On the Fundraising Technology blog, there is an article pointing out the problems for small charities; Cost, Resources and Time.
The article really underscores the need for a platform for the Long Tail of Charities. I’ve written about this subject in The river of good intentions and buckets of promotion.
As I explained most important aspects of the site, it’s time to start to look at how they can work together. I’ve made this chart to make the flow visual.
Ok, this will be a long analytical piece, but it needs to be explained. So get a cup of tea, perhaps a piece of paper to doodle on, and let’s dive into this chart:
Charities could be more social. Don’t get me wrong, they’re all about helping out people in need. But if you take social as in, connecting with people, there is a lot to gain.
Most charities are well connected with their donators. But what about the others? what about the friends of the donators and what about the other charities in the same fields? It’s not that charities wouldn’t love to reach out to them, but how do you do so, in a social matter?
As I signed up for a profile on Charitiy Navigator (America’s largest charity evaluator). The first thing I wanted to do is add a charity. This is what I got back:
“Please Note: Charity Navigator recently achieved a five year goal when we published our 5,000th rating, solidifying our place as America’s premier charity evaluator. At the present time, we are reviewing our current offering and examining the feasibility of programmatic expansion. We will continue to track requests for new charity ratings, but will not be adding a significant number of new charities while we’re engaged in this review. We appreciate your understanding during this time.”
While Charity Navigator has achieved it’s five year goal with 5000 charities, five year old Wikipedia just had it’s 1 millionth article written. I think Charity Navigator is a great site, but it’s obvious that there must be a different approach if you want to include The Long Tail of Charities.
The end of the deadline for the name has arrived. I have some good names, but there is a problem. How do I know if it’s the name that has the most potential?
So for now it’s plan A, if that doesn’t work out, I’ll go for plan B.
Update 1 april (no joke): I now have three names for you to vote on in my poll.
Update 21 april: The name is Helpalot.