Webinars
Free online fundraising webinars
Below are a series of free fundraising webinars we offer to help you raise more money online. They vary from resources for nonprofits to tips for fundraisers to general fundraising topics. For more information or to join our mailing list to receive notification of future webinars, please contact sales@firstgiving.com.
Upcoming webinars
Coming soon!
Recorded webinars
February 2010
Raise $1,000 a day for 30 days
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 3:30 PM – 4:00 PM EST
Nonprofit organizations are seeking fresh ideas that will help lead to more donations and volunteer engagement. FirstGiving presents a FREE Webinar about online social fundraising while showing how one nonprofit raised $1,000 a day for 30 days online. You can easily design a similar fundraising program for your supporters as well. Join the Webinar to learn how.
watch video | Find us on Facebook
October 2009
Ghosts are scary, raising money online is not
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 3.30-4.30 PM EST (12.30 west coast)
Whether your offline fundraising events have been successful in the past or not, bringing them online can be a rather frightening prospect. If the thought of transitioning to an online fundraising system seems daunting, find out what should really scare you: missing out on what you could be reaping from raising money online! Join us for a free webinar, with plenty of time for Q & A.
watch video | view slides | Find us on Facebook
August 2009
7.5% Service fee? You can’t be serious!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009 3.30 PM EST (12.30 west coast)
How is a Firstgiving account different from a donate button on your website? Are Firstgiving’s online fundraising tools reallythat powerful? Is it possible to raise more money online with Firstgiving than without?
Inspired by an anonymous email we recently received, Team Firstgiving hosts a provocative discussion on why empowering your supporters to fundraise for your nonprofit organization is a worthy investment of your time and money.
watch video | view slides | Find us on Facebook
July 2009
Firstgiving premium webinar: grassroots fundraising and community organizing
Wednesday, July 22, 3:30 pm Eastern time (12:30 West coast)
Even if you have a successful fundraising event with lots of participants, we’re willing to bet that you’ve got even more supporters out there living their lives with gusto—having birthdays, running marathons, hosting parties, and more. How could your organization increase its impact if they turned these activities into fundraising events for your nonprofit? With a little effort on your part, you can encourage your supporters to become fundraisers by participating in a grassroots fundraising campaign. Join Firstgiving’s Account Management team for a discussion of grassroots strategizing and get the creative juices flowing.
watch video | view slides | Find us on Facebook
June 2009
Firstgiving premium webinar: fundraising with Facebook
Wednesday, June 17, 3:30pm Eastern time (12:30 West coast)
Join Firstgiving’s account management team for this practical and engaging seminar on the basics of using Facebook for community building and fundraising. We’ll discuss establishing a presence on Facebook and dispel some common myths about fundraising on Facebook. As usual, there will be plenty of time for interactive Q&A.
watch video | view slides | download slides as PDF | Find us on Facebook
May 2009
Smart fundraising programs for surviving the summer slump
The dreaded “summer slump” is coming, and the economy isn’t helping. Join James Campbell from Firstgiving’s business development team and Mike Hennessy from the Special Operations Warrior Foundation for this practical session surviving the summer slump and building a bridge to success with your Fall fundraising event.
view slides | watch video | download slides as PDF | Download our event plan guide (XLS)
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Search engine optimization for your nonprofit
Your organization’s website is fast becoming your primary face to the world, and it’s more important than ever that people can find you online. Join Firstgiving marketing expert David Karp and our account management team for a discussion of the basics of SEO, or Search Engine Optimization. We’ll cover strategies and tactics for making your website more findable online.
Watch video | View slides | Download slides as PDF | Q&A and resources
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April 2009
Writing successful fundraising emails and letters
Social media and slick brochures will only get you so far. At the end of the day, the message is the message, and the better yours is, the more your organization can raise. Whether your letters are paper or electronic, there are some things you can do to make them better.
Watch video | View slides | Download slides as PDF | Read the Q&A
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March 2009
Nine ways to promote your personal fundraising page – and 99 online places to do it
Firstgiving’s fundraising experts turn their focus to individual fundraisers and show some great examples of creative promotion. All attendees will get the list of 99 places to promote your page online.
Watch video | View slides | Download slides as PDF | Read the Q&A
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Running for a reason? Raise more money for your cause than you thought possible
Join Team Firstgiving for a roundtable discussion and learn how to leave your fundraising goals in the dust. You’ll hear tips from real runners and fundraisers on how to set up and promote your fundraising page for maximum donations. If you’re running Boston this year, this session is a must!
Watch video | View slides | Discuss this webinar
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February 2009
Competition for the cause: using fundraising teams effectively
Hear from Firstgiving’s James Campbell. There’s a delicate balance between teamwork and competition. Smart fundraisers know that people raise more when they fundraise in teams. We’ll also discuss the power of the right incentives.
Watch video | View slides | Download PDF slides | Read the Q&A
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Using social media to expand your fundraising horizons
Smart fundraisers are always looking for new ways to reach out to donors, especially in tough times. There’s a lot of talk about using social media for fundraising, but also so much uncertainly. Firstgiving’s David Karp gives a beginner-level overview of social media and strategies for using it for fundraising, concentrating on blogs, Facebook and Twitter.
Watch video | View slides | Download PDF slides | Discuss this webinar on Facebook
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January 2009
The endorphin effect: how athletic fundraising events raise more money
Join Firstgiving’s James Campbell for this presentation and Q&A. Did you know that the average charity runner raises more than double what a walker does, and that a marathoner raises 50% more than that?
Watch video | View slides | Download PDF slides
Resources cited in this webinar:
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Advanced nonprofit email fundraising: building your email list
Email marketing isn’t the wave of the future; it’s the wave of right now. Writing effective messages is critical, but just as critical, and often overlooked,, is building your list. Join Firstgiving’s David Karp in this practical and informative webinar about best practices for building and maintaining your organization’s email list. We will discuss…
- turning postal addresses into email addresses
- finding brand new email addresses
- spam and how not to do it
- A/B testing and segmentation
- how much email is too much email
Watch video | View slides | Download PDF slides
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December 2008
Five fundraising days ’til Christmas
The economic crisis has everybody thinking last-minute, and the holiday season makes it even worse. So we figured sending out an invite for a webinar about last-minute fundraising the day before the event would be par for the course. Whether you’re a fundraising virgin going through your first year-end crunch, or a seasoned veteran looking for some fresh ideas, this is the webinar for you.
Watch video | View slides | Download PDF slides
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Getting the Board on board
Every nonprofit is different, but just about every one has a board of directors, and relations between board and staff are seldom perfect. In this webinar, we’ll discuss helpful techniques for understanding your board and working with them to optimize your organization’s fundraising and mission. We will discuss…
- the board are people, too
- the rule of no surprises
- tips for managing up
Watch video | View slides | Download PDF slides
Suggested reading: Managing the Nonprofit Organization and Getting to Yes
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November 2008
Nine things you can do now for 2009 fundraising success
In this 40-minute session, Frank Days, our fundraising expert, shared an actionable nine-point plan for success with your winter or spring fundraising event. Even if you don’t have an event planned yet, this is an excellent opportunity to get up to speed with framework you can use to plan your event, rally your supporters and bring in the donations. All attendees will get a copy of a event planning guide that can help you start and stick with the program.
- Why its never too early to start planning your event
- How to approach your board for maximum involvement and commitment
- Where to find a web expert who will work for free for your cause
Watch video | View slides | Download PDF slides | Download event planning guide
October 2008
Bowlathon to annual appeal: the many uses of online fundraising
In this hour-long webinar, Firstgiving’s James Campbell and Joy Barrett, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Greater Nashua talk about online fundraising in the context of events and year-end appeals, including…
- motivating volunteers, supporters and board members
- how BBBS Nashua switched from paper pledges to online fundraising pages for their Bowlathon
- ideas for year-end fundraising campaigns
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Mobilize now for your fall or winter fundraising event
Join James from Firstgiving and Jeannie from The Bell Center for an informative hour-long presentation and Q&A. Among other things, we cover…
- Why there’s more to online fundraising than a donate button
- How The Bell Center has succeeded with person to person fundraising
- Things you can start doing right now to make your fall campaign successful
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September 2008
Fundraising beyond the button
Join Firstgiving’s James Campbell and Sheila Wenger of the Angelman Syndrome Foundation for this informative 35-minute session on fundraising online beyond the simple donate button. Sheila gives an overview of Angelman Syndrome Foundation’s increasing success with person to person fundraising and James explains the differences between the plain donate button and true online fundraising. A quick introduction to Firstgiving follows.
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Seven ways to get more out of your Firstgiving account
In this thirty-minute session, our nonprofit education guru Maggi guides you through seven ways to get the most out of your Firstgiving account and takes some questions from the audience, too. Topics include customization, email marketing, social media, leading by example and more. This is a detailed session designed for nonprofit organizations familiar with the basics of online fundraising and Firstgiving. This webinar was recorded in a live session earlier in September.
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2008 webinars
How to leverage the social media explosion for online fundraising success
How can your nonprofit organization benefit from the social media revolution? In this free interactive webinar, you will learn about: – Techniques to take advantage of social media sites (e.g. Facebook and MySpace) to expand your donor base – Ways to succeed with new online fundraising
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Best practices: maximizing your spring event
Join us to discover new strategies to make the most of your upcoming spring event. In this free interactive webinar, you will learn about: – Techniques to increase donations to spring events – Ways to succeed with new online fundraising approaches, such as person-to-person fundraising pages.
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No event? No problem – the power of grassroots fundraising
New and innovative ways to raise money through grassroots fundraising. In this free interactive webinar, you will learn about: – Proven fundraising methods outside official events – Easy ways to attract new donors by tapping into your supporters’ existing networks.
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Seven deadly online fundraising mistakes (and how to avoid them)
Review the “dos and don’ts” of online fundraising. In this free webinar, you will learn about: – Proven tactics to encourage your supporters to raise more money online – Ways to promote your fundraising programs using new social media, such as Facebook, MySpace.
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Best practices in online fundraising: how to use teams, competition and prizes to raise more money
This webinar focuses on best ways to raise more money online by fostering healthy competition among fundraisers, including how to use teams, competition and prizes to raise more money for your cause and easy ways to attract new donors by tapping into your supporters’ existing networks. Methods used by Junior Achievement of Eastern Massachusetts to raise over $90,000 online in 2007.
We’re sorry, the video for this webinar is not available, but you can view the slides.
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Please contact us if you have any questions.
