Network for Good

Network for Good is a certified B Corporation software company that offers fundraising software and coaching for charities and non-profit organizations. The company was founded in 2001 by America Online, Cisco Systems and Yahoo! and has processed over $2.2 billion in donations since inception. Network for Good charges between 3% to 5% transaction processing fee for donations, in addition to any subscription fees that the charity might incur. Transaction processing costs may be covered by the donor or by the nonprofit organization.[1]

Network for Good
Formation2001
Location
CEO
Bill Strathmann
Websitewww.networkforgood.com

History

Network for Good was set up in 2001 as a collaboration among America Online, Cisco Systems and Yahoo, replacing AOL's earlier charitable platform, Helping.org.[2] By 2002 it was reporting receipts of about $1 million per month,[1] and by 2005 it reported about $30 million in annual collections.[3] In 2005 Network for Good absorbed Groundspring, another online charitable platform that had been founded by the Tides Foundation in 1999.[4][5]

In 2007 actor Kevin Bacon collaborated with Network for Good to set up his charitable project, SixDegrees.org, as a "celebrity-based" variant on Network for Good's existing model.[6][7][8]

In 2008 Network for Good acquired the ePhilanthropy Foundation,[9] an organization established in 2001 with the goal of providing training and promoting ethical practices in online fundraising[10] and that had later faced uncertainty after the departure of its founder.[11]

As of February 2014, Network for Good reported that it had processed more than $1 billion in gifts since its inception.[12]

Management

As well as its headquarters, it also has an office in San Francisco, California, through its 2005 merger with Groundspring.org. Board members are composed of people who have previously worked with various other companies such as AOL, Yahoo! and eBay.[13]

Non-profit services

Non-profits can access tools for online fundraising, email marketing, events management and expert advice.[14] Nonprofits can also receive free tips and training on topics including how to develop and improve their online marketing, donor communications and fundraising. Network for Good offers webinars, ebooks, courses, newsletters, and how-to articles.[15]

Competitors of Network for Good that also provide nonprofit online donation platforms include CrowdRise, Classy, Razoo, Aplos Software, and Blackbaud.

Partnership services

Network for Good provides online giving capabilities[16] for cause marketing, employee giving, and charitable rewards for corporate partners. The company also works with technology partners and developers to power giving sites through its API.

Papers and studies

Network for Good publishes a Digital Giving Index,[17] based on the 2010 Online Giving Study. This data is based on Network for Good's own yearly donation processing activities and shows the annual changes in donation volume, average donation, and other trends in online giving. Network for Good publishes multiple ebooks and whitepapers each year on topics ranging from disaster giving to social media. The organization also sponsored "How Crisis Compels Donors to Give Online", a study on online donations during disasters such as Hurricane Katrina,[18] and "The Wired Fundraiser", a study reflecting how current technology is changing the world of fundraising.[19]

See also

References

  1. John Schwartz, "Marketing; After the Non-Revolution, Nonprofits Tiptoe Online , The New York Times, November 18, 2002. ("Set up as a nonprofit, the network tries to pick up transactional costs as part of its operating costs, giving donors the ability to pay those costs -- usually a few dollars -- themselves. Stephen Sigmund, a spokesman for the AOL Time Warner Foundation, said that 35 percent of donors now paid the transactional costs, too.")
  2. Leslie Brooks Suzukamo, "New Web site is central stop for giving", Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, November 20, 2001   via HighBeam Research (subscription required) .
  3. Elizabeth Bernstein, "Cyber Giving", The Wall Street Journal, December 30, 2005.
  4. Sarah Duxbury, "Groundspring to merge with Network for Good", San Francisco Business Times, September 25, 2005.
  5. "Network for Good growing", Philanthropy Journal, April 11, 2006.
  6. Chelsea Greenwood, "6[degrees] of Inspiration", Success, June–July 2008   via Questia Online Library (subscription required) . ("Bacon discovered his idea pretty much already existed--in the form of Network for Good. "They already created this massive engine," he says. "At that time they were raising like $30 million a year; now, they're up to $50 million a year. They have over a million charities, and they have a very well-designed, easy-to-use site. So, in a way, I thought, 'Oh well, that's it. They're not going to want to have me involved in it.' On the contrary, they were like, 'Great, let's do it together.' So I was really lucky; it was kind of serendipitous.")
  7. Anna Stewart, "Bacon gets celebrities to play charity game", Variety, July 12, 2007.
  8. Ellen Lee, "Social networking for good and Kevin Bacon", San Francisco Chronicle, January 18, 2007.
  9. Jordan Weissmann, "Network Counts On Collaboration For Growing Good", The Washington Post, August 4, 2008.
  10. Todd Cohen, "Online Ethics", The NonProfit Times, January 1, 2001   via HighBeam Research (subscription required) .
  11. Maria E. Nobles, "Out and back: future uncertain for ePhilanthropy foundation.", The NonProfit Times, November 1, 2007   via HighBeam Research (subscription required) .
  12. "1 Billion Reasons to Celebrate with Network for Good", Case Foundation, February 18, 2014.
  13. "Network for Good Board".
  14. "Network for Good". PC Magazine. 2003-10-14. Archived from the original on November 15, 2005. Retrieved 2007-05-14.
  15. Help for Non-profits: Fundraising123.org website.
  16. "Corporate Social Responsibility Solutions". NetworkforGood.org.
  17. "The Network for Good Digital Giving Index". NetworkforGood.org.
  18. How Crisis Compels Donors to Give Online: PDF file at the Network For Good website.
  19. The Wired Fundraiser: PDF file at the Fundraising123.org website.
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