Tag Archive for 'fundraising'Page 2 of 3

A friend’s race - inspiration and fundraising

Published
by
amysampleward
on April 18, 2008
in fundraising
. 0 Comments

I have a good friend, Alletta, who is currently studying [and getting yet another degree] in London. We grew up together and attend the same schools until college. She has, for nearly as long as I have known her, suffered from migraines and gone through many rounds of possible causes and treatments. I want to share with you some of her story:

Last May, I ran my first marathon in Edinburgh and despite being ill most of the winter and poorly trained, managed to finish on my own two legs with a respectable time of five hours and forty-eight minutes. This year on May 11th I am giving it another go, except this time I am taking on a much more difficult race on the Isle of Wight and aim to shave more than an hour off of my time to finish in four and a half hours instead.

Running a marathon last year was a life-changing experience. Though becoming increasingly active in recent years, I never considered myself to be athletic. Suffering from asthma and frequent migraines, I have often found strenuous exercise to be very challenging. A few years ago I would have never thought it possible that I could run at all, let alone run 26.3 miles. Now I have been awakened to the possibility of pushing myself in totally new ways and deeply inspired as to what we are all capable of.

I am using my running of the Isle of Wight marathon this year as an opportunity to not only challenge myself, but as a chance to contribute something good to the world by supporting a charity that is close to my heart, the London Migraine Clinic.

The London Migraine Clinic, where I myself am a patient, is a world-class non-profit institution that seeks to help individuals suffering from migraines to find the root causes for their pain and to help them better manage these triggers. In addition, it supports important research into why migraines happen and how the millions of us who get these debilitating headaches can better take control over our health and our lives. To learn more about the Clinic’s work click here.

I think Alletta’s experience is inspirational and honorable. It has been wonderful seeing her come to take on and achieve such high goals for herself. There is no surprise to me that she has found a way to give back to the nonprofit clinic that has helped her with migraines and is helping so many others in London and around the world with their care and research.

Please support me this year in my quest to run the Isle of Wight Marathon and help the London Migraine Clinic in its work by making a donation! Just go to the following link: http://www.colmc.org.uk/ and click on the left-hand tab of “How We are Funded” then on “Donate Now.

There is no where to leave comments when you donate, so please share with me if you would like to about your support or questions so I can be sure to connect you with answers and with Alletta. Thanks, and keep up the race (be it a marathon or life, you are all so inspirational to me!)!

Link round up

Published
by
amysampleward
on April 1, 2008
in roundup
. 0 Comments

Here is a quick list of a few things on my radar, that I think should also be on yours! :)
Mapping - The Wild Apricot blog has a great post featuring three ways nonprofits are using maps.

Marketing - The Nonprofit Communications blog tells you about a five-step strategy to market your nonprofit online.

ROI - Have you checked out Care2’s Frogloop blog’s Social Network ROI calculator before? If you haven’t, you should!

Case Studies - Beth keeps a great wiki and shares case studies of nonprofits using social media.

Fundraising - Peter Deitz has picked up on a disparaging mood about peer-to-peer fundraising, what are your thoughts?

501 Tech Club Brown Bag Recap

Published
by
amysampleward
on March 5, 2008
in events
. 1 Comment

Today we had a great opportunity to hear from Jeanette Russell of DemocracyInAction.org for our monthly brown bag event. Here are some of the take-aways I quickly jotted down about online advocacy.

- DIA is a one stop shop for communication needs with a 360 view of donors, volunteers, etc. (salesforce-esque)

- You can sign up for a webinar to learn more, sign up on the website

- Tools are only as good as your strategy
1. know the goals: influence decision makers, grow the base or engage supporters, fundraising - “what ARE your objectives?”

2. be timely and relevant TO SUPPORTERS whenever possible. combine things with the news or on everyone’s minds

3. integrate with offline activities

- online petitions are also about growing your list and not only about influencing legislation

- momsrising.org is a star member group, in 18 months they grew their list to 140,000 members but have smart strategies. have an appealing message to a large audience. considering engagement of members (strangers, friends, donors), working mothers so they don’t have time so MR had to figure out alternative ways to get involved.

- decision makers are getting more emails but groups are getting better with their strategies (integrating on and offline).

- keep emails simple because people forward more often than use the tell a friend link

- action alerts should stay simple - give only one thing to do and multiple references to the same thing and how to do it

- leadership ladder
turn strangers into friends->
friends into activists->
activisits into donors!

- fundraising - keep it personal. give specific ask amount and time deadline, espeically tied to a project

- tie fundraising to an event (can’t come? give money!)

- tracking=listening; send out test messages to small groups and adapting to successes/failures from the test

Reflections on the “wired fundraiser” of America’s Giving Challenge

Published
by
amysampleward
on February 4, 2008
in fundraising
. 0 Comments

The Sharing Foundation came out on top in its division of the Giving Challenge, which ended on January 31st. This is great news for the many bloggers and other social media community members that worked hard to promote the cause and garner so many donors. It was also a terrific learning experience for those of us involved. I have thought about “reflections” for the past few days now and wanted to share some early formulations:

What does timing matter?
The Challenge took place over the course of December and January. That is a very long time in the scheme of online fundraisers that many of us have been involved with in the past that may have had only a one day or one week window. I think that the longer time frame definitely had an effect on the “race” and posed a challenge for all organizations trying for the top: How do you keep donations coming through to the end?

In the Sharing Foundation’s case, Beth Kanter was the main ringleader and she had a great strategy of requesting donations whenever possible (in blog posts telling stories of those served by the organization, for example) and only really pushing a few times (like on her birthday 1/11 and at the end). It felt like a good mix - the constant option and then the intermittent request. I tried to do the same, including links to donate in blog posts dealing with the Challenge and then asking urgently at peak times.

What does the platform matter?
I found it interesting that in my personal involvement in the Challenge, I prioritized platforms on their timeliness. For example, I included links to the donation widget page in blog posts consistently throughout the Challenge, but put links and requests in Twitter on peak days like Beth’s birthday and at the end of the race. When there wasn’t as much urgency in recruiting new donors, it felt just fine to throw out the links and stories and thoughts in to blogs that could be read that day, or read days later in a reader etc. But on the days when we were really trying to get high numbers, I couldn’t handle only putting up a blog post (though I did); I needed to use Twitter and IM and emails.

This leads to the second part of the platform answer in that it really did seem to matter that the requests were peronal. I totally agree with the points Beth Dunn makes about the personal side of asking for donations. It means a lot more to people who don’t know anything about or have any connection to the Sharing Foundation to get a request from someone they know who does have that connection, than for “The Sharing Foundation” to send out a message to them asking for just $10.

What does the ask matter?
This one seems simple to me: It’s easier to give small. Think about it, if someone asked you to “Please donate $100 to The Sharing Foundation who helps Cambodian children get the education and services that are critical,” or “Please donate just $10 to The Sharing Foundation who helps Cambodian children get the education and services that are critical,” which would you probably do? Sharing stories and connecting on a personal platform with potential donors is crucial, but so is putting the “ask” into an amount that is doable and not overwhelming. People WANT to donation and help. So give them a way they can do it without hurting their own wallets, too.

I’m excited to hear about others’ reflections on the Challenge and to continue to share my own thoughts. What did you think as a fundraiser for the Challenge? What were your impressions as a donor?

Only hours left!

Published
by
amysampleward
on January 31, 2008
in fundraising
. 1 Comment

If you haven’t already done so, this is a last call to participate in the America’s Giving Challenge. A donation of $10 makes a huge difference! It is quick, easy, and very painless :)
Donate now!

Razoo: Case Foundation interview

Published
by
amysampleward
on January 4, 2008
in fundraising
. 0 Comments

Have you been following and participating in America’s Giving Challenge brought by the Case Foundation and Causes.

Recently, Razoo (a community united around making a positive difference in the world. Where passions are connected with actions, showing us that when connected, our small contributions add up to a big impact) talked with the Case Foundation to learn more about the Giving Challenge. Here is one of the responses:

How has technology changed the face of giving? As it has done in many areas, technology changes the relationships between people and between the information and resources they need to take action. In the area of giving, all the activity we are seeing is still nascent. People are still learning what the technology can do for them and what they can do with the technology. Still, it’s very clear that people, especially younger people, are ready to embrace these technologies not just as ways to socialize or entertain but as tools to affect the change they wish to see and as a forum for discussion and action.

Read the interview here and let me know what you think!

America’s Giving Challenge: Importance of discussion

Published
by
amysampleward
on December 23, 2007
in fundraising and otherblogs
. 2 Comments

I received an email from Beth Kanter about my decision to join her in championing the cause for the Sharing Foundation, which helps children in Cambodia receive the education and support they need. Beth asked:

What is the workflow for an effective cause ..? Suppose your
organization wanted to work with an intern to manage the cause with you. What’s on the to do list? How should the staff person manage the intern?

My initial response was two fold:

1. Build discussion

This is achieved by creating posts and questions on the Cause page so that when people click through from a blog or an invitation to join the cause, they are able to see people engaged and learn more immediately, without having to do the research themselves if they are unfamiliar with the organization. Identifying the most active participants in the cause and asking them to post a question, or better yet, asking them to respond to a question posted by the intern would be a good first step to getting conversations started on the Cause page.

2. Link to discussion

This is simply a matter of finding blogs and websites posting about and inviting others to the Cause, then putting links to them on the Cause page and thanking them for their shared support. This cross referencing will add to the information/education on the organization and therefore more people supporting it, while at the same time creating an opportunity for more participants in the conversation.

What do you think? Is conversation, the opportunity to ask or see other’s questions and answers about the work of an organization, something that positively influences your participation and support?

Also, today is Earl Kanter’s (86th) birthday and Beth is encouraging all of us to donate $10 to our Sharing Foundation cause to celebrate. You can join the Cause now, too!

America’s Giving Challenge: Early reflections

Published
by
amysampleward
on December 21, 2007
in fundraising and otherblogs
. 2 Comments

The Case Foundation, Parade Magazine and Facebook Causes have joined forces for America’s Giving Challenge which has been talked about quite a bit by terrific cause champions like Beth Kanter, Soha El-Borno at Wild Apricot, Britt Bravo, and Allison Fine. Participating in the challenge means you could win $50,000 for your favorite nonprofit. Posting a charity badge on your blog or website or facebook profile, joining a facebook cause, and recruiting others to join and donate are all part of the process.

I am supporting the Sharing Foundation and Beth’s work to get $50,000 donated to them. I have a badge in my facebook profile and have encouraged/invited others to do the same. I have joined a cause and also invited others to it.

I could have chosen a different group and selected the badge and cause that corresponded to it, blogged about that cause and told stories of that organization’s work. I chose to support the Sharing Foundation, though, and support Beth’s work in outreach for its cause. Why?

Because when I thought about starting my giving challenge, I couldn’t decide who I would pick! There are so many organization all over the world that I love and support. Whenever I think about making small contributions of money, time, skills, effort, etc. in my life, I always think “together we can make a difference.” To me, this means that if my contribution is going to go the farthest, I will want to be sure that I have many others fighting with me. I decided, then, to team up with Beth for the Sharing Foundation (you should check them out, they are terrific!) and experiment, learn, and enjoying making a difference together.

Will you join us to make a difference? Here are some terrific calls to action from Beth:

  • If you are on Facebook, join the Sharing Foundation’s cause and recruit your friends.
  • Not sure if you want to join the Facebook cause? Watch this video
  • Be ready to celebrate [Beth's] birthday on January 11th with the minimum donation. This is a great way to let her know that you appreciate the blog as well as the work of the Sharing Foundation.
  • Not on Facebook? You can contribute through the widget that Michele Martin set up and is championing. (You can add the widget to your blog, facebook, website, etc!)
  • Are you a blogger? Please sign up to help me! You’ll find the information here

What are you putting in stockings this year?

Published
by
amysampleward
on November 26, 2007
in fundraising
. 0 Comments

This year, the holiday season is upon us with myriad options for giving in a good way without the hustle and bustle, and sometimes jostle, of shopping in the stores. Online fundraising sites have made it easy for people to donate to charities and many organizations have holiday giving that includes special certificates or gifts for those you have donated for.

Network for Good has a unique approach to all of the holiday gift donations: the Good Card.

The Good Card is like giving a gift certificate to Whole Foods, or whichever grocery store you like to visit. There are many great things to choose from and you may not usually treat yourself to spending money on more expensive, organic, or specialty foods. But with a gift card, you have all the selection AND it’s already been paid for. The Good Card lets the recipient choose the organization they would like to support without having to set aside their own funds to do so.

It takes out the grudges people hold for receiving certificates indicating money was donated in their name to an organization they don’t know or don’t want to support and keeps the good will in tact!

Check out Network for Good’s Good Card and get some holiday shopping out of the way!

Beth posts a great compilation of ideas about encouraging philanthropy with children as this is a pretty perfect time of year to shed light on the importance of giving.

Have you provided donations to charities as gifts in the past? Do you think a system like the Good Card will bring more people to the donation-as-gift arena? Do you think the Good Card or other holiday donation activities are a good way to involve your children in giving?

Want your own social network?

Published
by
amysampleward
on November 20, 2007
in networking
. 1 Comment

As TechCrunch and others are reporting, Change.org launched a service for nonprofits to create their own branded social networks.

These networks are built to include many of the features nonprofits want, including: pages for fundraising, news, events and project updates, fundraising widgets, posting photos and videos, blogs, forums, and even Facebook integration (if the Facebook application of Change.org is added).

Organizations like CARE, Greenpeace, Amnesty International, and Humane Society of the United States have already established their networks in Change.org. As you can see by looking at one of these organization’s profiles, supporting the group by joining, spreading the word, or donating funds is visible and easy. Nonprofits can redesign the pages to fit with their existing logo, colors, branding, and website.

I really like that Change.org is evolving from a place where individuals can connect on issues, causes, and politics into an even more engaged user base directly involved with nonprofits in a more meaningful way. What do you think?

Does your organization have a network on Change.org? You can sign up here.