Over lunch with a friend recently, we were discussing fundraising. I was sharing with her the work that Sattva is currently doing with SOFII and the many little patterns that we are observing across successful fundraising campaigns. My friends paused over a spoon of rice and wondered aloud, “What makes me give money to someone?”
She shared a recent experience with an Oxfam volunteer, who was requesting for donations door to door. “There was a simplicity about her that appealed to me. If she had been sophisticated, I don’t think I would have given her the 500 rupees”, she said. “Why do you do this”, she asked the volunteer. “Well, we can’t have a world where everyone works for themselves, can we madam?” the girl replied.

My first thought was, how will this ever scale? How many doors is this girl going to knock and how many would be willing to give her money? Especially in these times – You could practically reach out to thousands more with just a click of a button. Facebook, twitter, blogs, mails. Many successful campaigns have taken their message far and wide through these channels and reached many more people than the Oxfam volunteer with much less effort.
But then, would this e-mail message convey the same “simplicity” that appealed to my friend? Would one be less impressed with a mail request because one knows that it didn’t take the sender any effort to send it to them (especially, if they have just forwarded it)? Compare that with a girl walking in the hot sun and knocking your door for a donation. How do you establish credibility? How do you ask a question and hear the prompt response?

I have to come to realize that Technology is not about the doing the same things differently – It is not just about knocking the door with sending a mail. It is about doing different things. Technology has shrunk the word to a size that fits into our pocket – making it easier to connect, share and learn from. But it also comes with its own unique challenges.
This blog is my chance to share stories around the use of Technology in the social sector – instances on how NGOs have leveraged technology effectively, tips and tricks that organizations can use as part of their daily activities, interviews with experts in this subject and occasional musings on ways in which Technology has us, our lives as we know it.