Charity Uses Questions to Raise Money and Connect to Donors

CaringBridge, a nonprofit that provides free Web sites for patients to post health updates, has always been dedicated to helping people share information online. Now the group’s fundraising efforts are also tied to that theme.

“The people we serve and reach have a history of writing something meaningful online,” says Carolyn Egeberg, CaringBridge’s vice president for development. “It’s a natural extension for us to reach out to our supporters through that online experience.”

Questions Gets Attention

For the last two years, CaringBridge has sought to attract potential donors by posing a thought-provoking question to answer in an online public forum.

As Thanksgiving neared in 2011, the organization asked people: What are you thankful for?

After they answered, a button popped up that said, “Show your gratitude” and then offered a way for people to donate.

More than 3,000 people answered the question, and they donated $37,000.

CaringBridge officials also credit the question campaign with helping to improve the performance of an e-mail solicitation by 19 percent over the same appeal in 2011, lifting total year-end giving to $1.4-million.

Last year, CaringBridge sought answers to the question, What does togetherness mean to you?

More than 31,000 people took a look at the query, and more than 1,300 people answered on the Web site and 500 reacted on Facebook or Twitter.

CaringBridge officials say the campaign helped warm up supporters for year-end giving, including for its annual December 31 solicitation of online gifts, which attracted $124,000, a 47 percent increase over the group’s one-day record in 2010.

“After the thankful and togetherness campaigns, many more people were already opening our e-mails, looking at us on Facebook, maybe feeling empowered to be part of our mission,” says Amy Nelson, development engagement officer at CaringBridge.

Tablets and Smartphones

CaringBridge became a nonprofit in 2002, five years after its founder, Sona Mehring, designed a Web site to help a friend going through a high-risk pregnancy keep family and friends informed of her condition.

Since then, more than 422,000 free CaringBridge sites have been created and donations to the group have rocketed from $124,000 in 2002 to $8.3-million this year, nearly all from individuals who have visited the sites.

In the past 12 months, CaringBridge has attracted 46 million visitors, including to one of its newest features, planning calendars that allow people to sign up to take care of helpful tasks, like meal preparation, for friends, colleagues, and loved ones facing health challenges.

Ms. Nelson says that CaringBridge, which has grown along with the popularity of social networking, hopes a new effort this fall will get supporters even more actively involved by incorporating what she calls a “multiscreen approach”—desktop, mobile, and tablet.

“We don’t hold a run, walk, or a gala dinner,” Ms. Nelson says. “The campaigns that generate user content are what can create a sense of community. They are where our supporters can get together.”