Cybergifts - using the Internet in library fund-raising

Library Trends, Wntr, 2000 by Adam Corson-Finnerty

Advertisements and products are pushed at us all day long. They come to us on the radio, on television, from banner ads, from our newspaper, from telemarketing calls, from billboards, from pop-up coupons at the supermarket. Even "And-have-I-told-you-about-our-two-for-one-apple-crisp-special?" is a push.

Personally, I prefer the "pull" of the popcorn smell in a theater lobby or the "pull" of a measured dose of caffeine in a can of Diet Coke. Generally, the public dislikes spam, feeling it to be an unwanted intrusion.

So what is the rationale for using "push" methods for Internet fundraising? Because, rightly done, it may be the most powerful tool we have for bringing in online gifts. Any organization with a Web presence can use traditional "push" methods to try to drive traffic to their site. This can be as simple as putting your URL in direct mail pieces to having a radio announcer say "or contact www.sywash.edu/go-team/newlockerrooms/ donate.html."

Banner ads are a good example. Some charities have taken to running such advertisements on heavily-visited sites and with good results. The Internet society does accept banner ads, the same way we accept advertisements during our favorite TV shows. Library development organizations could add to their tool kits banner advertisements inducing visitors to "click here" to learn about our organization.

Banner ads can be very sophisticated these days, and they will be getting even more sophisticated as time goes on. Any good development officer will know that paying hard money for banner ads is only one way to proceed. The Yahoos and other portals could be persuaded to donate banner ads to your cause. Some of them have a good portion of their ad space unsold, which represents an opportunity for charities.

Internet push is in its infancy, and at this early stage one can imagine any number of other tactics that might be tried:

* sign up as a sponsor for a "free TV" giveaway and have Web-enabled multimedia promotions for library.edu built into the hard drive;

* give away pretty or clever screensaver software, and build promotions into the mix: the university's beautiful campus in all four seasons, along with campus songs softly sung by the glee club, with an occasional pitch for your capital campaign and the library;

* emulate Pointcast and offer "push" channel services to your constituents. There are vendors who will set you up with a complete package, including news and stockmarket feeds.

Imagination will stimulate further ways to use this technology. Internet push is here to stay, and we cannot even imagine all the forms it will take in the future. But that's then, and this is now. Right now, most of us are ignoring the most fabulous "push" technology available: e-mail.

E-MAIL

E-mail? Fabulous? How can this be? E-mail is old technology already. It's downright boring. True, but how many of us have come to depend on e-mail to get our work done? To stay in touch with friends? To lightly remind our daughter at college that she still has a family at home who loves her dearly and would like to hear from her once in awhile? To request a service or ask a question or make a complaint or tell President Clinton what we think?