Focus On: E-philanthropy: E-volving with the Times

One volunteer fundraiser, who previously had toted around a pledge sheet for a month in an attempt to raise $500, shifted to e-mail and plucked $575 from 21 people in two hours, Everitt says.

“We are really just scratching the surface of online giving,” she says. “Our efforts have increased significantly, but we are only talking about 18 percent of the entire Bowl for Kids’ Sake program.”

Web spending on the rise
Benefiting from several years of experience on the Web, organizations recognize the need to embrace online fundraising. Eighty-six percent of respondents to a recent study conducted by Kintera said they expected to improve Internet fundraising efforts in 2004 compared to 2003. Six percent expected to maintain 2003 levels, and 8 percent said they will decrease online fundraising efforts.

Says Michael Gilbert: “The fact that more and more e-mail newsletters are being started for purposes of maintaining and building relationships with stakeholders — long before they actually give money and well after — that’s the inflection point around real online fundraising.”