Website idea – please help yourself
I always keep beady eye on my log files, to see who, when, where and how people land up on my site. It struck me yesterday that a lot of folk are entering this site via my post “What you can do to help in Cape Town” after Googling for info on various charities and NPO’s – they are looking for general stuff like “donations Cape Town” and specific information that includes locations and contact details of various organizations.
I am so chuffed that I have been able to contribute to our community in some small way and it got me thinking about how to maximize on this so that a whole lot more people can benefit – both those who are in need and those who are in a position to give but just don’t know how.
So this morning, I got an idea for a new website. I haven’t thought it out thoroughly, I don’t know how viable it would be and I don’t know if there is already something similar out there. What I do know is that this idea is not for me – I have way too much on my plate already and I don’t have the contacts or resources to set it up and keep it going – but I feel like I need to get this idea “out there” in the hope that perhaps someone will like it and run with it.
The website would be a “mega charity” site – that is, it would be an online representative vehicle for every type of charity and NPO in South Africa.
- Each charity would have a dedicated profile page, displaying their logo, information about their cause, where and how they operate, display a few photos, appeal for what they need (aside from money), contact details, banking details etc. They could manage this information themselves.
- The site would carry a fund raising events/calendar section outlining various things happening to raise money in each province.
- Site users can opt in for newsletter updates.
- They can browse through all the charities to find one they want to contribute to.
- Or they can search based on criteria such as Province / City and/or Type (animals, homeless/children/battered women/etc)
- Registered site users can make pledges online – exposure can be given to companies with the biggest pledges via discounted advertising space or a mention in the newsletter and individuals can be encouraged to pledge by offering some kind of reward like a gift voucher or similar (would need to organize sponsorship)
- The site or charity profile pages can display fund raising targets and corresponding pledge amounts.
- The site COULD act as a direct recipient for online donations and distribute funds accordingly, but this could be tricky (?) And I’m not sure how ethical it would be, but perhaps a fraction of online donation transactions could be kept to keep the site afloat.
- Possibly allow users to donate to the site directly, to help keep it running …
- Loads of advertising / sponsorship space
- Hook up with local celebrities and companies to generate some link love and establish credibility.
OK, that’s it! Use it … or not =)