Cybergifts - using the Internet in library fund-raising

Library Trends, Wntr, 2000 by Adam Corson-Finnerty

We are not even at the "toddler" stage in cybergiving. We are just learning to crawl. Yet there are already some very exciting examples of innovation out there, and some of them are beginning to produce gold.

DONATE NOW

The simplest method for cybergiving is to place a "donate now" or "click here to give" button on a library's Web site. The visitor clicks, receives a long or short form to fill out with the amount of the gift and credit card data, and clicks "send" or "complete gift." Ignoring a lot of behind-the-scenes processing, the gift is done. And the money (less processing fees) has gone to the library.

For most people who think of cybergiving, the above example practically defines the concept: create a credit card form, place links to it on the Web site, and wait for the money to arrive. In some cases, this approach does work.

Those of us who follow cybergiving were electrified by the news that the Red Cross had taken in over $1.2 million in online gifts for Balkan Relief from more than 9,000 donors in the first half of 1999 (Red Cross Press Release, 1999). Other relief organizations, like CARE and World Vision, also reported very significant giving during this same period (Miller, 1999, p. F1). Clearly, people were touched by stories of suffering in the Balkans and wanted to do something about it.

It would be a huge mistake to think that the Red Cross "breakthrough" heralds great things for the rest of us. About four years ago this author predicted that disaster relief organizations would be the first agencies to experience a flood of small online gifts. This prognostication came from the experience of working for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) when the news of the holocaust in Cambodia first hit the world press. The AFSC was one of the few agencies that could channel aid to Cambodia, and tens of thousands of spontaneous donations came its way--office workers passed the hat in Texas, schoolchildren took up collections in New England, and little old ladies and college students wrote out checks and then found the AFSC address through the phone book or at their library. Such outpourings of public sentiment occur when publicity is widespread and the need is clear.

While the Red Cross does many things, it is best known for its work with natural and human-made disasters. Therefore a critical strategy for its site is to offer timely and accurate information about such disasters. The Red Cross decided that its site must enable visitors to quickly:

* find out what happened;

* find out what the Red Cross is doing about it;

* find out what you can do about it, including volunteering;

* donate on the spot.

All of this was in place when the refugee crisis in Kosovo began flooding the news. Gifts followed. Not just online gifts, but 800-number gifts, mailed gifts, and major gifts from foundations and individuals such as Bill and Melinda Gates.

And, my prediction was, that's it. Disaster relief will have early take-off, but every other form of fund-raising will have to slog through the trenches for several more years. But I was wrong.