Internet Fundraising
“The future is already here – it’s just not very evenly distributed”, William Gibson
Being found
Technology and software improvement shave made it very easy to create websites as a result there are millions of sites and the number rising. Therefore do not expect a website to start attracting visitors, and income without marketing, planning and making the website search engine friendly – that is making sure when people search on the internet they can find your website.
Technology
Internet fundraising relies upon new technologies and although generally very reliable they can break down and when it does it tends to be with a third party over whom you have no control and therefore have to wait for them to rectify the problem.
Many of the ways of using the Internet also use input from external websites, so should they stop working it will also affect your site.
Health warning
Although there is potential to generate income through the Internet there are important factors to take into consideration in your planning.
Legal
There are some legal issues to be aware of including what should be covered by a “Privacy Policy”. This should contain information on the use of personal data and the disclosure of data, consent for users aged under 18 (and not accepting donations from under 18), cookies and tracking information as well as financial security. Examples of these policies can be found on most major charity websites such as the RSPB.
Scams
Finally there are no "get rich quick” schemes, if someone guarantees excellent results the chances are that;
· it's a scam,
· they aren't telling you everything you need to know for success, or
· they don't really understand why it worked the first time, and therefore are unlikely to be able to replicate it.
That said the Internet does offer excellent potential to help you generate income in ways that are fun, encourage supporters to actively participate and in many cases do not cost your supporters anything.