The Obama campaign has already responded to the gas tax issue with a new ad. What’s amazing is how short the cycle for new creative has become. Can your organization produce something new in two days?
Link [Obama Ad on YouTube]
MoveOn has to be running what could be called the most successful video contest ever — if the measurement is participation.
Their Obama in 30 Seconds contest invited people to make a 30-second spot, positive only, to help elect Barack Obama. They got over 1,000 entries, which is great. But they are, as of this writing, rapidly approaching 4 million votes to the contest. Now, there are many YouTube videos with millions or views, but in this contest each person has to vote for each video in three categories, so this is a higher level of engagement.
The whole thing is set-up beautifully. They are using Amazon S3 to host the video in their own player. They made the embed code available as well as a permalink. They require votes (out of 5 stars) in three categories, Positive Message, Originality, Overall Impact. They serve up the videos in a random order to make sure every video will get lots of votes.
Now, if success is electing Obama we don’t know how effective it is yet. But it shows the video contest is here to stay and making high quality media is easier than ever.
The quality of the videos varies greatly. Here’s a nice one I saw, but then because of the random serving I couldn’t find it again on the MoveOn site, but found it on YouTube:
What’s your message? It might depend on your number–501(c)3 or 501(c)4 or 527.
Because this is an election year, many of our projects have a political bent. But how much of one? Well, that depends on the type of nonprofit status a client holds. Most of our clients are 501(c)3s, but some are 501(c)4s or 527s. The degree to which they can speak out on political issues or campaigns is determined by their designation. Some of our clients, like the Sierra Club, have all three designations, in which case, their money has to be divided into different funds with c3, c4, or 527 designations, and used appropriately. (There are actually 28 different 501c designations! But we’re only going to talk about three here).
501(c)3s are defined by the IRS as charitable, religious, scientific or educational organizations and mostly consist of public or private foundations such as Red Cross or Habitat for Humanity. The money they use for media is generally to educate viewers about issues or an organization’s mission, with or without a call to action at the end, such as “join us” or “donate now”. Although they can heighten public awareness about certain issues, they aren’t allowed to show political affiliation or urge people to vote for or against a specific candidate. They can only use a small percentage of funds to lobby. They can issue a “Tell Congress you’re fed up” statement, as it is not specific to any candidate, or release a non-partisan report on a politically charged issue such as global warming, but they must stop short of advocating for or against a particular candidate.
What we hear often is that many (c)3s don’t go as far as they can because they worry that if they violate the restrictions, they will lose their nonprofit status.
c4 funds are different. 501(c)4 organizations are described in the IRS code as non-profits that promote social welfare; but unlike a (c)3, a 501(c)4 organization can lobby for specific policy change. Examples of prominent c4s include NARAL Pro Choice America and Moveon.org Civic Action. Here is an example of the difference: A 501(c)3 can tell you how important it is that you use your right to vote, but a c4 can ask you to sign a petition to Congress about a specific piece of legislation. However, c4 money cannot be used in election campaigns on behalf of or against any candidates.
A 527 group (or 527 funds) can influence the nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates for public office. 527 money can be used on behalf of or against candidates; for instance, Political Action Committees (PACs) are 527s. Here is where it gets confusing if it isn’t already. A 527 is NOT allowed to coordinate with a specific election campaign. Rather, it must be an “interest group” who is advocating on issues or mobilizing voters. Not surprisingly, sometimes 527s get into trouble for pushing the limits. For example, in the 2004 election cycle, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth was a famous 527 that was eventually accused of coordinating with George Bush’s campaign in its anti-John Kerry ads during the presidential campaign.
Are you confused yet? Well, let me tell you, it can be hairy trying to work out messaging for these various organizations or funds in the video and social media marketing campaigns we undertake on their behalf. But we really enjoy the challenge and are happy to be doing a lot of work this cycle around the critical elections this fall.
Having a good donation page is important so that you can convert those who clicked to get to the page into people who give. You also want them to give more.
Increasingly we see from research that people like to give where they think they can make a difference. If you ask me to save Africa from HIV/AIDS, I am just totally overwhelmed by that. If you ask me to save this one orphan, I can handle it. The success of new internet philanthropies such as DonorsChoose.org and Kiva are connected to the same idea of letting people make a difference where they can actually see the difference.
This idea can find different forms for different circumstances. One that I like is how Hillary Clinton is fundraising for the upcoming primary in Pennsylvania.
Here’’s a screen shot of her donation page:
You can see the original here. What is interesting is how she is letting donors decide where to place their money, whether on radio, tv or online ads, vans or printed door hangers. And, you can spread your money around, putting small amounts in each category. The campaign hopes the overall amount will be greater than you would give otherwise.
As Colin Delany pointed out in an online forum, the money is fungible anyway — when they fill one category they can simply reallocate general support money to another.
Can you use this technique in your fundraising? Have you thought about how you can give donors more choice and more transparency? If not, now is the time to get started.
With online video, we can relive the memorable moments and easily connect past and present. Here’s George Bush throwing out the first pitch at the start of this baseball season. The people show him the love he deserves. We’ve come a long way since 2001.
Hat Tip [jspot]
Are you annoying your supporters?
I recently received a call from an organization I’ve donated to in the past.
They have already solicited me by mail at least once and have made frequent phone calls as well. On the phone, I was thanked for my support and asked for additional support. When I said I would eventually give again later this year, they wanted to send me another piece of mail with a membership card–what exactly I would do with my membership card is not clear–to give me another opportunity to make a donation.
I wonder if the organization realizes how this sounds to a donor. They want me to give them money and I’m willing to give money. At the same time, they are spending my money, as a donor, to mail me things I don’t need and make phone calls I don’t want to receive. I know they have my email address because they solicit me that way as well. Organizations prefer to receive unrestricted funds, but you can see why a donor might prefer to restrict the use of those funds. Any of us giving to an organization wants to know the dollars are being put to good use.
Another example of this is with the election. I recently handled incoming calls for one of the presidential candidates working the 6-9pm shift. The majority of the calls I took were from individuals begging to be removed from the call list; they were being inundated with calls asking them to vote for this candidate. Some are on the “do not call” list and wonder why that isn’t being respected. [Nonprofits are exempt.] For a voter on the fence, this intrusion could make the difference in the candidate they choose to support.
Sure you want to fundraise and keep in touch with your members, but are you doing it in a way that makes people want to support you? Are you being as efficient and effective as you can?
Barack Obama just gave a really thoughtful speech on race in America. You can read the transcript here or see the video below. What I hope it will do is start a conversation we often don’t have in this country about race and what it means to be American.
You are currently browsing the archives for the 2008 election category.
