Black Friday – Cyber Monday Sale

Fundraising counselors have cited that the number one reason most fundraisers aren’t as successful as they could be is because they are not planned for properly. Group organizers either don’t plan far enough ahead in advance, or simply don’t expect for certain situations to arise.

With how little time most fundraising groups have to fundraise, it is critical that every day is used to its fullest potential. With the help of reading through a few event fundraising idea ebooks, and consulting with other groups that have successfully completed your planned fundraiser, you can be sure that all your bases will be covered.

Information definitely is power, and the more information you can acquire, the better prepared you are to maximize your fundraising earnings.

Today I’d like to feature two great resources that could make a big difference in your online fundraising efforts.  They come from experienced experts in online fundraising…. plus they are free.

1. The 2008 Online Fundraising Survival Guide: 12 Winning Strategies to Survive & Thrive in a Down Economy from Network for Good.  If you don’t currently take donations online this is an awesome primer.  If you do have it already set up, you will find many great tips in here to improve your results.  Network for Good is one of the providers of online donation systems so they include information about “donate now” buttons, but this guide covers much more than that.  In fact it even goes beyond online fundraising and has lessons that apply to the “real world.”

2. $100,000 Email Solicitation Guide from Fundraising Coach Marc Pitman.  This ebook has a great introduction to email marketing.  Marc illustrates the power of email through a great case study from his own experience.  He really did raise that much money from email.  But it wasn’t with one “email blast.”  You can apply the same strategies to your own email efforts, too.  Of course the amount of donations will vary, but it’s the key concept that the case study illustrates that matters. Just sign up for his newsletter to get this report.

Enjoy!

Do you thank your volunteers, donors and members in the same way — year after year? Would you like to come up with some fresh ideas that have worked successfully for other organizations?

121 Recognition Ideas for Donors, Volunteers and Members published by Stevenson, Inc. offers you 121 valuable ideas that you can put into action immediately. Many ideas involve more effort and creativity than funds. Some ideas are perfect for top-donors where spending additional funds to say “thank you” in a way that continues to develop that relationship with your organization will have great value. There are ideas that will work for many different types of organizations, and this book is certain to get you thinking about how you could adapt these 121 ideas for your own organization’s needs.

One excellent idea offered that will also help develop relationships with your volunteers is #10: Ask Volunteers How They Want To Be Recognized. This idea suggests that a suggestion box be placed out for recognition ideas. Getting an idea of how people want to be recognized is a valuable tool for any organization to have at its fingertips — but many do not look for this input.

You’ll find lots of ideas that are long on creativity and low on cost. Idea #31: 10 Ways To Show Volunteers That You Care is a great example of some thoughtful ideas to thank volunteers. With some brainstorming, these ideas could even be adapted to find ways to thank donors or members. One of the ideas is to create a dollar value of the volunteer’s time and to present them with a “fake” check at your recognition event.

This book lists ideas and gives steps that offer how to put them in place. You will be inspired and motivated reading this book, and come away knowing how you can recognize the people that have been so important to your organization. If you are looking to brainstorm and jumpstart your creative thinking for great recognition ideas, this is the book for you!

Find out more about 121 Recognition Ideas for Donors, Volunteers and Members

In Seth Godin’s new book, The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick), he posits that all worthwhile endeavors go through “The Dip.” The Dip helps sort half-hearted attempts from the truly world-class efforts.

“Most consumers…,” writes Godin, “wait for something to be standardized, tested, inexpensive, and ready for prime time” (p. 48). You may be popular with a few early adopters, but to be “best in the world,” you need to go through the Dip, as hard as it may be.

Only after proving yourself, will others feel comfortable joining you or donating to your cause.

This is so important to us in the nonprofit world. As I told my new friends at the Lowcountry Chapter of the AFP, we’re all in this world because we’re passionate about our cause. We love helping kids, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, spreading social justice, helping women start businesses, providing excellent arts, preserving land…and doing what we all do.

The causes are so good, we feel we shouldn’t need to fundraise. People should just “get it.” If they don’t, they should be able to come to their senses based on a website or a brochure.

But that isn’t how it happens, is it?

Incredible as it may be to us, people aren’t throwing money at our cause. Or if our cause is huge, it may seem that everyone is giving to that other organization rather than us.

According to Godin, this is where we need to decide if we’re in a Dip or a Cul-de-sac. A cul-de-sac is a dead end; a Dip is simply part of the journey. You’re in a cul-de-sac if you can’t become the “best in the world” at what you do.

Take some time to think of what your “world” is. Can you be best in the world at it? If not, you’re in a dead end.

The only thing to do in a dead end is to quit. Well, the only sane thing. Unfortunately, most of us prefer to endure the persistent pain of mediocrity rather than pressing on to greatness. But people and organizations that make the greatest difference, and reap the greatest rewards, are those that are “superstars,” best in the world.

Quitting takes guts. But if you’re in a cul-de-sac quitting is very real, and can be an incredibly freeing, option.

If you’re not in a cul-de-sac, you’re in the Dip. Quitting in the dip would be incredibly dumb. You’ve come too far to give up now. If you find yourself in the Dip, the only sensible thing to do is to press on and push through.

When you come out on the other side, you’ll be one of the very few organizations that will have come through the Dip. And you’ll be reaping the rewards of being world-class, including getting to help the people you help in more ways than you ever thought possible.

Discussion Questions:

Can you be best of the world at what your doing?
What is so special about your nonprofit?
How can it be best in the world?
While you’re at it, what is your world?

About the author: Marc A. Pitman is the pastor of the Vineyard Church of Waterville and the Director of the Inland Foundation of Inland Hospital. He also is a certified FranklinCovey coach to nonprofit leaders and business owners around the world. An expert in helping people identify their natural abilities, he’s committed to providing down-to-earth information that will decrease stress and put the “fun” back into fundraising!

What is it the commercials say? You can find “it” on eBay. “It” can be just about anything – from collectables, the latest fashions, comic books and even cars and homes.

Many charities are now diving into the world of online auctions at eBay, using them as a tool in their fund-raising toolbox with great success.

Jill Finlayson, a fomer eBay Senior Category Manager has written a book titled Fundraising on eBay. Written with Greg Holden, a bestselling author and eBay PowerSeller, this book is chock-filled with practical tips that any charity can take advantage of no matter its online auction skills.

If you have never placed an item for sale at an online auction, this book will walk you through the process. If you are an experienced user of online auctions, this book will offer you tools to maximize the benefits of your online auction experience.

Probably the best feature of this book is the case study after case study that it features, showing non-profits just how other non-profits have used eBay to their advantage. Reading these case studies will no doubt inspire you to do a lot of “we could do it too” type of thinking. This is a book that will inspire you to take action and come up with inventive ways to raise funds for your organization.

Step by Step Fundraising was fortunate to have Ms. Finlayson take some time to speak with us about how fund-raisers can use eBay. We thank her for her time.

Why should non-profits sell on ebay?

The number one reason for nonprofits to sell on eBay is that it allows you to tap into a much larger group of people to get more bids, dollars, and supporters. The second reason is that eBay allows you to accomplish several goals instead of just one goal. It’s not just about raising the funds, it’s about increasing awareness, finding donors, converting in-kind gifts to cash and getting the market value for your goods. eBay allows you to leverage a global marketplace and get the most bang for your fundraising effort. That’s why people use eBay.

What are some of the top selling items on eBay?

There are three main categories:

• The first is collectibles, such as vintage items and classic brand items including many things you find in your closet that you think have no value but to someone else it does.
• The second is practical or new items, brand new with tags. Often these are the types of things that you would typically get donated from companies. Most valuable are hard to find popular items and brand name items. For example, a “generic” new teddy bear might not sell on eBay, but a teddy bear made by Steiff will do very well.
• The third category that does very well is experiences. Non-profits can raise money by selling one of a kind items and experiences from celebrities, or on a much smaller scale can auction off lunch with the mayor or turn a town event into an experience by auctioning off the opportunity to be the one to, for example, turn on the lights on the town’s holiday tree. There are experiences that have mass appeal and then there are experiences that have local appeal. Often your board members will have contacts for experiences such as premium tickets to a sporting or theater event or friends who are influential in politics, business, or entertainment.

What are some challenges of online auctions?

There are a couple of challenges. One is the start-up time – if you haven’t done online auctions before, there is a learning curve. People underestimate how many questions they may get from the bidding community. People will want more information and they will ask questions at a silent auction. It is important to take the time up-front to write as much information as you can about items. This will reduce the number of questions you get and save you time once the auction starts. eBay also allows you to post the questions that you receive and the answers on the auction description – which is great because if one person asked, probably others are wondering as well.

Another time consuming part is shipping. You will need to figure out the shipping costs ahead of time and then package and ship the items to the winners at the close of the auction. On the other hand, you don’t have to get a caterer, rent a facility, etc so compared to a real world auction it is often cheaper and less time consuming overall.

Do you think that online fund-raising will replace in person fund-raising?

I think, like many things, it’s one more tool in your fund-raising arsenal. You don’t have to do one or the other. You should use online auctions where it makes sense and adds value. Some things will sell better at a closed door auction. A board member may not want to sell a week at their vacation condo at an online auction. Art by kids at your school will likely sell better at a closed door auction. But if you have collectibles, celebrity items or very valuable items, an online auction on eBay will often bring in more bids and dollars.

eBay can compliment your other fund-raising efforts and allow you to mix it up a little to keep your community engaged. If you have an annual live event, you may prefer to use eBay for ongoing auctions of donated items or perhaps only as a one time event where you want to publicize a milestone accomplishment or event. It is a nice tool and the online auction option helps you to choose the right marketplace to get the most money for the items.

What are the benefits of an organization putting on a live auction instead of just a regular item for bid or sale at eBay?

People can browse the catalog ahead of time, they can look at the pictures and when they come they are ready to bid. It’s a great tool to bring in interested bidders. eBay’s Live Auctions are definitely or higher end auctions, typically where at least some of the items are expected to sell in the hundreds or thousands of dollars. Even at these auctions, it is best with an include items at different price points and lower price points so that there is something for everyone to bid on.

Is there anything about the book or eBay that you would like to make further comments?

In the front cover of the book, there is an auction decision tree that can help you decide how you would like to use ebay. This walks you through the type of auction, what items to sell, and how to staff for success. Depending on your resources, staff and volunteers you may be able to do it yourself, but it is good to know you don’t have to do it all yourself.

There are Auction Trading Assistants and auction management companies that can take some of the burden off you. They can do the mechanics of actually listing and shipping the items, so you only have to get the items and market the auction. They know the eBay marketplace, the keywords to use in describing, the category to list in, and so forth. They can be very helpful to you as a nonprofit. For very high profile auctions that may draw a lot of nation-wide attention and high bids, auction management companies can go a step further to actually help market the auction, ensure that nothing goes wrong, and collect payment at the conclusion of the auction.

And be sure to use eBay to market your cause and accomplishments to increase awareness and find new donors. Be sure to mention information about your non-profit in every item description and use your “About Me” page to tell people how to donate or sign up for your newsletter.

You can sell fixed price donations or t-shirts with the nonprofit logo. In one of the profiles in the book, one person said that they consider eBay auctions much “friend-raising” as “fund-raising” so every interaction you have with a bidder is a chance to get a new supporter.

Provide the best and most friendly customer support you can. eBay auctions will allow you to find new donors that you wouldn’t have met any other way. The case studies in the book, makes fundraising on eBay concrete and achievable. It is great to see what other nonprofits have come up with, as well as how and why they did it.

Get more info on the book: Fundraising on eBayby Jill Finlayson and Greg Holden

This is a book review that is way overdue. In fact I have personally recommended this book about a dozen times to fundraisers in my community and website visitors alike in the past few months. Let me explain…

In March of this year I received a review copy of The Fundraising Houseparty kindly sent to me by the author, Morrie Warshawski. While reading through the handbook I realized what a great fundraising strategy this is for many cause oriented groups.

So what is a Fundraising Houseparty?

First, a houseparty is not a “special event” like a dinner where tickets are sold, sponsorships are solicited and auctions are held to raise funds. The focus is entirely on the mission of the organization and how it fulfils its purpose.

People who are invited should have an interest in the cause and learning more about the organization. Attendees learn first hand what impact their support will have and are encouraged to make direct donations.

In his book Morrie lists the five basic essential elements of the houseparty:

1. People receive an invitation to come to a private home.
2. The invitation makes it clear that the evening will be a fundraising event.
3. Participants arrive and are served some refreshments.
4. Participants sit through a brief presentation.
5. A peer – someone articulate, respected and enthusiastic – stands up and asks everyone present to make a contribution.

This book makes the strategy and planning of the houseparty easy to understand and put into action. Included in the book are checklists, planning timelines, sample scripts and other helpful tools. You are shown step by step exactly how to plan a successful fundraising party.

What groups would benefit from a Fundraising Houseparty?

This book is based on Warshawski’s years of work with individuals and organizations in the field of visual and performing arts. However the actual instructions for planning the event are written in a way that other groups could apply them.

Community groups, senior care services, social service organizations and alumni associations could plan a house party fundraiser. While discussing the concept of the houseparty a friend told me that her church met its building campaign goal through a series of house parties. So this concept can be applied and adapted for a variety of organizations.

Fundraising Houseparty Results

The financial results from a houseparty will vary depending upon the organization, the attendees, the presentation and strength of the ask.

One of the great things about the houseparty though is the ability not to just raise funds, but raise friends. By beginning or building relationships with people who have an interest in your cause you will strengthen your organization. You may connect with new volunteers, future board members and other community members during or as a result of the party.

Fundraising Houseparty Case Study

When I read The Fundraising Houseparty I was convinced that it would be a good strategy for an organization for which I serve as the development coordinator. Christian Women’s Job Corps, a program that helps women go from welfare dependency to self sufficiency, is a national organization but our local group is less than 6 years old.

The houseparty was part of our general strategy to develop an individual donor base and reduce the dependancy on grants. For our first party our board members, volunteers and personal friends of our hostess, the board president, were invited.

Several people briefly spoke during the presentation, starting with our hostess welcoming everyone. Two women who had successfully completed the program gave heartfelt testimonies of how their lives had been greatly changed by the organization. One of our volunteer mentors spoke which emphasized the mentoring aspects of the program. Finally our board president-elect gave the “ask.”

Including mail-in donations the evening raised $2,054. In addition a foundation replied back to our party invitation with a grant application for an award up to $5,000. This is especially significant because that foundation does not accept solicitations; they only initiate grant awards.

Overall, the evening was a great success and the organization will be doing more home party fundraisers in the future.

Fundraising Houseparty Tips

As with any party you need to invite four times the number of people that you would like to attend. For our party last September 125 invitations were sent out and we had 54 people attend the party (including speakers and planning committee members).

As Morrie recommends in his book make sure that the invitation specifies that it is a benefit party. Including donation envelopes in the invitation for those who cannot attend also makes it pretty clear that the purpose of the event is to raise funds.

Organizers need to stay focused on the purpose of the party. The party should be held on it own and not as part of any other event. Activities which would distract attendees from the purpose of the benefit party should be avoided.

At our party at the end of the presentation people were given a brochure about the organization with a response envelope. They were encouraged to donate or pledge and could drop off the envelopes in a basket before they left. This worked very well.

Morrie Warshawski’s book The Fundraising Houseparty was indispensable in planning the CWJC party. Not only did it help me to plan the event, but also made it very easy to communicate the concept of the fundraiser to everyone who was participating – the other committee members, hosts and speakers – and help them feel comfortable with the role they would fill at the party. With this confidence we were able to host a successful party to raise funds and friends for our mission.