GlobalGiving.co.uk Web Chat is now over!
Below you can to read the answers to your questions and others - the answers will remain online for the duration of the
Project Challenge II.
The web chat provided a real-time, interactive chat to offer answers and tips on succeeding in the GlobalGiving.co.uk Project Challenge II. If you have any follow up questions, you can contact us through the GlobalGiving.co.uk website or contacting Rachel directly.
YOUR QUESTIONS....ANSWERED!
Q: How do I add the widget image to my email signature?
A: The best way to do this is to make it an image and then hyperlink the image to your GlobalGiving web page – that way when anyone clicks on give now button or the image it will go to the page. To take the widget is an image you take a screenshot and then crop to the image size.
Q: I am struggling to get the widget on my facebook page - how do i do that?
A: To post the widget to your facebook page:
Scroll to the bottom of your project page where the widget box is shown.
In the box to the right of the widget entitled “Get this widget on:”, click on the facebook icon
Click ‘open’ to open your facebook account
Write any further details you want to share on your facebook page along with the widget, then click ‘Share’
Sometimes it can take a little while for the “Get this widget on” box to appear as it is provided by a third party so you may need to refresg the page or wait a while.
Q: Is there any way to obtain visitor statistics for our dedicated project page, in order to determine the number of visitors and from where they came?
A: We can provide some high level information about how many people have visited your page since the start of the challenge and in some cases we can see what the referring domain is. Donor information can be sent also (as long as the donor has agreed that they are happy for us to pass on their information). As we have to process this information manually, we would ask that you request this information once you have completed at least one phase of your outreach as we won’t be able to provide this information constantly.
So far in the Project Challenge II, a lot of traffic has come through Twitter, and Facebook proves to be a very successful way of driving traffic to project pages. You can add the Project Widget or just post a story on your Fan Page or facebook profile tell your network about the Project Challenge and the prizes at stake.
Q: One of our main interests on participating in this Challenge is to find new donors and supporters and to have a wider presence around the world. How are you going meet this?
A: The Project Challenge is the month long trial period for new organizations and the onus is on each participating project leader/charity to engage with the online fundraising through the website during this time.
Once your project is permanently on the GlobalGiving website, you will join around 150 existing nonprofit organizations that post projects and fundraise through GlobalGiving UK. We operate two website – one in the US and one in the UK. Both GlobalGiving organizations work hard to promote the GlobalGiving platform to a wide audience. We do this through marketing partnerships – GGUK currently partners with two large online companies Google and Expedia – and we continue to grow this support from companies. We use viral marketing to let the online community know about direct project giving. We have corporate partners that run employee giving campaigns and fundraising with clients and employees.
Our role is to facilitate both project leader and donor fundraising and to provide grassroots organizations with information and advice about online fundraising, and also to grow awareness about direct giving to nonprofit projects worldwide through consumers, companies and institutions. The website is the focal point of much of this activity.
Q: Thanks for inviting to a chat on the Challenge Issues. As the struggle continues, how can I really stimulate donors to my cause, already I feel I have done alot in as far as diseminating information about the challenge? Some potential donors would like to know more about how the paypal as a method of remitting funds works, Can you help explain abit?
A: Thanks for your questions! Your first question is around stimulating donors to give to your cause. My advice would be to keep your ask simple and make sure that the potential donors know how you plan to spend the funds you receive. Making a simple ask such as “£10 will help us feed 10 children for one day” will help to inspire donors to give directly, knowing that you will be putting their donation to practical use. A personal ask is also more powerful than sending a mass email for example. Try calling, emailing or visiting your supporters or networks directly, or asking some of your loyal supporters to let their networks know about the challenge. People are more likely to actively donate if they feel convinced that you will use the money directly for the project so by speaking directly to them, you will be providing that assurance.
The second question is specifically about PayPal. PayPal is a secure and easy way to safely transfer money between people or companies. In order to pay using PayPal, you need to set up an account with PayPal – visit www.paypal.com to find out how. To have an account with PayPal, you need to have a bank account. Once the account is set up, you can donate through GlobalGiving UK using this method.
Q: What can we tell to our donors about the security of the website when they do an only transaction?
A: All credit card donations are collected through a secure third party—VeriSign or Paypal. Because all transactions go through third parties, GlobalGiving does not receive or retain credit card numbers. Further, we will never release personal information to any outside party. We use Thwart Security on our site also.
Q: What other fees do you charge? Some of the documentation I received from you says that GG charge a 10% for donations as a facilitation fee, to cover your cost, but you also retain a fee of 12,75% of online donations? What does it means?
A: GlobalGiving UK and USA have slightly different fee policies. GlobalGiving UK – the website that you are currently using for the Project Challenge – retains a total of 10% from the gross donation (this is the donation made by the donor, plus any eligible Gift Aid). This covers our charitable cost – vetting, processing, technical development and marketing the website and also includes any card fees and wiring costs. GlobalGiving USA has a different fee structure – you can find out more here: http://www.globalgiving.com/cb/vfpserv/help.html#4.4.
Q: We have to meet both goals, amount (£1000) and number of donors (50)? or it can be one of these?
A: You need to meet both goals in order to be invited to remain on the GlobalGiving website permanently. We set these two goals as much to incentivize donors to get behind the project and become part of a wider community of donors who are fundraising for your work. By asking some of your active donors to fundraise on behalf of the project, you will have a really good chance of reaching both of the targets.
Q: What happen if we don’t meet the Challenge goals, considering that it’s our first time and there is not enough days to do all the fundraising strategy.
A: If you are not successful during the Project Challenge this time, you will not remain on the website permanently but you will be invited to try again next time – your due diligence paperwork is good for two years. And of course will receive all funds that are raised for your project.
Q: If we receive the highest number of donors but we do not meet the £1000, but if we add the award of £500 for having the highest number of donors and we get to the threshold of £1000, it will be valid to win a place in GG website?
A: No the prize money is only awarded after the Project Challenge is completed. You will need to meet both of the minimum goals (£1000 and 50 donors) in order to be eligible for any of the prize money.
Q: How can we be informed or confirmed about the contributions received?
A: You can see how much has been raised/confirmed as donations for your project by looking at your project page or by looking at the leader board. If you would like details about who has given to your project so far – you can request this information from us (we only give details of donors that have confirmed that we can share the data). We will manually pull this data and send it to you.
Q: In this challenge will be the possibility to receive donations that are for distribution among different projects? If so, what is your baseline to decide which projects should receive the donation?
A: This does not happen really. When a donor makes a donation – they choose which project or projects they want to support.
Q: If I need to do any grammar changes or add some other information into the project according to your template, can I do it?
A: Yes you can make changes to your project through the Project Entry System http://pe.globalgiving.com but if you recall the project to edit it, it will not be available for donations during that time and until it is approved again by the GlobalGiving team. If you have small changes, please send these via email to us and we can make the changes for you so that the project remains live constantly.
Q: How many projects can we publish simultaneously?
A: During the Project Challenge you can have ONE project on the website. Once you have gained a permanent place on the website, you can add as many projects as yu like but we advise not more than 5 as you will need to commit to updating each project on a quarterly basis.
Q: Your documents says that we must to provide brief quarterly updates for the project. What are the updates about? Is it about accomplishments?
A: Yes you need to explain to donors how you have spent the funds that have been donated and what the progress with the project is – how many lives impacted, case studies etc. Check out some of the recent project updates here: http://www.globalgiving.co.uk/seeresults.html
Q: What should include the written progress update reporting?
A: Here are some of our Progress Update guidelines:
Why Update?
Project updates are critical to fundraising success. Project updates automatically go to all your donors and appear on your project page. GlobalGiving promises our donors direct communication with our wonderful project leaders so they can hear in real time how their funds are helping people around the world. In addition, project updates show donors that their money makes a difference in someone’s life. It lets them know what has been accomplished since when they donated and encourages them to stay engaged and potentially make a second, third, or fourth contribution.
What makes your update spread to friends and family of your supporters?
- Narrative: A project update can be two short paragraphs explaining the progress of your project, telling the story of a beneficiary, explaining the impact of your project, or another way of communicating how you are making a difference. Include both narrative and numbers on the people you have served. Use quotes: Tell stories from the people you serve in their own words (or translations).
- Visual: Attach a photo. If you tell one person’s story, include a close crop photo of the person’s face. A good “one person” photo leaves a deeper impression than a hundred group photos.
- Multimedia: An update can combine text, photo, video (upload to youtube and include link), or an audio podcast (upload elsewhere and link).
- Thank:Thank your supporters.
- Ask:Conclude by asking your donors, “what do you think?” Ask them a specific question about your project, or how you can work together to attract wider support.
A: It means that the projects remain live of the website, eligible for donations ongoing. This may be organic donations - when someone comes to the website, finds your project, and decides to donate to it. Or it could be the Project Organisation actively marketing the project to supporters. Or it might be an active fundraiser choosing to fundraise for your projects via the Fundraiser page, Gift List or Tribute Gifts.
Q: What is the gift aid scheme?
A: Gift Aid is a UK government run tax scheme that allows Uk tax payers to increase their donation by 28%. Any donation made by a UK tax payer that is given through GlobalGiving UK will be eligible for this scheme and GGUK claims this additional fund on behalf of the projects.
