Juggling and the Fine Art of Fundraising

Part 3 of our four-part series showcasing successful campaigns explores multichannel efforts by Stop Hunger Now and the Salvation Army.

Much to the chagrin of old-schoolers who fear and resist change, the days of single-channel communications are long gone, never to return. By now, many stubborn fundraisers who were too slow to adapt to the multichannel landscape that has matured the past decade-plus have fallen by the wayside. But those who have embraced this revolution know just how powerful and far-reaching multichannel communications are.

Multichannel integration works for everything from annual campaigns, to emergency relief appeals, to advocacy and influencing legislation. This month, FundRaising Success explores the fundraising versatility of multichannel campaigns.

Continuing our four-part series on successful fundraising campaigns from the past year, here are case studies on Stop Hunger Now's Haiti Relief campaign and the Salvation Army's annual Red Kettle Drive.

—Joe Boland, senior editor, FundRaising Success

Stop Hunger Now Haiti Relief Campaign

Given all the media attention throughout the general population and incredible publicity in the fundraising community, specifically regarding mobile fundraising, everyone is familiar with the myriad ways that donors all across the world responded to the 2010 Haiti earthquake that devastated the Caribbean country. Stop Hunger Now, the anti-hunger organization, had been working on the ground in Haiti long before the earthquake hit.

"We were positioned to respond directly to Haiti because of the relationships we had in place prior to the earthquake," says Chessney Barrick, director of development and communications at Stop Hunger Now. "We had several nonprofits, in-country partners that we worked with down there, and had sent more than 4 million meals to Haiti before the earthquake struck. So because of those strong partnerships we were able to mobilize some great relief efforts."

That put the organization in good position to respond to the crisis quickly, so Stop Hunger Now implemented a multichannel campaign almost immediately to raise funds and supplies for those affected by the natural disaster.

The day after the earthquake hit, Stop Hunger Now launched its relief campaign. Throughout the course of the year, it used e-mail, direct mail and social media to solicit donations to respond to both the short- and long-term effects of the devastation. Stop Hunger Now's history as both a hunger-relief and disaster-relief organization provided a blueprint on how to respond quickly and mobilize its resources as fast as possible. Before it began to package meals for the hungry, the organization was a crisis-relief nonprofit; it undertook a similar campaign during the 2004 tsunami crisis in Southeast Asia.

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