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TheEffectivenessofCelebritySpokespeopleinSocialFundraisers
AWhitePaperbyGeoffLivingstonandHenryT.Dunbar,Zoetica
PresentedbyPayPal
 
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Section1:ExecutiveSummary
Examinationofseveralonlinefundraisingcampaignsthatcombinecelebrityandonlinepersonality(orweblebrity)presencewithsocialmediarevealsthatmanycelebritiesdonoteffectivelyraisemoneyfornonprofits.Instead,lesserknowncelebritiesandweblebritiesfairbetter,inparticularthosethat1)haveapersonalstorytotellaboutthecause;2)arewillingtoengageapre-existingtightknitcommunitythatinteractswiththespokespersononbehalfofthecause;3)andhaveanauthentictietothecausethatresonateswiththatcommunity.

Astimehasprogressed,socialmediabasedonlinefundraisingbestpracticeshaveuncannysimilaritieswithtraditionalfundraisingbestpractices.Firstandforemostisfindingthattrulyengagedpersonality.Movingforward,helpingthecelebrityorweblebritycultivatedonationswiththeircommunityisreminiscentofthewhitegloveservicelargedonorsreceivefromtheirfavoritecausesinorganizingprivateevents.Intraditionalfundraising,havinggreatnamerecognitionanddevotedfanscangenerateincreasedawarenessandraisefundsifacelebritycaresaboutthecauseandinveststime.Yet,onlinecelebrityeffortsarehitandmiss,andoftengetoutpacedbylesserknownweb-basedpersonalitiesorweblebritieswhohavedeeptiestotheircommunities.Withanalmostubiquitouspresenceonsocialmedia
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,morenonprofitsareexperimentingwithsocialnetworkfundraising.Nearlyhalf(46%)ofnonprofitsinthestudyreportedsomefundraisingviasocialnetworksin2010,upfrom38%in2008.Thevastmajorityofthenonprofitsocialfundraisersraisedlessthan$10,000in2010.Atinygroupof“MasterSocialFundraisers”(just0.4%ofthestudy’sparticipatingnonprofits)raisedmorethan$100,000.Nonprofitshaveturnedtotheircelebritypartnerswithfansandfollowersinthemillionstoraisemoney.Thenumberscanbeastounding,bothpositivelyandnegatively.SavetheChildrenjustranacelebritycampaignonsocialmediawiththelikesofLadyGagaandJustinBieberthatraised$100,000inthefirstday.However,deeperanalysisshowedthefundraiserachieved$0.0001percelebrityfollower.Aswithtraditionalmediaanddevelopmentpractices,nonprofitswrestlewithhowbesttoleveragetheircelebrityrelationshipsinordertoderivetangiblebenefitsfortheirorganizations.Thoughthemediumisnew,thelessonsfromtraditionalboardsandfundraisersapply.Onlinecelebritiesworkbestwhenyourecruitindividualsthatarealreadypassionateaboutthecause,andarewillingtoengageonyourbehalf.Nonprofitsneedtovettheseonlinecelebritiesfordeepandstrongtiesintheironlinecommunities.Manywebcelebritieshaveapresence,butnotstrongengagement.

1
Nearly90%ofnonprofitshaveapresenceonFacebookin2011accordingtothe3rdAnnualNonprofitSocialMediaBenchmarkReportbyNTEN,CommonKnowledgeandBlackbaud
 
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Severalrecentsocialfundraisingcampaignsandconteststhatusedcelebrityparticipantstogenerateinterestanddonations,haveshownthatlesserknown,butbetter-engaged,personalitiesproducedstrongerresultsfornonprofits.Someofthecampaignsinclude:
•
 
Acampaignon
Facebook’sCauses
toraisemoneyforanewchildren’shospital.Init,a9-year-oldcancerpatientwithvirtuallynoonlinepresencegeneratedmoredonationsthananyotherindividual,includingtelevisionstarAshtonKutcher.
•
 
A
DonorsChoose.org
fundraisingcompetitionamongbloggers—includingTechCrunch’sMichaelArringtonandAllThingsD’sKaraSwisher—wasdominatedbyabloggerofferingtoparadearoundinatomatosuit.
•
 
Thelaunchcompetitionof
KevinBacon’sSixDegrees
socialgivingwebsite.Despiterecruitingmorethan60celebritiestocreate“charitybadges”onthesite—includingNicoleKidmanandAshleyJudd—thetopfundraiserwasawomanwhoblogsaboutscrapbookingandhasanautisticson.
•
 
The
PayPal-sponsoredRegifttheFruitcake
campaignonFacebookwaswonbyOperationSmilewiththehelpofFilipinasingerChariceandherengagedfans.Othermorenotablecelebritiesparticipated,butdidn’tdeliverCharice’simpact.
•
 
TwitChange,
whichhostscharityauctionswherefansbuymentions,follows,andretweetsfromcelebritiesonTwitter.Throughthreeauctionsin2010,twoofthecelebritiesdrawingthemostattentionandhighestbidshavebeenactorZacharyLevi(ofTV’s
Chuck 
)andcelebrityphotographerJeremyCowart,beatingstarssuchascountrysingerLeAnnRimesandcelebritygossipbloggerPerezHilton.Ourreviewsuggestsauniversalthemeacrosssocialfundraisers:Thebestresultsdonotcomefromthemostwell-knowncelebritiesandbloggers,butthemostengagedones.Realsuccessinsocialchannelsoccursbycultivatinginfluencers(celebrities,bloggers,etc.)withthesameskillstypicallyusedforhigh-valuedonors.Therestofthispaperexaminesbestpracticesgleanedfromtheseexamples.PayPalhopesthatnonprofitscanlearnfromtheseexamplesandextendthemtotheirowneffortsonandofflinetoproduceonlinefundraisersthatachievemaximumimpact.
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