[Chapter-delegates] Thank You and Follow up on Individual Donation Campaign

[Susannah Gray]

Hi Todd,

While I am somewhat disappointed that this campaign has gone ahead so 
quickly after it was halted, I'd like to thank you for taking this to 
the ChAC for further discussion.

I have one last comment on this. While I understand that ISOC's intent 
is not to compete with local chapters on fundraising efforts and there 
are legitimate reasons for needing to expand ISOC's donor base, the 
emails sent out to members, in my opinion, did not make it clear enough 
that donating to ISOC is not the same as donating to a local chapter.

The email I got noted:

"As you know, the Internet Society works in many ways and in many 
places. We educate the next generation of Internet Leaders, work with 
partners to build Community Networks, provide insight on Public Policy, 
champion open standards, and foster development projects. Our chapters 
are leaders in their local communities. Your financial contribution can 
help to grow these and many more initiatives like them."

Another noted:

"Half the world is still not online. For those that are, there is much 
to be done to make sure those connections are ones we can trust. We 
encourage you to participate and support your local Chapter initiatives 
in promoting access. Think of how much more we could do with your 
financial contribution. XXX, please support projects like this, and 
other important programs, by making a secure online donation now and 
help connect the world."

If this campaign has a second round, I would like to see text that 
explicitly states *how* members can support their local chapters (i.e. 
by donating directly to them if they accept donations from individuals). 
I would go so far as to say that it should be stated in the mail that 
members have a choice: donate to ISOC and we'll make sure the money 
filters down to the local chapters or donate directly to your chapter.

Kind regards,

—
Susannah Gray
President
San Francisco-Bay Area Internet Society Chapter
www.sfbayisoc.org




On 22/11/2017 05:05, Todd M. Tolbert wrote:
>
> Dear Chapter Leaders,
>
> Joyce Dogniez, Tim Hoswitschka, and I were pleased to participate on 
> the Chapter Advisory Council Steering Committee call on 20 November to 
> discuss the online individual fundraising campaign.
>
> We heard and understood that the process by which this was announced 
> was not ideal. And we commit to improve this in the future, by 
> engaging and involving our Chapters earlier on.
>
> We stress that this is a test, an experiment. Online fundraising has 
> been done in the past, but it’s been several years. Since then the 
> organization has changed, the context has changed, and now seems a 
> good time to attempt this experiment again. We don’t know what the 
> outcome will be, but we want to try it out.
>
> We acknowledge the concern from Chapters on competition with local 
> fundraising. Let me stress that that is not the intent. As you have 
> seen through the increased support for Chapters, ISOC is fully 
> committed to supporting our Chapters. And the campaign messages 
> reinforce the value of members supporting and participating in Chapter 
> activities. As mentioned, we don’t know what the results will be of 
> this individual fundraising experiment, but once we have the 
> donations, we can have the conversation about how funds can be 
> allocated and discuss the possibility of future campaigns to more 
> directly support Chapters or Chapter activities.
>
> One of the motivations is to diversify ISOC’s income. This is both 
> good practice and a necessary part of Internet Society’s nonprofit 
> status. ISOC is registered in the United States as a 501(c)(3). With 
> this nonprofit status comes the requirement to have a percentage of 
> income from diverse sources. Individual donations can be an important 
> way of achieving this. ISOC is not in danger of losing our non-profit 
> status as some may have questioned on this list, but we are required 
> to make efforts to diversify our funding.
>
> The Chapters AC Steering Committee has asked us to send this 
> clarification email, which we hope addresses the concerns raised. 
> Please see also the FAQ attached that we will post online with the 
> donation campaign.
>
> We have collectively agreed that the campaign will be launched next 
> **Tuesday, 28 November^* * and that we would share the results as soon 
> as available.
>
> We will continue to collaborate with the Chapters to ensure they’re 
> part of the solution when we launch future fundraising campaigns with 
> individual members.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Todd
>
> -- 
>
> Todd M. Tolbert
> Chief Administrative Officer
> Internet Society
> 1775 Wiehle Avenue, Suite 201
>
> Reston, VA 20190
> E: Tolbert at isoc.org <mailto:Tolbert at isoc.org>
> Zoom.us: tolbert at isoc.org <mailto:tolbert at isoc.org>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> Chapter Portal (AMS): https://portal.isoc.org

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