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Beth Kanter

Beth Kanter is a consultant, author, influencer. virtual trainer & nonprofit innovator in digital transformation & workplace wellbeing.

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The ALS Ice Bucket Donor Retention Challenge

December 11, 2014 Filed Under: Fundraising


Last month,  I had the pleasure of attending the Social Innovation Summit,  a twice annual event that represents a global convening of thought leaders in technology, investment, philanthropy, international development, and business.   I’ve been going every year since 2009 to cover the event on my blog.    Out of all the amazing speakers and discussions,  I was lucky enough to sit down with Barb Newhouse, President & Chief Executive Officer
ALS Association and discuss the Ice Bucket Challenge.
Barb Newhouse was appointed to her job at the ALS Association chief executive in May, 2014 and was still new when the Ice Bucket Challenge took the nation and the ALS Association by storm this summer.    She recalls, “I was visiting a chapter in Alabama when I got a call from the fundraising team mentioning letting me know about the Ice Bucket Challenge that at the time was happening in Massachusetts at fundraising event organized by Peter Frates and that people were posting videos on Facebook.”   Barb says she thought it was great that they might raise some money and some visibility on Facebook, but never in a million years did they anticipate that the fundraiser would transform into a global event.
Says Barb, “All of sudden it went crazy! And, our entire organization kicked into high gear.”    They set up daily messages on their web site and social media channels to let everyone what was going on.  They also sent out information to and got feedback from chapters, board, and relevant stakeholders.    “We were deluged with media interviews.   There was one day in August where I did 30 interviews.”
Of those who donated, 600,000 donors checked the box or gave permission for the ALS Association to contact them in the future.    The organization has pulled together a brain trust of advisers – Blackbaud, Porter Novelli (PR), Charity Dynamics, and other consultants and experts to help formulate and deploy an engagement and retention strategy.   Says Newhouse, these donors are younger and want to engage with us differently.
According to Newhouse,  in the past, the organization viewed social media as a necessary evil.  She says, “It was like – oh yeah, we have to do that.”  It has now become more central to their communications and fundraising strategy, especially for retention of these new donors who Newhouse says want a lot more accountability.    They are redesigning the web site and other communications to keep donors informed about how the money is being spent and their continuing efforts to support research, patients, and the ALS ecosystem.  Says Newhouse, “$115 a lot of money, not enough to cure disease, but it is a game changer.”
The ALS Association is working hard on the programs they have invested in and at the same time building our engagement of these new donors to keep them donors.   Says Newhouse, “The worst thing that can happen that in 3-5 years – we can’t sustain the research.  We are committed to increasing our fundraising capacity around engagement and retention so we can continue this important work.”
The Ice Bucket Challenge has made the ALS association examine it collaborates the players in its ecosystem.   Says Barb, “We need to learn from each other and collaborate more.”   The ALS ecosystem has many players with different niches – patient support, caretaker support, research, etc.   “Prior to the Ice Bucket Challenge, we thought more about our differences and now we need to think about how we can leverage each other strengths.  You can’t do good research  if don’t understand the patient, you can’t do good advocacy if you don’t understand the research and you can’t do good patient care if you don’t support research and advocacy.  can’t do good research or do advocacy.  We need to more work better as an ecosystem.”
According to Newhouse, the Ice Bucket Challenge raised over $115 million from 2.6 million donors.    The Ice Bucket Challenge lowered the average age of their donors from age 50 to age 34.   The organization acquired a lot of new “Gen Z” or “PhilanthroKid” donors.   Newhouse was in meeting when a staff member interrupted the meeting because a ten year old was in the office and wanted to meet with her.  The young philanthropist handed her $100 for ALS that he has raised.   He told her, “And there is more to come!”
Indeed, for ALS Association and other nonprofits that successfully use social media to engage and retain younger donors and continue to work as networks or ecosystems on their issue areas versus stand-alone, isolated institutions.
What is your organization’s strategy for donor retention for new donors that you may acquire via social media or giving days?  What are you takeaways?
A few resources on donor engagement, stewardship, and retention
Pamela Grew, An Attitude of Gratitude
Lynne Wester,  Tips for Retaining Year End Donors
Frank Barry, Donor Retention Tips
Bloomerang Blog
GivingTuesday Donor Retention Plan

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jay Goulart says

    December 11, 2014 at 3:53 pm

    Retention is about the knowing and having the right information. Big data analytics has the power to capture information in real time. The retention opportunity is about having the right systems to capture all relevant data in order to respond and communicate in a more customized fashion to all the donors. Big data could have captured who did videos because a family member was deal with ALS. The challenge need not be with the right systems and strategies.

  2. Jay Geneske says

    December 12, 2014 at 2:27 am

    great post! I’ve been curious about this, so nice to learn how ALS will approach it. Something I’m also curious about is how much it will cost them to renew the donors, and how that cost differs from their benchmark. Reminds me of the launch of Groupon and the challenges cultural org’s had with renewal of a huge (and often younger) new donation base.

  3. Allison Fine says

    December 12, 2014 at 5:50 am

    Great article, Beth. Will be fascinating to see if they can really make the switch to a social culture that has never been in their DNA before. Would be the first time it happened, I think, based on abundance rather than a crisis or scarcity.
    I wrote at the time that I was hoping they would take a little of the money and let their new crowd decide what to do with it. Hope that’s still a possibility.

  4. James Blews says

    December 13, 2014 at 11:31 am

    Jay Geneske kinda took the words right out of my mouth:)
    I was surprised at how low the ROI is for most organizations that actively go after donations. The difference between retention and acquisition for an organization like this, especially after seeing such a successful social media blitz, if more cost-effective, might force more focus on these types of organizations.
    “According to Newhouse, in the past, the organization viewed social media as a necessary evil.” Kind of sums up how a lot of businesses view social media currently, even with other industries and organizations finding great success.

  5. Alan Sharpe, Fundraising Summit Chair says

    December 16, 2014 at 12:31 pm

    Great post. Looking forward to seeing what ALS does in 2015.

Trackbacks

  1. The ALS Ice Bucket Donor Retention Challenge | infopunk.org says:
    December 11, 2014 at 12:00 pm

    […] Last month,  I had the pleasure of attending the Social Innovation Summit,  a twice annual event that represents a global convening of thought leaders in technology, investment, philanthropy, international development, and business.   I’ve been going every year since 2009 to cover the event on my blog.    … Read More […]

  2. The ALS Ice Bucket Donor Retention Challenge | infopunk.org says:
    December 11, 2014 at 12:00 pm

    […] Last month,  I had the pleasure of attending the Social Innovation Summit,  a twice annual event that represents a global convening of thought leaders in technology, investment, philanthropy, international development, and business.   I’ve been going every year since 2009 to cover the event on my blog.    … Read More […]

  3. #Mixed Links for Nonprofit Marketers – and Special Note for Email Subscribers | Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog says:
    December 19, 2014 at 8:07 am

    […] And to see donor retention in action, read Beth Kanter’s talk with Barb Newhouse, President & Chief Executive Officer of the ALS Association where she discusses their plans to keep all of those Ice Bucket Challenge donors. […]

  4. 10 Great Social Innovation Reads: December 2014 | Social Velocity says:
    January 6, 2015 at 9:00 am

    […] Not least of which is whether ALS would be able to retain any of those new donors. Beth Kanter talks to ALS CEO Barb Newhouse about exactly that […]

  5. The ALS Ice Bucket Donor Retention Challenge | GuideStar Blog says:
    April 1, 2015 at 7:00 am

    […] running and most popular blogs for nonprofits.  To read the original article on Beth’s blog, click here. Beth has over 30 years working in the nonprofit sector in technology, training, capacity building, […]

  6. Social Media, Networks, and Data in Patient Healthcare Networks | eventsoftwp says:
    June 1, 2015 at 10:08 am

    […] on finding a drug for a cure, but also for the Association’s fundraising.    Last December, I interviewed the ALS CEO, Barb Newhouse, and learned that the average age of donors got younger and that 600,000 […]

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