Fundraising with Trains: Making the Connection

July 26, 2010 at 11:57 am Theo Leave a comment

Photo courtesy Davide Restivo

Not-for-profits around the world, tell me if this sounds familiar. These days, innovating and online giving is like running alongside a  moving train: the landscape is constantly changing and not always at a  consistent rate. We speed up, we slow down and sometimes we come to a  full stop only to start-up at top speed, yet again. We’re always looking  into new and innovative ways to connect meaning and heart to online  giving.

Last year, The Chronicle of Philanthropy released a study that looked at 3,500 donors who gave to charities in the United States. They found four out of five donors gave online. A little over half of the people studied preferred giving online and 46% expect to make a greater share of their charitable gifts over the web in the near future.

With more people turning to the web for giving opportunities, charities have to stretch their imagination and connect online giving to the real world in new and innovative ways. Here in British Columbia, a new opportunity has come up that brings whole new meaning to web 2.0 moving train metaphors.

The BC Children’s Hospital Foundation has been invited to take part in The Pixel Train. With the completion of the Canada line, Vancouver commuters now have more options than ever to stay out and about in the city. The fine folks at InTransit BC connected with BC Children’s Hospital and three other Lower Mainland charities, offering 2-D real estate along the outside of one of their trains. Throughout 2010, the Pixel Train will be collecting photos from donors and preparing them for display on the outside of the train. The size of on your image is directly connected to your online donation. For more information on how to post your pic on the pixel train, you can click here.

We think this is a great example of how charities can connect online giving to the day-to-day activities of our lives. It’s nice to see a smiling face as you board the train on your way to work — how extraordinary it would be to see your own.