University Fundraising Online

by Nick Allen

Many fundraisers are trying to figure out how to raise money on the Internet, especially if they're from smaller organizations without national name recognition. So it's good to hear about organizations that, with a small investment, are making it work.

Mississippi State University launched the Web site for its Annual Fund in February 1997 and has raised $17,000 so far - including the Fund's largest single gift of $10,000!

"We started by asking donors to send us a pledge via a form on the Web site," says J. Mark Hutchins, CFRE, director of annual giving at MSU. Then after several months - for about $500 and the help of a "very smart graduate assistant" - they set up a credit card form on a secure server.

The "secure server" encrypts the donor's credit card information before it's sent over the Internet. MSU has also used its secure server for selling picture calendars and accepting registration fees for alumni events.

Eliminating the $10,000 gift and another for $1,000, the average of the 24 gifts so far is $200, about five times more than the average mail gift. (Telemarketing pledges average $65.)

Why did the $10,000 donor give over the Web? He gave in honor of his recently deceased father, lives 400 miles from the campus, and wanted to get the gift in by a deadline for public recognition.

Donors can select which MSU school they give to, and many online donors choose the engineering school, so they probably have computer backgrounds. From the Web site logs, Hutchins learned that one contribution was made at 3 A.M., and others have come after midnight. Credit card contributions even let donors get frequent flyer miles.

Donors get an instant e-mail acknowledgement and a letter mailed within 48 hours. MSU is also planning to offer free e-mail forwarding for life for alumni, as many other universities are doing. MIT has been doing it for some time, and the University of California at Berkeley just started.

"We see this as friend-raising," says John Valva, director of marketing and membership at the California Alumni Association. Alums can use the e-mail address alum name@alum.calberkeley.org. They can go to the alumni Web site anytime to change the address to which their e-mail is forwarded. It's great advertising for Berkeley, and also gives the alumni association a way to keep in touch electronically with alums (although this will have to be done carefully to avoid "spamming").

Universities have the advantage that most recent grads are comfortable online, having used the Internet every day at college. Younger donors are also usually more comfortable using credit cards online.


Nick Allen is president of donordigital.com, which helps nonprofits do online fundraising, marketing, and advocacy. With Mal Warwick and Michael Stein, he is author of the first book on online fundraising, Fundraising on the Internet. E-mail Nick, or call (510) 647-2700, or visit his web site at www.donordigital.com.

Other articles on fundraising and marketing on the Internet
• Raising money on the Internet
• Does your organization need a Web site?
• Fundraising sites worth seeing
• Using e-mail to cultivate donors
• 10 ways to get more people to your site
• Online guides for donors