Post by Mishaal Abbasi on Oct 9, 2014 1:45:25 GMT -5
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) is an extremely large organization, with chapters all over the country, aimed at suicide prevention and addressing the extensive issues that are surrounding mental health in the United States.
One of the biggest fundraising events that AFSP sponsors is the “Out of the Darkness Community Walk,” all over the country.
The event is broken down into a number of smaller and more local events, organized by local AFSP chapters. “Walkers” can put together teams to raise money/donate and create teams with friends to meet certain goals. (http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Out-of-the-Darkness-Walks-Raise-Money-Awareness-for-Suicide-Prevention--270520151.html) This is where the social media aspect is driven. With the ease of access to social media platforms integration, the request for donations from AFSP come off much more personal when coming from a “walker,” on their own community. The extensions of community show just how small the world can be.
The Google Hangouts with Sarah Milston of The Spark Mill and Gloria Huang were extremely interesting. Both were very insightful, especially regarding the expansion of the digital world that we live in. One thing that particularly stood out to me was Gloria Huang’s insights on how the most successful attempts at fundraising is building a “long-term” relationship with your donor base.
With the expansion of the digital world, our digital literacy is adapting to the virtual environments that are making their way into - if not dominating aspect of - our lives. The most affective means of fundraising is to start beforehand – particularly by establishing online communities around your organization in general and then going from there.
The digital world is expanding. And with it, so is the scope of information. There are an infinite number of causes out there. So targeting an extremely general donor base is like bobbing for apples in the ocean. Organizations building communities can reach out to through their engagement initiatives by creating a direct stake for donors within their community – by showing them how they are making a difference and how they are effected.
The ALS ice-bucket challenge is like the song “Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba – a one hit wonder. The organization hit an oil-pipe, and by accident too since they didn’t put together the campaign to begin with (http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/10/08/will-there-ever-be-another-ice-bucket-challenge/). The success of the ice-bucket challenge was amazing, from an awareness and fiscal standpoint. But Ms. Huang of FEMA made a great point – the big challenge is now, after the fact, of how the organization is going to utilize all the attention and information that it has gained.
One of the biggest fundraising events that AFSP sponsors is the “Out of the Darkness Community Walk,” all over the country.
The event is broken down into a number of smaller and more local events, organized by local AFSP chapters. “Walkers” can put together teams to raise money/donate and create teams with friends to meet certain goals. (http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Out-of-the-Darkness-Walks-Raise-Money-Awareness-for-Suicide-Prevention--270520151.html) This is where the social media aspect is driven. With the ease of access to social media platforms integration, the request for donations from AFSP come off much more personal when coming from a “walker,” on their own community. The extensions of community show just how small the world can be.
The Google Hangouts with Sarah Milston of The Spark Mill and Gloria Huang were extremely interesting. Both were very insightful, especially regarding the expansion of the digital world that we live in. One thing that particularly stood out to me was Gloria Huang’s insights on how the most successful attempts at fundraising is building a “long-term” relationship with your donor base.
With the expansion of the digital world, our digital literacy is adapting to the virtual environments that are making their way into - if not dominating aspect of - our lives. The most affective means of fundraising is to start beforehand – particularly by establishing online communities around your organization in general and then going from there.
The digital world is expanding. And with it, so is the scope of information. There are an infinite number of causes out there. So targeting an extremely general donor base is like bobbing for apples in the ocean. Organizations building communities can reach out to through their engagement initiatives by creating a direct stake for donors within their community – by showing them how they are making a difference and how they are effected.
The ALS ice-bucket challenge is like the song “Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba – a one hit wonder. The organization hit an oil-pipe, and by accident too since they didn’t put together the campaign to begin with (http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/10/08/will-there-ever-be-another-ice-bucket-challenge/). The success of the ice-bucket challenge was amazing, from an awareness and fiscal standpoint. But Ms. Huang of FEMA made a great point – the big challenge is now, after the fact, of how the organization is going to utilize all the attention and information that it has gained.