The Direct Marketing Association and the DMA Nonprofit Federation have stepped up in the aftermath of this week’s devastating earthquake in Haiti to help potential donors pinpoint relief organizations. The DMANF compiled a list of DMA nonprofit member organizations involved in relief efforts, along with their contact information, and posted it online at www.nonprofitfederation.org. New organizations will be added on an ongoing basis.
Thirty-three members are part of the effort, including the American Red Cross, CARE, Doctors Without Borders, Food for the Hungry, Oxfam America, The Salvation Army and United Way Worldwide.
Chris Quinn, executive director of the DMANF, said that DMA spearheading the centralized list “makes perfect sense.” He explained that “our members are the marketers and fundraisers who are getting the message out to consumers and donors. We’ve got all the best people in the business in terms of marketing channels who know how to get the right message to the right person in every channel.”
DMANF is using social media – Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn – to get the word out.
Social sites such as Facebook and Twitter have proved a successful channel for fundraising. The sites have been inundated with Tweets and status updates on donations in the last 48 hours. Status updates such as “To donate $10 dollars to the American Red Cross towards Haiti relief efforts, text “Haiti” to 90999” have had significant impact.
The American Red Cross had received $4.3 million, as of 2pm EST on January 14, through its campaign to encourage $10 gifts through texts, according to USA Today.
