Last week I happened to catch ABC’s newest reality shows, Secret Millionaire. According to the premise of the show “six of America’s most successful business people spend a week in the country’s poorest areas, ending their stay by giving members of the community hundreds of thousands of dollars of their own money.” And while initially I wasn’t expecting much (we’re talking about reality television after all), I’ve got to confess that as a nonprofit marketer, I was drawn in by the by the poignant storytelling and the work being done by the wonderful community nonprofit agencies featured. I’ll also confess that I bawled like a baby throughout the show (my guy will tell you that I cry if a kitten gets sand in its eye but that’s beside the point).
The episode I watched featured Internet marketer Ali Brown, founder and CEO of Ali International, an enterprise devoted to empowering women entrepreneurs around the world. Brown spent a week living and volunteering among the homeless in Venice Beach, California, looking for people and causes that need financial help.
At the end of the show, several organizations were gifted with substantial checks. I liked the focus on the small community-based nonprofit organizations and later paid a visit to each of the featured organization’s sites. One of them, Common Ground HIV featured a nifty engagement page. Their home page capitalizes on the organization’s exposure from the Secret Millionaire episode and when the viewer clicks on “How You Can Help,” they’re given a range of options, including making an in-kind gift, making a donation, touring their facilities, and even liking them on Facebook.
I like the way that this page engages nearly every viewer. Take a look at Common Ground’s home page. How are you engaging visitors to your site?
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I can’t wait to meet with you personally.
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