GiveForward - Fundraising Made Simple

One of our users on GiveForward.org recently had a great idea on how to raise a TON of money in a single day.  Erica Flament had a GiveForward fundraising page for her friend’s daughter Maddie who was battling Leukemia. In total, Erica raised over $10,000 to help with Maddie’s cancer treatments.  One of the more creative strategies Erica had was to hold a birthday fundraiser for Maddie that raised over $1500 in a single day.  Here’s how she did it.

To celebrate Maddie’s 6th birthday, Erica sent out a request to friends and family on Facebook asking that they each give $6 to Maddie’s GiveForward fundraising page to help Maddie beat cancer.  Through the amazing power of Facebook, word spread and over 85 people ended up donating on Maddie’s birthday.   Many of the donations were for $6 but many more were for $16, $26, $56 and even $106.

One thing that was helpful for Erica was that she was persistent.  She didn’t just send one Facebook message and hope that everyone would remember to donate.  She sent a couple reminder emails as the date approached and asked that people share it with their friends.

Holding a fundraiser on Maddie’s birthday was a really creative way to get people to give, buy you don’t necessarily need a birthday for this strategy to work.  You can pick any date on the calendar and then ask for donations for the amount of money that corresponds with that date.

For example, you could send a message to your friends and your Facebook group that says: “Let’s help raise $1000 for Joe on the 10th of the month.  If you can afford it, please donate $10 to Joe’s GiveForward fundraising page here [insert your URL here] and tell your friends as well.  If we get 100 people to donate, we will reach our goal!”

In previous posts on the GiveForward Fundraising blog, I’ve mentioned the importance of getting off to a good start with your personal fundrasing page.  The reason you want to get off to a good start is because people usually play follow the leader.  In other words, most people will come to your fundraising page, check out how much previous donors gave and then give a similar amount.  So if you start with a bunch of $100 or $200 donations you’ll do a lot better than if your first few donations are for $5 or $10.  As I’ve mentioned before, one way to get off to a good start is ask your 5 closest friends and family to donate a specific amount (say $100) to get the ball rolling.

However, another great way is to simply lead by example.  If you put some skin the game by making the first donation for a significant amount, others are going to follow your lead.  Think about it.  What better way is there to show people how sincere you are about your cause than by leading with your actions!

Remember that sweet Yelp! party I posted about a couple weeks ago? Well now you don’t have to take my word on how awesome it was—we’ve got visual evidence! See3 Communications created this great video of the event. They do videos specifically for nonprofits. If you need this for your nonprofit, or you know of a nonprofit that does need this, definitely contact them!

1.  Personalize your fundraising page as much as possible with a heartfelt description and lots of photos.  The fundraisers who do the best are the ones who really make an effort to tell their stories.  Explain to your donors what you are raising money for and why it is so important to you.  If your friends and family see that you are passionate about your fundraising efforts, they are more likely to give and give generously.  More tips on how to personalize.

2.  Promote Promote Promote! The more you promote your fundraising page the better it will do. Here are the best ways to promote

• Email everyone you know! Even if you haven’t spoken to them in years, you’ll be surprised at how many people will decide to donate when you ask.
• When you email your friends and family ask them to share your page with their friends and co-workers using the “Tell-a-friend” button on your page.
• Set up a Facebook group that includes a link to your GiveForward fundraising page.  If you have a Facebook account definitely set up a group.  This has been far and away one of the most successful strategies for our users.
• Add the URL from your fundraising page to your email signature
• Add the URL to your AIM, Gchat or Facebook status message

3.  Send email or facebook updates to your friends and family. One of the single most important tips to online fundraising is to be persistent.  While some people will donate the first time you ask them, the reality is that it will take at least 2-3 friendly reminders before the majority of your friends and family open up their wallets for you. Fundraisers who keep their donor base engaged with frequent updates tend to be the most successful. Read more here about how and when to send out email/Facebook updates.
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This week’s fundraising tips come from Connie Stofko of Fundraising Assets. Fundraising Assets provides fundraising clients with services such as newsletters, websites, e-mail campaigns, print campaigns, etc.—whatever they need. Connie writes appeal letters, press releases, and a variety of other materials for nonprofit organizations. She’s an award-winning writer with over 25 years experience, and she graciously took the time to give us some great ideas!

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When you’re asking for donations, you need to do two things:

1. Tell an emotional story.

2. Tell people how the money they donate will be used.

This is no different from what nonprofit organizations must do in their fundraising appeal letters. However, for personal fundraisers, the storytelling may  be easier. You’re raising money because someone you know needs help, or because you’re personally excited about the work of a charity. Make sure you tell people that emotional, personal story.

Here is an example of how a nonprofit organization, Friends of Night People did a good job telling a personal story:

Lynn came to us on a Sunday evening. She had no food or money, just one bag of clothing. She had no place to stay. Lynn was depressed after having spent the previous night in what she described as ‘terrible conditions.’ She felt alone.

The first thing we did was feed her and let her know we care. Then we found Lynn a safe place to stay until Monday morning. On Monday other human service agencies would be open and we could put her in touch with people who could also help her. We did not leave that evening until we were assured she would be able to begin her tomorrow with strength and hope.

And another good example from the Ronald McDonald House of Buffalo:

“If Alyssa didn’t get the surgery, she could die,”  said her mother, Crystal Arnold. “If the Ronald McDonald House wasn’t here, we couldn’t afford to come to Buffalo.”

The letter continues to tell in detail how the Ronald McDonald House of Buffalo helped the out-of-town family during their visits to Buffalo to get treatment for their little girl’s medical condition.

There are a couple of things to notice here:

1. We tell a personal story.

We didn’t say, “Many people come to Friends of Night People because they are poor and hungry.” We told the story of Lynn and put a face on the problem.

2. We explain the solution.

For the family with the little girl who needed medical treatment, the solution was staying at the Ronald McDonald House. While we do address the girl’s health problems, that’s not the focus of the story. The focus of the story is how the Ronald McDonald House helped the family.

Make sure you tell your audience how  the money they donate will help the problem you have outlined. Sometimes it’s easy to explain. For example, the money may be used to buy a motorized wheelchair for Alysha Jones. In other cases it might not be as clear.  For example, you may be raising money in the name of someone who has died. You might have to explain that the money is going for research into a cure for people who, like your late friend Jimmi Adams, have been diagnosed with cancer.

To tell a good story, make sure you “put a face on the problem.” And don’t forget to tell your audience how their donation will help the person in your story (or people like that person).

One fundraising strategy that many of our users have found really successful is offering prizes to their donors to create a little extra incentive to donate.   Often times, this can be great way to reel in potential donors who are sitting on the fence about donating. (i.e. those people who may have overlooked your emails in the past or may not have donated otherwise).

Although you many think this tactic too closely teeters on the border of bribing, the reality is that in most successful fundraisers, people donate for a number of different reasons. Sometimes people donate because they feel really connected to your cause. Sometimes they donate just because they want to support you as a friend. And then other times, people donate because they want to win a prize.

If it helps, think about it this way: you are fundraising for a great cause, your friends want to help you reach your goal, and someone along the way gets an iPod, gift card, etc.  I’d say it’s a win-win-win situation all around!

So, here’s how to create your promotion:

• Inform your contact list: Send out an initial email/Facebook message to your contact list informing them that anyone who donates over a certain amount will be entered into a raffle for an ipod or any cool thing you have lying around the house (autographed tissue, extra pair of moon-shoes, just a couple examples).  Make sure to follow up with subsequent reminders as the promotion moves along to keep people interested.

• Create a sense of urgency. People are more likely to donate when there is a sense of urgency, so to help get donations coming in you should structure your promotion within a short time frame or on a first come first serve basis.
• Time period: Anyone who donates within a certain time period (e.g. two weeks) is entered into a raffle to win the prize
• First come, first serve: The first X amount of people that donate (e.g. first 25 or first 50) will be entered to win the prize.

Timing of the campaign

• As far as when to begin such a campaign, it’s probably best to wait until your first or second round of donors have made donations- this being your closest friends and family first, then all your other circles of friends, co-workers, former dog-walkers, etc.  When the donations start to slow down and you think you have received all the donations you will get from these people (like when you know its time to take the bag of popcorn out of the microwave because there are 5 seconds between each POP), it’s a great time to start this little campaign.

Remember to have fun with it.

• The strategy above is just one example. But there are many ways to go about implementing a prize promotion and you will have to find a way for it to fit your fundraiser and personalize it.  If you’re real hard up for an idea or the funds to back up a good prize, simply offer your services.  If you’re a great photographer, offer to do a family photo shoot for free; maybe an oil change if you’re mechanically inclined, or something as simple as an extra hand around the house.  Be creative and make it work for your fundraiser and your friends.  You never know who will turn around and surprise you.

This week we have a special fundraising tip of the week.  We asked one of our users, Amy Cowin, who raised $30,000 on GiveForward for her sister’s kidney transplant to write about her experience and share with everyone how she did it.  Here’s what she had to say:

On April 2, 2009, I donated my left kidney to my one and only sister to save her life. Jessica was in renal failure, also known as kidney failure and needed a transplant. Upon completion of testing, Jessica was cleared for surgery and listed on the transplant list. In hopes that I would be a match to donate one of my kidneys, the hospital did some testing on me. Most of the testing was done, when the hospital called Jessica to let her know that the transplant process was going to be stopped. This meant that until Jessica received Medicaid, which could take at least three months to get or until we could pay for the transplant up front there would be no kidney transplant any time soon. Upon hearing this discouraging news, I jumped into action to start raising some money for the transplant.

Not knowing exactly what to do or where to go to get started raising money, I turned to Facebook. I wrote a somewhat frantic message to a small group of close friends and confidants, specifically chosen based on their various capabilities, knowledge and connections to different facets of the business world. Original message sent on Facebook:

Subject: “NEED HELP ASAP”

“Hi,
I’m sure most of you know that Jessica needs a kidney transplant and she will be taking one of mine. Unfortunately we have had some major problems with insurance and have hit another bump in the road. I need to figure out how to raise some money asap. If any of you know how to do this through Facebook or know of someone who knows how to do this let me know. The insurance will only cover $30,000 and the whole transplant will cost over $100,000. The rest we will have to pay out of pocket, which we definitely do not have. The hospital will not move forward if they don’t think we can pay for the transplant. She cannot wait another 3 months for a kidney.
PLEASE let me know!
Thanks so much,
Amy”

Within three hours I had responses from my friends, some were how they wanted to help me, times we could meet up to figure out ideas and websites to look at, including the one I chose to host my fundraiser, www.giveforward.org. The GiveForward website had everything I needed to start fundraising almost immediately. I spent three intense hours on Give Forward to make sure I had all of the information that the website required, such as a description of why I was fundraising, pictures, where the money would be going, a timeline, and much more. This process helped me strategize, organize and get excited about fundraising; because fundraising is a daunting task, especially for medical purposes.

I wanted to raise up to $100,000 in less than 90 days. In three hours of having the fundraiser published online, I had over $5,000 in donations. I didn’t raise the $100K like I set out to do, but I did raise $30,000 in less than 30 Days. Here are a few of the strategies that helped me raise $30K in 30 Days.

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This week’s post is from Morrie Warshawski, author of The Fundraising Houseparty: How to Party with a Purpose and Raise Money for Your Cause – 2nd Edition.

PARTY PARTY PARTY!

Forward thinking GiveForward members realize that online fundraising is just one part of a comprehensive fundraising effort. One other very flexible and powerful tool for soliciting support from individuals is the increasingly popular fundraising houseparty. Houseparties are a perfect way to get people excited and energized around your project/cause, and often form the beginning of relationships with individuals who you hope will become major donors online and/or offline.

Politicians like Barak Obama and Howard Dean used houseparties to raise millions of dollars for their campaigns. Filmmaker Robert Greenwald harnessed the power of houseparties to have his supporters host thousands of them across the US to fund his social issue documentaries on Wal-Mart, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

You can organize a houseparty with just six weeks of lead time, and you can have them take place in your neighborhood, or in communities anywhere around the globe where someone believes in you and your cause. Begin by finding a host who is willing to provide her house for the party, and will open up her address book to invite her friends. Encourage the host to put together a host committee. This spreads out the work load and adds a few more address books to your resources.

Have fun with the process. Design invitations that can be sent by regular mail and/or as e-vites. On all the invitations, give people the option of donating to your project on your GiveForward page if they can’t come. You’ll make some money before the event even happens!

After people have arrived and had a chance to mingle and eat some finger food for a while, gather everyone into a room and make a formal presentation:

• The host welcomes everyone and talks about why she is committed to your project.
• You get up and talk about your cause. Ideally you show a DVD clip, or some photos – anything that will get participants emotionally engaged with your cause. Take a little time to answer any questions people have and engage in a dialogue.
• Someone – the host or a peer of people in the room – then stands up and makes a very direct, and heartfelt ask for support.

Be sure to have pledge cards ready for everyone to fill out. By all means have a computer or two available with your GiveForward page displayed so that people can make credit card donations right on the spot. You’ll find that having a face-to-face contact with donors is a satisfying, powerful, and effective way to solicit new support and deepen commitment to your cause.

MORRIE WARSHAWSKI is a consultant specializing in working with nonprofits on strategic planning. He is the author of THE FUNDRAISING HOUSEPARTY: HOW TO PARTY WITH A PURPOSE AND RAISE MONEY FOR YOUR CAUSE – 2^nd edition, available at his website: www.warshawski.com. SPECIAL OFFER: Readers who mention GiveForward can receive a $5 discount off the cover price of the book for as many copies as they like until July 31^st.

People have called GiveForward a “social networking site for fundraising,” and whenever they do, we’re pretty quick to correct them.  Our main reason is that most social networking sites are comprised of predominantly passive users…i.e. people that only half-heartedly contribute to the community.

With fundraising, the last thing you want to see is 12,000 supporters but only $150 in donations, which is what you get on other sites (ahem Facebook Causes).  That’s why we really encourage our users to actively ask their friends and family for money…not support.

Sure, you might use the language “please support me in my efforts.”  But at the end of the day what you really need is a donation.

Here are a couple of tips from Joanne Fritz, author at about.com, on how to get a donation vs. support:

• Create a sense of urgency by citing a deadline , or tie your request a particular holiday. Repeat your argument for urgency both in the text of the email but also in a P.S. and follow up emails.
• Be explicit when asking for money. Example: Send a special gift today of $25 or more. Be clear and repeat some variation of the message throughout the email.

Other ways to get your friends to donate include:

• Making a goal of $1 per friend and following up with those that haven’t given…who can’t afford $1?
• Promising to do something crazy/funny/ridiculous if you get to a certain goal by a certain time
• Offering prizes for donors who give within a certain window of time

The goal here is to get everyone you know to open their hearts and wallets for you.  You know what motivates the people you care about…use that knowledge for good!