Fighting these statistics is the nonprofit organization, Charity: Water.  With a singular mission to bring safe and clean drinking water to people in developing nations, the organization has and is working on a total of 2321 water projects around the globe.  While I like to focus on grassroots sustainability, the magnitude and breadth of Charity: Water’s work is inspiring.

Today is the launch of the organization’s Unshaken campaign, a $1.3 million effort to help Haitians get clean water.  It’s an ambitious project with an ambitious goal: 100 percent of all donations will fund 11 large-scale projects serving 40,000 people. 

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Charity: Water is a fluid master at giving donors, supporters and interested parties narrative that pops.  Their website is an easy-to-navigate mix of simple messaging, multimedia content and a bit of pop marketing flair, possibly derived from Founder Scott Harrison’s background as an NYC nightclub promoter.

The Unshaken campaign is no exception.  A fantasticly edited and powerful video (below) shows the rationale behind the campaign.  The eleven projects are told and sold with arresting slide shows and succinct stories.  Want to help?  The donate and sponsor tabs are clear and separate from the general donation page .  If you support the cause, but lack the cash, you can help the organization by tweeting their message or adding a banner to your site.  Such endeavors are easy with a Spread the Word page, a fantastic way to consolidate supporter efforts.

When it comes down to it, a nonprofit is good ideas buoyed by great support.  The ability to navigate new media to  show, tell and SELL is crucial.  I think Charity: Water is one of the foremost international development nonprofits to excel at these qualities.  What do you think?

 A  nonprofit with a Washington State U.S. office, World Vision works in almost 100 countries in sustainable international development, disaster response and U.S. anti-poverty projects to create better lives for children worldwide.  Spending 86.7% of funding on program expenses, this Christian-based organization notes in its vision statement that it serves “all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender.

Beyond the excellent work the organization does, I like that it reaches its audiences on multiple levels.  The handwritten card denotes time,an incentive for certain levels of donation  and customer consciousness.  Looking into World Vision’s web content, it is clear that the organization knows their audiences, where they click and   meets them there. 

A video and interactive map compose much of the landing page, but don’t overshadow nice orange tabs to programs, sponsorships, galleries and slide shows.  Without overwhelming an audience member of any generation or web 2.0-savvy, World Vision presents great content.  Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube channel links mark the top of the page, but don’t clutter any content.

Marketing Strategist David Meerman Scott   looks to reaching various audiences as crucial to any online marketing.  he notes that knowing what is important to your target demographic is key to success. 

Here is World Vision’s recent YouTube Video requesting donations for Haiti  featuring Hugh Jackman:

What are your thoughts?  Should large nonprofit organizations switch completely to online marketing methods?  If you are a donor, what correspondence and/or marketing reaches you best?  If you work for a nonprofit organization, what methods of outreach compel the greatest response?

 I whole-heartedly agree.  Applied to a donor/supporter base, I think social media can make a tremendous and easily-fascilitated impact.  A simple example is the use of twitter to acknowledge publicity and financial contributors.  For retweeting several Mercy Corps posts, I was tweeted a thank you for my support.

similarly, the crisis in Haiti spurred numerous efforts to use social media for fundraising and public information.  The American Red Cross uses its Facebook page to offer personal thanks to “fans” and contributors to aid in Haiti.  Such an effort also allows a community to congregate.

However, Beth Kanter, social media and nonprofit guru, cautions nonprofits against using social media as the be-all, end-all.  She notes that nonprofits should use social media with caution, realizing that the platforms are tools, not strategies. Most platforms follow Gartner’s hype cycle, ending in a plateau of performance. 

Regardless, responding to donors, contributors and “fans” on the platforms THEY use demonstrates a flexibility and fluidity not usually associated with nonprofits.  But as Dave Fleet mentions, sometimes the handwritten or personal touch is best.  For thanking  those large donations, perhaps in the words of Marshall Mcluhan, the medium is the message.

What other nonprofits use social media platforms to thank donors and contributors?  Do you think it’s a good tactic?

 Yesterday evening, I was watching Hancock, a mediocre Will Smith movie  about a down-and-out super hero who befriends a PR specialist.  The specialist’s one goal, besides restoring Hancock’s tarnished star, is to change the world through cause marketing.  He was making a hard sell to a few corporate big wigs, who likened his ideas to serving jail time.

Despite the gentle ribbing on both sides, it does look as though Cause Marketing may have its day (or year…or decade) in the sun.  For instance, Pepsi recently announced that it would not be buying Superbowl ad time this year, instead spending $20 million on marketing its green “Refresh Projects.”  Consumers will have the opportunity to vote to determine how much of the money is spent.

Perhaps Pepsi is taking a cue from Trip Advisor, whose More Than Footprints campaign won the Best Use of Social Media award from the Cause Marketing Forum.  Trip Advisor invited consumers to vote on how they would best like to see $1 million dollars spent between five nonprofit organizations.  Using a completely viral campaign, and 1,000,000 votes later, Trip advisor donated to five major international nonprofits including Doctors Without Borders and Save the Children.

What does this all mean?  According to Cone, a Boston-based communications agency renowned for its work in cause- related marketing, cause marketing is on the rise.  Specifically, cause marketing that is globally focused is on the rise.  Consumers, they note, are vastly more interactive and receptive to marketing, especially if they believe in what the company is selling/stands for.

Conclusion:  Nonprofits and corporations can benefit from cause marketing, delivered through interactive campaigns.  A simple google search for Pepsi generates hundreds of links to articles and posts about the Superbowl decision.  Free, positive publicity, and not a dime yet spent.  Despite a  still-rocky economy, could 2010 be the year to turn around donation numbers?   If Hancock can benefit, perhaps nonprofits have a standing chance.

What are your thoughts on cause marketing?   What nonprofits, especially development nonprofits have benefited?

In regards to AIDS work, AMREF works on three levels to combat the virus in Sub-Saharan Africa, home to 60% of the population living with HIV.  They do this by strengthening efforts to educate, manage and treat HIV/AIDS within the existing medical system.

With so many worthwhile and award-winning projects, AMREF should have some wonderful stories to tell.  Yet, the pictorial, video and written accounts are buried and hidden withing pages of  website text.

The story of  George, one of AMREF’s community health workers, is fantastic.  However, it takes some savvy site navigation to find it.  The same goes for George’s corresponding video- a fantastic piece, yet a hidden gem:

Admittedly, my thoughts about the need to promote the stories within an organization come on the heel of a conversation  regarding The Cluetrain Manifesto.  We were discussing the need to incorporate, as the authors assert, the humanistic qualities into marketing approaches.  One might argue that a health relief organization is as humanistic as an organization can be.

However, I think that true sucess in web 2.0 can be better attained in conversation and story telling.  Let media pieces shine on the site.  Open platforms for people to join the conversation.  As noted in Cluetrain, and a decade in forethought, organizations need to allow for human and true conversation.

With these musings, I offer my hopes for AMREF and organizations worldwide who strive to combat and treat HIV/ AIDS.  More to the point, I offer my thoughts  to those suffering the virus, and those survived by a loved one with AIDS.

A Few Related Resources:

Directory of AIDS Charities and Support groups worldwide

A great prevention fundraising video by Avert.org:

As a graduate student, part-time public affairs intern and a graduate assistant, I  know too well the pangs of guilt associated with precious free time spent on frivolous computer games and applications.  

However, I was not so guilty when recently introduced to Games That Give, a company that matches advertising sponsors to hosted computer games.  A user can simply start an account and choose from one of several games to play.  As ad revenue trickles in from the corporate sponsor, Games That Give donates 70% of the proceeds to the charities they sponsor. 

There is no user cost involved, and a quick game of Tetris or Sudoku can benefit one of 14 charities including the Ronald McDonald House Charities, United Way, Mercy Corps and UNICEF.  Kind of neat.

Launched in July 2009 from San Francisco, Games that Give already has an associated blog and Twitter account  and  received positive reviews.  The Huffington Post  jokingly riffed on the “You Play. We Donate. No Catch.” motto, noting that the catch was the difficulty playing a game over a giant corporate sponsor logo.  Regardless, the company holds fast to their mission of making giving fun, easy, affordable, legitimate, and a part of extant behavior.  Check out Games That Give, and put a positive spin on procrastination.

In an article entitled Politweets: “Embrace the Twitter Side of Government 2.0,” Jack O’Connell, California’s superintendent of public instruction, lists three attributes for Twitter tactical success.  These are: transparency, passion and humanity.   The right blend of tweeted honesty, communicated need and likability make for a supportive online community.

Shel Israel, author of the touted Twitterville and Global Neighborhoods blogger, notes the powerful force of using social media to spread and garner good will.  Giving is subjective, he says.  Could the strategic use of Twitter could mean the difference between donation numbers?

The true reason I mention Mercy Corps, however, is for the nonprofit’s use of  Twitter.  While I sometimes debate the true effectiveness of microblogging when it comes to garnering donations, I think Mercy Corps developed the right blend of 140-character fueled public information and public solicitation, and encouraged retweeting.  Here is an example of the last few tweets:

“Writer @loudmind shares his most memorable meals from the field. (And how it all started w/ Indiana Jones.) http://bit.ly/5XIdcR about 9 hours ago from web

If you can spend $10 on cranberry sauce, can you spend $10 a help feed a family? Put the “giving” back in Thanksgiving: http://bit.ly/QKG4X about 13 hours ago from web

Take a look at what women in CAR and our team around the globe are thankful for. Then add your thanks: http://bit.ly/4oXciH #thanksgiving “

They connect followers to the Mercy Corps blog, encourage donation and foster interaction with the nonprofit. 

Interestingly, Beth Kanter, social media and nonprofit expert and author of “Beth’s Blog”, notes some interesting trends in Twitter solicitations that Mercy Corps appears to  adopt.  In particular, the fostering of “person to person asks.”

She advocates, and I agree, that the strategy behind the posts that can lead to the ultimate goal, donations.  What do you think?

When discussing Direct Relief International, I noted that purpose and audience should drive a video’s  format, production, etc.  Direct Relief’s videos target an audience with an interest in the organization or its approach.

Charity: Water’s video follows Gillin’s AEIOU (B) rule, but in contrast is high in production and entertainment value:

I love this video.  Short, empowering and vivid, it clearly targets a larger audience pool.  Scott Harrison, Charity: Water’s founder, once worked in promotions for the New York nightlife scene.  Perhaps his experiences inform the more flashy PSAs and videos on the nonprofit’s YouTube channel. 

Charity: Water is no stranger to new media promotion and marketing, and has used the YouTube medium to its fullest advantage.  In fact, YouTube introduced me to Charity: Water;  the nonprofit won a contest as one of the top four charities viewers wanted highlighted on the site.  My first thought: “Huh.  That’s a really good video.”

Such tactics bring us back to my first point: purpose. Charity: Water is a youthful nonprofit reaching out to a wide and youthful audience.  These videos troll for donors versus inform interested parties.  Either way, “That’s a really good video.”

In these chapters, Gillin highlights video and it’s importance.  His sums his advice for creating a successful viral video as AEIOU: Authentic, entertaining, Intimate, offbeat or unusual…with an added “b” for brevity.

Take a look at the newest video from Direct Relief International’s YouTube Channel:

It’s not flashy, wrought in high production value or entertaining for entertainment’s sake.  However, it is indicative of values of the charity.  A Santa Barbara-based organization, Direct Relief International spends 98.9% of it’s funds on community-based projects domestically and worldwide.

This video demonstrates the passion and authenticity of the organization, targeted to those who already have some interest.  Intimate, simple, explanatory videos are the hallmark of Direct Relief International’s YouTube channel.

Here is another example  from Direct Relief’s library:

A simple online interview answering FAQs posted on the nonprofit’s Twitter and Facebook page.  What a great way to connect with followers, answer questions that interest donors and potential donors and combine aspects of social media outreach. 

Some might argue these videos are dry, but I think they are effective for their purpose.  What do you think?