO AFL-CIO: see American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations.
AFL-CIO
 in full American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations

U.S.
, University of California The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endowment of just over $7.3 billion (8th largest in the United States). , CARE, Oxfam America, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Society for Human Resource Management This article or section is written like an .
Please help [ rewrite this article] from a neutral point of view.
Mark blatant advertising for , using .
. Organizations of all sizes are growing their lists, optimizing their constituent relationships, and improving campaign results using a combination of GetActive's cost-effective online tools. For more information, visit www.getactive.com or call 202-659-2791.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Business Wire
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2005, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Publication:Business Wire
Date:Jan 14, 2005
Words:913
Previous Article:Company Profile for Telenity.
Next Article:OnSource Announces Letter of Intent to Merge with Osmotics Pharma, Inc.; Provides for Entry into Specialty Pharmaceuticals.



Related Articles
Compassionate giving.(Editorials)(Americans respond with hearts, wallets)(Editorial)
The Web-based solution you need to recruit, engage, and retain[TM] association members.(TECHNOLOGY PREVIEW)
Appeal donations jumped in 2004.
Waves of cash: tsunamis unleash online giving.(Cyber Frontier)
Fundraisers optimistic: AFP members report raising more money.(Conference Coverage)
The year in review: 2005 was marked by devastation and regulation.(SPECIAL REPORT)
Disaster relief drives spike in unrestricted public support.(NPT TOP 100)
GetActive, Target Software integrate their products.(Business Briefs)
Convio buys GetActive; Blackbaud tags Target.(ACQUISITION FRENZY)
Don't click here: consolidation starting to hit service providers.

Terms of use | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles