# DEC launches Asian tsunami appeal but minus online element

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2004/12/28/dec-launches-asian-tsunami-appeal-minus-online-element/
- Published: 2004-12-28T00:00:00+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) has launched a public appeal to fund the
work of its member aid agencies working to help the victims of the south Asian earthquake
and floods. Donations can be made by telephone, but not online.
The DEC’s appeal
was launched earlier today but focused on encouraging donations by telephone via
0870 60 60 900. It is not promoting the facility to make online donations: indeed,
as of 11pm on 28 December, two days after the disaster, its Web site makes no mention
of the Asian floods disaster or how to donate to it.

 

 

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Instead it focuses solely on its Sudan emergency appeal. Indeed, although you can
give online to the DEC, you can only give to its Sudan emergency appeal e.g. “I 
want DEC Sudan Emergency to reclaim the tax I have paid.” The site’s front page 
indicates that it was last updated on 16 December 2004.

 

 

The DEC is the umbrella organisation which launches and co-ordinates the UK’s national
appeal in response to major disasters overseas, and represents its 12 international
aid agency members.

 

 

The initial focus on telephone donations rather than online is unfortunate for three
reasons. First, the DEC itself knows, as do other emergency organisations, that 
the average online gift is higher than the average offline donation. For example,
in its 2002 Southern Africa appeal the average online gift was £56 compared to the
average telephone gift of £40.

 

 

Secondly, the Web has overtaken the telephone as the preferred method of giving 
to emergency appeals. For example, in the first two days of Oxfam’s appeal for the
victims of the Goma disaster in 2002, three times as much was given online as via
the telephone. It had experienced this development already with its 2001 emergency
appeals for Afghanistan and the Gujerat earthquake, both of which generated more
online than via the telephone in the immediate aftermath.

 

 

Thirdly, speed of response matters. Medical charity DebRA found that nearly half
of all online income it received after being the subject of a Channel 4 documentary
in March 2004 came in within the first 24 hours. More significantly, 6% of online
income (£6,000) came within the first two minutes of the programme’s end, and a 
further 13% (£20,000) coming in within the next 28 minutes. The DEC has enjoyed 
similar success in the past: in the first three days of its Sudan appeal in July
2004 over £1 million was donated online.

 

 

Any delay in offering an online donation facility by an emergency organisation could
therefore affect the total amount raised.

 

 

While this DEC emergency appeal is likely to be very successful, it is likely that
even more could have been raised had the Web donation facility been launched from
the outset.

 

 * **[DEC receives £300,000 in online donations in less than one day](https://fundraising.co.uk/2004/12/29/dec-receives-300000-online-donations-less-one-day/)**(
   29 December 2004)
 * **[UK government increases Asian disaster donation to £50 million](https://fundraising.co.uk/2004/12/30/uk-government-increases-asian-disaster-donation-50-million/)**(
   30 December 2004)
 * **[Online donations continue to pour in to Asian floods emergency](https://fundraising.co.uk/2004/12/31/online-donations-continue-pour-asian-floods-emergency/)**(
   31 December 2004)