give2gether: Unleash the power of giving

If like me you struggled to fully understand this sites description of itself at first glance then don’t beat yourself up too much. Developed by a couple of economics professors, it’s a fundraising application for non-profit organizations using some clever "behavioural algorithms" to milk as much as possible from the existing social networks of supporters.

This is definitely not a site for small organizations looking to raise a few thousand dollars every now and again. Only fully approved 501c (3) non-profits qualify and the fees would also rule out the small players. With the basic package coming in at $300 a month plus 5% transaction fees you can see why.

That said, the bigger guys with some serious targets could profit by running campaigns through give2gether.com.

Like most fundraising sites the process begins with the creation of a profile page and this one boasts an advanced content management system allowing for pictures, videos and flash files to be quickly included.

The campaigns are linked to the existing Facebook and Twitter profiles of fundraisers and it is this feature that allows the system to plunder the social networks of donors and send mass "invitations", a nice alternative word for "appeals". Professor-speak would describe this as "leveraging social group interactions".

The use of behavioural algorithms is obviously the key to improved donations and I don’t for a minute declare to understand the science. However, by introducing a little psychology to the mix the competitive side of donors is obviously nudged to encourage larger donations and to get them to join in the race and get a campaign quickly to its target.

Conclusion
This is a site for serious fundraisers who can budget in some costs to a campaign. Anyone considering it however might want to check out the movement of cash. On one page of the site it says all donations go directly into the PayPal account of the fundraiser whilst on another it states that the cash is paid over at the end of a campaign.