Using Candy For Your Fund Raiser
Raising dollars with candy is a great fundraiser idea. There are many fundraising opportunities online that offer assistance raising money with the use of sweets and other various products. Some of the more common sweets fundraising corporations offer popular candies such as M&Ms, Snickers, and hard sweets. Other businesses choose to market their own brands of candy and offer comparable benefits Another option is to use wholesale stores such as Costco and Sams, to get bulk quantities for of candies at a much reduced rate in order to make a considerable profit.
When raising money with candy keep in mind the type of candy and the weather. If you are using very young children, you may want to go with a more solid candy such as suckers during the summer in case they are forgotten on a hot school bus, in a car, or outside. To find fundraising corporations, do an online search of sweets fundraiser companies. There you will find many businesses that are available to help your organization raise funds with candy. You must also determine their earnings potential, bulk requirement, and how and when you would be paid. Before making a final decision on a money raising company, be sure to research each company to consider the options given. Most candy fundraising businesses would be happy to send out an informational packet or have a representative speak with you to determine your fund raising needs.
They must help you plan the entire process including the time frame, the methods of money raising, and to determine if raising money with sweets is the best option for your organization.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Randy_Zimmer
Randy had tons of fun participating in the lollipop fundraisers for his youngest child last year.
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Is Giving an Experience Or an Obligation?
Fundraising is evolving. Previous generations gave because of a sense of duty or obligation. For them, all that was necessary was a just cause. Things are changing. We have many more choices. There are multiple organizations pursuing the same cause. We expect to be closely connected to everything around us. Today our giving is data-driven and our confidence is driven by evidence. Each generation is more connected and more data-driven. Is your fundraising evolving at the speed of society?
The impact of the recent economic turmoil has been inconsistent. Some nonprofits have suffered. Others are unaffected. Still others are enjoying growth.
The explanation for success or disappointment may be more complex than just one tactic or process. For some organizations, one explanation is enough. They have fixed the flaw and giving is growing again. Others have multiple flaws and it will take time before growth returns.
Where does connecting donors with the impact of their gifts fit in your portfolio of funding tactics?
Is it the most significant change you can make?Is it one of many changes but not the most important?
The answer to those questions depends in part on whether donations are down, steady, or growing. If donations are up, connecting donors with their impact maybe the next step to increasing the sustainability of your funding stream. If donations are down or steady, it is probably wise to prioritize your tactics and do what is most important.
If making giving an experience is the right next step, it is important to dissect the process. Part of most experiences is anticipating what will happen. Part of it is seeing progress. Part of it is enjoying the finished product.
Next Step:
Define the experience you want the donor to have so the donor can enjoy the journeyDefine the milestones that will provide evidence of positive progress
Design a reporting process that will make achieving the milestones meaningful and rewarding for the donor
Determine how to closely connect the donor to the result (For instance if it is school, invite them to graduation.)
Social media can be a valuable tool in the process. It is standard part of the emerging generation’s life. It is becoming an important part of every generation’s life (tracking grandchildren, reconnecting with high school friends, keeping up with friends who have moved away or retired, etc.). It provides instant and inexpensive contact with a large group. It also has the potential to become impersonal and formulaic, which reduces the personal experience part of the giving process.
The milestones and results need to be quantitative. The results especially need to be independently verifiable. We have all become skeptical of claims and untrusting of internally generated results. Progress reports can contain internal data. However, there is an expectation that milestones will lead to externally validated results.
The collateral benefit of this process is that it creates a more accountable and transparent organization. Accountable and transparency are attributes society is emphasizing more and more. The accountability also helps to foster a culture of being goal oriented and results driven. The transparency invites donors to become active participants in the mission. This helps to increase donor loyalty and generosity.
Evolving donor relations has many benefits including increased sustainability.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Don_Currie
Don and his partners started Mission Enablers (http://missionenablers.com/) in 2001 to help nonprofits increase their capacity to serve those in need. Mission Enablers is one of several successful businesses that Don has started. He has also served on a variety of for profit and nonprofit boards. His primary focus today is helping schools (private, parochial, Christian, and faith-based schools) increase enrollment, develop strong leadership teams, improve their governance, and increase their fundraising effectiveness. When away from the office he enjoys spending time with his daughters’ families, grandchildren, and working in his gardens or cooking.p>
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Sample Fundraising Letter – How to Use This Template Correctly
When getting ready to have a fundraiser one of the most important parts of your fundraiser is crafting a letter to send to prospective donors informing them of your fundraiser. The letter can service a few different purposes; one can be to ask for donations directly, while another purpose can be to inform prospective donors about an event or fundraising activity. Fundraising letters are very important so it is crucial that you write them correctly. A Sample fundraising letter should never be used to ask for donations instead it should serve as a guide to writing your own letter.
A sample is very impersonal and generic and you can be sure that your donors will spot this if you send them a sample such as that. Instead the letter should be in your own words and should address your donors specifically and personally about the specific cause that you are supporting. If your fundraising letter is too generic at best it will end up in the trash can, at worst you will leave behind offended donors that will not be inclined to ever help you.
A sample makes a great guideline for you to know how to write your letter; it will give you tips on how to set the letter up and how the body of the letter should flow. It will help you to see how best to get your donors attention and to appeal to your sense of need, but since every cause is unique and how your crowd will respond to it is different with each cause, you should only use this letter as a guide to writing your own letter.
The body of the letter should be written is such a way as to explain your cause to the donor, you will then want to share the goals of your fundraiser with the reader as well. This gives them a picture of not only what the problem is, but what you perceive the solution to be. After this should be an appeal for whatever call to action you are hoping for whether it is donating money or attending an event. You should then let the donor know why your call to action and their response will make a different. A donor needs to know that the money or time they spend will matter and it is your job to help them see how that will happen.
A sample fundraising letter should only be used as tool, this tool can help you craft a personal and emotional request for help in your important cause, anything different will not gain the same response and may in fact turn people away.
If you are in need of business letter, you may visit my website at www.samplefundraisingletter.net. And you will get helpful tips on Sample Fundraising Letter.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marie_Lopez
Choosing Fundraisers by Type
There are thousands and thousands of ways to raise money. In fact, for many people who need to do fundraisers, just knowing where to look for fundraising ideas and understanding how to begin wading through all of them can seem like an enormous and daunting task. One of the smartest ways to do so is to know the different types of fundraisers and think about which type best fits your groups needs and go from there.
Traditionally, there have been three main types of fundraisers. You could pick from product sales, fundraising events, or you could seek donations in a number of ways. Product sales can be further broken down into pre-sell and direct-sell programs with frozen cookie dough being the most common pre-sell program and candy bars the most popular direct sell fundraiser.
So how do you go about deciding which type is right for your group? A great place to start is looking at your current financial situation. If your group already has some money that you can spend on your fundraiser, a fundraising event like a carnival or a product sale where you buy the items up front like candy bars can be great. They tend to bring in a great deal of money, but again, they do require some funding to get started with. If you do not have any money, a free to start brochure fundraiser makes a lot of sense as does simply working to collect donations.
Another way to approach the task of narrowing your choices is to simply ask your group what they would most like to do. Some groups really enjoy things like writing donation letters and have no problem simply asking for money while others would be very uncomfortable doing so. Other groups may be great at planning an event that would bring in gobs of money while another group may have no idea how to get started with such an undertaking. Find the type of fundraiser that best matches the skills and strengths of your group and success should be well within your reach.
If you are most interested in a product sale, one of the newest and most popular types is earth friendly fundraising. There is a company called Go Green Fundraising that offers a handy breakdown of fundraising products by type to help you choose the right product sale for your group.
[ In his ebook "Let's Raise Money!", Jack Atwell tells how the best fundraisers in the country "always choose the right fundraiser for their group." The book is only $19.97 and will more than pay for itself in increased donations. ]
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5 Fundraising Ideas For a Golf Fundraiser Day!
If run properly, a golf fundraiser day can be an extremely profitable fundraising event. It’s popular, a large percent of the population enjoys golfing, and it can have many different fundraising methods incorporated into it!
Here are 5 ways that you can use to raise funds at a golf fundraiser day…
- Entry Fees – This is the crucial fee that will greatly affect your overall taking from the day. And it works in an unexpected way… By charging a reasonable fee instead of an expensive one, you will end up having a much more profitable golf day! The reason being is a player will be more willing to spend more money at the event if they haven’t had to pay a huge upfront fee. By charging a smaller fee you will more than likely end up earning more money throughout the day from an individual! Just remember that if the entry fee is too expensive you won’t fill your playing field. So rather get people there first and then earn the big funds with all the other fundraisers during the day!
- Hole sponsors – You should aim for every hole on the course to be sponsored by a company or business. Consider other places on the golf course where businesses could advertise on and sponsor… Like the putting green or even the car park! I would suggest you seek local advice on how much to ask for your sponsorships. The Golf Club hosting your golf day would be a good place to ask for advice. This amount will obviously depend on where you are from and what type of people/companies will be sponsoring your day.
- Mulligans – This is one of the best Fundraising Ideas for a Golf fundraiser! This is how it works… Players buy stickers (Known as Mulligans), which they then use as free shots during their round of golf. Meaning, that if they play a bad shot, they can call a Mulligan and are allowed to play it again. Everyone will definitely buy the allowed amount of Mulligans as they won’t want their competition having the advantage of an extra free shot that they don’t have. Don’t you just love human competitiveness!!! You should generally offer 2-3 Mulligans per person and it would be suggestible to speak to your hosting Golf Club to find out a guideline on how much to charge for each Mulligan.
- On-course betting – This is another one of the great Golf fundraiser ideas. You can have a few different types of bets but the best one would be the “Landing the green on a par 3″. Here’s how to do it… Draw three rings around the hole, growing from small to medium to large (All inside the green of course). Then let people bet on which ring they think they’ll land their ball in off one shot, obviously with the odds on the bet getting larger the smaller the ring. You’ll find that most people get so happy and excited when they do land their ball inside the rings that they just tell you to keep the money anyway!
- Watering Holes – Have a couple of holes on the course, say the 5th and 14th, which provide drinks for your players… Offer free shooters (which you get sponsored), and then sell beers and other drinks at a reasonable price.
The extra point – Please remember, a golf day isn’t just about raising funds; it’s also about further spreading the word of your cause. So if you make sure people enjoy themselves thoroughly, they will talk about your cause to friends and also be very willing to help out again…
In fact they’ll want to know when your next Golf fundraiser day is!
Rob Hampson is the Creator and Publisher of http://www.rewarding-fundraising-ideas.com and is an experienced fundraising campaigner, who enjoys horse riding, playing polo, and is an aspiring filmmaker! If you would like to find out more about running a successful golf fundraiser day then please go to http://www.rewarding-fundraising-ideas.com/golf-fundraising-ideas.html
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Have You Thought About Online Fundraising?
Charity auctions, golf tournaments and scratch card sales are all great fundraisers that have a lot of potential for success. They also have a lot of another thing. Start up costs.
If you’ve set up or been to a charity auction you know how the expense list looks. Wine, alcohol, catering, bouquets and more lavish accessories. That’s how it should have looked anyway…
Golf tournament fundraisers are the same way. Book a golf course, caterer, and provide some sort of goody bag for players are all essential to success. The cost you have to pay for each person could be quite a large due.
Scratch card sales are another popular fundraiser, especially for high schools. The only problem is that you have to actually buy the cards before you sell them. With a system like this, there’s always a chance you may not sell them all and take a loss.
These are all great fundraisers, don’t get me wrong, but some charities are in such dire need of funding that they can’t spend thousands or even hundreds of dollars to set up a charity auction or golf tournament, and the risk of taking a loss on scratch cards just isn’t worth the hassle.
Have you thought about online fundraising?
There’s a variety of effective online fundraisers, but the one I’m thinking about is easy for people to get involved with and has zero startup costs. This fundraiser takes advantage of online shopping – each time you shop online, you could be supporting your favorite charity.
It’s an interesting concept, and an effective one at that. My high school booster club had an online fundraiser that did well and our athletic director loved it (because he didn’t have to do anything but collect a check). With the system requiring one to just sit back and collect a check, it’s clear that it may be the choice for quite a few organizations this year.
Get started with online fundraising for free.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Corbin_J_Reynolds
A Forgotten Goal of Online Fundraising
Online fundraising is awesome. Done right, it can take the very best of your mission and spread it through e-mail to thousands of donors around the world, bringing cash into your organization within minutes. If it only did that, it would be worth every second I’ve ever put into writing messages and landing pages for nonprofits over the past few years.
But why stop there?
As great as the donations are, online fundraising can give you so much more than a quick monetary bump. It can also help you spread the word, inform the public, create fans, and build donor relationships that go on for years. In other words, it can help you meet all your goals… not just the ones that involve keeping the lights on this month.
Instead of talking about the forgotten goal of online fundraising as engagement, future funding, or creating a donor base, why don’t we stick with something simpler, like getting people interested and involved. Keep things on that level, and you’ll have an easier time pulling it off.
Here are a handful of ways you can take the most advantage of your online fundraising messages:
Be social. If you aren’t making it easy for people to get in touch with your organization via social networking – this means Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube at a minimum – then you’re missing out on some pretty big opportunities. Create fans and friends, and you’ll end up with a long list of dedicated supporters.
Start an opt-in. When it comes to creating long-term relationships with donors, it’s all about continuity and consistency. Especially in these tough economic times, it makes sense to maximize your chances to let people come back to you later, not to mention stay in touch through an online newsletter.
Try to go viral. An e-mail that gets a strong donor response is good; one that prompts them to forward the message to their contact list before they give is infinitely better. Try to craft messages that people want to share, because going viral is the number one way to increase the effectiveness of your campaign.
Mix it up. Finding the best way to increase donations is a bit like figuring out the sound of one hand clapping: frustrating at first, but rich in deep understanding. What I’m getting at, in a roundabout way, is that not every message you send should center on a request for more money. Mix things up with a bit of good news, some progress reports, or even just a note of thanks. You don’t want every communication from your nonprofit to end with a request for money – that’s the quickest way to end up in the trash folder!
Matthew Aaron is an independent fundraising writer who has worked with hundreds of organizations across North America and the United Kingdom. You can see more about him and his work at http://www.fundraising-writer.com, or reach him directly at 303.482.2801.p>
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Safe Volunteerism and Charities Online
There are a lot of American families who have started to engage themselves into charities and volunteer activities. The internet, with its vast benefits that it offers to its users-from online banking to online shopping-have been tapped by various organizations to solicit help from other people as this medium, the internet, provides people an opportunity to help other people in their most convenient time, without any pressure. They can help whenever they want, wherever they are.
Especially during holiday seasons-the season for giving-more and more people are donating their money and their time for the benefit of other people. Now, while it may be an act of noble character, there are still people who tend to abuse people who help out. If you want to be sure that you will be giving safely-even if you’re simply sending money to save whales or dining in a local homeless shelter-follow these simple steps:
If you are planning to donate monetary contributions,
1. You need to research on your chosen charity so that you’ll know where your money will go and how it will be utilized. You can scour the internet for any information about your charity. Read and browse through their site and make sure that they are the organization that you really want to give your money into. Check that the website you are browsing is legitimate and is not a scam. There are bogus sites that contain false information and who only pretend to be charities to extort money from donors. Make sure that the information posted on the page is updated.
2. You can also opt to donate at third party organizations that will then send your money to the charity of your choice after deducting a three percent “turn over” fee. What makes donating to third party organizations better? You can donate anonymously and you will never be flooded with solicitations afterwards. Of course, you just have to make sure that the third party organization donates your money in a timely fashion, before some identity theft criminal or hackers do-straight to their pockets.
3. Before giving out your personal information, check that the site uses encryption technology that will scramble your data before it is sent from your computer to their database. You have to read their privacy policy so that you will be assured that your information is being protected and it will not be sold or redistributed to other sites and third party vendors.
4. Do not respond to email solicitations from alleged charitable institutions. There are a lot of scam artists, identity theft criminals and spammers who will use your email to lure you into sending cash as your donation. These organizations very rarely use spam emails to solicit funds and help from other people. If you feel dubious, check if the charity does exist and whether they did send the email or not. Do not feel too bad if you do realize that they are authentic and they sent the mail. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.
Tina L. Douglas is a well established author on the topic of identity theft. For more advice and information on identity theft protection, just click on the link. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tina_L_Douglas
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College Fundraising Ideas – Practical Products Deliver Results
All colleges and universities seek additional funds for their various departments. Alumni contributions go a long way to helping insure that the various programs can function, but where do department heads turn when their program is in need of more than the budget and contributions offer: Fundraising.
College fundraising programs have been around for decades, and most Universities will tell you that the most successful a college fundraising programs address student body and Alumni issues. One such program is garnering the attention of Colleges across the country – Remote Computer Repair Fundraising Packages.
Every year the student body arrives on campus with their laptops and desktop computers in toe. To take on the high demands of higher education, today’s college student relies on their computer as crucial tool in meeting the challenges faced in today’s academic world. When this tool malfunctions due to a virus or system operating error the student can be faced with difficulties completing assignments or worse – lose of hours of research and work.
With the cost of education today, most college students work on rather tight budgets. An unexpected expense can severally alter the lifestyle of a college student. While college student attempt to stretch every dollar as far as it can go for the purchase of text books, living expense, food, and gas – just to name a few of the expenses- a $200 or $300 computer repair bill is not usually in the budget of the average college student. By offering Computer Repair as a college fundraiser, colleges reduce the stress that unexpected expenses place on their student body.
While attempting to balance classes, work, and after class activities our college students become masters of time management. Unfortunately there are only so many hours in a day, and even those most accomplished at time management are hampered by this restraint. College Students don’t have the time to take their systems sitting unproductively at the service center, they need their systems operating correctly at all times. Remote Computer Repair offers immediate corrections to computer issues, allowing students to utilize their time most efficiently.
Remote Computer Repair as a College Fundraiser addresses the needs and concerns of the student body, but how does it generate funds for the college departments? One company, MyCuredComputer.com, has created an entire fundraising program for colleges implementing Remote Computer Repair. While addressing the needs of the student body by providing a service needed by today’s college student, the program is designed to direct monies towards various college and University departments.
With no cost to the College or University to initiate the program, schools across America are realizing immediate success with no out of pocket expense. You can learn more on this unique and solution driven College Fundraising program here.
MyCuredComputer is a pioneer in the remote computer repair industry. Because of the rising need of assistance the Educational community is experiencing, My Cured Computer has created the My Cured School program in an effort to make a difference.
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Ten Tactics to Raise Money Online Without Spending Too Much of It
Setting up online fundraising tactics requires a different level of effort, skill, and patience. Some tactics will immediately drive traffic to your site, other’s will over time. ALL will get them there to push your fancy little button that says, “Donate Now”.
1. BUILDING YOUR WEBSITE: This is the obvious place to start in order to expand your donations, an online fundraising program. The best advice I can offer is if your website looks shoddy, donors will perceive it as a direct reflection of your organization. Your website doesn’t have to be a “do-it-yourself” project. If you’re anything like me, my talent is not “Webmaster”. I, raise money with little expense attached; but I do know where to find many philanthropic organizations that are set up to create a classy and reputable website in order for you to promote your mission, and do it in a way that raises money online successfully. Check these FREE resources out: non-profit.webs.com and homestead.com. Along with those sites, solicit your board of directors (and staff, no matter what department); there should be someone who has a connection to a volunteer willing to create or clean up your site and, make it a fundraising website. It could be someone’s teenager requiring community service hours. You can also contact community colleges who may be looking for internships – a website to add to their portfolio.
2. PROMOTE YOUR SITE OFFLINE: We are all about, raising money with little expense. It’s free when you promote your site offline because you are already promoting your organization offline – simply keep all your links and social networks on the first page of any offline document. Think about your newsletters, event invitations, press releases, posters, billboards, business cards, note cards, sign in sheet at the front desk, and direct mail. This is traditionally called, a “mixed-media” tactic to expand your on-line giving opportunities.
3. USE SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO): It’s easier than it sounds, and it’s “do-it-yourself” free. When writing copy for your site use keywords that people type into Google for their search. For example, don’t use “kids books to donate”, when searchers are more likely to type “where to donate kids books”. You are also able to pick keywords specifically for your website which will then be linked to Google in order to find you. This doesn’t mean you automatically appear on page one of Google when your keyword is used, that’s takes tenacity and hard work. Let’s say your keyword is homeless shelters, you may appear on page 101. However, this is the very reason you need to work on SEO in order to increase your Google ranking, and you can use some fairly simple steps. Here are some, they are recommended free or affordable keyword research tools, they will show you what keywords leading competitors in your industry are using, among many other tools to increase searchability. They include, Google’s Keyword Tool, SpyFu, and SEM Rush. HINT: Do not type in your website, type in the website of one of the websites that shows up on the first page of Google, then find the keywords they use.
4. FIND AFFILIATE ORGANIZATIONS FOR MUTUAL PROMOTION: Affiliates could and should be your current corporate donors, send your logo and ask if they would consider adding a link from their site to yours, and visa versa. How can they say no? You are their philanthropic partner. Other examples of affiliates would be collaborative partners who help you with your work. Let’s say the Visiting Nurse Association has member nurses who volunteer their time to visit your homeless shelter and provide free checkups to residence once a week. You will want to ask them to exchange in a mutual website promotion. A classic example for FREE promotion is making sure you are registered, and affiliated with the following site: NetworkforGood, IdeaList, and NonProfitMatrix, to name a very few.
5. MEDIA RELATIONS: For example, if you receive publicity from a fundraising event or a current event. I will use the homeless shelter as an example. Let’s say it’s below zero and the news media is looking for a story where the homeless are able to stay during the frigid weather. Your nonprofit will want to make sure the media includes your website both in the story and on their site the day the story airs. If possible, ask if they will include a link to your social networking sites. An example for an Ovarian Cancer benefit included a local TV website including both a link to the organization and links to share with their social sites.
6. SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES: This is time-consuming because there are so many, but I am sharing a link to the best social networking sites for non profits. Also consider all the blogs dedicated to working the social sites; they are social networking sites detailed and user-friendly for a novice. Bottom-line, social networking increases your Google ranking, drives traffic, raises money and it’s FREE! Search SelfGrowth social networking websites, this site is worthy of your attention.
7. GROW THAT EMAIL LIST! Here I have listed, five whys to grow your email list; a) Conference, trade show, special event: Use a desirable giveaway, maybe tickets to a sporting event. How does it work? Your guests need to register for the drawing with their name, phone AND email. Make certain you let them know that you DO NOT trade or give away email addresses or bombard them daily, and there is always an option to opt-out. b) Your website: Create a call out box sign-up form requesting more information; make sure it appears on every page. c) e-Newsletter: (see Number 9 on my list!). d) Collect business cards at presentations: If you make presentations, tell your audience that you will add them to your e-newsletter list if they leave their card and then add a drawing at the end of the presentation. e) Ask for email addresses on all of your forms and send a special postcard to your database requesting email addresses to save postage & our carbon footprint. Let supporter’s sign up for your email newsletter on your membership forms, volunteer forms, event registration forms, and donation forms, anywhere you require a street address, ask for an email address FIRST.
8. ENSURE YOUR SITE IS SECURE: When a donor makes a donation it should clearly indicate that the transaction is secure, through a secure server. You will also need a privacy policy that is easily found. The easiest way to secure your on-line donations is by setting up a merchant account with Pay Pal. You can also lead donors to Network for Good. There is a small transaction fee, which is a minimal sacrifice in securing a new donor. Both sites are easy to use and implement.
9. START AN e-NEWSLETTER: Not only is this FREE, it will save you money. Once you offer your donors the option within your direct-mail newsletter to have it delivered via e-mail; you not only save money (printing/postage, labor), you have another option to collect even more email addresses by asking subscribers to forward to friends. Post your e-Newsletter to your social networking sites, driving traffic and money to your nonprofit website, all the while doing your part for the environment. There are also handy and user-friendly services to manage the entire process of sending the electronic e-Newsletter, and manage the emails as well, some of my favorites include constant contact and patron mail.
10. RAISE MONEY = GO ONLINE! According to a 2010 analysis by the Non Profit Times on on-ling average gifts, donors who give “offline only” have an average gift of $314. Those who give offline, but have a strong relationship with the organization, over time has an average gift of $694, and those who have an online & offline relationship, has an average gift of $877. Keep in mind that, raising money online for your nonprofit, this is a “process not an event”. Research shows you need to appear in front of your online prospects at least three times before they make a move to your website. And before you begin to move prospects to your nonprofit website, you need to figure out where to find your supporters. Take the time to target your audience and what social network groups they belong to, a good example is LinkedIn Groups.
Once you have implemented one, five OR all of my, Online Fundraising Tactics, track them with FREE Google analytics; which details statistics about the visitors to your site, specifically where they live and how they got there. Make sure you use the data to better determine where to spend your time. If you are getting ZERO results from specific social networking sites – don’t update those sites on a regular basis.
If you believe you don’t have time to work on your website; build it to attract online donors, make it easy for people to find you, well, imagine yourself on a dock waving goodbye to the ship full of future donors; in the same measure, you will be waving good bye to donors who are proven to give more and for longer periods of time.
Marcie L. Wagner, fundraising consultant, is the founder and principal of ML Wagner Fundraising Group. We are a boutique, fundraising consulting firm. With two decades of experience in professional fundraising, grant research, grant writing, and communications, Marcie is an expert in raising money with little expense attached; as it should be. Her favorite success stories are those attached to working with smaller organizations. Groups with passionate leadership, a unique mission, poised for greatness – all they need is a gentle push in the right direction. Ms. Wagner is considered by many to be an expert in the area of annual giving, online fundraising, grant research and writing, and branded communications; particularly with organizations who are just beginning to form strategic development and communication efforts. Her no-nonsense approach in branding an organization to enhance its development efforts gave many organizations the tools to launch successful grant and major giving campaigns. Contact Marcie L. Wagner at http://www.wagnerfundraising.com/contactus.html and sign up for a free consultation and a one month free subscription to Marcie Wagner’s Grant Alerts. To learn more about Marcie Wagner, fundraising consultant, visit her at http://www.wagnerfundraising.com/aboutus.html.
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