Click to Donate – A Nonprofit Campaign That Went Viral

How one nonprofit’s fundraiser went viral in less than 30 days

Imagine if making $5000 for your nonprofit cause were as easy as clicking a button. This nonprofit did, and its cause went viral.

The Hoshyar Foundation, a nonprofit aimed at educating girls in Pakistan, created an online presentation with software company Sliderocket, who with each view made a $1 donation up to $5,000. It’s a good thing Sliderocket put a cap on it, or the company would be out over $173,000. The presentation (click the image’s Sliderocket thumbnail above) went viral, reaching around 30,000 views within the first month.

It also went global, an unexpected bonus for Hoshyar, a small organization who previously received donations from only a small group of patrons. Now, contributions and efforts are sent from countries all over the world like Spain and Greece. News even reached Dubai, where a curator of art exhibitions wants to present the video at an upcoming show for Mona Naqsh, a Pakistani artist. The U.S. donors have grown as well. “We get a steady trickle of PayPal donations every day as a result of this video,” says Carla Petievich, Executive Director and Co-Founder.

How did Hoshyar do it? A member of the board showed the organization to Sliderocket, causing it to become the beneficiary of Sliderocket’s initiative to pair social good with launching its new product. Sliderocket allows users to create interactive presentations more like web pages than PowerPoints.

Creative director and copyrighter Ted Cooper partnered with Sliderocket to create this presentation for Hoshyar. The story was designed to pull at the heartstrings of potential donors and motivate them with a straightforward, simple call-to-action — to “just click to make a difference”. Hoshyar e-mailed the presentation to its list of around 400 friends and donors, and then watched the presentation spread like wildfire – a vivid example of how professionally produced multimedia can make a difference.

Hoshyar is not Sliderocket’s only beneficiary. Having seen how multimedia can spread awareness of social issues, Sliderocket is now hosting a contest that will award $30,000 to the 5 nonprofits to create the best presentations. Four will receive $5,000 and one $10,000. Winners will be chosen “based on the best storyline, composition/visuals, compelling cause and the number of unique presentation views,” according to guidelines.

For more examples of on using multimedia to raise awareness for social good check out these recent posts from our Major Multimedia’s blog:

Techniques to Add Dazzle to Your Advocacy Video
Storytelling for Change: One Hedge Fund’s Response to the Occupy Wall Street Movement
Getting Supporters to Take the Next Step When Your Video Ends