A few weeks ago I wrote about visual storytelling and how nonprofits can learn from comics, which outed me as a huge comic fan. Today I wanted to talk about a recent campaign that was successful in raising $2.3 million to combat the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa (and also happens to be comics-related): the DC Comics “We Can Be Heroes” campaign. What did DC Comics do that was effective, and how can this be replicated on a smaller scale?

1. Utilize inspiring imagery that tells a story: I won’t spend too much time on this because we’ve written about it in the past, but it’s still an important lesson. When you first visit the “We Can Be Heroes” website, the homepage features three different photos of children impacted by the campaign and its work.



A sad photo may instill a sense of hopelessness in a potential supporter, but the uplifting and inspiring nature of the photos allows them think their contribution can make a difference. A person visiting the site can see the story of a child being fed and a happy mother because of the work the campaign does. You may also notice each photo has a “Give Now” link at the bottom, which leads to my next point...

2. Have a clear call to action and provide options: A clear call to action is another important aspect of campaigning that we’ve written about, and a large part of the “We Can Be Heroes” campaign’s success stems from its flexibility in offering multiple courses of action for supporters to take. On the homepage alone, visitors can easily donate (see the image in Point 1) or contribute in a few other ways:

Though the auction has closed, the opportunity to buy collectibles, art, and other goodies such as a custom Kia Sorrento SUV featuring custom Jim Lee artwork is something big-spending comics fans love. For those with smaller budgets, supporters could purchase merchandise such as shirts, mugs, an iPhone case, water bottle, or a poster with the guarantee that 50% of the purchase price will go directly to the cause. Not every organization can offer up a custom car, but organizations such as Fission client Standing on the Side of Love feature a webstore to help raise money and get their message out with shirts, signs, stickers, and other goodies.

If they prefer, supporters can donate $10, $25, $50, or $100 directly to a nonprofit partner of their choice. How the money is used is described on the site, and donations can be made on behalf of a friend or family member.

“We Can Be Heroes” also ran two Indiegogo campaigns to increase the ways supporters could contribute. Centered around DC Comics’ two most iconic characters, Batman and Superman, these Indiegogo campaigns raised $152,000 and $132,000 each, respectively.

Indiegogo, Kickstarter, or other crowdfunding sites can be a good place for nonprofits to raise money, as it combines video, compelling stories, and importantly, perks. Comics readers are very often big collectors, so it makes sense that offering perks such as digital downloads, limited edition covers, shirts, signed books, and VIP events would raise money and interest for the cause (be sure to see my next point). Your organization can replicate this by offering merchandise, a specific action taken as a result of a donation, a free meet-and-greet or meal with campaign staff, event tickets, or even a trip! Be creative with multiple options for each price bracket to help increase the size of your audience. 

3. Know Your Audience: As I previously mentioned, comics readers are often collectors, and many seek to find the rarest, most unique items out there. The Indiegogo campaign provided an almost no-brainer opportunity for people that may be spending money on these items anyway, and to incorporate them into the cause simply increased the likelihood that they would contribute.

Beyond these Indiegogo campaigns, “We Can Be Heroes” took advantage of the age-old theme of good vs. evil. Messaging used throughout the campaign such as, “One small act can make you a hero,” and “Stand together, stand strong to fight the hunger crisis” are easily identifiable to the target audience (DC Comics readers) and helped attract people that may otherwise not contribute.

Your organization can better understand its audience by looking at how people interact with your content on social media or analyzing how visitors find your website (look at Google Analytics!). If you're unsure if a campaign would be popular, ask them questions through social media to gauge their response, or check out our tool Attentive.ly to see what your existing email list is already talking about online. 

4. Be Transparent and Keep Supporters Updated: On both the donate page and the Batman Indiegogo campaign page “We Can Be Heroes” was transparent about where the funding was going, and even put it into an attractive and easily sharable infographic. This helped supporters understand how their money was being used, and could provide a greater incentive to donate or share the campaign more to increase the number of people that benefit from the campaign.

5. Be Mobile Friendly: Between 2012 and 2013, mobile usage was up nearly 100% and a responsive website is one important way to make sure your organization’s website looks good no matter where it’s viewed. The “We Can Be Heroes” website achieves this, making it easy to contribute to the campaign and learn more with large buttons and easy to understand images. 

Sam Marx is the Research Analyst at Fission Strategy and an avid comic book reader. If you want to talk about how nonprofits can learn from comics you can find him on Twitter at @smarx_.