Australian Non Profit organisations say web presence is key to growth
Results of the third annual on-line survey
of Australian non-profit
organisations show that whilst such organisations were using the web to
communicate their message to donors and supporters, they still a way to go
to make the best use of the medium.
The survey, conducted by Martin
Johnson, Senior Manager Corporate Communications at Sydney's Wesley
Mission, was E-mailed to over 700 organisations who were
asked to complete an on-line survey form during May and Junel, 2001.
A similar survey was conducted at the same time in 2000 and 1999.
A new survey will be conducted during May, 2002.
The full results are available here http://www.wesleymission.org.au/publications/fr/results01.html
The
third annual survey of non-profit organisations and their web use has
revealed that the majority of such organisations are committed to using the
web to share information (67%) and to create interest in their organisation
(30%).
Conducted
on-line during May, 2001 by Wesley Mission's Senior Manager, Corporate
Communications - Martin
Johnson, the survey was e-mailed to over 700 non-profit and charitable
organisations. Eighty-two responses were received.
The
survey showed that 50 percent of organisations had been on-line for three
years or more and that the majority now outsourced their web development
(62%). This in contrast to the 73 percent of organisations who three years
ago developed their web sites in-house.
The
majority of sites had 100 or less pages (73%) with only six percent having
500 or more pages.
This
year's survey showed that non-profit organisations used print, press ads and
TV/Radio to promote their web address.
A
disappointing result of the survey was that only two percent of the total
sites surveyed updated their Web pages daily.
"People
will only come back to your site a third and fourth time if they have a
reason to do so," Mr Johnson said. "New pages and additional
services, even if they're just rearranged on the home page, will encourage
people to return to 'see what's new'. It seems that too many NPs see the web
as just another version of their print marketing. This was a sure way of
reducing traffic."
While
all organisations surveyed provided an on-line donation facility, only 22
per cent of these organisations provided a secure transaction.
"With
SSL transactions now accepted by most internet users, not having this
facility meant that NPs may be missing out on donations", Mr Johnson
said. "An on-line form which could be printed out and faxed or mailed
does not use the web to its best advantage."
Only
19 percent of NP sites asked visitors to subscribe to an e-mail news list -
a disturbing result given that last year's figure was 27 percent.
"E-mail
lists are recognised as one of the best and easiest ways for NPs to keep in
touch with their donors and supporters," Mr Johnson said. "Recent
software developments have meant that managing such lists is relatively
simple and a great way of keep donors informed about your organisation.
Non-profit organisations that don't use such lists are really neglecting the
needs of their supporters."
Fifty-eight
percent of NPs said that they had received donations via their web site.
This underlines the effectiveness of such offers. The total value of these
donations was between $100 and $5000 (32% declined to disclose how much they
had received).
Some
46 percent of NPs said they believed that the time and resources invested in
their site had been 'very worthwhile' - an encouraging increase from the 23
percent recorded in 2000. Overall, non-profit organisations see the web as
an important way of communicating with their donors and supporters, however
they need to make better use of e-mail lists, provide daily, rather than
weekly updates and ensure the provision of SSL donation facilities.
The survey results are at: http://www.wesleymission.org.au/publications/fr/results01.html
Martin Johnson completed a Masters in Communication Management at UTS in 1999. His thesis; 'Non Profit Organisations and the Internet' is on-line at: http://www.wesleymission.org.au/publications/uts/project.html