This is a guest post by Mike McKenna, the Channel Development Manager for Blackbaud’s everydayhero where he works with nonprofits to develop peer-to-peer fundraising programs. Mike has 19 years of professional experience that spans from corporate finance to sports marketing. He started his career in Hong Kong while earning a Master’s Degree in Marketing from University College Dublin’s Graduate School of Business. Mike currently resides in Charleston where he earned an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the College of Charleston. Mike is active in the running community and is a Race Director of two 5K runs and a Board Member of the Charleston Marathon.
How’s your day going? It’s one of the most commonly asked questions, but these days the response you get might be unexpected. That’s because people are tracking what they do throughout the day through wearable devices. These days, they have the stats and data to give you detailed feedback on how things really went. It’s a movement called Quantified Self where people track daily activities with the goal of self-improvement.
This self-knowledge through numbers is not a new concept, but the ancient idea is being revolutionized by three big trends in technology: mobile devices, data collection, and biometric sensors.
With the rapid rise of wearable technologies like Garmin watches and Fitbit bands, we are gaining greater insight into our personal health, wellbeing, and performance. Apparel companies like Under Armour have embedded fitness tracking devices into athletic shirts at the NFL combine. Weekend warriors are using GPS watches to log their long runs as they prepare for upcoming marathons. Technological breakthroughs have given athletes of all abilities the tools to track their efforts, analyze the data, and make improvements.
Wearable technologies and quantified self are also being used to improve fundraising campaigns. Athletes are doing everything from running, walking and cycling to skiing, surfing and skateboarding in support of their favorite cause and that effort is being tracked and counted. Giving to charity isn’t always about money so nonprofit software products like everydayhero have found ways to capture all that fundraisers give to charity.
Time, effort, and page shares all have value. These efforts create a level of awareness that is beneficial to nonprofit organizations. When fundraisers can track their efforts, they also have a pedestal to stand on to share all of the time and effort they are putting in. When they build awareness and increase engagement, the donations will follow. Research has shown that people who share their workouts on their fundraising pages can raise 58% more than those who don’t.
Quantified self is expected to remain an integral piece of the fundraising landscape. According to BI Intelligence, the global wearable device market will see 35% compounded annual growth through 2019. When Fossil and Intel recently announced a new fashionable line of wearable technology, Forbes said it “legitimizes the smartwatch as more than just a fad.” This is great news for the nonprofit industry. If people have the tools to track and share their efforts, they have the tools to generate awareness and donations for causes they care about.
This theory is being put to the test in a new virtual event called The Extra Mile Thanksgiving Charity Challenge. MapMyFitness, Under Armour’s fitness tracking app, has teamed up with Blackbaud, a global leader in nonprofit software, to merge fitness and philanthropy.
The 30-day virtual charity challenge kicked off on October 28 and is open to people who want to give back to their community. People will select from approximately 6,000 charities, create a fundraising page, and log their workouts. They will walk, run, swim, ride or even dance in support of their favorite cause. Anybody who raises $500.00 and records at least 16 workouts has a chance to win a $1,000 Under Armour gift card and a $1,000 donation to their chosen charity.
There are also weekly drawings for $125 Under Armour gift cards. I’m personally going to give it a shot. It will be fun to track the positive impact I can make in terms of fitness and philanthropy, but the best part will be knowing when I go for seconds on Thanksgiving I will be able to show everyone how many calories I burned leading up to that day.