Today we bring you another nonprofit fundraising Best Practice in Action from our weekly series. Each week we 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. . .
Send a friendly reminder about your fundraising through Facebook.
Is your nonprofit organization on Facebook? Our friends at the Photographic Resource Center (PRC) regularly post information about upcoming events, exhibitions, and membership to their Facebook group, so it was only natural that they’d post about their fundraising, too. With just a few days left in their matching gift campaign, they sent out this message to all their Facebook group members:
With a four-person staff and a lot of things to do, the PRC used Facebook to quickly and easily connect their online community to their fundraising efforts.
So, to recap:
Use Facebook for what Facebook is good for. Facebook updates are quick and allow you to connect to many of your supporters at once. Keep your fans and groupies posted on what’s going on with your fundraising efforts.
The folks at soon-to-be-launched OnlyUp.org affectionately ask, <30? Part of the nonprofit sector and/or have big plans to make change in the social justice movement?
They’re building an online community of young people involved in the nonprofit sector, and they want you to be part of it.
In their own words:
OnlyUp is an organization that helps nonprofits prepare for the next generation of leaders through consultations, awards, and community-coalition building.
Young people have the vision and energy needed to revolutionize social justice organizations. Amplifying their voice and advocating for their needs will help revitalize the nonprofit sector.
To this end, OnlyUp plans to:
Publish a blog for information sharing, web newsletters to organize advocacy, and mobilize an active membership database
Provide constructive analysis of how nonprofits incorporate young people in goal creation and execution of their work
Connect young people with quality opportunities so they may learn from and contribute to their field: The website will include job listings from organizations that have established histories of providing real opportunities for young people
Today we bring you another nonprofit fundraising Best Practice in Action from our weekly series. Each week we 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. . .
Equip your fundraisers to make the most of their personal fundraising pages.
Our friends at Rutgers University’s Dance Marathon raise money online every year for the Embrace Kids Foundation. Their fundraisers are primarily college students, who don’t have a lot of money to donate themselves, but who are actively invested in the cause.
And where do college students spend a lot of time? Online.
To make sure all the Dance Marathoners knew how to make the most of their fundraising pages, Mike, one of the event organizers, created this quick how-to video and uploaded it to YouTube:
Dance Marathoners who needed an extra bit of inspiration or help could watch this video and learn how to use their Firstgiving fundraising pages as a tool to meet their online fundraising goals. Result? 471 college students raised almost $90,000 online for the Embrace Kids Foundation.
So, to recap:
Identify where your fundraisers live online, and use the most appropriate medium to reach them. You know your community best–communicate information about your event using email, Facebook, Twitter, or all of the above.
Happy fundraising and best wishes for success!
Share your own success stories of fundraising Best Practices in Action! Send us an email at bestpractices@firstgiving.com.
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: we are constantly inspired by you! Together, you, the thousands of nonprofit organizations, fundraisers and donors who raise money online with Firstgiving, have raised millions of dollars for causes you care about.
Today is an exceptionally exciting day in Firstgiving history as we count up to the $100,000,000 donation mark! Check our homepage for the most recent update:
Last week we hosted a sold-out webinar on using Facebook for community building and nonprofit fundraising. Well, technically it wasn’t sold out because it was free, but the session was completely full! If you missed it or couldn’t get in, you can see slides and audio for the session here.
During the session, we talked about Facebook Pages (aka fan pages) and why they’re good for nonprofit organizations. A Facebook Page is your nonprofit’s official presence on Facebook, and you can use it to send an unlimited number of messages to your fans, add applications, and track metrics (like how many people visit your Page). For more on why you might want to have an official presence on Facebook, check out our webinar.
One thing we didn’t get to in the webinar was the topic of adding “Favorite Pages” to your nonprofit’s Facebook Page. People who like your nonprofit’s Page on Facebook can become your fans, but did you know that you can connect to other nonprofits and organizations on Facebook through your Facebook Page? Here’s how:
1: Find a Page you want to add to your Favorites:
2. Select where you want to have the Page appear (if you have more than one Page on Facebook, you’ll need to choose one of them from the drop-down menu):
3. Voila! The Page now appears in the “Favorite Pages” box on your nonprofit Page:
In addition to the Elizabeth Peabody House (pictured above), we just added Will Work for Social Change, an organization dedicated to accelerating positive change by serving the talent-related needs of social entrepreneurs, to Firstgiving’s Favorite Pages. Visit our Facebook Page to see more of our favorite Pages or to become a fan!
Today we bring you another fundraising Best Practice in Action from our weekly series. Each week, we 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. . .
Tweet updates about your fundraising.
Are you on Twitter? Our friends at Basset Buddies Rescue have been Tweeting about all things Basset Hound for some time (you can follow them @BassetBuddies). It was only natural, then, that they’d Tweet the good news about the first fundraising page created for their Basset Fest fundraising event:
As you might expect, the link in their Tweet goes straight to Basset Buddies’ Firstgiving nonprofit page, where participants can register for the event and start fundraising.
Basset Buddies Rescue is using all of their online tools to get the word out about their event and connect fundraisers to their Firstgiving page. Remember, non-profit organizations like yours are successful in fundraising when they generate excitement about their events!
So, to recap:
If you have a Twitter account, use it to tell your followers about what’s going on in your organization, including your fundraising milestones!
Happy fundraising and best wishes for success!
***Follow Firstgiving on Twitter @firstgiving
***Share your own success stories of fundraising Best Practices in Action! Send us an email at bestpractices@firstgiving.com.
Today we bring you another nonprofit fundraising Best Practice in Action from our weekly 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…
Give your fundraisers one final boost of encouragement one week before your event date.
Our friends at the Lupus Foundation Connecticut Chapterwere one week out from their annual fundraising walk. Knowing that many donors wait to give until the event date is close at hand, Lupus Foundation sent out the following email to all their walk participants:
With Walk for Lupus Now just one week away, we’re in the final stretch to raise funds and make this year’s Walk our most successful yet. If you haven’t done so already, send a final email to friends and family that have not yet contributed asking them to donate and to forward your message on to others they think could help. Help us spread awareness of Lupus AND the Walk for Lupus Now! We greatly appreciate your participation and fundraising efforts, and hope you’ve found the process to be fun and rewarding. Quick Tip - Change the language in your final email to reflect a sense of urgency. Let people know you’re almost to the day of the event and that any and all help is greatly needed and appreciated. Remember, each walker who raises $100 or more will receive a T-shirt on Walk day. Thank you for your continued efforts and we look forward to seeing you at the Walk for Lupus Now! Please feel free to contact the Chapter at xxx-111-1111 or address@nonprofit.org email.
Note that this email itself expresses thanks for support of the Walk for Lupus, reflects a sense of urgency, and also reiterates the importance of reaching the fundraising goal. In other words, the Walk for Lupus event organizers are leading by example.
Result? Here’s what Lisa, Lupus Foundation’s CEO had to say:
“We surpassed our goal. We reached $58,200. Exciting news in a tough economy. I think it was the online giving and the weekly emails that really helped bump our numbers.”
So, to recap:
Most nonprofits see a surge in donations during the week leading up to the event. Take advantage of the momentum generated by your event, and remind your fundraisers to send out a final ask to their family and friends.
Happy fundraising, and here’s to raising more money than you ever thought possible!
Share your own success stories of fundraising Best Practices in Action by sending an email to bestpractices@firstgiving.com.
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