Once you have considered these ideas you will be in a better position to consider how your activities can be supported and enhanced with an Internet presence. Of course, these are household names, and the latter two had six hours of prime-time TV to help them. But their experience demonstrates that UK donors do give online. Other charities have enjoyed success with online lotteries and auctions. The Internet can benefit service organisations.
Voluntary organisations can cut paper and brochure distribution costs by publishing online.
Others can reach a wider audience via the Internet, often at a reduced cost. They found that, whereas around one quarter of telephone callers talked of committing suicide, more than half of e-mail contacts did so. It can be anything from nothing to around 50,000, the latter figure being what some of the largest UK charities are spending on their Internet presence each year. In fact, no Web site is free, even if you do accept an offer of free Web space. The largest cost to a charity or indeed any other organisation is in staff or volunteer time.