How fast do donors lose interest in Haiti?

Fast. Not as fast as some other massive humanitarian emergencies, but fast. It’s always that way with crises.

Here is Network for Good’s data:

The Internet and mobile are ideally matched to charitable giving at times of disaster, when technology can turn the impulse to help into a donation within seconds. But disaster giving online follows a “fast but fleeting” pattern. The
impulse effect typically spikes and drops within a short week-long timeframe. And so it has been with Haiti.

It’s not news that attention spans are short or that interest in an issue declines with media coverage (both traditional and social). Once something is off the headlines, it fades out of mind.

So what does a charity working in Haiti do?

1. When attention is on the crisis and impulse is at a high, ask for a recurring gift - a monthly, automatic credit card donation. It’s the gift that keeps on giving over the long months of recovery, even when it’s not top of mind.

2. Thank the donors that gave often and report on the life-saving results of their dollars. Donors lose interest when nonprofits do a lousy job showing the difference they’ve made.

3. Consider an anniversary campaign. Six months out or one year later, check in and thank your donors profusely. Tell great stories about their impact. Then ask them to consider a gift to rebuild.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/26 at 08:48 PM

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Comments

Good points there!

Obama is quick to see it and signsa bill for Haiti donors. Taxpayers will be able to write off charitable donations to Haiti earthquake relief efforts when they file their 2009 taxes this spring under a bill President Obama signed Friday. The hope is to encourage more donations.

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Andy

Posted by Andy on 01/26 at 10:09 PM

Its sad that the donations are almost reaching zero. I think it is important that there is money-support on a long-term condition to rebuild infrastructure and houses and to provide enough food, clean water and what else is important for those people.

Posted by Jamie on 01/27 at 05:38 AM

Just donate, because I don’t think the prayer thing is helping considering they just had a 6.1 magnitude aftershock.
Joliese tan

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/27 at 06:36 AM

In the words of Mal Warwick, “a first time contributor is just a qualified prospect.” All great points above! The “thank you” is such an important 1st step. Continued engagement following that is the key. Great post! Thanks for sharing!

Posted by Blase Ciabaton on 01/27 at 08:04 AM

Expanding on Andy’s comment . . . charities ought to be sharing the tax deduction information with their donors and prospects. Hopefully they aren’t relying solely on people hearing about it from the news media. Charities can combine your good ideas Katya, with info on the tax deduction through their emails, tweets, direct-mail updates, and so on.

Karen Zapp, Fundraising Copywriter

Posted by Karen Zapp on 01/27 at 11:34 AM

The incredibly heart-rending images and reports emanating from a natural disaster like Haiti’s always fuel an early surge in donations, with little to no effort on the part of the disaster relief charities. But the public is also hearing media report after media report about the millions of dollars that have already poured in via the various relief agencies, and may surmise that this incredible outpouring of money is adequate. So now it’s time for the Haiti-related and disaster relief charities to get to work making the case to potential supporters about why those millions in donations won’t be enough for what comes next. That’s the hard part.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/27 at 12:45 PM

Great points, Robin. Here’s what Doctors without Borders is trying to do - and some commentary on it: http://bit.ly/9DPh3v

Posted by Katya on 01/28 at 09:30 AM

Emergencies are one of the rare cases where that attention span is probably okay. Realistically later help in Haiti is not nearly as valuable as early help. In fact they’d probably do best if they could sell some kind of bond against fundraisers people are pledging in the future. Haiti is special in that it was a shambles before the disaster too, so they could you a tremendous amount of help, but in general in disasters the early money is the best anyway.

Posted by Danny Concannon on 02/01 at 03:48 PM