Today we bring you another installment in our Best Practice in Action series. Each week, we’ll highlight an organization that has done an incredible job of promoting its online fundraising efforts with FirstGiving and show you how to do the same. This week’s Best Practice is. . .
Don’t let inclement weather keep you from fundraising success!
Our friends at Samaritans were checking the weather report just before their annual 5K fundraising event, only to find that dark clouds were looming on the horizon. They knew it was likely that rain would keep some event participants indoors, so the folks at Samaritans came up with a brilliant idea to keep their fundraising community together. They set up a special Rain Appeal fundraising page, and asked supporters who were unable to make the event to make a donation instead:
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As a matter of fact, this email newsletter is chock full of best practices, including:
- A reminder of how important 5K-ers are to the work of Samaritans
- Links to examples of fantastic fundraising pages
- Shout-outs to fundraisers recognized in local press publications
- A thank-you to everyone helping to raise money online
- A reminder to send around one more email asking for last-minute donations
The result? Participants in the 2009 5K raised over $125,000, up from $78,000 last year. Kudos!
So, to recap: Make the most of all the hard work you’ve put into planning and orchestrating your fundraising event. Use your online resources to let your supporters participate virtually in your fundraising.
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***Share your own success stories of fundraising Best Practices in Action! Send us an email: bestpractices@firstgiving.com.
