Using Technology to Level the Playing Field on #GivingTuesday
Combining emerging tech and charity in new and exciting and virtual ways
by Blake Henderson, Content and Community Human at CrowdRise
As someone who spent eight years at a organization working for post-9/11 veterans, it’s always refreshing to see when groups facing an uphill battle can level the playing field. Which is why I find it so inspiring when smaller charities and nonprofits leverage technology to achieve their fundraising goals — it can truly be a game-changer. For charitable organizations that so often struggle with how to use their limited resources to engage new donors and reengage existing donors, #GivingTuesday gives them a moment in time to energize and expand their base. It helps to level the playing field. Especially if you know where to play.
There are a wide array of organizations — small, medium and large — that take part in the CrowdRise Giving Tower on #GivingTuesday every year. For those not familiar, the Giving Tower is a virtual reality (VR) app and fundraising platform for charities to engage their communities in an innovative way — and shows the collective impact of everyone giving back on #GivingTuesday. The Tower grows taller and taller as people from around the world donate to their favorite causes. It’s really cool — and something that you’ve gotta see.
During my time at CrowdRise, I’ve seen firsthand how effective organizations can be in their fundraising when trying to unlock the power of the crowd — no matter what their size. Interestingly, it’s often the smaller- and medium-sized ones that see the biggest relative gains in the many Challenges we host for charities throughout the year. And the way that happens on #GivingTuesday is no different.
Examples can be found in organizations such as The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, Warrior Canine Connection, mothers2mothers, Cure JM Foundation, The Multiple System Atrophy Coalition and Maharishi Institute, who all did so well in the Giving Tower in 2015. While there are many reasons why these organizations have been particularly effective in using the Giving Tower platform, I’ll list just a few here.
- First, they’ve connected donors to their causes — telling stories of need and impact, and providing tangible results. The Elephant Sanctuary told the story of two new elephants they were welcoming into retirement. The elephants had names and ages. And they had a simple and clear ask: help build a fence to keep them safe.
- Second, they made their causes relatable. The MSA Coalition took a rare disease and explained how it strikes people in the prime of their lives — and how its victims are “loved ones, spouses, parents, grandparents, friends, and coworkers.” They took something very specific and made it broad in a way that could speak to everybody.
- Third, they focused on the idea of creating something together, and being part of the #GivingTuesday movement — all while tracking the progress they’re making in their own efforts and in helping build the Giving Tower.
- Fourth, they used technology to tap into a massive network effect that turned their donors into fundraisers. The Cure JM Foundation had over 100 fundraisers raise nearly $400,000. These fundraisers weren’t just making donations themselves, they were appealing to friends and family to become part of the Cure JM story. Not bad for an organization with a staff of two full-time employees and a $1.5 million budget
CrowdRise activates your community. Our community ignited into action at a level never seen before. Four times as many people got involved and reached out to their network. — Shari Hume, Co-Founder of Cure JM
The throngs of engaged supporters that these organizations are activating through emerging tech are helping create movements for their causes — movements that otherwise might not otherwise be tapped. And because once people are inside the Giving Tower experience and have access to incredible cause-based VR videos, they bring donors in touch with the issues in ways that traditional storytelling cannot. Charities like the ones mentioned above are thriving in the new fundraising environment because they’ve embraced and leveraged emerging technology and, as a result, can now be bigger players in the game.
This is the ultimate leveling of the playing field — and something that is so personally fulfilling to play a role in. And when it can take place on a day like #GivingTuesday — with its 24 hours dedicated to giving back after the consumption trifecta of Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday — it makes it all the more inspiring.
The primary driver of the Giving Tower has been the diverse and passionate community of charities on CrowdRise. We started the project after hearing from many of our partner charities who were asking about what we planned to do on our platform for #GivingTuesday. And we thought long and hard about how we could differentiate ourselves while also setting the charities up for huge success and huge returns in the process.
Watch this video to learn more about the thinking behind the Giving Tower.
The way that charities have run with this technology has been amazing. In 2o14, the first year of the Giving Tower, organizations raised $2 million on 16,763 donations on #GivingTuesday. Last year, the first one with a virtual reality component, they raised $3.8 million raised on 21,796 donations. That’s 45% growth in dollars raised and 23% growth in individual donations — which we attribute to so many of the charities feeling more comfortable embracing new technology.
All in all, last year’s Giving Tower grew to over 4,300 feet tall, dwarfing Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the real world’s tallest building. Here’s what that looks like.
This year, we want to build it to the moon.
So today, the Giving Tower on #GivingTuesday kicks off the CrowdRise Holiday Charity Challenge. There are $250,000 in prizes available for organizations that win Bonus Challenges along the way. One of the first Bonus Challenge awards is $25,000 for the charity that raises the most on #GivingTuesday. With thousands of charities taking part, who will take the top prize this year? Follow along with the action here on #GivingTuesday — and maybe even add some bricks of your own in the process.
Thanks to improvements in technology, it’s anyone’s game at this point.
Blake Henderson manages content and community at CrowdRise and once juggled five bowling pins for just under two seconds.
CrowdRise is the world’s largest and fastest growing online platform dedicated exclusively to charitable fundraising. Used by millions of individuals, tens of thousands of charities, hundreds of companies and many of the most famous artists and athletes in the world, CrowdRise creatively leverage their resources and networks to unlock the power of Decent Humans across the globe to support positive social missions and create massive impact. Founded by actor Edward Norton, film producer Shauna Robertson and Robert and Jeffrey Wolfe, CrowdRise has conceived, implemented and powered campaigns that have raised hundreds of millions of dollars to date.
