fundraisingonline's posterous http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com Most recent posts at fundraisingonline's posterous posterous.com Wed, 25 May 2011 15:34:00 -0700 Fundraising To Make It Through A Tough Economy http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/fundraising-to-make-it-through-a-tough-econom http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/fundraising-to-make-it-through-a-tough-econom

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

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1116441/donate_charity.png http://posterous.com/users/heO3LvUUwnL2a Fundraising Online fundraising online Fundraising Online
Wed, 25 May 2011 14:21:00 -0700 The Most Common Fundraising Challenge Plaguing Non Profits http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/the-most-common-fundraising-challenge-plaguin http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/the-most-common-fundraising-challenge-plaguin

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!

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1116441/donate_charity.png http://posterous.com/users/heO3LvUUwnL2a Fundraising Online fundraising online Fundraising Online
Wed, 25 May 2011 14:12:00 -0700 Fundraising With Social Media – Sure-Fire Ways to Maximize Your Donations http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/fundraising-with-social-media-sure-fire-ways http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/fundraising-with-social-media-sure-fire-ways

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.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1116441/donate_charity.png http://posterous.com/users/heO3LvUUwnL2a Fundraising Online fundraising online Fundraising Online
Tue, 24 May 2011 15:06:00 -0700 Raising Money Online: Little Tricks to Up the Ante http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/raising-money-online-little-tricks-to-up-the http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/raising-money-online-little-tricks-to-up-the

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.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1116441/donate_charity.png http://posterous.com/users/heO3LvUUwnL2a Fundraising Online fundraising online Fundraising Online
Mon, 23 May 2011 15:31:00 -0700 How Charity Fundraising Benefits from Technology:Online fundraising is changing the game http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/how-charity-fundraising-benefits-from-technol http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/how-charity-fundraising-benefits-from-technol

Charity Fundraising has moved to the web.  Today an individual or group with a charity fundraiser can sign up and create an online fundraising campaign with just a few clicks – all for free.

As budgets are slashed to meet the new fiscal demands of the twenty-first century the return on investment of traditional charity fundraisers is sinking precipitously. In response charities are developing new cost effective ways of generating funds.  They realize that in order to compete for the money available each year, they need to harness the power of technology.  

With the advent of social media, and the development of online fundraising platforms, charities can pursue a multitude of web channels: Facebook, Twitter, LinkeIn for the cost of sitting down and navigating through a few clicks.  Once your page is setup you can add widgets that connect with your friends, followers and connections alerting them to the positive change you are effecting.  With one click every friend you have on Facebook will know what you are doing and how he or she can help.

The online fundraising platform provides your charity fundraiser with the tools to connect to the social media platforms but further allows you to connect using a variety of devices: desktops, laptops, iPads, mobile devices – including SMS texting.  We live in a connected world.  The more opportunities you have to connect with your donors the more efficiently you will raise money and the more successful you will be with reaching your charities’ fundraising goals.

Traditional forms of charity fundraising like bake sales require the generosity of people to make and sell the goods, collect the money and securely transfer the funds so the charity so it can support its efforts in positive social change: a big effort for a small return on investment.  With technology the old ways of doing things have become just that, old.

Technology is developing at light speed in directions that mimic a three-dimensional net: reaching out in every direction.  The online fundraising platform is developing around this net, taking advantage of this ever-changing paradigm.  And the charities are reaping the benefits: connecting with more potential donors than ever before for very little cost increasing their return on investment in ways not imagined even ten years ago.

The charities that recognize this evolutionary process will prosper and compete for years to come.

 

 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1116441/donate_charity.png http://posterous.com/users/heO3LvUUwnL2a Fundraising Online fundraising online Fundraising Online
Mon, 23 May 2011 13:48:00 -0700 Connecting with Donors in the Digital Age:How Savvy Charity Fundraising is Finding Success in the Modern World http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/connecting-with-donors-in-the-digital-agehow http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/connecting-with-donors-in-the-digital-agehow

Bake sales, 5K runs and raffles have traditionally been tools of charity fundraising.  While these methods remain relevant forms of raising money, many charities are beginning to tap into the potential of the Internet by bringing their fundraising efforts to the web.

 It is estimated that 240 million people in the United States use the Internet according to ITU – the UN agency for information and communication technologies.  That’s about 77% of the population.  And those numbers are projected to grow. 

 If your charity fundraising goal is $1 million dollars and you potentially had access to 240 million people in the United States alone – the World Wide Web is accessible to 25% of the world’s population, about 2.1 billion people – it would be a foolish choice to disregard the web as a viable source of funds for your cause.

Examples of online fundraising

  •  Email – Email campaigns can target donors and deliver personalized messages about your cause 
  • Websites – Websites can be customized to attract donors from around the world and provide detailed information about what your cause is and how to help 24 hours a day 7 days a week
  • Social Media – Social media is a more recent phenomenon that gives charity fundraisers the opportunity to connect with communities and inspire whole communities to join the conversation

 The Internet would not be what it is today without innovation.  That desire to create something new from what existed before has spurred a new wave of Internet tools looking to change the world.  These tools have come to be known asonline fundraising platforms. 

 Online fundraising platforms bring together email, websites, social media and other tools into one space centralizing the tools of the web.  Best of all these platforms can be created in minutes with a simple sign up.  Your donor page is created automatically.  It can be customized to your specifications from a simple donor page to full integration with your current website.  And you can connect with friends and followers in the social media sphere with the click of a button.  All for free.  Your charity fundraiser will not incur any cost for the life of the campaign.

 The Internet holds endless potential for individuals and organizations that possess the desire to change the world for the good.  If you have a charity fundraising campaign that needs to join the 21st century it would be foolish to overlook the possibilities forming on the Internet.

 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1116441/donate_charity.png http://posterous.com/users/heO3LvUUwnL2a Fundraising Online fundraising online Fundraising Online
Mon, 23 May 2011 13:31:00 -0700 677 Million Registered Users:Facebook Fundraising and the Potential for Non-Profits http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/677-million-registered-usersfacebook-fundrais http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/677-million-registered-usersfacebook-fundrais

 Non-profits are setup to fail.  1.5 million exist in the United States today and the number continues to grow.  For funding, many non-profits rely on a grant pool that over time has remained constant, not nearly matching the increase in demand.  To exacerbate the growing need for more funding the world’s economy collapsed in 2008 and is showing only meager signs of recovery.

 A reliance on grants and the reality of a shrinking pool of money have created a ‘can’t fail’ mentality for non-profits.  If a program is funded through a grant and the non-profit reports the funded program as a failure, the funder will most often choose to go somewhere else: find a successful program to fund.  A cycle of waste develops as non-profits choose to report only successes, for fear of losing the money.  In the end, broken programs receive money while potentially successful programs sit on the shelf and gather dust.

 Innovations in non-profit fundraising techniques have helped non-profits succeed when others have failed even as traditional revenue streams have dried up.  Social media spaces like Facebook can make the specter of raising money a whole lot easier by spreading your fundraising goals over a larger pool. 

 With over 677 million registered users worldwide and Facebook fundraisingsearches up 85%+ the Facebook community is an incredibly fruitful space for getting your message out and attracting donors. You can share links to your fundraiser on your friend feed, message or email your friends directly, participate in groups and much more to gain exposure and raise money and supporters for your cause. 

 Facebook fundraising is a very simple process that can oftentimes be covered with minimal staff, allowing your resources to go towards creating truly successful programs. 

 And once your friends are informed of the good you are doing they can act as a bullhorn, letting even more people know about what you’re doing.  Your message can quickly jump on the exponential bandwagon in short order go viral.  In no time you can have people from across the globe reaching out and helping fund your cause.

 Boiled down to its essence non-profit fundraising is about recognizing a cause, developing a message around that cause and getting that message out to the people who can best support you in affecting positive change around that cause.  

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1116441/donate_charity.png http://posterous.com/users/heO3LvUUwnL2a Fundraising Online fundraising online Fundraising Online
Mon, 23 May 2011 12:52:00 -0700 Fundraising Ideas for Online Fundraisers http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/fundraising-ideas-for-online-fundraisers http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/fundraising-ideas-for-online-fundraisers

People from all over the world spend most of the time on the Internet therefore fundraising activities can be successful using this medium. Donors can give to charity or donate to organizations online without leaving their house. There are many fundraising ideas that can be done through the Internet that people in need can benefit from. The proceeds immediately go to organizations in a short period of time as payments are done via electronic transactions. These organizations do not need to make time-consuming and stressful inventories just like in regular fundraising activities that are done personally.

Fundraising online is possible through Internet auctions. Members of the organization can bid some of their stuff in websites that do auctioneering. They collect a portion of the proceeds to be given to charity. Non-profit organizations can also register their group in a certain website that has a charity program of their own. These groups will be able to get all of the proceeds from the items that they auction provided they open a seller’s account in the said website.

Another way for fundraisers to raise money for charity is to tie-up with local businesses. A specific amount of some of the items sold online by these businesses can be given to the fundraisers. For example, a company that sells baby clothes can donate 10% of the sales they make online to an organization supporting an orphanage. A cosmetic company’s website that sells make-up for women can also donate a percentage of their monthly sales to a women’s crisis center. A publishing company can also donate children’s books to a public school.

 There are also fundraising websites that allow organizations to create a page of their own with them. The website manages the page while the organization is the one who asks for donors and does the fundraising activities by advertising the page to family, friends and supporters. All the proceeds that the organization will receive will directly go to them. This is a way for the fundraisers to help such organizations in their missions and goals for a specified time.

There are also fundraising malls in the Internet that help organizations raise funds for charity. To do this, an organization has to have a website where they will put a link to the online shopping mall. When a person buys something from the seller’s website through the link provided by the organization, the latter gets a portion of the sale made. The customer gets to buy something he really needs and at the same time would be able to give to charity. There are also online shopping malls that encourage organizations to create a web page in their websites for easier and instant access.

 Online fundraising is easier to do than the traditional fundraising activity, which requires time, preparation, location, transportation expenses, advertisement, and inventories. Fundraising online just requires a web page and that alone can reach millions of people around the globe. There are just so many fundraiser ideas that can be implemented via the net that would benefit those who are truly in need. 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1116441/donate_charity.png http://posterous.com/users/heO3LvUUwnL2a Fundraising Online fundraising online Fundraising Online
Mon, 23 May 2011 12:08:00 -0700 Fundraising Online with Free Fundraising Tools for Causes http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/fundraising-online-with-free-fundraising-tool http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/fundraising-online-with-free-fundraising-tool

If you want to raise money for charity, fundraising can be done online using various free fundraising tools that are available in websites. Internet surfers can become possible donors. The first thing to do is to create a website and make your presence known online. With a website or a web page, this will get you money from donors with just a click of the mouse. A website will allow you to make a fundraising event, do an online auction, accept donations and sell event fundraiser tickets.

Once you have a website, you can do all the preparations and invitations of a fundraising event. You can hold a dinner-concert where the proceeds will go to your favorite charity. You can invite donors to the event through your website which contains all the necessary information of your activity. They can buy the tickets online using their credit cards and confirm their attendance there. This will save you and your donor time and money spent on communication.

With your website, you can do fundraising online by accepting donations. A donor can just give your organization money using his credit card. For this, you will need a tool to be used on your website that will allow you to collect money via e-transaction. Make sure your site has a donor’s page and make it informative, attractive and compelling enough to capture people’s interest and encourage them to donate. Donating via credit cards is a way of showing that your organization is professional and legitimate and because of its convenience and accessibility, it will encourage supportive people who are far away to donate.

You can also sell event fundraising tickets via your website. People who are interested to attend the fundraising activity you have organized, such as a benefit concert, can with just one click and purchase many tickets at once. They no longer need to go to an office to buy the tickets thus saving them time and money. For your part, selling tickets online will allow you to make an easy inventory as online ticket sales can be immediately documented and easily tracked.

You can also conduct online auctions with your website. Ask your family, friends and members of your organizations to donate some things and sell them online. You can also enter into agreement with other websites that do online auctions and bid items with them. You share the profits, depending on your agreement. Donors will purchase something they do need and be able to contribute to the less fortunate or to the cause you are fighting for.

When you have a fundraising event advertised in your website, you can add a Sponsors Page where individuals and businesses can place their ads. They just need to upload their ad and pay for it via credit card. This will earn you money and give your donors exposure. You can also tie-up with a fundraising website that will allow you to create a web page with them. There, you can have free fundraising where you invite people to donate to you while the website owner manages the page for you.

With these fundraising ideas, your noble cause will surely succeed.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1116441/donate_charity.png http://posterous.com/users/heO3LvUUwnL2a Fundraising Online fundraising online Fundraising Online
Mon, 16 May 2011 18:32:00 -0700 How to make a political fundraising event successful? http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/how-to-make-a-political-fundraising-event-suc http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/how-to-make-a-political-fundraising-event-suc

Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

Political houses and public figures raise funds for their campaigns by offering to sponsor to political fundraisers. So if you have made up your mind to support a particular candidate or a political group you can go ahead with your plans and organize a political fundraising event. Apart from gathering useful funds, this can also give you a chance to spread awareness about the party or candidate that you are offering support to.

Political fundraisers need to proceed in their endeavor of political fundraising carefully as this is a unique area and need a special type of approach.  Political fundraising is different from the other kinds of fundraising and you can follow this guide, if you want to emerge successful in your efforts.

Decide on the event

This is the Step 1 of your political fundraising endeavor and you must have a clear idea of what kind of event you are going to hold – how big or small you want it to be? How many invitees do you want? Do you want a guest speaker or not? Etc.

Contact the party office for support

Get in touch with the political party or candidate whom you wish to offer support to and give them/him an idea of your plan. In all likelihood, you are going to receive active help. You can get access to information material, support staff, list of political fundraisers, promotional items, hoardings and banners from the party office, to name  a few. Have a short discussion with them regarding the rules/regulations that they would like you to follow and how you can forward the proceeds to them.

Prepare a brief of topics that you want to talk about prior to the event

Every political fundraising event must have a brief lecture, addressing important topics about the party that it is hosting. Therefore, make sure that you make ready a thoughtful and informative awareness lecture to be delivered prior to the event. Focus on a single important topic or at the most two, but ensure that it is interesting to a majority of the guests.

Political fundraising ideas

Incorporate fun political fundraising ideas into the event like 80s Prom, Bingo evening, Wine tasting party etc. Semi-formal events work the best and have a record of being the most popular crowd pullers.

Make a guest list

With due regard to the interest of your acquaintances, friends and family, prepare a guest list comprising of people who can appreciate your political message.

Prepare invitations

Unlike other fundraising invitations which need not be exactly specific, political fundraisers must always ensure that the invitations sent out include all relevant information and details. Topics of discussion, fundraising events incorporated and the aim must be clearly mentioned. Highlight the fact that invitees are required to contribute money.

Winning political campaigns need both good propaganda and funds. A political fundraising event prepared and executed with time and patience by dedicated political fundraisers, can be the best endeavor to accomplish everything in one stroke.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1116441/donate_charity.png http://posterous.com/users/heO3LvUUwnL2a Fundraising Online fundraising online Fundraising Online
Mon, 16 May 2011 18:08:00 -0700 Moneybomb!How Much Money Can You Raise in One Day? http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/moneybombhow-much-money-can-you-raise-in-one http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/moneybombhow-much-money-can-you-raise-in-one

Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

In 2007 the term ‘Moneybomb’ was coined to describe a grassroots political fundraising campaign in support of Ron Paul’s candidacy for President.  The explosive nature of the term is meant to dramatize the mass marketing frenzy intended to generate as much media buzz and excitement as humanly possible.  Everything is meant to happen in one day with the intent of raising boatloads of cash.

 On the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party in 2007 a group staffed exclusively of volunteers participated in a Moneybomb, an effort that rose between $6-6.5 million in a twenty-four hour period.  That effort is still the biggest one-day political fundraising event ever. 

 A bake sale just doesn’t cut it when running for President.  Looking for new and innovative ways to reach more people in less time political fundraising campaigns began tapping into the potential of technology and the evolution of online communities.  Social media has become the ideal vehicle for informing your entire base – and connecting with new ones – of where and how to donate with a simple click of the mouse.

 Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn boast hundreds of millions of registered users and unlike traditional forms of political fundraising, including direct mail marketing campaigns and email campaigns, social media provides a platform for connecting with your communities immediately in a much more intimate way.   Friends can discuss and share ideas in real-time while accessing those discussions on a variety of devices: desktops, laptops, tablets and mobile devices.   As friends discuss passionate ideas they invite more friends and so on.  In no time groups of social networks are engaged and the possibility of discussions going viral is considerable.

 Facebook is predicated upon the idea that users are part of a community of 677 million Friends: more than twice the population of the United States.  Now online fundraising platforms are developing to meet the twenty-first century demands of a connected world by creating tools specific to political fundraising that integrate with Facebook and other social media spaces like LinkedIn and Twitter.  The possibilities are limitless when you have the potential to reach 677 million people.

 Online fundraising platforms give individuals and organizations the power to create fundraising campaigns with a simple sign up.  A hosted donations page is created immediately with the functionality to customize a single page or fully integrate into your existing website.  All for free.

 Scalability is a key feature when considering how to get the word out to your donor base.  Whether your goals are $500 for a tee ball team or $1 billion campaign for the White House, online fundraising platforms help causes raise money online fast and effectively.

 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1116441/donate_charity.png http://posterous.com/users/heO3LvUUwnL2a Fundraising Online fundraising online Fundraising Online
Mon, 16 May 2011 17:26:00 -0700 Texting To Support the Cause: Texting Donations vs. the Benefits of Raising Money Online http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/texting-to-support-the-cause-texting-donation http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/texting-to-support-the-cause-texting-donation

Fundraising organizations have been turning to text messaging as a way to raise money.  A text messaging campaign raised over $30 million for the people of Haiti in the wake of the tragic earthquake that devastated the small island nation on January 12, 2010. 

The immediacy of text messaging and the convenience of typing in a short code on your mobile device, instead of a complete phone number, has been an effective way for charities to raise money.  It is estimated that 1 in 3 people in the United States alone will own a cell phone by 2012 and as the age of Internet children mature – children born after the advent of the Internet – text messaging and mobile devices will become as ubiquitous as televisions.

Convenience comes at a cost.  A fundraising organization accepts donations by partnering with an intermediary like mGive, a wireless application service provider.  mGive provides a software application that connects the fundraiser with major cell phone carriers.  The software creates a code, donors type in the code on a cell phone, wait for a response to confirm, ‘yes’ and the donation is made.  Each donation is billed to the donor’s monthly cell phone bill.

100% of the donation is passed to the fundraising effort.  But software licensing fees can cost the charity $400 to $1500 a month plus a small transaction fee for each donation.  These charges add up quickly.

Texting your donation is a quick and easy way to pledge your support for a needy cause.  But that’s where the quick and easy stops.  Donations can take 30-90 days to process.  In the wake of a disaster, like the earthquake in Haiti, the delay can cost lives because assistance is needed immediately.

Efficient and cost effective ways of supporting your favorite cause through fundraisers have been developing to capitalize on the growth of the Internet.  Online fundraising platforms, like Piryx have been created to provide charities with a way to raise money online fast and effectively.  A fundraiser can be created in just minutes by signing up for free.

Online fundraisers can be accessed by donors on a myriad of devices including laptops, mobile phones and tablets.  The donations are made immediately like a text donation by clicking a donate button on a webpage.

Unlike texting, online fundraising platforms are free to setup, free to manage and provide the charity with tools to collect donations in a variety of ways.  And the charity receives the donation within a maximum 10 days.

 Innovations in technology continue to provide community fundraising organizations with the power to reach their donors in newer and more efficient ways.  The most successful ones carry out due diligence to determine which are the most efficient and cost effective so they can concentrate on the most important part of their work: supporting the cause.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1116441/donate_charity.png http://posterous.com/users/heO3LvUUwnL2a Fundraising Online fundraising online Fundraising Online
Thu, 12 May 2011 14:47:00 -0700 Does Your Non Profit Have The Fundraising Blues? http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/does-your-non-profit-have-the-fundraising-blu http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/does-your-non-profit-have-the-fundraising-blu

Don’t allow the campaign season to dig into non-profit revenue.

 U.S. Charitable Giving was up 8.1% in the first quarter of 2011.  But, according to Rob Mitchell, former Chief Development Officer with The American Cancer Society, charities can find their fundraising efforts hamstrung as individuals divert money earmarked for their favorite charities, making a choice to support political candidates instead.

 “Historically, election campaign fundraising has a negative impact on the charitable giving economy. With the U.S. economy growing at glacial speed, much of the giving momentum gain produced so far this year will be eroded as election campaigns divert funds that would have gone to nonprofits. The impact will become more pronounced as electioneering activity increases—especially if the economy is not growing fast enough to blunt much of the blow.”

 For those non-profits looking to compete for the limited funds available innovation and non-traditional means of raising money are key.  Online fundraising platforms allow non-profits to create turnkey solutions, reaching scores of potential donors with a few clicks of the mouse: At zero cost.

 The social media revolution has increased interconnectedness exponentially.  With friends, followers, communities and the ability to reach people with common interests the potential to raise money and awareness is limitless.

 Online fundraising platforms integrate social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and even SMS texting.  With the click of a button you can reach an unlimited number of potential donors through any device the tech world can throw into the market. 

 Beyond spreading your message far and wide the online fundraising platform can accelerate more traditional means of raising money like charity events.  Tickets can be sold online and the money can be processed securely just like donations.

 An online fundraising campaign can be established in just minutes with a simple sign-up process.  It can be configured to meet your non-profits’ needs, whether you require the ease of a simple hosted online form or the complexity of full integration into your website and brand.

 The ease with which to create an online fundraising campaign frees up resources and time for staff to concentrate on more important details like creating successful programs that can benefit your cause for years to come.

 Donor pools will decrease with the coming political season in the face of increased demand for the same funds.  Online fundraising provides the non-profit with the ability to reach more donors, quickly with less effort, increasing your potential for raising money even in these difficult times.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1116441/donate_charity.png http://posterous.com/users/heO3LvUUwnL2a Fundraising Online fundraising online Fundraising Online
Mon, 02 May 2011 10:25:00 -0700 Political Fundraising – Viral Fever: 2012 elections will take the Internet by storm! http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/political-fundraising-viral-fever-2012-electi http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/political-fundraising-viral-fever-2012-electi

Ever since Obama set the trend by using social media for his online fundraising campaign in 2008 there has been a surge of politicians using the Internet for fundraising. The 2012 elections is about to take the internet by storm. President Obama “announced” is re-election bid via digital video that reached 13 million of his supporters and tied up with none other than Facebook to hold a town hall meeting to answer questions from both in person and “online attendees”.

Having learned their lesson since 2008, rivals and contenders have hopped on to the social media wagon. The benefits of taking your political fundraising campaign online stare at you in the face; you can reach a wider audience in a cost effective way, engage more discussions and field more questions than possible with in-person meetings and political rally’s. Yet, most importantly, fundraise for your campaign online and monitor progress by tracking the number of followers online. Politicians now understand that rallying support to get them elected is not just visiting small towns in middle America for fundraising but also becoming savvy with social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter that has most of the country’s young and old hooked! 

An article in the Associated Press by Beth Fouhy is calling this “Welcome to the Social Network, the presidential campaign edition”. While this is great news for politicians and supporters alike, taking your political fundraising campaign online also makes you vulnerable to an uncomfortable level of transparency. Get ready to be inundated with more rhetoric as the presidential elections gain momentum online.

 I bet no one thought that limiting your message to only 140 characters would actually be sought after by politicians, huh? With little or no control over messages that are distributed via social media, the slightest slip-up could work against the campaign. And with the world of politics being murky as it is, there will be a lot of controversy and mudslinging to watch out for with very few avenues for damage control.

Also, the next presidential election campaign will see those that have used online fundraising tools before get more sophisticated as they use new tools and innovative online fundraising ideas for political fundraising; and there will be a many new and first-time online fundraising users who will leverage social media to get their message out to voters. With the presidential elections just around the corner, there will be many more political fundraisers to watch out for.It seems like ‘Viral Fever’ will be inevitable this upcoming presidential election!

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1116441/donate_charity.png http://posterous.com/users/heO3LvUUwnL2a Fundraising Online fundraising online Fundraising Online
Thu, 28 Apr 2011 10:47:00 -0700 Fundraising – Benefits of Fundraising Online http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/fundraising-benefits-of-fundraising-online-0 http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/fundraising-benefits-of-fundraising-online-0

Every school, organization, club, and team needs some kind of funding to do what they need to do. That money usually comes from fundraising efforts or donations from a benefactor. Traditional fundraisers, like candle sales and car washes, are usually a hit or miss. You either make sales or you don’t. There is nothing you can do to fix that. If you want a bigger guarantee though, you may want to focus your efforts to fundraising online. This is a revolutionary process that could do wonders for your group or cause. Here is a look at the benefits of online fundraising.

When you start fundraising online, you can pull from a much larger group of people. Think about a standard car wash in comparison. With that kind of fundraising, you can only rely on money to come from the people that happen to pass by your car wash. If you market the event for a few days earlier you may be able to pull some people in from neighboring towns, but that will be it. When you work through social media on the internet to market your cause, you can literally get funding from across the world. The potential earnings are endless.

Managing your fundraising is much easier online. You can see just how much money is coming in and going out for your fundraising efforts, and you can see where you are getting the most money from. If you find that one fundraiser is working better than another, you may think about focusing more efforts on the successful one. You can make a plan that will actually yield results, and then you can adjust your fundraising to fit your needs. All of this happens in an instant through the World Wide Web.

Online fundraising is simple to do, and you can manage it all from home. You never have to think about going out and spending a whole day at a bake sale only to make $5. You can stay at home and still earn money for your fundraiser. This is one of the most convenient and fast paced ways to go about fundraising nowadays, and it is sure to change the way that people earn and donate in the future. If you have internet access and a cause you need money for, think about putting your efforts on the web. You may only be a few clicks away from the money you need.

For free fundraising tools that will help you effectively raise money online for your fundraisers, you can create, manage, and track the success of an unlimited amount of online fundraising campaigns today by using a robust online fundraising platform. Fundraising online is now easy for your fundraisers by using these free fundraising tools today.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1116441/donate_charity.png http://posterous.com/users/heO3LvUUwnL2a Fundraising Online fundraising online Fundraising Online
Tue, 26 Apr 2011 13:06:00 -0700 Innovative ways to fundraise: Creating a sense of belonging for your donors http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/innovative-ways-to-fundraise-creating-a-sense http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/innovative-ways-to-fundraise-creating-a-sense

With so many non-profits fundraising for causes and just as many willing donors, it has become imperative for non-profits to make sure that they continue adding to the new pool of donors and make sure their donors keep coming back.

To keep your donors coming back to you, it’s important to keep your non-profit on “top of mind” for your donors. It’s important for donors to feel a sense of belonging to the cause so they can continue to donate as well as champion for the cause. It’s always easier to attract donors who have had a personal connection to the cause – often the ones who come forward have first-hand experience with the cause themselves or through a family member. It’s difficult to attract donors who don’t have similar associations and they often tend to question the legitimacy of the non-profit or ask themselves if it’s a cause they really feel strongly about.

Non-profits have often tried to personalize their fundraising approach. Usually fundraising events are a platform for non-profits to engage potential donors and explain how every dollar donated is being spent. Obviously, this kind of outreach can’t be sustained as events cost money and don’t always reach out to everyone. Non-profits have also used direct marketing approach via postcards and literature about their causes.

Given the volume of postcards and handwritten notes that must be sent out, RST Marketing has created Real Pen, a product that can send out hundreds of “handwritten” notes for non-profits. Keith Kanode of RST Marketing says “I think if you can’t speak one on one with a donor, your next best option is a personalized, hand addressed-looking package.” Several other personalization strategies used by non-profits have ranged from activities such as marathons, bake sales and gift baskets, yet all these strategies are limiting and cannot be sustained for long-term fundraising.

Today, with a boom in social media and internet marketing, the personalized approach has been taken a step further. Companies like Piryx work with non-profit organizations to build their very own non-profit fundraising pages at no cost and also train them to leverage social media tools such as Facebook & twitter for their fundraising campaigns. Using the internet for fundraising not only reduces the cost of mailers & postcards that eventually get recycled, but most importantly allows non-profits to engage with new and current donors and keep track of all the donations coming in more effectively. Allowing the donor to research the cause, create their own donor profile and keep track of how their donation adds to the overall fundraising goal, gives them a sense of pride and belonging.

At the end of the day, making sure your donors feel good about what they have done to support your fundraiser will automatically translate into a loyal donor and more new donations.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1116441/donate_charity.png http://posterous.com/users/heO3LvUUwnL2a Fundraising Online fundraising online Fundraising Online
Fri, 22 Apr 2011 15:58:00 -0700 Raise Money Online For Your Causes’ Fundraiser http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/raise-money-online-for-your-causes-fundraiser http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/raise-money-online-for-your-causes-fundraiser

There are many ways to raise money online, some of which are ways that you may have never imagined or at least were not aware of previously. Most of these efforts to raise money online have to do with large fundraising operations that are used to benefit catastrophes or other large disasters, but not all. There are many different charities that try to raise money online for a number of causes that there are for people who wish the money raised is as numerous as the stars in the sky.

That is the way that it has been for raising money online. It is completely possible to raise money online in large volume and with minimal time and effort; however you need to really have the right tips and tricks for it. The reasons for this are numerous because many different non-profit organizations out there try to gather the donations that people are giving away every year. To say that competition is fierce out there for funds would be an understatement, so it takes a special type of person and cause to be able to raise money online form various donors. However, with the right training and instruction anyone can increase their ability to raise money online either now or in the future via the social web.

The reasons for this type of training is simple, many people will not give money to a cause that they don’t believe in. Therefore, you need to be able to sell your charity that you’re trying to raise money online for. It should also be noted that you should widen your spectrum geographically too. You should not try to limit yourself to just the local area in which you live because you could be denying yourself the opportunity to reach a much larger audience online.

To raise money, you really need to be cognizant of the audience that you wish to reach out to and raise money online from. Now, this audience may not just be limited to the people in your city or town. It may be a cause that affects people across the entire world and therefore it would be a good idea to broaden you search for donators to the entire world rather than just your own city or town. To do this you will want to try to use larger medium to raise money online.

These mediums will most likely include using email, blogs, websites, applications, widgets, press, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. You may be familiar with one or even all of these mediums; however they can be used to great effect in raising money. With these someone around the world from you can hear your message and understand that charity that you are trying to raise money online for. These mediums help you to reach across the world and broaden your exposure to people and places that you would not be able to on a regular basis. So it would behoove you if you are trying to raise money to look into either one or all of these different mediums to raise money online. There is no harm in trying and that is literally all you have to do, try.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1116441/donate_charity.png http://posterous.com/users/heO3LvUUwnL2a Fundraising Online fundraising online Fundraising Online
Fri, 22 Apr 2011 15:52:00 -0700 Plays Well With Others: Socializing Your Fundraising Campaign http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/plays-well-with-others-socializing-your-fundr http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/plays-well-with-others-socializing-your-fundr

Often it feels as though something hasn’t happened until it’s happened online. And that’s as true for your fundraising efforts as it is for relationship statuses and your baby’s milestones (in excessive detail). People live almost every aspect of their lives on the web. It’s where they get information, do business, entertain themselves and most importantly, share with others.

Therein lies your fundraising success, an opportunity to maximize your efforts by reaching people through multiple platforms that have already laid the groundwork for you. But the pace at which these platforms are evolving is non-stop, inventing new ways to connect with people and increase your donor base. Still, one constant remains: human beings are social. They want to interact, to be engaged and acknowledged, and doing so, will spark the greatest reaction. Luckily, there are countless resources at your disposal to help you do just that. The trick is in knowing how to use them properly.

Twitter: no spam is good spam (unless you’re desperate. Then only on pizza.)

Twitter is great for quick updates and real-time campaigning, but you’ve got to be able to cut through the clutter to keep anyone’s attention. There’s a lot you can do with 140 characters to spread your message, but such limited space means each character needs to pull its weight:

• Strip your tweet. Keep it simple so the message isn’t bogged down by fluff, and room is left for others to re-tweet it. Include relevant keywords and stylize your tweet enough to sound human, but keep it short and sweet.

• Hashtag that puppy. Include Hashtags with topical nouns, causes, industries, etc that are associated with your message. This makes it more search friendly and helps to incorporate it as part of a conversation with users who are interested in that topic. Encourage others to re-tweet it.

• Follow tweeters carefully, and engage in a dialogue with them. If someone tweets you, respond back and re-tweet them. Ask your users questions, offer incentives and pass comments along. People are more likely to react if they feel like they’re talking with a human being, not a faceless organization.

• For the love of canned meat, don’t spam. Keep tweets relevant and engaging, not a barrage of useless information. Talk with your users. Don’t give them a rambling monologue.

Facebook: You like me! You really, really like me!

Facebook is all about community, to establish a link between you and your donor base. Once you get people to officially “like” you, they’re privy to all the great content updating your page. It offers a space for more in-depth conversation than Twitter and a richer atmosphere for your cause (with photos, profile information, associated groups and so on). But to avoid a moot Facebook profile that just sits there, you’ve got to create an experience for your fans:

• When creating your profile, define a vision or purpose for your page. Consider it from your fan’s viewpoint. What does you audience get out of “liking” your page? How can they interact with the cause and feel more connected to it?

• Update regularly with statuses and wall posts that are applicable to your cause and will get people to act upon seeing them: whether it’s just checking out your page or following a link through to a full donation. The spam rule, as always, is in effect here. Avoid hyperbolic statements and excessive capital letters that make people feel as though someone’s yelling at them.

• Be generous with your information, time and resources. Offer incentives that compel people to move forward and respond to comments quickly and keep a conversation flowing on your page. Make it so that people feel acknowledged and rewarded for helping your cause, be it with interesting linkable content or documented credit for donating that they can share on their own profile.
Piryx: the Swiss Army knife of social media.

While Facebook and Twitter are the most highly used networks, they’re only a sampling of the myriad of options for marketing your cause. In fact there are so many, that undertaking a complete social media campaign can feel daunting. Piryx understands this issue, having built a fundraising platform that gives access to countless social media sites and the tools to easily manage them, from one online hub.

A free account offers links to your online fundraising page through email, Facebook and Twitter, along with a simple analytics dashboard to help you keep track of your online influence and donations. Information and tips to master your social media campaign and spread your content throughout the web allow donors to market your cause for you and multiply your audience. Piryx makes the process as simple and manageable as possible so you can dedicate your time to raising money and championing your cause, without getting lost in tedious details.

Embracing the marketing potential of social media is necessary for any fundraising campaign that wants to make an impact. While door-to-door canvassing and bake sales are good for fresh air and a sugar rush, operating online is the best way to reach your donor base and maximize support. And learning the nuances of social media now, puts you in a greater position to adapt to the constant evolution of online marketing. So, hop online and master the fundraising campaign of 2011. Before we start quoting Bob Dylan.

By using the Piryx online fundraising platform, you can create and track as many facebook fundraising and/or twitter fundraising campaigns as you wish. Increase your causes’ reach worldwide, gain new supporters, donors, and donations with ease. All you need to do is create a free account at Piryx today!

By: Hayley Mullen

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1116441/donate_charity.png http://posterous.com/users/heO3LvUUwnL2a Fundraising Online fundraising online Fundraising Online
Fri, 22 Apr 2011 15:51:00 -0700 Online Fundraising: Get out of the Woods and Out of the Hole http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/online-fundraising-get-out-of-the-woods-and-o http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/online-fundraising-get-out-of-the-woods-and-o

Say you want to have a dinner party. A potluck! You’re pumped about this potluck, and want to make it the luckiest pot this side of the Mississippi (whichever side you happen to be on). Needless to say, you want a lot of people to come because, well, if nobody shows up then no food will appear and that would be a pretty useless dinner party. So you better start pimping that shizz.

The thing is, you live in a cabin deep in the woods, that’s tough for people to get to. Sorry ‘bout that. With no Internet connection and therefore (gasp!) no Facebook or Twitter accounts. So, your grapevine consists of you and your buddies’ phone numbers. You rack up your bill calling everyone you know and even spend the dough to get some flyers made, with a little map to you. You want this to be the potluck of the century! To end all potlucks! When the day rolls around you’re in the red, but the massive turnout is sure to make up for it in casseroles and Jell-O mold. It’ll be a huge spread and declared a massive success. Right? CUE DRUMROLL!

On second thought, cue “wamp-wamp” trombone: your friends show up with their girlfriends and a few others. An elderly couple that passed a telephone pole one with one of your flyers taped to it on their way to go mall-walking. And a couple of stoner kids who misread the meaning of “potluck” on the ads you stuffed under the wiper of their ’95 Cavalier. Anyone else that heard about it couldn’t figure out how to get there. So for those who actually brought food, there’s barely enough to make it worthwhile.
Oh yeah, and then a bear comes charging out of the woods and gobbles up what little there is before anyone gets a chance to eat it. Psyche!

What happened? Well, you were over before you began. Because you live amongst bears, but also because you’re not online, while everyone else is. It’s where the kids go for all their information nowadays – kids being almost anyone who, at one point, had a mother and father. Which brings us to this just being an elaborate metaphor for a small non-profit that relies on offline fundraising practices. TA-DA!

The party = your cause

The cabin = being offline and harder to find

Guests = donors

Potluck food = donations

Phone bills, flyers = traditional marketing costs

Evil bear = the numerous fees and expenses that go into running a fundraising campaign and end up devouring most of your donations since you didn’t reach enough people

Basically, if you’re not working from an online hub, the ratio between your efforts, costs and rewards will be seriously out of line compared to the benefits of using social media.
For a non-profit, getting online is the easiest and most cost-effective way to raise awareness for your cause and connect with donors at an exponential level. Social networks act as platforms that allow you to create fluid campaigns and reach targeted audiences - audiences that will do a lot of the legwork for you if you take advantage of the resources at your disposal and connect with them in the right way.

Word-of-mouth is the most effective marketing tool and the best part is that it’s possible to achieve with little to no cost. Madness? Sorcery? A shady deal that sounds like it would come out of the mouth of a bridge-dwelling troll? Actually, no…and don’t call us trolls. We just haven’t had a coffee yet.

Enter Piryx, a free fundraising platform that gives non-profits a space to create awareness and reach donors without the energy and money-draining minutia of traditional offline tactics. Time that would be spent organizing expensive charity galas and convincing people you’re not Jehovah’s Witnesses during door-to-door canvassing could be used to reach thousands of potential donors through Piryx’s social giving platform. Via email, Facebook, Twitter and multiple other applications (for free!) you can share your cause with others and enable them to fundraise on your behalf. Simple payment processing makes donations quick and easy, and access to analytics helps you keep track of your fundraising campaign’s performance.

All you have to do is supply information and create linkable content that donors will respond to and want to share, easily managed with Piryx’s free fundraising tools and services. Have you noticed that the word “free” comes up a lot? It’s not a typo – there are absolutely no costs associated with a Piryx account, beyond a 4.5% transaction fee for all the donations that come rolling in. None. Seriously. We ripped up the flyers and shot the bear. No, that would be cruel. We sent him to live on a farm far, far away.

So, the bottom line is: you can spend time and money busting your non-profit butt to register on peoples’ radar the old-fashioned way, and reach a fair number of people. Or let the World Wide Web do the dirty work and watch your donor base grow like bamboo on steroids. Piryx believes that causes shouldn’t have to begin raising money from the bottom of an expensive red hole, and that donations should go towards what they were meant for. Instead of gimmicks, events and expensive marketing campaigns that, offline, are necessary to get people to donate in the first place. A little counterproductive, wouldn’t you say? We say yes! So, we did something about it.

Go on. Sell the cabin, call your Internet provider and join the rest of the world. Everyone’s just wandering around with crudités and deviled eggs in search of a potluck to go to.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1116441/donate_charity.png http://posterous.com/users/heO3LvUUwnL2a Fundraising Online fundraising online Fundraising Online
Fri, 22 Apr 2011 15:45:00 -0700 Fundraising Ideas That Help Causes Raise Money More Effectively http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/fundraising-ideas-that-help-causes-raise-mone http://fundraisingonline.posterous.com/fundraising-ideas-that-help-causes-raise-mone

There are many ways to go about trying to brainstorm for quality and creative fundraising ideas. These ideas could be used for any number of applications however it would be a good idea to look at the root of the problem of why people want to go ahead with fundraising rather than trying to take it completely out of pocket. The idea about fundraising is that people do not want to pay everything for an event or fundraiser, completely out of their own pockets. So, they go out and look for an idea that could involve numerous people who would donate their time to try and to raise more money over their time invested into fundraising.

This could also be used to have children help you who may be too young to hold a job that could put money toward the cause at hand. This helps in many different ways when you’re trying to come up with fundraising ideas. Most of us have had to come up with fundraising ideas ourselves for either one group or another. We have all had to go out and sell something that we were not necessarily happy with selling, just to raise money. In a way you can almost think of this as a rite of passage of being in school and for raising money for any one of your causes. However, fundraising ideas have sprouted into many other different areas. The traditional means fundraising have proven to be not as successful as fundraising online, as this is what has advanced new fundraising ideas in lieu of new technologies, mainly web based.

New and creative fundraising ideas have slowly turned to the Internet as the Internet began to gain in popularity. This popularity was mostly due to the fact that the Internet started to be center stage in the lives of people who either use it as a social nerve or as a contact medium for any number of people. Using web channels such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, causes using these channels have become a standard for both getting your message about your fundraisers to the masses.

Another reason the Internet is so great for getting your message out about your fundraisers, is because it increases your exposure and engagement with potential new donors. With normal and traditional fundraising ideas, they were kept as close to home as humanly possible so that you would not have to go very far while you were involved in any fundraising efforts. However, with the advent of the Internet it has made it much easier to describe your fundraiser as well as send the message about your fundraising ideas all across the world. This will also help you reach people who may have interests that are extremely similar to your fundraisers but are not geographically nearby you.

In closing, there are many different fundraising ideas out there. However, the only thing that is limiting you in the amount of exposure your fundraiser has to both the outside world but also to the community around you. It would be a very good idea to explore all your options with fundraising while you have the opportunity to do so.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1116441/donate_charity.png http://posterous.com/users/heO3LvUUwnL2a Fundraising Online fundraising online Fundraising Online