Kenyans on Twitter (#KOT) can seem like a rowdy, rambunctious lot, but when blogger Jackson Biko urged them to help a university student in need of urgent brain surgery, they showed their true colours. In just 2 days, they united to raise more than Sh. 6 million, six times the amount requested, for Emmanuel Otieno aka Jadudi. With the money, the third-year University of Nairobi student was able to fly to India for a brain operation.
More than just a heartwarming story, the #1MilliForJadudi offers several pointers for successful online fundraising.
1. Establish a sense of urgency
Biko published his appeal on Tuesday. Jadudi’s flight was four days away, on Saturday. Time was running out and Jadudi need the money urgently. Without surgery, he would die.
Fundraising campaigns work better when they they are short and quick. Emotion and the risk of dire consequences also add urgency. A campaign that carries on for longer than two weeks runs the risk of losing steam. People think it’s not so urgent. They think they have more than enough time to donate so they put the issue aside and forget about it.
The more urgent your campaign, the more likely people will pay attention, act and spread the word.
2. Have a clear call to action
We’re all constantly inundated with demands for our time and attention. Biko’s call to Kenyans was clear and simple: “You don’t need loads of cash to help. Check your MPesa balance. You have 204 bob? Send it. You have a loose 4k that you will burn by the end of today? Send it. You have 130 bob? MPesa it. It will mean a lot.”
The bottom line message to Kenyans: Donate whatever you can and save Jadudi’s life.
3. Make it easy to act
Biko urged people to donate and spread the message using the Twitter hashtag #1MilliForJadudi and provided the details of an M-Pesa account where the money could be easily deposited via mobile phones. By mobilizing on Twitter, he got the message to spread rapidly. His use of the ubiquitous MPesa service ensured that virtually everyone, everywhere in Kenya was easily able to participate in the giving. Quick and painless.
4. Have an achievable goal
One million shillings for Jadudi’s surgery. That was the goal. And because it was achievable and not too ambitious or vague (such as, “Donate to eradicate cancer in Kenya”), it was achieved and even exceeded.
5. Put a face to your appeal
Biko provided a moving tale of a 22 year-old university student whose life comes a halt when he discovers a cancerous lump in his head. Biko’s narrative (and the photo of Jadudi right at the top of his post), (literally) put a face to the appeal. Anyone who has been buffeted by the storms of life (and who hasn’t?) could relate to Jadudi’s plight.
6. Make people feel good about giving
Here was a young man who hadn’t yet started out in life and it seemed he would never the get chance to do so. Not unless Kenyans helped. Ordinary Kenyans — you and I– had the opportunity to change Jadudi’s story. And that’s why the appeal was successful. Those donating had a chance to become heroes.
Our very best wishes for Jadudi’s quick recovery and a long, happy life.
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