Charities' online reports and accounts are an important means of attracting new supporters and funding, not least in these times of economic difficulties. So why are charities not making the most of their websites to raise funds?
The internet is clearly one of the most potent and cost-effective ways of getting charities' message across and the ICAEW and the Charities Aid Foundation Charities Online Accounts Awards are designed to encourage charities to make their websites - and their reports and accounts - more attractive and accessible to potential donors.
Although people in the UK are generous when it comes to charitable giving - in a typical month in 2008, 56% of the population gave an average donation of £33, with the ongoing credit squeeze, they are likely to be more selective about how much and where they give. Charities will have to be more imaginative and innovative in their approach to fund-raising if they are to maintain or grow their income.
Small charities most innovative
So the 2009 panel of judges was disappointed to discover a general lack of progress in the web presentation of reports and accounts by all but the smallest of charities. (Despite budget constraints, this category consistently comes up with the most innovative and impressive designs and use of hyperlinks and html.)
Although charities had given more thought to the annual review, most still produced the accounts - arguably the most important section for fund-raising - in a dull and dry way.
"The challenge for charities is how to bring the financial statements to life and link them to tangible activities and case studies in the annual review," said Graham Ward, chair of the panel and a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers
"Charities must remember that their websites are a means of telling the world what you stand for and where you are heading in a way that will have a direct impact on your ability to secure funds."
Winning charities receive a certificate and £1,500. For those interested in learning new ideas and techniques, the judges have come up with their top tips. You can also read our case studies of two winning charities, the Mexborough and Swinton Astronomical Society and the British Library, on why their websites so impressed the judges.
THE 2009 WINNERS ARE:
Download the full article Charities Online Accounts Awards 2009 (PDF: 191kb/2pages)
Mexborough and Swinton Astronomical Society, ICAEW and Charities Aid Foundation Online Accounts Awards winner, 2009
If you want to know whether the skies tonight will be clear enough to do a bit of star-spotting, all you have to do is visit the Mexborough and Swinton Astronomical Society's website.
It's packed full of fascinating facts like the different timings for astronomical and nautical twilight, sunrise and moonset. And it offers click-throughs to other interesting websites such as the International Year of Astronomy 2009, and boasts a gallery of stunning photographs.
Given the size of the society - its annual income last year was just over £6,500 - the website is surprisingly good. But the society has a dedicated membership, says secretary Shaun O'Dell, who take the attitude that if they don't possess the skills required, they will go out and acquire them.
Indeed, the society's 40-odd members designed the observatory which the society owns and runs in South Yorkshire and more recently, designed and built a new dome for it. "We are all keen amateurs and we are very motivated and hard-working."
Website design is one of those member acquired skills. The three responsible for the website all work in IT but none are web designers. They have been learning as they have gone along, updating the site, now in its fourth generation, in a process that O'Dell describes as "like painting the Forth Road Bridge".
It's not the first time the society has been shortlisted for the awards - last year it was runner-up - and O'Dell finds the process invaluable. "We take the feedback from the scrutineers very seriously and it has driven us to rethink how we present the accounts. We also look at what other winners are doing on their websites to see how we can improve ours."
Appealing to the iPlayer generation
The British Library, ICAEW and Charities Aid Foundation Online Accounts Awards winner, 2009
If you click on any of the three individuals featured on the British Library's online report and accounts homepage they come to life and talk animatedly about the importance of the UK national library to their work and the help they received.
The figures include Costa prize-winning novelist Stef Penney, whose book, The Tenderness of Wolves, was set in Canada, a country she had never visited but was able to research in depth at the library. At the same time, you can also find out more about Canadian literature by clicking on the picture of Canada and Caribbean curator Dorian Hayes, explore a historic map of Canada and listen to a recording of wolves howling.
These are just a few examples of the website's imaginative use of multimedia to get across the message about the library's aims and objectives.
"You can convey more in a two-minute video, intercut with sound and different backgrounds, than you can in three times as many words," says senior press officer Ben Sanderson. He became responsible for leading the project to improve access to the online report and accounts when he was seconded last year to corporate communications.
The website allows access to highlights from the library's collection of 14m books, 920,000 journal and newspaper titles, 58m patents and 3m sound recordings. It has developed over three years and, says Sanderson, is "a genuine team effort".
"We wanted to take the next step and produce something that would resonate with the YouTube and iPlayer generation, while also demonstrating the difference the British Library makes to hundreds of thousands of users annually."
More information
Do you think your charity's online report and accounts demonstrate the highest levels of accuracy and transparency, and communicate effectively with your beneficiaries, donors and stakeholders?
For information on the Charities Aid Foundation, visit www.cafonline.org
July 2009