The tragedy of the Australian bushfires has impacted the hearts of many around the country and around the world. Over the last few months we have marvelled at the generosity of the local and international support with millions of dollars coming through the GiveEasy platform.
After seeing the devastation suffered by our fellow humans and the helpless Australian wildlife people have not only opened their hearts but their wallets to make donations to the charities on the ground providing support.
With the need for an urgent call to action over this period, digital fundraising was the answer for a quick response.
With this in mind, we wanted to share our 4 key learnings from the bushfire appeals that are applicable to any type of emergency fundraising.
1
Be Ready To Push The Button
When an emergency hits, it’s the organisations that can launch immediately that get most of the donations. Within an hour Australian Red Cross were able to launch a flexible donation page on the GiveEasy platform which gave them the opportunity to start raising funds instantaneously.
TIP: Have your digital fundraising infrastructure already in place so that if disaster does hit you are ready to launch right away.
2
Account For International Donations
The Australian bushfires captured worldwide attention. With international media, came an increase in overseas donations. A staggering 25% of donations on the GiveEasy platform during this period were from offshore supporters.
TIP: It’s important that your donation page and payment gateway can handle overseas payments. Having a payment gateway option like PayPal is a great way to allow for overseas donations. We also recommend ensuring you are up to date with international data protocols like GDPR and how it relates to your organisation.
The GiveEasy donation pages have been amazing and to have them available for this Bushfire appeal has been so great. Especially with the international audience. They had trouble with our website form so we directed them to the GiveEasy pages and that worked a treat.
During the height of this crisis, we saw a type of peer-to-peer fundraising emerge utilising Facebook. Celebrities used their status and reach to maximise dollars raised and generate interest in those charities close to their heart.
TIP: Don’t disregard the power of your biggest fans! Your volunteers and supporters of your charity can help spread the word about your cause, even better than a celebrity. Find the Celeste Barber of your charity and get them sharing, tweeting and posting!
Final tips when running a last minute tax appeal:
4
Ultise Corporate Support
The swell from corporations offering support was huge. It showed that it wasn’t just individuals that cared, businesses wanted to do what they could to help too.
TIP: Look at how you can engage corporate supporters to help elevate your fundraising efforts - in particular any opportunities for matched giving.
Working with GiveEasy has been both easy and immensely successful for us at Foodbank Victoria. We have only been on board a very short time and we are already reaping the benefits in the midst of the Bushfire Emergency.
Right from the start GiveEasy was available to us with ideas and plans to get a digital fundraising campaign up and running. Within 24 hours we has multiple landing pages, specific to our different causes as well as a comprehensive Facebook ad campaign.
We have seen both our income from digital platforms as well as our donor base grow exponentially with GiveEasy - all because of their willingness to help out and the fact their product is so good - easy to use, simple interface for both the donor and the charity, reports available at a push of a button and fantastic customer support.
We hope that the people affected by the bushfires begin to rebuild their lives knowing they are supported by the organisations that are working around the clock to help our fellow Australians and wildlife affected by this tragedy.
Need help setting up for an Emergency Appeal?
Get in touch today, GiveEasy is here to assist with all your digital fundraising needs.
