Source: Extreme Foods
For the third and final Conversational Case Study on America’s Giving Challenge from Allison Fine and I, we pose a question rather than answer one: Is there a “special sauce” for successful participation in online fundraising contests? The post summarizes the strategies used by contest winners.
I wonder if the secret sauce is to do a cost/benefit analysis before you start preparing your favorite social media sauce? Hit the pause button and ask: “Should our organization participate in the first place?”
But how do answer that question? I got several emails from social media folks at nonprofits today asking that question and wanting a checklist to share with their development officers. As one person shared in an email, “How do I, as the person responsible for social media, make the case to the fundraising department who is attracted to the potential winning dollars – like moths to flame?”
Last week’s case study about how the Students for Free Tibet vets participation generated some great responses and advice in the comments from Wendy Harman, Red Cross and Stacey Monk, Epic Change, both veterans of online fundraising and voting contests.
So, I thought I summarize these into a “Cosmos Quiz” format. There are twenty questions.
If you answer yes to:
15-20 questions:
Participate
10-15 questions:
Use the questions to quantify the cost/benefits and then make the decision
Under 10:
Pass
Contest Sponsor
The first screen should be a cross-check with your organization’s values, mission, and goals and the contest sponsor. There’s a lot to be said for good contest design from sponsors, but nonprofits should also ask these questions.
- Are the sponsors and competition model in alignment with our personal values?
- Are the sponsors and competition model in alignment with our organization values?
- Do we have a relationship?
- Do they get social media?
- Does the contest design align with our mission?
Benefits
Many organizations only look at the dollar amount of the winner’s prize, but it is useful to take a holistic look at the benefits beyond that. The first question is whether you have a reasonable change of winning. Here you have to be honest with yourself and analyze the competition. That means it might not be in your best interest to jump in first.
- Do we have a reasonable chance of winning?
- Are there benefits beyond the money?
- If we don’t win, what can quantify other gains?
- Can we follow up with new stakeholders that we connect with?
- Will winning have a positive impact on our mission or ability to deliver programs?
- Will the contest provide a meaningful opportunity for stakeholder empowerment?
- Is participation in this contest for our community meaningful, fun or engaging?
- Will the contest provide any long term benefits?
Costs
You have to think beyond the costs of staff time or related expenses for the contest. You also need to analyze the social capital cost.
- Do we want to encourage our community to use the tools required to participate in the competition?
- Is the contest designed in a way that prevents donor fatigue?
- Can our closest fans and allies participate on the platform? Is it inclusive?
- Do we have the bandwidth to manage our participation in this contest?
- Does the contest help us build social capital or do we have enough deposited to make a with drawl?
- Is the contest in line with our organizational priorities demanding our time and resources?
- Does this competition complement our communications and fundraising activities for the year?
- Does the contest have potential for abusing our community’s trust or frustrating them with a platform that doesn’t work well?
Let’s continue the conversation over at the Case Foundation Blog and share our recipes for special sauces.
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