How To Raise money Online? Some Fundraising Ideas…
Four Keys To Better Nonprofit Fundraising Results
Non-profit fundraising is all about multiple streams of income, so how do you make more money for your organization?
Simple. When you put together your annual plan, you need to include as many ways to raise money as possible.
So, you’re probably thinking: “That’s easy for you to say, but how exactly do I go about it?”
Easy! You just have to be “smart” about it, with a well thought-out plan that doesn’t make too many demands on any one facet of your
organization.
Every fundraiser that you conduct places various demands on your volunteers, your supporters, and your leadership. Those demands can be time consuming, expensive, and stressful.
The more large-scale fundraisers you conduct in one year’s time, the greater the load you place on the people you depend on.
You need to be “smart” in how you go about your fundraising.
Four Keys to Non-Profit Fundraising:
* Think Smart
* Plan Smart
* Work Smart
* Be Smart
Non-Profit Fundraising – THINK SMART
Thinking smart means taking the time to review past results and strategizing about how to do better this year.
If you don’t spend some time brainstorming some new and creative ideas to increase your bottom line, how are you going to rise above last year’s results?
Define your three best income streams. Now, daydream a little about what changes or enhancements you can make that will add additional volume to those streams.
Non-profit fund-raising is all about reaching more people with a compelling message that inspires them to take immediate action to assist your organization.
How can you reach more people?
By exploiting two things – personal networks and personal motivators.
Your non-profit fund-raising has to be structured to achieve maximum leverage of everyone’s self interest by providing sufficient incentives for giving time or money to your cause.
How can you make your message more compelling?
By giving it “story-like” visual imagery that speaks to your supporters emotions.
Decisions are made on an emotional level, not a logical one. A “story” allows people to visualize their contribution having a positive impact on what they’ve visualized.
How can you inspire a higher percentage to immediate action?
By combining your story with a call to action.
A call to action leverages the immediacy of the emotional reaction to your story with a request to help now BECAUSE their contribution will have a positive impact.
Everyone wants to help. They just have to be properly coached about your situation and motivated to act now.
Non-Profit Fundraising – PLAN SMART
Planning smart means taking concrete action to put your ideas into an annual business plan. Yes, I did say “business plan.”
No self-respecting, non-profit fund-raising organization should be without a written business plan to guide their fundraising efforts.
Your plan should spell out roles and goals along with detailed instructions on how you’ll get there. It should be grounded in the past and targeted at the future.
Each non-profit fund-raising activity should be broken down into the necessary action steps that will produce the highest level of results with the most cost-effective effort.
Everyone should know exactly what’s expected of them. A well- organized team where everyone understands their role is able to execute their mission flawlessly.
Everyone should know and be able to state your group’s value proposition.
If they can’t articulate, in two sentences or less, a convincing reason why you are raising funds, then you need a plan that helps communicate your message more effectively.
Non-Profit Fundraising – WORK SMART
Working smart means taking your plan and putting it into action with an eye towards getting the most bottom line results from every facet of your organization.
You’ll get the best long-term results if you stay focused on not overburdening your volunteers, your supporters, and your leadership. Overworking volunteers will ensure that many will not be around to help next year.
Too many demands for small donations will alienate your group’s supporters. Structure your non-profit fund-raising requests to two or three campaigns in a year’s time, no more.
Size those non-profit fund-raising campaigns to get the most from each time your supporters are asked to make a contribution.
Continuous fundraising will wear out your leadership as well. Your key personnel will be spending most of their time on organizing and conducting campaigns.
You want to keep everyone fresh and motivated. Do that by having a well thought out plan that maximizes the value of everyone’s time, energy, and contributions.
Non-Profit Fundraising – BE SMART
Being smart means taking the time NOW to begin a “Get Smart” effort about your non-profit fund-raising efforts.
Start the brainstorming process now.
Get a small journal and start recording any and all ideas you have, day or night, about improving your fundraising. Some of them will be duds, but others will be gems.
Sure, the gems will be rough and will need polishing, but you won’t have any gems at all if you don’t let your creative juices run wild.
Just write them down as they occur to you and keep adding to the ones that make the most sense in the light of day.
Hey, if it worked for Edison and Einstein, it can work for you.
Start writing down all the ways that you can think of to create multiple streams of income for your organization.
Get your non-profit fund-raising planned and organized, then watch the money flow in.
Advantages and disadvantages of using the
The Internet’s appeal as a new mechanism for soliciting charitable donations
stems from many sources, including:
1. The ability to access more people than most organizations have
historically been able to reach.
2. The relatively low expense required to hang up your shingle in this
particular public place.
3. The (perhaps) higher disposable income demographic reached in comparison
with most marketing methods.
4. As a demonstration of your organization’s progressiveness.
There are some common pitfalls as well, including:
1. It’s hard to be noticed among all the others seeking attention on the
Internet.
2. There is the possibility of failure due to unfamiliar technical breakdowns
or through misunderstanding how to use the mechanism effectively.
3. There are significant legal complexities at this time associated with some
aspects of online fundraising.
4. There are no “get rich quick” schemes that aren’t booby-trapped. If
someone tells you their method guaranties stupendous results for little work,
you can be pretty sure that either, a) it’s a scam, b) they aren’t telling you
everything you need to know for successful application, or c) they don’t
actually understand why it worked the first time, and may not be able to
replicate it. Reliable success always requires understanding and effort. As a
general rule, the more exclamation points and capitalization used in the
marketing material, the more you should be wary.
Successful use of the Internet for charitable solicitation and other
fundraising depends, of course, on leveraging the strengths while avoiding or
minimizing the pitfalls. Although there have been a few fairly spectacular
success stories, most charities will find at this time that Internet fundraising
will be only a minor part of their total sources of revenue. Most potential
donors are not as familiar or comfortable with the technology as they could be,
and will be in a few years. However, there is no reason not to start using the
Internet in at least some way right now. Although you should probably be leery
of large investments in technology just for fundraising, you should be making a
reasonable effort to use your online resources for fundraising if you already
want to use the Internet for providing information to your community (of donors
or of service recipients). A reasonable goal is to have your Web site pay for
its development and maintenance through donations or pledges themselves made
online. As the donor universe becomes more accustomed to online giving, your
revenue will grow.
Probably the most common reason for disappointing results is the lack of
awareness among donors of your charity and/or its Web site. Almost noone is
going to wander across your Web site and charitable appeal by accident. They
will typically find you because either:
1. They already know about your existence, AND SEE YOUR WEB ADDRESS ON ALL
YOUR MARKETING OR OTHER MATERIAL.
2. They find a link to your Web site on a page created by some related
organization, or one that otherwise supports your activities.
3. They receive an intriguing email message from you that describes your
mission and asks them to visit your site.
4. They read about your organization in some online or off-line newsletter or
other informational article created by a third-party, and it includes your
organization’s Web site address.
5. They are using an Internet search engine to find Web sites addressing some
topic or issue, and your page has the right keywords to match their search.
6. They see a banner advertisement you have placed on another organization’s
Web page.
If your organization doesn’t use at least one and preferably several of these
methods to attract visitors to your Web site, you will get few or no donations
there. At the very least, every one of your marketing and solicitation texts
should include a reference to your Web site’s address (i.e. URL). Anything less
will strongly suggest an incomplete effort, which will lead to weak results.
Some Fund raising Tips
* The more organized and professional you appear, the better your success will be. Also, in all financial matters, be courteous and polite with everyone you deal with – money can be a touchy subject.
* Be honest–especially with yourself–about what you really need.
* Prioritize by importance. You don’t need an MP3 player before food do you?
* Have a single or multi-family garage sale. Make it a fun event and feature music, balloons, snacks, games, and perhaps even outlandish “provenance” for your most treasured junk (with disclaimers, of course).
and some practical tips:
1) Maximize value to maximize results
Make this your mantra. More value means more prospects. More value means more buyers or donors. More value means more money for your group!
2) State a value proposition
Sum up the specifics of what you’re doing and why in two sentences or less. State exactly what your fundraiser is all about. Make sure it has a compelling call to action. Include it in all your communications and fit it into your sales script.
3) Set a public goal
Make a commitment about your group’s fundraising goal and state it publicly. This causes your mind to internalize it as a verbal commitment. Your goal should be realistic, but also aim high. Structure your sales efforts to emphasize and reward achievement of that goal.
4) Everyone take ownership
Make sure everyone takes ownership of the fundraiser’s success on an individual level as well as within the group effort. Everyone should be committed to doing whatever it takes to reach the group goal.
5) Keep it fun
Fun is part of fundraising. Don’t make it drudgery to be a volunteer or a participant. Remember that they’re giving up their free time to help. Plan fun things to do during each stage of the process that reward involvement.
6) Provide alternative options
Explore all ways to allow alternate giving from the community. Some people just don’t like fundraisers, but would be willing to contribute in another way. Consider offering a membership option of supporting your group with one annual check or an automatic donation each month.
7) Quality, quality, quality
Quality sales presentations and quality goods mean more sales. Quality rewards mean more motivation. A quality program exudes confidence and confidence breeds success.
Avoid any risk taking
Always caution against unsafe selling practices. All neighborhood sales activities should include adult accompaniment. Seller safety is your highest priority.
9) Have a written project plan
Run your fundraiser like a small business. Have a written project plan that spells out all roles and responsibilities. Slot motivated individuals into those roles and equip them with everything they need to do a great job.
10) Help others
Don’t forget to increase your organization’s visibility by giving back to the community. Visit the elderly, volunteer your group to help with other charity work such as Special Olympics or Community Warmth programs. Write letters to military personnel posted overseas, or other causes that have special meaning to your group.
Publicity:
11) Use your website
If you don’t have one, get one. Use it to communicate your goals, thank your sponsors, highlight periodic offerings, recognize successes, honor individual contributors, etc. Promote your web site on all your materials.
12) Actively seek more publicity
Get the word out about your fundraiser in as many ways as possible. Get into as many neighborhood newsletters and other public forms of communication as you can. Send out press releases to the local media and invite coverage with photo ops at your fundraising events.
13) Utilize any gathering
Make announcements at other events to spread the word, display products, take orders, make sales, and recruit volunteers. Take a joint venture approach to marketing your group by giving something of value back to all those who join your team.
14) Goal awareness
Heavily promote the goal of your fundraiser in all communications, particularly between sellers and buyers. A good cause gets the money out. Make sure that all participants know a specific reason why the money is being raised.
15) Communication
Use all available means of increasing awareness of your group’s efforts including roadside signs, e-mail lists, phone calling tree, newsletter, flyers, posters, bulletin boards, recorded hotline messages, etc.
16) Sponsorship decals
Offer these free to supporting merchants. Sell to membership level supporters. Use the glass stick on type for storefronts or vehicle windows. This “branding” gets the word out to the community that your organization has a strong support base.
17) Bumper sticker
Sell your organization year round with every fundraiser by offering one that says “Proud Supporter of _____.” Give one to every volunteer and group member.
18) Flyers everywhere
Hit local mailboxes (follow postal regulations) and car windshields in shopping centers. Give fundraiser details in your flyer in a way that promotes sales and gives contact information.
Put a coupon or free gift offer into the flyer that will keep it from being thrown away. Your merchant base will help provide the offers because this is free advertising for them. For example, a flyer including a car wash, dry cleaners, or oil change coupon. (Or even all three!)
More sites to explore:
http://www.easy-fundraising-ideas.com
http://www.nonprofitmarketingblog.com/site/comments/marketing_101_how_to_write_a_fundraising_letter/
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