This post has been contributed by Lance Trebesch and Colt Lapham from TicketPrinting.com
A charity badge is a small widget often including a picture, brief description of the organization, and link to where you can make a donation. The beauty of the charity badge is that it allows users to share with one another by simply clicking on “get this badge” (wording may vary depending on badge provider) then copy and paste the html code onto their website or blog. Much like a chain letter, the potential for spreading the badge is great especially when used on social networking sites or blogs. Below is an example of a charity badge from Network for Good.
Charity badges are increasing in popularity and may become more important in the future. To decide if a charity badge is right for your nonprofit, you will want to know the following
3 Reasons a Charity Badge May Not Help Your Organization
1. Campaign Success- While there are some noted exceptions such as the sharing foundations astounding $100,000 raised in only 3 weeks (TechSoup); the majority of charity badge fundraisers have less impressive results. According to TechSoup’s article “Show Me the Numbers: Can Group Fundraising Help You?” which collected data from group fundraising sites (these numbers do not exclusively reflect charity badge fundraisers) the average group fundraiser only yielded revenue of $692.80.
2. Number of Participants- The concept of charity badges is still relatively new and is not yet widespread. The average group fundraising campaign has anywhere from 4-40 donors (TechSoup).
3. Personal Contact- People are more compelled to give to a cause if they receive acknowledgement for their donation. One problem with online donations is that there is little or no personal connection between the organization and the supporter. According to Mashable, a social networking news site, a RockYou charity widget received 2,257,505 views but only was able to generate $69 during that time period.
5 Reasons Why You Should Use Them Anyways
1. Awareness- Awareness is the most important reason to create a charity badge. While there is potential for a highly successful fundraiser, the most likely benefit will simply be that more people are exposed to your cause and are now aware of the organization.
2. Inexpensive- ChipIn and Network for Good currently do not charge to create badges. The only potential cost associated would be the labor involved with creating and promoting a badge and potential credit payment fees.
3. Community Networking- Having your badge placed in specific targeted locations can help you reach new demographic groups. Furthermore, you will be able to easily track who is interested in your cause by seeing who puts your badge on their website, blog, or social network profile.
4. Targeted Audience- According to Wikipedia, more than 61% of all donations come from personal requests. A charity badge is often shared from one friend to another, making requests targeted to individuals who may donate. For example, if you were an environmental nonprofit, then you could place your badge on an established “environmental group” within a social networking site and friends in the group would share the badge, giving it a much more targeted viewing.
5. Unknown Future- The future of charity badges is still largely up in the air. By experimenting with badges now, your organization will gain a better understanding for how they work and how to effectively utilize them in the future.
How to Create a Badge
Creating a badge is very easy and can be done in a matter of minutes. Simply follow the step-by-step instructions on your providers’ website. Some of the most popular providers include, Network for Good, ChipIn, and CareBadges. For information about more general group fundraising providers visit the About Micro-Philanthropy website which has a comparison of the most popular providers. To learn how to make your badge a success, read my article “7 Tips to Make Your Charity Badge a Success.”