Allstate encourages teens to say NO to texting and driving

Photo credit: Allstate Insurance

Since the invention of cellphones the there has been an increase in the number of deaths due to distracted driving. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, car crashes are the number one killer of U.S. teenagers. As a car insurance company Allstate has taken it upon itself to educate teens on the dangers of texting and driving and through its program Allstate Teen's Driver Pledge encourages them to put away their cell phones while driving.

The program asks teens to sign the pledge not to text and drive and when they do they receive a thumb band that says 'TXTING KILLS' as a daily reminder of the commitment they have made. Within two years of the programs inception they received 250,000 signed pledges from teens not to text and drive. The company also set up a Facebook page that provides additional stats, information, pledge stories, event dates and detatils, etc.

This campaign is effective because as a car insurance company the issue of teen drivers and texting and

Photo credit: Allstate Insurance

driving is something that can often be a factor in insurance. The company would have access to information on the epidemic that is texting and driving and made it its responsibility to educate people and try and change this behavior. A campaign like this provides benefits to the company as well giving them a more favorable reputation. Parents may be more swayed to choose Allstate as their insurance company of choice for their teens new car if they have the option to educate their child about driving safety and get them to sign a pledge not to text and drive.

One criticism I have is that yes they are creating more awareness potentially and getting teens to sign the petition but their is no indication that this is truly changing teen behavior or changing statistics around teens and texting and driving. However on their website they do indicate that they have been able to reduce teen traffic accident fatalities by 48 per cent since 2005 but this is a reflection of all their teen safe driving initatives and not a reflection of the 'X the TEXT' pledge.

- Thea Ness

LUSH Charity Pot = effective cause-related marketing

Photo credit: LUSH

In 2007 LUSH launched a program called Charity Pot. Since then the charity has been able to raise over $10,000,000 for more than 850 grassroots charities in 42 different countries. LUSH gives 100% of the proceeds to the charity that is indicated on the lid of the pot.

Charities supported by LUSH range from humanitarian to environmental and animal rights. Of you of the charities that have benefited from the charity pot program are:

• Victory Community Development Society
•  Supporting sustainable community building and poverty alleviation in Northern Ethiopia.
• For the Children
• Every student should have school supplies to begin each school year regardless of socio-economic status.
• Equality New Mexico
•  Equality New Mexico is the state's LGBTQ advocacy and civil rights organization.
• Project Coyote
• Promoting compassionate conservation and coexistence between people and wildlife 
• Honor the Earth 
• Honor the Earth: a national environmental Native-led organization protecting our sacred waters, land and relatives.
• Spirit Bear Research Foundation
• Conducting locally relevant, ecosystem-based wildlife research addressing pressing conservation concerns in Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest.

This cause-related marketing is effective because it allows people to buy a useful product (lotion) encased in

Photo credit: LUSH

attractive packaging. Each pot has a picture and description on the lid of the charity that proceeds from the sale will help fund. Purchasers of the charity pot also aren't limited to donating to just one charity as the program has a number of different pots offering support to a wide number of different charities.

LUSH already has other initiatives that make it  a very socially responsible company. All of the companies products are ethically sourced, environmentally friendly and are not tested on animals. The companies ethical efforts is a huge part of it's brand.

The charity pot program has also been tied into some of the companies other intiatives making it an even more attractive buy. Each charity pot includes 7 ingredients from the companies SLush Fund projects around the world. The SLush Fund mandate is: 2% of the amount spent on raw materials and packaging is used to invest in sustainable farming and community projects from scratch.

Charity Pots can be purchased online or in store. Charities that are interested in applying for funding can do so here.

- Thea Ness

CanadaHelps.org really helps!

The website I chose was CanadaHelps.org. This website is very unique from other giving websites as it actually acts as a portal for you to select or search any charity you want and donate through the site.

According to the website ,"Our mission is to promote – and ultimately increase – charitable giving in Canada. Because we’re a non-profit our fees are typically half that of the for-profit alternatives. We do this servicing Canadian donors, charities and corporations."

CanadaHelps provides an easy way to donate and fundraise online. By simplifying the process CanadaHelps aims to increase charitable giving in Canada. They offer services for both charities and donors. The website is connected to every registered charity in te country. The organization has raised ovr $600 million dollars in donations and relies only on 1.8% of the donations given to operate. To date the website is relied on by over 16,000 charities for their affordable online technology.

The site also provides online technology for small and medium sized charities. CanadaHelps  provides online tools and technology for  a small rate in order for charities to raise funds and work more efficiently. Canada Helps also provides education via training programs and online webinars  Topics include marketing and outreach, good governance, technology and of course fundraising.

According to JohnHaydon.com, there are many components to consider in order to create a successful donation website. The site lists 19 ways to raise more money for donations .I will include the most successful that apply to CanadaHelps.

• Limit paragraphs to 2-3 sentences

The paragraphs used throughout the site are very short and easy to read. The language used is very easy to understand. The audience can very easily navigate through the site due to the concise language used.

• Use pictures

Pictures are used throughout the site. The most successful use of pictures is on the main page. Several pictures are used to promote various charities that the user can donate to. The photos are selected to easily give the user an understanding of the charity. Small icons are used throughout the site and are clean and compliment the branding of the site.

• Use white space to direct the eye

The pages do not seem too cluttered and everything presented is very straight forward. White space is used very successfully. 

• Reduce steps to donate

Ultimately CanadaHelps reduces the steps to donate process. The site does an excellent job in helping those who want to donate find the charity that suits them best in the easiest way possible. On the website they directly say, "For Canadian donors, we are a one-stop shop for discovering, donating and fundraising online for any registered Canadian charity".

• Create a seamless donor experience across all marketing channels

CanadaHelps really nailed the seamless donor experience across all marketing channels as they have a mobile site and social media pages that all successfully convey the same messages and focus on their mission , vision and values.They also have videos on the site that talk about their organization.

This site is fantastic as a lot of the time, those that want to donate have a very hard time finding the right charity for themselves. I recommend anyone to use this site especially if they had questions about the specific charity they wanted to donate to or if they were looking for a new charity to get involved with.I believe this website will succeed in generating more donations!

Charity: Water and how it's website motivates online donations

Since the invention of the internet it is easier than ever for people to donate to charities whenever they want from wherever they are. There are a number of different factors that go into creating a good charity website. According to insivia.com what goes into creating a well done and motivating charity website is this:

• Tell people what you do
•  people want to know what exactly a charity does, who they help and how their money will be used
• Keep your design clean
• a confusing and cluttered website can make it hard for people to understand what you do and how and where they are supposed to donate

•  Be straightforward
• don't use jargon and terms that people don't understand 

An example of a charity website that does all of these things very well is Charity: Water. It's website is very simple and easy to follow. As soon as you open up the page you are immediately taken to the donate page where you can put in an amount by monthly donation or a one time donation. The page also directly says on it that 100% of your money will fund clean water projects for people in need.

Photo credit: charitywater.org

The top bar also has a why water? section which gives you stats on the number of people that live without clean water in the world (663 Million) as well as talks about how they tackle the water crises and the great things having clean water can do.

There is also a section at the top called our work that talks about how they work, where they work, the progress they have made and stories from people they have encountered and helped. This page helps give people a larger overview of what the organization does and who it helps.

The is also an about us page which talks about the founder, staff and board. It also provides a link to staff stories and career and internship opportunities. This page gives people a chance to know about the people that work for the charity as well as look into become a staff member or intern if they so choose to get more involved with the charity.

This website is very simple, clean and nice looking, easy to follow and understand. All the facts you need and want to know before donating are right there. They make it very easy for people donate what they can to the charity which is part of the reasons it was inclueded cssdesignawards.com list of 25 emotive charity and non-profit websites.

If you would like to donate to Charity: Water please to do here.

- Thea Ness

Great example of enabling and engaging donors online

There are so many charities that exist who do absolutely phenomenal work in making a difference in various ways locally, globally and internationally, which makes it highly difficult to select just one to who stands out in the ways it attracts and motivates donors to give online. There are undoubtedly several reasons why there would be variances across the spectrum in terms of which do a good job online and which could use improvement. Such reasons may include: budget, lack of capacity - design-wise to build out the website aesthetically, or simply low awareness that this particular area really matters today in a charity's ability to drum up funds online.

An article online discussed a 2011 study on online giving, which highlighted that every sector in the non-profit industry had seen double-digit growth in online donations since 2009. It also mentioned that by improving the methods and ways people can give online, can help charities raise more funds in the future. It is a great way to enable people to give.

Some of the tips the above article provided to help facilitate an effective, easy online giving portal for people include:

• Asking for minimal information 
• Explaining every field 
• Making donation buttons stand out 
• Having financial information readily available and accessible 
• Providing donors with a clear vision of what their donation is actually doing (showing them the impact of their dollars) 

Additionally, the nonprofit networking blog: Network for good, describes some of the other ways to make online donation websites more effective and interactive for users. Two really good examples the blog pointed out for attracting and assisting donors to give online are

1. Collect email addresses so that even if they aren't compelled to give on their first visit, the charity can start to build a relationship and plant the seed;
2. Create interactive messages that engage and capture donors through specific calls to action and unique offers. Along with interactive and engaging content, the website must aim to foster two-way communication and dialogue

After considering what is being said online about creating successful online donation websites, I've chosen to highlight Doctors Without Borders Canada. I think this is an amazing organization that a great job online at building relationships with donors and compelling site visitors to give. 

First and foremost, when you visit the site, you'll notice the bold branding and pops of red, which helps to draw visitors eyes to the red "donate" button on the right hand side. It is very easy to find and one of the first things visitors will see. When you hover over this button there are four drop down options available for donations: monthly, one-time, in honour and in memory. Visitors are provided with choices - the first interactive and enabling piece of the website. When clicked on, each has its own unique page with a thank you and compelling messages and bulleted options with an impact offering, explaining at the various dollar amounts, what the giver is actually able to do through their donation. This piece really shows the potential donor what their money is going towards in a tangible and impactful way. When you get to the final stage and have selected what amount you'd like to give, the required information to donate is quite minimal and there is only one page to navigate as opposed to some websites, where this piece can often be extremely lengthy and full of distracting and jargon, legal information, etc. 

In terms of reporting and showing their legitimacy and transparency as a charity, in the "about us" section there are available reports for visitors to download. This is one reason why Doctors Without Borders was included in Financial Post's Charity of the Year Report Card.  And finally, there is a great "support us" button that visitors can click that takes them to a full page of useful information on donating with stories, donation options and other ways to give. This is a great hub for any potential donor to have access to. 

Overall, when considering they layout, I think the charity does a great job at providing an easy and interactive tool for people to give. It is simplistic and does a great job at providing a call-to-action and illustrating the tangible impact of the donation.

By Meghan Schimpf

Tips to Encourage Donations

According to PitcherGroup.com, charities have a variety of “proven money earning techniques” they can employ to encourage donations. Some of the most successful strategies include a mix of traditional and web-oriented techniques. Among these techniques are:

• Include personal stories
• Communicate benefit to donor
• Use personal appeals (i,e, have a person ask on behalf of the organization instead of organization as a whole)
• Establish a sense of urgency
• Include testimonials/supportive comments
• Provide donation/gifting options, details of goals and fundraising totals
• Have multiple donation buttons and calls to action
• Provide project updates

In addition, Network for Good notes that there are ten things that a charity’s home page should have in order to quickly capture the interest and attention of potential donors. Some of these components are a “two-second statement” about who the charity is and what it does; a clear, intuitive, easy to navigate website;  a case that demonstrates what makes the charity different, unique, and/or appealing to support; a way for potential donors to sign up for more information; links to social media feeds; and information about upcoming events and other opportunities for engagement.

Source: http://saturdayplace.org/rashied-and-dianna-davis/

With all of these great tips in mind, I recommend that you take a look at the Saturday Place website to see just how well the charity has gone about incorporating several of these elements. The Saturday Place homepage is presented in a simple, easy to navigate format with links to upcoming events and general information about the charity and the charity’s mission. The home page also contains motivating quotes and heart-warming pictures of children with links to information about partners, current projects, and the “man behind the place”. The only thing I would say detracts from the Saturday Place website (as per the “best practices” suggested above) is the understated “donate” button. However, the organization provides multiple options to “get involved” and allows potential donors to “meet our students”. The "meet our students" pages provides  testimonials and infographics that display how the charity’s efforts have help to improve academic performance (one of the main goals of the organization). 

- Olivia Blundell 

Kids Up Front - impacting lives ones ticket at a time

It's tough to pick a favourite charity, but one in particular I think is really unique and doing great work in Calgary and across Canada, is Kids Up Front. This organization gives kids, teens and families suffering from poverty, abuse and mental illness, etc., the opportunity to access life changing experiences, one ticket at at time. From sporting events including hockey and football to concerts, plays and the like, Kids Up Front offers experiences of a lifetime.

I love the concept of this charity, because I feel for many of us, experiences like this are something we quickly forget impact us in big ways. I remember my first concert and my first hockey game as one of the most exciting and enjoyable times in my life. The memories made from experiences like this are so impactful, and when we have regular access to them,  or attend concerts or a games even once a year or so, we sometimes forget that there are people out there who without organizations like Kids Up Front, would never get to experience the simple joy and happiness that comes from just having fun. A ticket could mean the world and that is why I think this organization is on the right track. Food and shelter are necessities, but it is neat to know that there are organizations that grasp the idea that everyone deserves to have a bit of fun, regardless of what they face or the cards they've been dealt.

For more information on Kids Up Front, click here.


By Meghan Schimpf