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.

How Charity Fundraising Benefits from Technology:Online fundraising is changing the game

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.

 

 

Connecting with Donors in the Digital Age:How Savvy Charity Fundraising is Finding Success in the Modern World

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.

 

677 Million Registered Users:Facebook Fundraising and the Potential for Non-Profits

 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.  

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. 

Fundraising Online with Free Fundraising Tools for Causes

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.

How to make a political fundraising event successful?

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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.