In the past two years, the ChipIn widget seems to have proliferated on the Internet. For legitimate non profit groups, it seemed to solve a few problems. It gave immediate access to donors to see exactly how close to a goal the group was in real or almost real time. However, since there are no real “checks” that the site does, it also allows for a lot of fraud.
This familiar widget can be created on the ChipIn site very easily, and the code can be tailored to a variety of formats that a wide variety of platforms can understand. Just be aware, that if using on Wordpress, you can only use it if you host your blog on your own domain as it is against Wordpress TOS. Also, the shockwave script only appears in “publish” or “preview” mode.Please do not attempt to actually donate to this one, because it won’t go anywhere. It is for illustrative purposes only. It is not connected to a Paypal address.
For a legitimate group, not only does it motivate donors, but the constant updates cut out the “middle man” and save time for volunteers seeking updates as well. Funds are processed through Paypal, which is very familiar to those donating on the internet already. A widget is best used if a small, reasonable goal is targeted as people like to be part of the “winning team” and feel that they are making a difference versus a small drop in a bucket that may never be filled.
However, the widget went from being used by legitimate causes to just about anyone. Because the address that is receiving the donations is hidden, it can easily create a situation where someone is falsely collecting funds. However, it was more frequent for individuals to not pretend that they were collecting for something they were not, but counting on you seeing so many widgets that you will get them confused. Another scenario is that because you do see a widget, you think they have been “checked out.” One young lady was asking for over $20,000 to build a “No-Kill Sanctuary for Dogs.” Behind the scenes, there was never going to be a shelter. She had made graphics to look convincing, but in reality, she was trying to gain trust with shelters in order to attempt to take unaltered dogs to start breeding and fighting them. She was “found out.”
The more innocent misuses are people using them to fund their savings goal, or dream of buying a boat. In of itself, if everyone is aware that they are gifting money to the person and it is not a donation, to each his own. Perhaps ChipIn should create a widget that clearly carries a disclaimer.
Technologically, the widget will not appear in Wordpress based blogs in draft mode and is sometimes only viewable when published. This is an improvement. The widget is compatible with blogger.
In my opinion:
From a technology perspective, ChipIn is a valuable widget and gets high marks. A s a consumer, you should do the same research of the person behind the widget as if they were handing you an envelope or asking for a donation in person.
In Wordpress, there’s an area that shows some of your back links. It’s really helpful to see where other bloggers mentioned your site. However, it is not a complete list, nor does it display static websites who decided to throw you a link.
Yesterday, I was investigating a dog rescue group and a local thrift store. A friend of mine wanted an opinion on the rescue group, as they offered to take a large number of dogs from a county pound and she had never heard of them before. The thrift store is in my local area and benefits a charity I have never heard of. Upon performing basic internet searches, I was really surprised that these organizations were running their websites on free space, or were found on a url as long as Yao Ming’s arm. Pop ups, and very clumsy navigation made the groups look like fly-by-nights. A group that looks rag-tag and disorganized is not getting my donations.
For $10 per month, the hosting plan includes a free domain name to get you started. To drive traffic to your url, they are providing a $50.00 credit to both Google Adwords and Facebook. Not familiar with Facebook advertising? When you log into Facebook, look at the column at the right hand side of your page. Your group could be there, and your ad would appear to people who were specifically targeted by keywords, or on pages that mesh with what you are about. Conventional wisdom dictates that someone has to see a message or concept three times before they act. If they see a Facebook ad, see a Google Ad and see your website when they click on one of those….Bingo! If you don’t see major results, it didn’t hurt to try it for free. Free is my second favorite price to cheap. Free would be my favorite price, but I don’t always trust Free…unless it is thrown in as a bonus with something cheap.