One of the reasons I wanted to work for Depaul UK was I was really impressed by their iHobo app. I've been fortunate to be involved in the later stages of this amazing project and have got to speak at and attend some great events about digital fundraising. The original aim of iHobo was to raise awareness; I don't think anyone anticipated what a success it would be and sadly perhaps some of the fundraising potential wasn't capitalised on. We've been really frank about our experience and our learning (read more here).
What I find so disappointing about the vast majority of charity apps is that they don't really do anything. That might sound harsh but I think that people forget that "apps" are applications: a number of the charity apps I've seen have made me wish the charity had just spent the money on optimising their website for mobile rather than creating a stand alone information app which will require additional updating and is probably receiving minimal downloads.
The best and most successful apps, charity or otherwise, either entertain us like games, music players etc or help us accomplish a task (my current favourite is my sleep sounds app!) An app can help deliver a charity's mission - such as BHF's healthy recipe app or Breakthrough Breast Cancer's iBreastCheck app and that's great, we just have to be careful we're not jumping on the bandwagon and creating apps for the sake of it.
What prompted me to write this blog is Mencap's current Spellathon app. I love this app! It's available on a number of platforms (web as well as smart phone) and there are several things which make the app great which I appreciate both as a user and as a fundraiser:
- The characters in the app (bees of course) are fun and will appeal to all ages.
- There is an integrated celebrity endorsement with Stephen Fry voicing the "professor" character (rather than just tagging a celebrity on to the initiative.)
- The app is optimised for fundraising - you have to create a JustGiving page to be able to log in.
- There is a useful but not over the top amount of data capture increasing lifetime value of the project.
- There is an incentive to play and most importantly to raise money - everyone who spells enough words and raises over £15 will be able to play an online game against Mr Fry himself.
- It's educational and there's a synergy between the app and Mencap's mission.
What I like most about the whole project is that the Spellathon is something Mencap have been running for 18 years. Instead of scrapping it in favour of something new they have built on the initiative using technology to give it a new lease of life.
It really is a great app and a great example of a good charity app. I'm mildly dyslexic and my biggest problem is swapping letter round (thank goodness for spell check) so I struggled with this game a bit at the beginning but if you persevere you really feel you are learning something whilst having fun.
I'd love to know your thoughts about the app (and charity apps in general) so get in touch.
