The Long Tail of Fundraising: How Small Donations Can Make a Difference

I know I'm two years late but I just finished reading The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More, by Chris Anderson, editor of Wired magazine. But, since all roads lead to the nonprofit world for me, I could not help but apply Anderson's theory to nonprofits, as I'm sure many already have.

Charities have historically depended on big donations from wealthy philanthropists, grants from high profile foundations, or on individuals that have close ties to their organizations, such as alumni. Small donations typically came by way of community funds such as the United Way which aggregates employee contributions from businesses and then distributes them to selected nonprofits.

Donors of small amounts generally did not know exactly how their donations were used but tried to give to reliable charities to make sure their funds were funneled to appropriate programs.

There has always been a huge number of potential donors who give small amounts, but it was a lot of work finding, identifying, and building a relationship with them. Some charities found this was too cost prohibitive and simply concentrated on major gifts and on donors they were familiar with through institutional ties.

Web 2.0, or social media, is changing all of that...especially with tech-savvy young donors. Their paychecks may be small but they are willing to give a portion to good causes anyway. Now they can do that much more easily.

These donors, though, want to feel that their donations, however small, are making a difference in some concrete way. They are far less likely to give to institutions and are much more drawn to causes where they can get up close and personal with the people their donations help.

A host of new techniques and nonprofits have emerged online to make it easy to donate, engage, and work for a cause. While Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Bono occupy the "head," (as Chris Anderson would put it) of the donor pool, there extends a long tail of many smaller donations that collectively add up to a lot.

Now nonprofits can tap the long tail, and donors can make their voices and their contributions heard through social media and Web 2.0. Read our article about where organizations and donors can get connected:

• Join the Online-Giving Revolution: Websites Where You Can Make a Difference