Remember to be user-centric. Think about your user’s needs/problems you are trying to address.
Last month, I have participated in the International Fundraising Conference. For the first time in its history, it was held online. A tool called Hopin is used for the event. As part of the event, there was a "speed networking" section. In that section, when you click on the link, in a minute another participant of the conference pops up and you have 4 minutes to chat. In 15 minutes, I talked to 3 different fundraisers, one from Geneva, one from Canada and another from France. It was a fantastic way to know new fundraisers in such a short time and have a proper talk without any interruption (crowd around us etc.)
This made me think about how we could use this tool in fundraising. I came up with two examples, but it can be used in many different ways, as well.
1) Gathering of Face to Face Fundraisers: Motivation is a key factor in Face to Face. Facers like to communicate with their other colleagues all around the world, and as managers we always try to create opportunities for them to engage with each other. INGOs can organize global speedy network events for their teams globally. For examples, it can be organized in 2-3 time zones for 1 hour. All the team members will be online and meet each other to chat for 5 minutes and connect via LinkedIn afterwards. In 1 hour, one fundraiser can meet min 10-12 facers.
Additionally, the tool can also be used as a training tool for pitching within Face to Face teams.
2) Virtual Field Visit: The other way to use the tool is organizing a virtual field tour for supporters. The field team will be ready to meet the donors online. In an hour, the supporters will have the chance to meet the staff members at the field and ask their questions one to one. Also, it is motivating for the staff members to meet the supporters all around the world. It can be tested with a small number of supporters first.
As I mentioned, these are only two ways to use the tool. There might be others as well.
For whom is your proven concept trying to solve a problem? (Examples of audience could be: parents between 30-50 years old, young professionals who live in the city, millennials, small non-profits, seniors and retirees, etc.)
What are their pain points and gain points? What type of data and insight did you use for this analysis?
Gain Points: Easy communication with stakeholders
Pain Points: Supporters: It is difficult to create engagement opportunities for supporters due to distances and other reasons. Physical field trips are very limited. It is not possible to take all supporters to the field.
A value proposition is a positioning statement that explains what benefit you provide for who and how you do it uniquely well. It describes your target customer/donor, the pain point you solve, and why this new solution is better than other alternatives?
Easy and quick communication tool that can be used to increase the motivation of supporters / internal teams. It is ready to use for any organisation at any moment. The organisations only need to subscribe to one of the online providers to use it.
Please briefly describe the process of piloting testing for your proven concept, and explain why the results have demonstrated its potential. Make sure you have adequate evidence that to demonstrate that your proven concept has addressed the problems/needs you identified.
I personally used it at the IFC online conference in September through hopin event platform. It was perfectly working. I found it very practical, and I have also seen the same excitement in other participants that I talked to.
Please refer to the four evaluation criteria for this challenge:
Innovative: It is not an innovation but the creative use of an existing tool for fundraising.
Impactful: I think that it can be very impactful, especially if it is used as a communication tool for supporters to meet field staff. To meet staff members and hear the programs from them will be very tangible for supporters to know more about our programs and their impact.
Replicable: It is replicable by any NGO even the smallest ones can apply it.
Feasible: It does not require any technical development. By subscribing to a platform, it can be implemented very quickly. It only requires internal coordination for implementation.
Please consider the following aspects of the investment:
The cost is the subscription cost to a networking platform. Hopin is the platform that I know. There are plenty of other virtual networking tools. I could not find the cost details, but I see that the costs differs depending on the number of participants.
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for your selection so far.