Innovations in Online Fundraising and Organizing from the 2010 Mid-term Elections

1. Webinar: Lessons from Campaign 2010:
Innovations in Online Fundraising and Organizing
from the Mid-term Elections
For Audio Call: 1-408-792-6300 Event Number: 666 945 083
Presented By:
Teddy Goff, Blue State Digital, Taryn Rosenkranz, DCCC and
Eric Rardin, Care2.com
November 9, 2010

2. Using WebEx
• Chat & raise hand
• If you are having internet audio problems, you can dial
in using a landline 1-408-792-6300 Event Number: 665
945 083
• If you lose your internet connection, reconnect using
the link emailed to you.
• WebEx Support:
1-866-229-3239
For Audio: 1-408-792-6300 Event Number: 666 945 083

3. This Webinar is being Recorded
• The webinar will be available on the Frogloop blog at
http://www.Frogloop.com
• You will receive a link to this presentation following the
webinar.
• Tweeting the webinar? Use the Twitter hashtag: #Care2
For Audio: 1-408-792-6300 Event Number: 666 945 083

4. For Audio: 1-408-792-6300 Event Number: 666 945 083
Nonprofits use Care2 for:
• Online Advocacy
• Email list growth
• Donor lead acquisition
• Driving traffic to website
• Advertising and branding
• Surveys and research
• Education and outreach
What is Care2?
Citizens use Care2 for:
• Starting or signing petitions
• Volunteering
• Donating $
• Spreading news
• Commenting on blogs
• Starting groups (organizing)
• Joining nonprofits
• The largest online
community of people
“making a difference”
• 14 million “do-gooders”

5. 2010 MIDTERM ELECTIONS:
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE LESSONS LEARNED
Teddy Goff | Associate VP, Strategy | Blue State Digital

6. PRINCIPLE:
AUTHENTICITY
6

8. MONTHS AGO

9. THE DAY AFTER

12. PRINCIPLE:
TRANSPARENCY
12

17. PRINCIPLE:
PARTICIPATION
17

21. TACTICS
MATTER

25. EMAIL
TEDDY@BLUESTATEDIGITAL.CO
M

26. Lessons Learned from 2010

27. What Went Right… And could
have been even better!
Success Stories – capitalize on news, hitting the right
moment, creating the right urgency, expanded email
lists
What could have improved response
Subject Lines
Contribution pages with navigations
Links to news stories
Too long emails
No graphics

28. Email Confessional
What’s the right amount of emails?
Did I test?
Did I send non-fundraising emails?
Have I sent an email since?
Did I segment?
Did I ask too much or too little?

29. Email Solicitations A-B-C’s
The Truth is NO ONE wants to give to you
but they will if you make the case right!
1) Make it personal (one person to a person)
2) Make a transaction argument
3) Make it not look like homework (text light!)
4) Make the subject line mysterious (one word)
5) Make all links go to fundraising pages
(DO NOT LINK TO NEWS STORIES, PLEASE!!!)

30. Am I working on growing my list?
Email appends
Swaps, swaps, swaps, swaps and more swaps
Facebook ads
Multi channel giving
Offline Events
Surrogate Asks

31. DO: Have good subject lines
Use one-word, short, mysterious, vague words usually
negative works best. ABSURD, OUTRAGEOUS,
DESPICABLE
DON’T USE THE FOLLOWING…
The following are unfortunately real subject lines:
Contribute before midnight tonight
Critical Fundraising Deadline
Double your donation
Last chance to give

32. DO: Write from one person to one person
FR: Joe Smith (personalize with mail merge)
DON’T:DON’T: DO NOT Send fromDO NOT Send from
the “Smith Campaign”the “Smith Campaign”

33. DON’T: Take them to watch a video
and come back
DON’T: Link to YouTube or anywhere for
them to watch the video and then come

34. DO: Link only to Contribution Page!!
DON’T: DO NOT EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER
EVER EVER EVER EVER (don’t you even think it!)
LINK TO A NEWS STORY!
newspaper pay people lots of money to keep people on
their sites – do not send them there to read a story,
they are never coming back to give!

38. CALL/EMAIL FOR HELP!
Taryn Rosenkranz
Director of Marketing & New
Media
Democratic Congressional
Campaign Committee
(202) 485-3527 office
rosenkranz@dccc.org

39. Questions?