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Post by catyblack on Oct 2, 2014 21:45:39 GMT -5
I really enjoyed the Google Hangout with Paull Young from Charity Water. A few things really stood out including the %100 charity model that is put in place. I like that funds for staffing and business expenses comes from a separate fund than the money donated in micro donations. It makes the organization very transparent. Charity Water is very smart to use only digital new media and not traditional media. They refuse to pay for sponsored facebook posts yet still find ways to have a huge reach. Paull reference the success of Invisible Children and the slow momentum they gained over the years with personal screenings in small gatherings. Paull also said, “Do it wrong quickly.” This is a great motto to use with a non-profit because it encourages people to take risks and try new platforms.
The big takeaway from Charity Water was their birthday campaign encouraging people to donate their birthday to the organization by asking for donations instead of gifts. This has been very successful for Charity Water and a model that many other non-profits have copied. The Birthday donation is a very visually based campaign since most people post heavily on facebook and instagram on their birthdays. The birthday campaign acts as a personal appeal to potential donors and increases awareness.
Paull mentioned the story of Rachel, a Charity Water supported who passed away unexpectedly. Rachel’s parents asked that people donate to charity water in honor of Rachel and what would have been her ninth birthday. The impact was amazing, through photos and videos posted Charity Water raised over $1.2 million dollars and 143 water projects were able to be funded around the world. Rachel’s family continues to be huge supporters of Charity Water and actively campaign for donations to the non-profit.
Charity water does great work visually because they hire creative people to be on their team. Paull said that having creatives is the best investment for a nonprofit because of the quality of work that they are able to produce. Charity Water has an instagram with fantastic photos and videos. They stand out because the images they place are beautiful and help broaden the organizations reach. It’s important to note that Charity Water values likes, shares, retweets etc. just as much as they value money donated. They are smart to see the value of interaction and exposure on social media since they rely on digital media, free exposure and not traditional methods.
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Post by robinsona2 on Oct 4, 2014 20:16:50 GMT -5
I wrote my discussion answer on Doctors Without Borders, but I really appreciated your analysis of Charity Water’s social media strategy. We seem to have similar perspectives, especially when it comes to their view on valuing social media engagement as much as donations. They were the first nonprofit I have heard from that puts an emphasis on and prioritizes relationship building versus financial gain or brand awareness. I appreciated that about their organization. It does nothing but contribute to their transparency, which I believe is the number one reason people are apprehensive about donating to nonprofits in the first place.
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Post by bauerssn on Oct 5, 2014 9:25:05 GMT -5
Hey Caty! I too agree that their 100 percent model stood out with Charity: Water. I found the idea to be fantastic, especially with their transparent GPS system for their projects. It’s a great way for donors to trust that their money is going towards something worth while. Their birthday campaigns were also nice to hear about. I was shocked at the amount of people who donated to support one person for their specific non-profit that they work or volunteer at, just for their birthday. You can definitely see that Charity: Water knows what they are doing when it comes to gaining awareness while also being cost efficient.
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Post by owhitham on Oct 5, 2014 15:11:55 GMT -5
Charity Navigator is an independent entity which provides ratings for charities. They look at a number of things that the charity is doing, e.g., such as its governance, transparency of reports, and administrative spending. It is really great that the Charity: Water, which works to provide clean drinking water to people in the developing world, provides a detailed accounting of funding to support staffing and business expenses together with its outlay for charitable projects. From my review of Charity Navigator’s web site I note that Charity: Water has a four star rating (the highest rating) www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?keyword_list=charity%3A+water&Submit2=Search&bay=search.resultsI also think that there approach of trying different things, or “do it wrong quickly” as Paull Young stated, is a great way for Charity Water to identify what works and what does not so they can spend their time and money more wisely. |
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Post by reedcn2 on Oct 5, 2014 17:26:14 GMT -5
It's great you mentioned their 100% charity model and their separate funds, this stuck out to me as well. I really like that he even broke this information down to us because it shows honesty, and that they staff good people. It amazes me that they have such a great following without paying for ads, but goes to show they're really hardworking and consistent. The Birthday campaign was an awesome idea because it furthermore pushes their idea of kindness , and good moral of giving. I don't use Pinterest but I was very wooed at their different boards, especially the campaign strategies board. I always want to help organizations but am not crafty enough to come up with campaigns, and the strategy board can be very helpful.
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Post by landytd on Oct 5, 2014 17:57:43 GMT -5
I also really liked the Google Hangout with Paul, I think he definitely represented the organization as it stands for and did a great job in explaining the goals and background of Charity Water. The "Do it wrong quickly" statement was something that also stood out to me as well. I think it is important to realize the potential in new platforms and to take advantage of them as soon as you can even with minimal resources. I had never heard of Rachael's story but I think that the inspiration behind it is heart-warming and epitomizes the goodness that comes out of non-profits. It was also great to see how much they can do with minimal resources and be an example to other non-profits while helping other causes.
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