Today, I asked a related question on LinkedIn, and the amount and value of answers I got was surprising.

I wanted to mention one screencast and one slideshow I found on the websites linked to in the answers. I also wanted to highlight the Donor Power Blog that was recommended.

In the screencast Dave Young talks about what and why he implemented on a client’s website to build trust and credibility. He used some really simple methods, maybe apart from including a video of the site’s owner.

In the slideshow, BJ Fogg, Director of Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford University, presents their research findings along with 10 simple guidelines on how to build credible websites.

Trust Services are defined as:

A set of professional assurance and advisory services based on a common framework (i.e., a core set of principles and criteria) to address the risks and opportunities of IT.

These services are categorised into Availability, Security, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy.
Many providers of these seals show on their websites testimonials that underpin the efficiency of such seals. In once case, the American Red Cross is cited for an increase in donations of 14% when adding such a seal. While it is difficult to measure an cumulative effect, many experts claim they have a positive effect on conversion rates.

A study* in 2002 showed that purchase intention and the display of WebTrust seals are positively correlated.

* Kaplan, S.E. and Nieschwietz, R.J. (2003). An Examination of the Effects of WebTrust and Company Type on Consumers’ Purchase Intention. International Journal of Auditing, 7, pp. 155-168.

How much of an influence has the colour scheme to the perception of trustworthiness? But which colour should be used?

Blue apparently is mostly associated with trust. Phrases like Blue Chips and Blue Books come to mind.

But does this mean a blue colour scheme makes a website automatically more trustworthy? Jacci Howard Bear argues that a combination of dark and light blue conveys trust and truthfulness.

A few people have asked me for some preliminary findings, and here is what the survey aimed at individuals has revealed so far, out of 46 responses:

• 32 or 69.6% would give money to charities
• 14 or 30.4% would not give money to charities

The following table outlines respondents perception of the trust constructs used in my survey, grouped by giving and non-giving respondents. The responses were ranked from 1 to strongly disagree, to 5 for strongly agree.

From the Guardian:

“Charities hit by falling donations over the past year yesterday welcomed figures showing online fundraiser justgiving.com had channelled more than £250m to the sector since its launch in 2001.

The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), which advises good causes on fundraising, said the private company was enabling charities to tap Britain’s youth with viral marketing and sophisticated processing technology for online donations. Smaller charities, which find it costly to raise funds and track donations, benefited the most, CAF said.

Charities need all the help they can get to target a new generation of donors after a recent drop in charitable giving. According to the latest figures from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and CAF, the proportion of the population that gave to charity in 2006/07 dropped to 54%, down 3% from 2005/06.”

Similarly to the Community Fundraiser, a charity utilises with justgiving.com the trust network of an individual to raise new donations.

Corporate blogging seems to becoming more mainstream

Thanks to Sitepoint, I came across Waitrose’s MD’s blog, a good review about it together with some recommendations on corporate blogging can be found here.

One of the biggest pitfalls such corporate blogs have is if they sound too much like marketing talk or look like being too selective with their comments. As the article stresses, a corporate blog needs a few ingredients to make it successful:

• choice of topic: ready audience and relevance to your business;
• credibility: have someone important blogging;
• regular postings;
• have something important to say.

The article falls short on looking at the possible benefits such a corporate blog can have. On Sitepoint, it’s being argued whether it is a means to connect better with the public and build authenticity.

Such a blog provides the organisation with a face, something to relate to. It also provides a two-way communication stream. All this together can support the building of lasting relationships with your supporters, and help develop trust.

So, what stops you from using blogs?

After a suggestion of a friend of mine, I’ve set up a Facebook group. The aim of the group is to explore and discuss the topic of online trust further.

I’m also interested to know from you whether you or your organisation are active on Facebook and how that helps to build trust and attracting new supporters for your cause.

Bryan Miller suggests that the decline in direct marketing response rates need to be countered with Community Fundraising 2.0. For this he introduces the role of a community fundraiser, who equips “inspiring key individuals” with the knowledge and the tools to do the fundraising for your charity.

Sounds like a great idea, and some organisations already utilise this approach as well as Internet applications have been developed for this particular use. The causes application for Facebook seems to be a pretty good example of a simple way to implement this concept for charities, and I know a few charities which can’t wait until it is available for the UK.

I believe it’s also a great concept for less known charities. As well as it being a great tool to build trust. Once your charity is endorsed by someone, his peers or reference group is easier to convince of your trustworthiness.

As David Wilcox reports, US foundations increasingly look actively for interesting organisations to fund, which in his opinion increases the importance of having an online presence. And John raises another notion there, while content is important he stresses having a personal presence is even more important, mainly because people more likely relate to people.

This notion links very well to building trust, which I feel is easier to achieve when the person can see the people behind an organisation and see what it’s all about.

So, how can you achieve a personal presence so that others can relate to your organisation?

One theme that crops up regularly when reading the existing literature on trust is that it takes time. The question then is how do you initiate this trust building process with your donors.

One seemingly easy way would be to ask them for their contact details when they donate. However, an organisation needs to give those donors the choice about providing contact details for future contact. But as John at UK Fundraising has found out, donors opt out of this because they feel it will help save the charity money.Donors still like to hear how their donation has been used.

Care, therefore, needs to be taken when it comes to wording such opt out/opt in clauses.