Nov/Dec 2005

Fundraising After Natural Disasters and Crises: Internet Strategies for Non-Relief Nonprofits

by Vinay Bhagat, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Convio

When a major disaster occurs such as Hurricane Katrina, the December 2004 Southeast Asia tsunami or the 9/11 terrorist attacks, donors appropriately give generously to relief efforts. Meanwhile, in the aftermath, many nonprofits focused on non-disaster missions often are concerned about the potential adverse impact on their fundraising. They worry that donors will send their charitable dollars to disaster relief groups leaving little, if any, money for their organizations. They grapple with how best to communicate with constituents to drive giving while being sensitive to the important needs and work of relief organizations.

However, empirical data suggests that, in aggregate, non-relief nonprofits do not suffer prolonged negative fundraising impacts following major disasters. According to research by the Target Analysis Group, the Southeast Asia tsunami actually may have stimulated philanthropy for these types of organizations.

"Despite substantial gifts for the Southeast Asia tsunami, most non-relief charities experienced strong increases in both revenue and numbers of donors in the first quarter of 2005, according to the Index of National Fundraising Performance. The index, developed by Cambridge, Mass.-based Target Analysis Group, examines giving patterns from 46 large national organizations involved in a wide variety of causes. In the first quarter (Q1) of 2005, these organizations accounted for more than 12 million donors, 15 million gifts and almost $430 million in revenue."

donorCentrics™ Index of National Fundraising Performance
August 22, 2005

Similarly, the 9/11 terrorist attacks alone did not seem to cause a significant drop in giving to non-relief charities. Target Analysis Group's evaluation of actual giving histories from 22 national fundraising organizations indicates that the economy played a greater role in the overall fundraising performance of these groups than the events of 9/11 or the subsequent postal delivery issues due to Anthrax scares.

"Many organizations were already showing lower than expected results through the third quarter (before the September 11th event) of 2001, but many institutions were able to reduce the rate of decline while some even recovered slightly during the 4th quarter. With few notable exceptions, such as new donor acquisition, most fundraising performance trends from 2000 to 2001 were not significantly worse after 9/11 than before."

donorCentrics™ Index of National Fundraising Performance
Analysis and Summary for Q3 & Q4, 1999 - 2001

One explanation for the limited adverse impact on non-relief agencies is that many people giving to disaster-focused nonprofits were first-time donors versus people who routinely give to nonprofits and made a choice to give to relief groups instead of other types of organizations. Recent highly visible disasters in tandem with Internet based marketing have tangibly contributed to expanding the donor pool.

Given this data, when a disaster hits, non-relief organizations should take a measured — versus crisis-oriented — communications approach. Consider the following three approaches.

Approach one: Continue to communicate and link your mission

After a respectful pause, continue mission-related email communications. Start by acknowledging the disaster and the need to fund relief efforts. If appropriate, an organization should find linkages between its mission and work with the relief efforts to make these communications salient. The Ocean Conservancy's email, sent approximately two weeks after Katrina, is a great illustration.

Fig. 1 - Email sent by The Ocean Conservancy on 9/15/05

Approach two:  Conduct a micro-campaign

An organization involved in supporting relief efforts (even though it is not a relief agency per se) should adopt a proactive fundraising strategy using the online "micro-campaign" technique.  A micro-campaign is a context-specific fundraising effort for which a group:

• Creates a campaign-specific donation form and associated content on its Web site;
• Promotes the campaign on its Web site, via email and through third-party "referring" sites; and
• Sustains ongoing communications with constituents to update them on relief efforts and solicit additional contributions.

After Hurricane Katrina, a number of nonprofits that promote animal welfare, including the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), American Humane Association and the SPCA of Texas — all involved in Katrina-related animal welfare operations — conducted substantial online "micro-campaigns," raising millions of dollars in days.

Fig. 2 - ASPCA homepage promoting Katrina Relief Fund

Fig. 3 - ASPCA online disaster relief donation form

Fig. 4 - ASPCA daily disaster relief fund update email

Approach three: Be a fundraising agent for relief efforts

A nonprofit can act as a fundraising agent for relief efforts, tapping its own constituency.  American Diabetes Association (ADA), American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association jointly contributed $1 million to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund.  ADA also launched an online appeal to its constituency.  While a non-relief nonprofit may fear that gifts solicited for a disaster group will detract from its core fundraising programs, more likely is a lift in participation rates among prospects on file.  In addition to providing urgently needed aid in the wake of a disaster, this tactic reinforces an important message to the non-relief nonprofit's constituency — that it is a responsible organization.

Fig. 5 - American Diabetes Association fundraising efforts for Katrina

Summary

After a disaster, a non-relief agency can use the Internet as a timely and cost-effective method for communicating with its constituency, relationship building and fundraising.  An organization that is not directly involved in relief efforts should be measured, versus crisis-oriented, in its online communications.  After a respectful period, communicate anew with constituents and, if appropriate, show saliency to the disaster relief efforts.  A non-relief group directly supporting relief work associated with its mission should adopt a proactive online fundraising approach.

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