Evolving the Internet Society's approach to fundraising

The Internet Society works globally to ensure that the internet remains a force for good in people's lives. They advocate for policies that keep the internet open, connected, secure and trustworthy while working to expand access to underserved communities. Despite the internet's central role in modern life for work, healthcare and education, 1 in 3 people worldwide still do not have access - a digital divide they actively work to bridge.

Our partnership with The Internet Society began in February 2012, initially managing their Google Ad Grants account to increase the visibility of their resources on the search network and generate more quality traffic to their site. When they approached us in 2022 to run a fundraising campaign, we encountered an interesting challenge: how do you convince people to donate to protect something they rarely think about being at risk?

Unlike charities that address immediate human needs—causes that people instantly understand—The Internet Society’s mission to ensure "the internet is for everyone" doesn't necessarily trigger the same emotional response. Additionally, their commitment to user privacy meant we couldn't implement traditional tracking methods and optimisations.

Building on our previous email subscriber growth campaign, which achieved a 492% increase in subscribers, we needed to develop a new strategy that would both honour The Internet Society’s privacy values and convert these new supporters into donors.

Our user research, with past Internet Society donors and donors to similar charities, revealed fascinating insights into what drives donations to Internet-related causes:

• Privacy concerns emerged as the most significant issue, with donors worried about corporate and government exploitation of personal data.
• Donors value transparency in how their contributions are used, though this is less critical when they've received upfront value first.
• People prefer soft, non-intrusive donation appeals (similar to Wikipedia) and respond positively to requests for small, manageable amounts.

These insights directly informed our campaign strategy, helping us create messaging that resonated with potential donors' genuine concerns.

We facilitated a collaborative storytelling workshop with teams at the Internet Society to discuss why their mission matters and how it's changing lives. The workshop explored themes including digital rights, equal access, and internet shutdowns.

Using frameworks like "The Hero's Journey," we shaped these conversations into stories that would connect with potential donors and helped turn the somewhat abstract idea of "strengthening the internet" into something people could truly relate to.

Informed by our user research, our human-centred design team developed a lead magnet—a guide to "Decode Your Digital Footprint”, informed by SEO keyword research. This guide offered actionable privacy tips for everyday internet users.

The guide included straightforward advice to "purge your unused accounts" and "regularly clear your cookies, cache, and history"—simple actions to help people manage their digital presence more effectively.

To accompany the downloadable guide, we tested multiple creative approaches and messaging themes to optimise ad performance, including:

"Privacy is a right, yet each website, app, and service you use quietly collects data about your activity. We've outlined 8 steps you can take to improve your data privacy. Get your free guide to decoding your digital footprint now."

By focusing on providing immediate value, we were able to grow the Internet Society's email list with people who were already interested in digital privacy and internet issues—creating an engaged audience for future fundraising communications.

Combining these new leads with their existing email base, we developed email sequences that built understanding and connection ahead of donation asks.

Each email was part of a coherent narrative rather than an isolated message. We created different versions for new leads, existing contacts, and previous donors, tailoring the content to match each group's familiarity with the organisation. This includes:

1. Welcome journey: To introduce new subscribers to The Internet Society’s mission and work
2. Donation journey: To gradually build toward donation requests by sharing real stories and impact

Building on the email journey, we extended our storytelling approach with ads that further highlighted real-world examples of The Internet Society’s impact. These ads gave users who were on the email list another touch point with the donation appeal, reinforcing the messages from the emails and driving more traffic to the donation page.

We tested messaging that focused on community impact and found that ad variants emphasising the internet as a life-changing resource performed best. In the final weeks of the campaign, we updated the campaign messaging to feature more urgent donation asks in the lead-up to the holiday period.

"When the rural community of Williston, Florida began to offer its residents reliable, affordable Internet access, lives changed for the better. Donate to the Internet Society to help us bring the Internet to more remote communities around the world."

Our creative testing found that graphical images performed significantly better than photographs overall, generating 75% of all clicks. Whilst on Instagram, video creatives achieved a higher click-through rate than images.

We also provided recommendations to improve donation landing pages, supplying content and imagery that ensured consistency while making the donation process simple and clear.

Our integrated approach, combining user research, human-centred design, and strategic digital marketing, exceeded targets. Results include:

• 16,045 leads generated, exceeding the target by 60%
• Email list growth from 7,000 to over 23,000 (+129%)
• 573% increase in donations compared to the previous campaign

The Internet Society saw a 621% increase in donations year-on-year, driven by all activity throughout the year, including this campaign.

• The welcome journey demonstrated strong open and click rates, confirming the appeal of the initial lead magnet
• Giving Tuesday and the Christmas period saw the highest donations

• LinkedIn emerged as a successful new channel, particularly effective for targeting tech industry professionals
• Ads communicating a sense of urgency about privacy concerns performed well, resonating with users' growing awareness of digital privacy issues

This campaign marks a significant milestone in The Internet Society’s fundraising journey. With a substantial email list of engaged supporters, they now have a solid foundation for future fundraising initiatives. Plus, the significant increase in donations suggests a growing public understanding of the internet as a vital resource worth protecting.