Charity In The Modern Age

Charity used to be something we could all get a handle on. Whether it was Christmas Cards for a favourite cause in the festive season, slipping a coin into a collection box or postal donations and sponsorships, the methods of collecting and generating charitable funds were limited. Today however, the world of social media and digital communications has multiplied the opportunities for getting your particular charity noticed.

Getting the pitch right is always a concern with raising charity funds. Approaching donors directly on their doorstep, by telephone or text message are all proven to be deeply unpopular and ultimately counter-productive. The new methods of courting charity support online are favoured far more by donors because they cause the least aggravation, in turn higher levels of charity funds are usually secured.

Do you have a charity project that is particularly close to your heart? If so, it’s good to know you have lots of options for spreading the word and engaging directly with potential donors.

The Social Media Revolution

Social media has changed the way charities get themselves noticed. Last year campaigns raising awareness and funds for charities featured The Ice Bucket Challenge and the No Make-Up Selfie amongst others, where donors were encouraged to post videos and pictures of themselves online completing a particular charity’s challenge. Other online developments include websites such as JustGiving which enable fund-raisers to direct donors to their website to give financial support to their sponsored challenge for a special cause.

In the Real World

Promotion in the real world doesn’t escape the touch of the digital revolution either. With new direct to garment printing technology, charity livery, t shirts, banners and baseball caps can all be manufactured, lending important harmony and branding visibility to campaigns. Prices for such promotional gear have fallen, making the products from expert companies such as DTGPrintz.com within the budgets of even small scale fund raisers. T shirts printed digitally with a relevant photograph or designed with a charity logo, can be simply arranged by the team at DTGPrintz.com. Other choices of garment ranging from hoodies to tracksuits to sweatshirts and fleeces, can all be designed to your specification using digital printing, screen printing, embroidery or transfer printing. Giving your charity fund raising project a unified, professional and dynamic look has never been easier or more cost-effective.

The Old Ways

Back in the day, charities would garner a lot of their funding through direct mail campaigns. But this type of approach is no longer cost effective. It is expensive to promote campaigns through direct mailing and it is not considered environmentally responsible either. When there is the option of engaging with your target audience online, directly, regularly and effectively, you can understand why the amount of charity flyers coming through the letterbox has slowed to a trickle. Much of the younger audience of charities has been raised on mobile phones, social media and the internet and paper-based campaigns just don’t register with them.

Stand Out from the Crowd

The concept of crowd-sourcing, where many donors make a small contribution that totals up to a significant sum, has been gaining momentum in all areas of life. The entrepreneurial, arts and charitable sectors have all benefited from this innovation that prior to the digital revolution was inconceivable.

Fund Raising Challenges

Completing an endurance challenge for charity isn’t a new thing. People have been walking from Lands End to John O’ Groats for many years, but the way fund-raising is approached these days has evolved. Charities have become a lot more savvy about their strategy and offer support, coaching and advice to participants to ensure they squeeze out the maximum funds from their charity endeavours. Whether it’s a marathon, triathlon, swimming race or other physical challenge, there will be an application fee to enter the race which goes to the charity. Endurance events are by their very nature high profile spectacles which can attract plenty of publicity for a charity. Many organisations these days, in addition to conventional sponsorship, will offer participants their own websites where they can accept online donations. Some charities set targets beforehand for participants to reach – if they fail to meet these goals, they are obliged to make up the shortfall themselves. This is all agreed upon beforehand by both parties and it is not often that fund-raisers have to dig into their own pockets to top up funds. However, what this does illustrate is a hardening of attitude and a growing professionalism by charities keen to scrape in maximum revenue from their most loyal supporters.

Charity isn’t a new thing. Wanting to give to our fellow man is all part of the human condition. It’s just that now we have more ways of doing it. In the end it doesn’t matter if you donate manually or digitally, as long as you give something…