Ice Bucket Challenge

As someone who stays up to date with social media trends I was blown away by the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.  Nothing about it made sense to me yet I couldn’t help but applaud the person who thought it up.  Over 100 million dollars donated!  That’s a huge jump in comparison to the 2.8 million raised last year.   Yet I can’t help but be disappointed with the lack of understanding of what the fundraising campaign was truly about. 

I’m a newbie to the fundraising industry so I don’t claim to be all knowing on the subject however of aspects regarding the campaign left me feeling unsettled.  The majority of the individuals who completed the Ice Bucket Challenge did so in response to their friends without realizing that by doing so the campaign benefited very little.  Very few made a donation, even those that were “challenged” and did not accept which was the whole point by the way, to donate or accept.

Those who did donate a large amount were celebrities and they probably did so as a publicity stunt which honestly it worked!  If it weren’t for the large celebrity donations and the attention it brought to the campaign I do not believe it would have been as successful as it was. 

The goal of the campaign was to raise funds for ALS and that goal was accomplished however the longevity of the campaign was short.  Most likely if they try again next year they will see a significant drop in donations.  Additionally do any of us feel like this campaign brought attention to the cause?  How many of us know what ALS actually stands for? 

I personally didn’t know anything about ALS until the Ice Bucky Challenge and the only reason I did my research is because of the significant number of people who had no clue.  I can’t tell you how many videos I watched that consisted of “I’m doing the Ice Bucket Challenge for ummm”.  That is not what fundraising is about!  Fundraising is about understanding the cause and providing support.  For those of you like me who are under informed and lack understanding: What is ALS?