Cheerleader Fundraising: Those Little Outfits Don’t Come Cheap

Let’s give it up for cheerleaders and their endless supply of PERK. It takes a lot to be that cheerful and peppy and jumpy and human pyramid-y. And let’s not forget knowing how to man those pom poms – handled incorrectly, you could lose an eye to a rogue streamer. But beyond the physical stamina required to “ra ra” and “FIGHT! FIGHT!” They often bear the emotional burden of wondering where their next tiny skirt is going to come from. Because maintaining a cheerleading squad, if they are or want to become any good, takes quite a bit of cash. Cheerleader fundraising is necessary to keep those girls on the field doing what they do best.

It can be tough for schools to scrounge up the money needed to fund uniforms, coaches, travel expenses for away games, and so on. And the better the cheerleading team is, the more expensive they become – what a kick in the spankies. If they’re good enough to perform in competitions, then costs skyrocket with transportation, costumes, and hotel stays. So having some great cheerleader fundraising ideas in your back pocket is the untold secret weapon to any team’s success. Because it doesn’t matter how much raw talent is lurking in that student body (something less creepy than it sounds)– if you can’t afford things like uniforms you’ve just got a bunch of crazy girls in Abercrombie & Fitch interrupting a football game to bust a move.

As with all fundraisers, it’s important for your cheerleader fundraising campaign to net you the most profit for the least amount of effort. Time spent somersaulting door-to-door takes precious hours away from other methods that both spread the word faster and can be implemented more easily. Also, remember that you’re raising money for a cheerleading squad, something that’s synonymous with fun, excitement, and spirit. If your fundraiser is lackluster and boring then it doesn’t jibe with what you’re ultimately trying to achieve. You’ve got a herd of plucky little teenyboppers that live to get people pumped up, so get them as involved as possible! The first step to any successful fundraising campaign is getting the word out so people can rally behind your cause.

There are lots of ideas at your disposal to pick from, as long as you keep things creative and choose something you know will get people excited (and excited to GIVE). You could auction off dates with the cheerleaders (teenage boys are so easy) or make (tasteful…nothing that looks like it should be hanging in a mechanic’s garage) calendars of the girls, maybe in conjunction with football team. Or, tapping into peoples’ love of oversized novelty everything, sell cheer accessories like giant foam fingers at the games. And if you’re looking for something a little different, have the girls hold cheering classes for younger girls who want to be cheerleaders when they get to high school. Not only does it work as a cheerleader fundraising idea, it helps train a brand new crop of future superstars.

Now that you’ve got your cheerleader fundraising idea picked out and ready to go, it’s all about seeing it through as effortlessly as possible. Before you begin, register the fundraiser online so you can reach people where they already are (and let’s face it, spend 80% of their day) – email, Facebook, Twitter and so on. Odds are the girls on the squad are seasoned pros at social networking, so having them with their friends (and their friends’ friends, and so it goes. Long live the viral power of the Internet!) will do most of the promotional work for you. People can fundraise on your behalf by linking to your donation page on the site, where you can receive donations directly to your account. And since you’re running everything from one hub, you can keep track of your cheerleader fundraiser’s success, and where you’re getting the most donations from. So you know JUST who to hit up next time you need to replace those scraggly pom poms.

Yup, the life of a cheerleader isn’t always smiles and blindingly white shoes. Keeping a team running doesn’t come cheap, and sometimes busting your butt offthe field is required to raise money. But thanks to the lot of fund cheerleader fundraising ideas and the newfound ease of online fundraising, you don’t have to bust your butt as hard as you used to. Unless you’re trying to break the record for longest door-to-door somersaulting campaign. Then have at it.

Raise money online for your cheerleader fundraiser the easy way today with free fundraising tools that allow you to create and manage a number of cheerleader fundraising campaigns while tracking their success. Cheerleader fundraising is easy with access to all the fundraising tools offered by a free and simple-to-use online fundraising platform.

 

Kids Fundraising: No Fun Means No Funds, Yay for Puns

You know the saying, “If mama’s not happy, nobody’s happy?” Take out “mama” and replace it with “a bunch of kids”. When it comes to kids fundraising, the operative word is “fun”. Yes it’s a tired play on words and it rounds out an introduction with way too many quotation marks, but it applies more here than any other category of fundraising. Because not only should kids have as much fun as possible as a general rule, but happy kids will provide infectious enthusiasm, be more excited about pitching in and make the overall process a lot smoother. Happy kids, happy parents, happy donors and happy hour after it’s all over and the kids have gone to bed (just work ‘em hard during the day so they pass out nice and fast).

 

Of course, fun and easy usually go hand in hand when it comes to kids fundraising. Making the whole event as simple as possible allows for more creativity and caters to the aphid-sized attention span of the little ones helping out. It’s important to implement ideas that are easy to organize and low on execution. So maybe put those plans to run a children’s homage to Cirque du Soleil starring the kindergarten class called “Cirque du Mr. Sun Sun, Mr. Golden Sun” on hold for now.

Below are some great ways to raise money for your kids fundraiser that won’t leave you desperately promising a free-for-all at the grocery store candy aisle to a bunch of bored kids that keep trying to stick fork prongs into an electrical socket just for something to do.

1. An art auction.

This should be a hit if only for the massive quantities of ADORABLE. Have the kiddies make art projects and then auction them off later. This works for kids of all ages - the really young ones can finger-paint or macaroni paste or stick some balls of plasticine together with gum and call it Gummy the Clay-Man, while the older ones can try out their talents with something a little more difficult. Advertise the kids fundraiser to parents, friends and throughout the community as a “Young Art-ISTE’s Exhibition” and come auction night, display the artwork in fun ways with the kids’ names clearly displayed. The kids will be thrilled that their work is up (and being purchased by actual people. How cool is that?), and the adults will find the whole thing oh-so charming. You could even put minimum prices on the artwork in correlation with what they’re going towards, for instance, $15 towards a new swing set for the playground.

2. A movie night.

Pick an age appropriate movie that everyone can enjoy (and seriously, kids movies are awesome these days. Toy Story 3 won’t have you yearning for The Hangover 2, promise!) and get the school, neighborhood, whole community to come. Make it a costume night themed for the movie if you want to get the kids really excited, and even give out prizes for best costume. Hold it in the school gymnasium or local church and have everyone bring blankets and pillows – like kids fundraising in the form of the comfiest drive in ever. Get in touch with a local vendor to get a discounted price on snacks that you can sell for double or triple the price (it’s ok, people expect to get gouged at the movies!) and you’ll make a killing. It’s best to get as many people involved in the promotion and organizing of the event as possible, so more people can spread the word and get bums in those seats! Or on pillows and blankets, whatever you’re going for.

3. A Game Night.

It’s the same idea with a different twist. Instead of showing a movie, host a game night that the whole community can come to. Kids love playing games and it’s a really fun and interactive kids fundraising ideas. Collect a bunch of board games before the event or have people bring their own (who doesn’t have Monopoly collecting dust in their hall closet?) and charge a fee to attend, along with the usual snacks and refreshments. Just make sure to use games that won’t take all night and have simple enough rules for younger kids to understand – you might want to leave Settlers of Catan and Risk at home. Unless the kids in your community are Napoleonic geniuses. In which case, your night just got really intense.

Whatever kids fundraising ideas you decide to choose, as long as it’s easy to see through, fun for the kids to participate in, and you know how to promote it to the community then you’re golden. One of the best things you can do when starting any kids fundraising campaign is get it online so you can spread the message to as many people as possible, quickly and efficiently. Sign up for an online platform that lets you reach people in a number of ways – through email, Twitter, Facebook, wherever people are online and can share your message. This also makes it a lot easier to collect money, as people can donate directly to your account (no counting pennies!) without any time-consuming hassles. Get online and your kids fundraising campaign, whether it’s an art auction, a movie night, or even the Cirque du Mr. Sun Sun, Mr. Golden Sun if you just HAVE to do it, will be a smashing success.

Raise money online for your kids’ fundraiser the easy way today with free fundraising tools that allow you to create and manage a number of kids fundraising campaigns while tracking their success. Kids fundraising online is easy with access to all the fundraising tools offered by a free and simple-to-use online fundraising platform.

 

 

 

Alumni Fundraising: Put Your Money Where Your Nostalgia Is

The relationship that a college or university has with its alumni is not unlike a first true love – one that lasted a few years, they had tons of fun with, grew up a little, learned a lot and spent a good portion of their time either drunk or rolling around in bed. The nostalgia is heavy and the emotional ties are strong, two things that give alumni fundraising campaigns a serious advantage over, say, the Adopt-a-Highway Program (unless you’re an ex con who experienced a particularly touching community service moment that conjures up warm memories every time you see a discarded Burger King wrapper on the side of the road). People are often eager to give back to the school that made them who they are today and gave them so many great years.

Still, this plum position doesn’t exempt Alumni associations from THE HUSTLE. They have some pretty hefty monetary demands, providing scholarship resources and many significant contributions to the institution. Alumni fundraising plays a huge part in any university’s financial agenda, and as with any fundraising campaign it’s important to stay on your toes and make it as easy as possible for people to donate their hard-earned cash money. It’s really important to know how to reach out to people in the right way and spread the word like glorious wildfire!

1. Have you noticed that sports fans can be, how do you say…crazy? No, the word would be “passionate”. Passionate and loyal and totally diehard (yippee kai yay m——r f——r!). All of these things are PURE GOLD for an alumni fundraising campaign. Alumni involved in the college sports community tend to be the most lively, active and reliable members, so make sure to get in touch with them, as they can be great influencers for your cause. There’s little doubt they’d be pumped to donate what they can as well as help organize you fundraising efforts. Coordinating your alumni fundraiser with a sports event or team allows you to reap the benefits of both a built-in fan (read: donor) base and the media coverage that accompanies college sports events.

2. Get the inside advantage by fostering a good relationship with the college administration. They’re the gatekeepers to a lot of contacts and information you can benefit from (note: spring for the good gift basket. They’ll be able to tell you re-gifted one from a car dealership when it shows up with a couple granola bars, some nondescript Polish cookies and a pencil.) A huge chunk of your potential donor base lies outside of the association itself and the administration has access to many of these sources. And while you’re on a campus tour, reach out to school media outlets like the newspaper and campus radio. Much of what you’re doing benefits them directly – it’s just one big incestuous agenda. And that’s a good thing! Odds are they’ll be more than happy to pimp your cause and help you get the word out.

3. That isn’t to say that outsiders aren’t welcome in your alumni fundraising campaign. Get in touch with members of the media outside the school and form an alliance between the Alumni association and the surrounding region by showing that it’s active within and loyal to the community. Schedule interviews on radio stations and arrange for stories in the local paper to be written up about your alumni fundraising campaign to reach out to the surrounding community for support. Often, college towns strongly identify themselves with the school and take a lot of pride in it, so aligning yourself with the betterment of the university and the overall community will only win you brownie points (and donors! And MAYBE they’ll send you actual brownies! One can dream.).

4. This one’s a biggie: before you buy that raving sports nut a beer, slip the school secretary a fiddy or start calling radio stations during request hour for an interview (that’s not exactly how it works. We’ll talk later.), give your alumni fundraising campaign a nitrous oxide boost by setting it up on an online platform. It’s the easiest and quickest way to reach tons of people and spread your message to every potential corner of your donor base by posting it on Facebook, Twitter, sending out emails and the like. Register online where you can manage your social media campaigns from one hub, as well as receive donations directly to your account – making every aspect of your alumni fundraiser a lot simpler for you to manage, and lot easier for your donors to give to.

Alumni associations have a very special relationship with their donor base that’s ripe to be taken advantage of (“Don’t you LOVE ME?”), meant in the best possible sense. The college experience is one that can’t be replicated and most people look fondly back on with little kegs dancing in their heads. But that’s not to say trying out different alumni fundraising ideas and reaching outside the association to expand your donor base as much as possible isn’t welcome – any source of donation should be explored. Don’t worry, it’s not cheating if you’re in a different zip code.

Raise money online for your alumni fundraiser the easy way today with free fundraising tools that allow you to create and manage a number of alumni fundraising campaigns while tracking their success. Alumni fundraising online is easy with access to all the fundraising tools offered by a free and simple-to-use online fundraising platform.

 

 

Football Fundraising Tips: The Game Must Go On

Need some great ideas to KICK OFF the football fundraising season? Want your fundraising efforts to score MAJOR MONEY TOUCHDOWNS? Yearn to see your fundraising campaign moonwalk past the goal line in extra tight pants as it celebrates the sweet, sweet taste of VICTORY?

As in, want to raise some moolah? Ok then.

In order to keep the sound of grunting and motivational slogans (“Sweat makes the green grass grow! MIRACLE SWEAT!”) Echoing across the field and the smell of freshly oozing testosterone lingering in the locker room throughout the football season, the team’s got to stay afloat. And considering the cost of equipment, traveling, uniforms, grounds maintenance and the seemingly endless expenses that go into maintaining a team, an effective football fundraising campaign is as essential to the football season as Gatorade and congratulatory bum patting.

Parents and family members of the players are an obvious source of donations, but oftentimes their generosity can only go so far. Reaching out to the community (and beyond – this article was brought to you by Buzz Lightyear) can greatly expand your donor base and, therefore, pool of resources. But before you start any football fundraising campaign, be sure to consider a few things first:

Volunteers are like unruly children: they need guidance!

Timeshare your volunteers (a rare case where timesharing actually works) so each person pulls their weight, no one gets burned out and the good times keep on rollin’. Enthusiastic volunteers who feel appreciated for their time and efforts are the Holy Grail of any fundraising campaign (actually, the real Holy Grail of fundraising comes later. SUSPENSE!) Create a rotating schedule of tasks such as ticket taking, transportation to and from games and so forth that clearly outlines duties and averages everyone’s time out as best possible.

Alumni: nostalgia has deep pockets.

Recognizing past players in any way, whether reaching out to them directly or honoring them within your campaign strategy, is a great way to connect to local football fans in your community through past memories.  After all, these are the people attending your games and supporting the team as a whole – honoring them can earn you lifelong fans and act as a way of reaching out to those who would be most likely to give, but may not have known how or thought to.

Teen spirit smells surprisingly good: kind of like cinnamon.

Fellow students are like peppy little spring chickens (whatever that phrase means) just raring to be part of the action! The student body boasts a wealth of fans, potential volunteers and advocates of your football fundraising campaign that can help spread the word and gain far more support than if left alone. It’s also like a tiny little village of people with tons of skills and talents that can be used to raise money for the team – they can hold bake sales, sell arts and crafts, anything for a buck, as well as pitch in any football fundraising ideas you may not have thought of. Failing to enlist their help would be like trying to push a mattress up a flight of stairs all by yourself while you ignore the American Gladiator All Stars reunion in the next room. MADNESS! Take advantage of all the resources at your disposal.

Getting online: be there or be so square you’ll have to start parting your hair differently.

Remember that Holy Grail reference earlier? It wasn’t a cliffhanger. The real Holy Grail of any football fundraising campaign, or any fundraising campaign at all, is getting online. Not only does it open up the entirety of THE INTERNET (it’s a big place, you know) and allow you to connect to tons of people with the click of a mouse, it allows you to collect donations quickly and easily from a variety of sources. Sign up for an online fundraising platform and start promoting your football fundraiser though email, Facebook, Twitter, and everywhere else the kids (and their parents, and their friends, and yes, even their grandparents) are these days to get to word out. Taking your campaign online will increase the potential of your offline efforts tenfold. Elevenfold! Infinity-fold! (There’s Buzz Lightyear again.)

So, what are you waiting for? Try these steps and your football fundraiser will have you screaming violent cheers all season long until you’re hoarse in the throat – with enough money left over for lozenges (the FANCY kind). Win win! 

Breast Cancer Fundraising: Ideas for Fundraising from Work and Home

Pink is sweet and pretty, right? Soft, gentle, conjuring up images of roses and tea parties and frilly dresses.

Not always. In this case, it represents power and determination. A relentless fight. It’s the color of the breast cancer movement, one that resonates with women of all ages. It’s an unfortunate fact that breast cancer has affected most women in some way, whether it’s themselves that have been diagnosed or someone in their life – mother, daughter or friend. But the fact that breast cancer has touched so many lives offers as a powerful motivator for breast cancer fundraising, for people to rally behind the cause and wipe out this terrible disease once and for all. Pink just went from frilly to a force to be reckoned with.

There are tons of ways to support breast cancer fundraisers, along with holding one of your own.  We don’t need to throw out tired slogans like “every little bit counts” and “the smallest amount makes a difference”, but being trite doesn’t make them any less true. Don’t be intimidated by the enormous scope of the disease – money raised in any breast cancer fundraising campaign is another step towards finding a cure. In fact, you’d probably be surprised at just how much money you can raise if you know where to look and how to reach people.

There are lots of ways you can raise money without feeling like you’re rerouting all your time and energy to your breast cancer fundraiser.

At work:

1.             Depending on the size of the company you work for (this might not work so well if you’re a self-employed online Treasure Troll retailer) then ask your boss if they can match your donations. Or see your HR representative to see if they have a matching corporate giving program set up and running.

2.             Moonlight as a garbage picker. Well, a recycling picker. Make it your job to turn in the bottles and cans collected from the office (keep an eye on Tina Twelve-Cokes) and keep the profits as donations.

3.             Grab a jar (the bigger the better – an empty jar begs to be filled!) and ask people to throw their loose change in it. It’ll add up quicker than you think. Label the jar clearly so people will be eager to give – whether you call it “Breast Cancer Donations” or “Bling for Boobies” is up to you.

4.             Challenge people to sacrifice the Starbucks. Those of us who can afford to buy a $5 coffee every day can afford to give the same up for a good cause! Hold it for one day, or as long as your office can stand it and you’ll end up with plenty of money and a jitter-free office.

5.             Hold a cake auction between departments, where each one buys a yummy cake and auctions it off to the whole office. Whether they’re homemade or professionally made masterpieces, they’re likely to cause a sugar-crazed frenzy.

 

At home:

6.             Host a “Pink Party” or “Breast Fest” at your house (feel free to title it with less innuendo). Think of it in the style of a bachelorette party, but with a breast cancer fundraising twist. Make it fun (it’s a party after all) and make everything pink or breast themed. Ask for donations in the invitation or auction off prizes.

7.             Try the same idea but a little lower key. Have people over for a movie night at your place and ask them to donate what they would’ve spent at the movies – if you factor in concessions that means upwards of $20 per person. Make it a weekly event until your breast cancer fundraising deadline, and you’ll be rolling in the dough.

8.             Change your answering machine to let everyone know that you’re raising money for breast cancer. It’s a quick way to grab peoples’ attention and spread the word. And it’s creative enough that they might spread the word for you by mentioning it to others.

9.             Set up breast cancer fundraising in lieu of gifts. If you have a special event coming up (birthday party, anniversary, etc) then ask for donations instead of gifts. People are expecting to spend money anyways and will appreciate putting it towards a good cause. Plus, do you really need ANOTHER Snuggie?

Online:

All of these are great ways to raise extra money for your breast cancer fundraiser and get your coworkers and friends involved. But if you’re really looking to make an impact then taking your campaign online is the fastest way to reach a mass audience and multiply your fundraising efforts. By taking yourbreast cancer fundraising campaign to the various social network platforms (even peoples’ dogs have Facebook now. Enough said!) You can spread the word quickly and even have people fundraise on your behalf by sharing with their friends. You’d be wise to register your cause with an online fundraising network where you can not only reach people through Facebook, Twitter and email from one hub, but allows people to donate directly online, making the whole process simpler for everyone involved.

It would be nice if the color pink meant only sugar and spice and everything nice, but the breast cancer movement has given it a new agenda. Until we find a cure and breast cancer stops affecting the women we love, it’s the toughest color there is. Think pink!

Church Fundraising: Thou Shalt Not Be Lame

A power of the t-shirt! It’s a mighty power, not to be messed with. You can screen print your church logo for cheap on t-shirts, hoodies, muumuus, loincloths, whatever you like and sell them to the public and congregation. Or let your creative juices flow and put favorite quotes or funny pictures on them, anything you think might resonate with your community and represent the voice and personality of the church. Everybody loves a t-shirt! And don’t think your consumer base is limited to churchgoers – you’ll make a killing on “ironic” sales from the disenchanted, hipster population of your community (every community has one  – check your local Urban Outfitters).

Calendars

First let me say, get your mind out of the gutter. Not “CALENDAR” calendars, unless the 85-year-old organist has lived with a secret desire to be known as “Miss January” (then who are you to deny an old woman her dream?). People love calendars almost as much as they love t-shirts, and since they’re composed of pictures they offer the same freedom for creativity. If you’re catering to churchgoers who have a personal attachment to the church, then fill them with pictures of the congregation, funny photos from past events and so on. If your church fundraising campaign is meant for a wider audience, then the world is your oyster! Fill them with pictures of oysters if you want. (Disclaimer: do not fill them with pictures of oysters as that is weird and nobody will buy them.)

Concerts

You know there’s this whole genre of gospel music and Christian rock with a massive cult following and tons of artists? Oh you did? Yeah I was just sayin’. There’s no doubt a local group with built-in fans in your community that would love to be part of a church fundraising concert. They get a sweet venue, you get a cool band and everyone’s scratching each others’ backs until they need your hands free since they can’t really play guitar without them (you can pick it back up later). If you’re looking to go big or go home (in which case, stay! Go big!) then it’s worth it to try and reach out to bigger acts in your area. It’s for a good cause! They could be willing to help out if you ask.

Cookbooks

This is like the bake sale on steroids (not literally, please). While the bake sale route is nice and yummy and great for finally fitting into those pesky jeans that are just WAY too big for you (thanks cupcakes!) they’re pretty labor intensive and don’t generate a lot of revenue. Instead, you can whip up a cookbook with favorite recipes from churchgoers and sell them for $10 or $15 a pop instead of watching your profit go up in 50 cent increments with each disappearing cookie. There are tons of sites where you can make your own cookbooks, complete with pictures and customized designs. It takes your church fundraising bake sale to the next level – and everyone will just EAT. IT. UP. (So sorry. Couldn’t resist.)

Online Donation Drives

Speaking of taking things to the next level, every ounce of effort you put into your church fundraiser offline can be maximized by incorporating an online campaign. This is the best way to reach your audience and increase your donor base, and the most efficient source of donations. You can sign up for an online fundraising platform that allows you to reach people through email, Facebook and Twitter and lets people donate to your church with the click of a mouse. It’s an incredibly simple way of spreading the word and reaping the biggest rewards for your church fundraising efforts. Maybe we should start a list of the church fundraising commandments: 1) Thou Shalt Not Be Lame, and 2) Get Online!

There are of course tons of ways to raise money for your church fundraiser – car washes, rummage sales, and the always popular and gut-busting pancake breakfast. Just make sure to be a little creative with whatever you choose to stand out from the crowd – and at the very least, use the web! It’s the easiest way to get a lot of bang for your buck. No, wait – a lot of buck for no bang. Bang is effort. You get the drift.

 

Fundraising To Make It Through A Tough Economy

In general, asking for money can be awkward, and asking for money in a bad economy is very difficult. However, for non-profits, there is no such thing as a recession or a good economy, they have to continue their work and to be able to do this, fundraising is a constant effort.

Usually, causes that are close to the heart rarely suffer too much during a tough economy because people always find ways to give and support a cause that has a personal affiliation to them. Typically, political fundraising campaigns bring big and small donors to contribute since people are always passionate about their political parties/affiliations. Fundraisers that emerge as a result of a natural disaster or tragedy such as the earthquake in Haiti will also bring a humanitarian response and get people to empty their wallets. Of course, one hopes that these disasters don’t happen at all or at least too often.

In a stable economy, there are several fundraising ideas that one can implement to raise money for their cause or campaign. Non profit fundraisers are mostly events, auctions and banquets – a great way to engage with donors but not the best and most sustainable way for non profits to fundraise. Event fundraisers usually come at a cost; even if the space or food are donated, there are overheads involved and this drives up the cost of the ticket for the donors; and eventually limits the number of people who can afford to buy a ticket or two for the fundraiser. As you can see, this is all too complicated and it really doesn’t have to be this way!

All non profits should look into online fundraising for their causes. It is the best way to fundraise without incurring additional costs. Setting up a fundraising page online is very easy, there are several websites that allow you to do this with little or no fees involved. There are some great fundraising tools available that will let you track the contributions made to your cause and also allows donors to keep track of how the funds are being used.

Especially today, with the whole world hooked on social networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter, online fundraising allows you to connect with people all over the world. You no longer have to depend on the same group of donors to come forward each time. Your cause may appeal to a group of people half way across the world! Through online fundraising, you also eliminate costs involved in printing and postage for direct mail and through an email you may even get people in India or New Zealand to donate to your online fundraiser!

Online fundraising allows everyone to donate as much as they want to and makes every penny count! So don’t let the bad economy discourage you and hold you back from doing good…turn to online fundraising and be on your way to changing the world!

For online fundraising tools for your non profit and to monitor donations and progress of your fundraiser, check out the several fundraising ideas available on the web and get your fundraiser off to a great start

The Most Common Fundraising Challenge Plaguing Non Profits

Non profits have a lot to worry about! For starters, many of them are on a shoestring budget with mammoth goals to achieve. With a long to-do list, one of the first and most difficult challenges all non profits face is getting people to volunteer and help out with fundraising. Today, convincing someone to do something without any reward, in kind or cash, is a huge issue. I guess that’s what they mean when they say “there are no free lunches anymore?”

When people think of volunteering or philanthropy in general, I suppose their first instinct is to hold on to their wallets. I suppose the common notion is that charitable giving is for those who have spare cash or for the incredibly rich and famous who can donate hundreds and millions of dollars at fundraisers. Obviously, such a mind-set is tough to overcome. Very little, do people stop and think that the world has billions people, while hundreds of millions of people that can afford to give maybe $10, $30 or $50 more frequently and that there are less people out there who can afford to contribute huge amounts of money to fundraisers.

Today, hopefully that challenge of getting people to work with your charity is a lot easier with fundraising online. Using the internet is definitely the most efficient way of getting your message across to a wide network of people, informing them of your cause and encouraging them to participate in your fundraiser. It can be tempting for non profits to work with just about any one who rolls through the door but it is important to make a distinction between those who are interested in the cause and passionate about making a difference in society versus those who just want something to put on their resume. This might seem like a ‘for profit’ approach, but really, if you think about it, for a non profit to be successful in their fundraising and overall goals, you need to hire people just like a for profit firm would. You want people with easily transferable skills, bring new fundraising ideas to the table and manage fundraisers with little or no supervision!

Usually, if a charity or a cause is able to tie up with a corporation, their volunteer problems are solved. Corporates like to encourage their employees to do some “time” and employees get to use it as work hours. Occasionally, you’re able to gather a group of people who are regular volunteers and from a for profit background who can then contribute some great fundraising ideas that can be very useful to the cause. To top it off, both the company and the employee get a tax break when a donation is made by the employee and matched the company!

There are great online fundraising tools available today that can be managed with ease and need very little prior experience or training. Today’s lifestyle has made it such that everyone shops online, so nobody is uncomfortable with using their credit cards on the web. Time is scarce and it’s an online world out there, so non profits should definitely keep this in mind and explore the gamut of online fundraising tools available to them!

Taking the time and effort to get savvy with fundraising online is definitely a good investment; it will solve your problem of looking for volunteers to approach people for donations, you can send out hundreds and thousands of outreach emails at a time and build your donor base, and you can host multiple fundraisers at the same time. So be sure to check out all options available online quickly so you don’t miss out on achieving your goals and doing good in the community due to lack of volunteers and participation!

Fundraising With Social Media – Sure-Fire Ways to Maximize Your Donations

Fundraising online for causes today is a raging phenomenon. We’ve all seen people come together in times of crisis and give as much as they can to lend a helping hand. With so much going on the world today and so many ways of being able help out the invention of social media is a blessing in disguise for fundraisers!

 Every one loves social media networking. We log on to find friends, find out what’s going on in their lives and now a days with sites like LinkedIn, we can even get a job though networking online; so why not use this powerful networking platform to ask people to help out with your fundraisers? Asking people to help you fundraise should be treated the same way as asking people to be your “friend” on Facebook. You want to take care of your relationships, message them occasionally and keep them posted periodically.  

For those non-profits who are not yet fully on board with fundraising online, it’s time to slowly start moving your donors database online. First, make sure you have an attractive online presence; have a dedicated person to manage your online social media pages, updating them frequently with updates, pictures and important milestones! Encourage your donors and supporters to join your network online. Having your donors online is a great way to give them a ‘shout out’ when a donor goes out of their way to support your cause! This is always a great way encouraging people and also to start a discussion and brainstorm some fundraising ideas for your next event!  

It’s important to also break away from the notion that non profits are all about asking for money and don’t really care about their donors unless it involves a donation. Like it or not, we’ve all been victims of such a thought process and often this is because we never hear back from the charity we donated to unless it’s for another fundraiser! Obviously, developing personal relationships with each of your donors can be an exhaustive process and an expensive one. This is where fundraising online with social media comes very handy. You can now wish your donors on special occasions and make them feel personally invested in your cause!  

Today, the whole world is gravitating towards social media. Major business deals are being struck online; its only natural non-profits also take their fundraising online. Social media allows you to reach a large number of people and on a relatively smaller budget than hosting parties and fundraisers that are only limited to people who are physically available to attend.

 An article on thepaypalblog.com by Janet Bal talks about how ‘online and social media fundraising can be a game changer for non profits’. Agreed, for small non profits with limited resources, understanding how fundraising with social media works can be intimidating; but it doesn’t have to be that way anymore, especially with companies like Piryx who are dedicated to helping non profits every way they can and giving them all the essential training and online fundraising tools available for NO FEES! There are also excellent fundraising ideas available online that are geared towards a specific cause and you can find one that’s best suited for you.

So if you are one of those non-profits who think you’re not big enough to bother with  fundraising   with social media, think again! And then, get online! 

For free facebook fundraising tools that will help you effectively raise money through social media, you can create, manage and track the success of an unlimited amount of campaigns today by using a robust online fundraising platform.

Raising Money Online: Little Tricks to Up the Ante

Ok, let’s give credit where it’s due. You’ve resisted the siren song of the fundraising tactics of yesteryear. Charity galas and bake sales SOUND really fun – for the people attending them. For the people running them, they’re the culmination of weeks or months of planning, logistics and hassles so that people can give you $1.50 for the banana bread you spent $10.00 on ingredients for.

Until recently, busting your butt in order to raise money for your cause was expected. And a lot of the time, when people hear the term fundraising they subconsciously feel the ‘raising’ efforts should be akin to raising a barn. Or one of those giant jugs upside-down onto the water cooler when no one’s around to help you, without spilling half of it onto the office carpet/the front of your pants (awkward). That is to say – pretty freakin’ tough. But raising money online means fundraising doesn’t have to be like that.

The arrival of online fundraising has made raising money so much easier. It almost feels criminal, posting bigger returns for less effort and, maybe, the fact that running it from a computer makes you feel a bit like you should be selling Nigerian investment scams. But that feeling quickly fades away when you realize that the easier it is for you to raise money online, the more your cause benefits.

Less time is wasted on the tedious elements of offline campaigns (there’s gotta be a pretty lopsided ratio between the amount of money raised and the amount of cut-eye from people who open their door to someone carrying a clipboard) and more people reached through the ever-growing tentacles of the world wide web (Twitter? Facebook? Anyone?). Along with the undeniable convenience of donating through the click of a mouse as opposed to the click of your high heels up the walkway to a dinner at the local community center, as they pinch your baby toes and you wish you’d just bought the ticket (it’s for charity, of course) and stayed home in your cozy, cozy slippers. All of this translates into a more efficient campaign and a bigger donor base full of happy people more likely to give their support and rally behind your cause.

So friend, good for you for realizing this, and readily embracing the world of fundraising online. Clap clap! Gold star! Smiley face! Whatever makes you feel best appreciated. But now that you’ve got your online fundraising campaign all set up and ready to go, there are a few tricks to take it from “what a success!” to “YEEEEAH BABY PEOPLE ARE ALL OVER THIS!!”

A Multiple Appeal Series: Send out several messages over the course of a period of time as a part of a cohesive campaign, as opposed to a standalone appeal. It not only serves as a reminder to people to give, but lets you approach them in a less aggressive way – you have more chances to talk to them, explain the cause, etc. It’s been shown that in a multi vs. standalone appeal, peoples’ response time was higher and average gift was greater. So give it some salad and boiled chicken and spread your message a little thinner.

Deadline-Driven Appeals: Tapping into peoples’ innate fear of due dates? Giving them a deadline for donations is more effective than open-ended appeals and reaps greater rewards. In fact, the average gift amount is almost double in some cases. So whether your deadline is tethered to an actual event for your cause or it’s the anniversary of that time your Chihuahua played with a rolled up potato bug for the whole afternoon (and you laughed and laughed), specific dates spark a bigger reaction when raising money online. Who knew?

Matching Gifts: We’ve all seen it before: “If we reach $2,000 for the One-Eyed Wallaby Foundation, the Two-Eyed Wallaby Foundation will match it to bring us to $4,000!” Maybe not that specific example, but promising a matching donation has been a proven motivator for both response rate and gift amount from donors. Most likely because it makes people feel like they’re doing more with what they give since anything they donate is literally doubled. This is also a great way to introduce deadlines into your online fundraising campaign. For example, “Whatever amount we reach by February 12 will be matched! We won’t stop until every wallaby gets an eye”.

Dollar Goals: This is the least effective out of all four on its own, but is great to use in combination with others as a solid goal for people to connect themselves to. For example, setting a deadline to reach a dollar goal and then sending out multiple appeals up until that deadline would be a tour de force of raising money online. Leave no tactic unturned!

The fact that you’re online in the first place is a great step in turning your fundraising campaign into a successful, ever-reaching Megalodon version of what it would be offline. Not only is online fundraising quicker, easier, and more expansive than its offline counterpart, but there are lots of ways to easily tweak your campaign to ensure more support and more donations from your growing donor base. So pat yourself on the back and throw out your comfortable “walking shoes” that you secretly know give you a bad case of the cankles. Your door-to-door days are over!

 

For free fundraising tools that will help you effectively raise money online for your online fundraisers, you can create, manage, and track the success of an unlimited amount of fundraising campaigns today by using a robust online fundraising platform. Fundraise with ease for your cause’s fundraiser now by using these free and easy to use, fundraising tools.