Christmas is a time of presents, merriment and the spirit of goodwill, is it not? Then why is it so hard to get people to give, wonders Niki May Young.
This fundraising lark isn't easy, is it? I've recently launched the Christmas campaign for my charity after a visit to one of our projects. PassingItOn funds small educational projects in Africa, paying for community schools and ensuring their longevity. On our latest visit to one of our projects, Dreamland school in Ghana, we discovered that the brand new library had no books. So the Christmas campaign was born.
I came up with the Pass the Parcel campaign, added a page to our website, set up a Just Giving page, and set about a mass social networking assault - facebook, several twitter pages, stumbleupon, digg.
Here's some of the tweets that I've tried to engage with people:
On my personal Twitter:
The celebrity one: App Jedward&woolworths have monopoly on #passtheparcel just now but if they have a heart, they'll help our cause http://tinyurl.com/39224fw
The suggestive one: Running out of time for Christmas pressies! Maybe I'll just donate to pass the parcel for everyone!! http://tinyurl.com/3yyyt8x
The controversial one: Proof that Scots are more generous...£80 of £100 donated to Pass the Parcel from Scotland...come on England! http://tinyurl.com/39fg9la
The guilt trip one: RT @passingitonUK: Our Ghana kids have no books to read...at all! Please Pass the Parcel of education this Christmas http://tinyurl.com/39fg9la
The off-the-wall one: What's making u feel guilty today? Don't worry... #offset your guilt by Passing the Parcel http://www.justgiving.com/passthparcel (pls RT)
On the PassingItOn Twitter:
The cheery one: Ooh ooh! Presents! I love presents, you love presents, we all love presents... Give the best gift this Christmas http://tinyurl.com/39224fw
The grateful one: Wow, thank you(!!)for your donations to our Pass the Parcel appeal to buy books for the kids at Dreamlands! £350 raised so far, great start!
The celebrity one: @Lord_Sugar maybe you'd be interested in donating some for our book appeal?! (response to his book launch)
The direct one: Please RT to Pass the Parcel...Our school needs your support! http://www.justgiving.com/passtheparcel/
Two weeks in and we've raised £410 towards our £3000 target. Which genuinely is marvellous, but I can't help but wonder why the only people who have donated have been family and friends of those involved in the charity? Does this mean that the ordinary person doesn't care about the education of kids in Africa (maybe) - that they are too distanced from the cause (possibly- see previous blog re: international aid), that they are not prepared to give unless they know someone who is directly involved?
Jackpot! I think that at a time when appeals are plentiful, and Christmas is one of those times, people need to connect with both the message, and the person/organisation giving it - which is why celebrity endorsements work so well. For a small charity with only three people actively involved in campaigning this can be a problem. My challenge now lies with making people understand the cause, or getting more people to connect with me... suggestions gratefully received!
(If you're feeling particularly in the spirit of goodwill and would like to donate to Pass the Parcel, please visit our Just Giving page. Thank you!)
Niki May Young is Civil Society Media's website editor and trustee of PassingItOn
