The Importance of Web Presence: A Nonprofit View

Over 100 million Americans have access to the internet. North Americans send more than 8 billion emails a day. During the nineties, and even as late as 2000, we were constantly fed prognostications of how the internet was going to fundamentally change our lives. These days, with many still feeling the sting of the dot com collapse, anyone making these types of claims would be laughed at… if not worse.

But the fact of the matter is that, to some degree, the claims of the tech boom were true - the internet has affected the way we lead our lives. The evolution of the internet into an efficient source of information has made it the first stop for people seeking to learn about current events, financial markets, consumer products, entertainment, etc. This list goes on and includes virtually any topic, not the least of which being nonprofit organizations seeking charitable donations.

Another facet of the dot com collapse has been the economic fallout that has gone part and parcel with it. This fallout has affected every sector of the economy with nonprofit organizations perhaps being hit harder than most. These hard times are in no doubt part of the natural cycles which govern such things, but they highlight a cold truth for nonprofit organizations. For decades there have been too many nonprofits chasing too few dollars; nonprofits have been forced to compete with one another for the same supplies of funds.

The emergence of the internet and the ever rising levels of competition for funding highlight a distinct need for nonprofit organizations seeking charitable donations. That need being a substantial Web presence.

Governmental contributions, voluntary donations, dues, and fees have traditionally provided the financial support for most nonprofit organizations, with the federal government being the largest supporter until the late 70’s. The policy of the Reagan administration put an end to that lead role, however. The federal government cut aid for nonprofit organizations substantially between 1981 and 1984, accounting for a loss of billions in support to the sector.

This occurrence changed the state of the nonprofit world dramatically. Instead of receiving government funds to cover large portions of their operating expenses, organizations were forced to rely more heavily on voluntary donations, grants, dues and fees. This put many organizations on a footing more familiar to those that operate in the for-profit sector. Nonprofits now had to compete for funds or risk not being able to continue their work.

In response to this change, charitable organizations have employed many methods to raise funds. Telemarketing, direct mailings and advertisements are just some of the strategies currently being used. In many ways a Web presence is just one member in the long list of fundraising tools. But, due to the emergence of the internet, it has taken on a special significance.

Although there is great importance for a charitable organization to have a Web presence, the direct effect that it can have on the bottom line is often not as significant as one might assume. Many nonprofit Web sites afford visitors the opportunity to give donations online. The revenues that result from these online efforts are relatively small across the industry; in some cases they might not even cover the costs of operating the site itself. The list of organizations that put significant resources and efforts toward the development of Web marketing campaigns that only result in online contributions of less than 5% of all donations is quite long.

So what’s the point? What’s the importance of a Web presence if it doesn’t even support itself? The importance of a Web site lies within the information that it can provide to a potential donor, regardless of how they eventually end up contributing. In the case of many organizations most donors seek information online prior to an actual donation.

In this day and age, a nonprofit organization that seeks charitable donations cannot afford to lack a significant Web presence. However, this presence must be viewed as more than a directory of contact information. This statement harkens back to the highly competitive environment that nonprofits operate in these days. Potential donors are faced with virtually limitless options when seeking to contribute; and they are all only one click away from changing their allegiances. They are also savvy enough to know a quality Web site when they see it. It is therefore vital that a nonprofit’s Web site have superior look and feel.

It is important that the site provide current, relevant information in an easily navigable format to those who seek it. Much of the information which the site must provide will be done so to create a dialog between the organization and a donor. We communicate with those we trust. The relationship between an organization and its donors can be no different. A site must fully inform a donor as to the good that his donations are doing. If the site of a particular charity isn’t meeting these expectations, there are scores of others that will.

Although the costs of maintaining a strong Web presence can be high, the costs of not maintaining one are even higher. It’s so easy for someone to become frustrated or dissatisfied with information being provided by an organization in any field. It takes effort and expense to keep this from happening. But this is time and money well spent if it means the difference between keeping a customer and losing one.

This fact is especially pertinent to organizations within fields where there are many similar competitors. Such is the case in the nonprofit sector. The high level of competition between many like organizations, coupled with the emergence of the internet as a first destination for information, has created a situation in which a strong, high quality Web presence is an absolute necessity for any nonprofit organization.

Author Brendan Scanlon is Program Development Director at Teaming For Technology -- Denver, an organization which aids area nonprofits with their technology planning efforts.