general fundraising info

There are so many areas of fundraising, that we would have had a list of categories going down your leg, if we'd listed them all. Therefore, in this section you will find information and resources that you didn't find under the specific sub-titles listed.

feature articles:

Free Fundraising Tips

This free all day virtual fundraising conference will be worth your while.  From 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on May 20th, you’ll get the top ten tips for fundraising in 2010, real life branding stories, the power of passion to encourage people to attend a special event, story telling and more. Register here.

With minimal effort, you can choose products to sell then upload your organization's logo or other graphics. You don't have to order, pay for, and store inventory. There are currently at least 70 products to choose from, with each having a base price. You then add the amount that you want to earn, and the total appears as the actual price when customers browse your online "shop."  Learn more here.

We’ve told you about this before, but it’s worth repeating – if you can get your staff and board and volunteers to use this site instead of Google to do their research, you can make some significant money.

Learn how to meet and exceed your fundraising goals for a successful fall and holiday season by downloading this free guide -25 Ways to Fall & Holiday Fundraising.  Chapters include: crafting your fundraising campaign, working your website, enhancing your email marketing and making your message sing.

Here's a simple fundraising idea to encourage your board and email or mailing list of "friends and supporters" to consider asking their friends and family to make a donation to your organization instead of getting presents for birthdays or holidays. If you have a "how you can help" list, add this idea to the list. [There's no attached link here it's just an idea for you to use].

This website offers many free articles, exhibits and documents that all have to do with fundraising.  You’ll find 100 hand-outs, a library of articles on development and tips and techniques that will work for you.  If you are just starting out or you’ve been in it a long time and need something fresh and new, you may get some ideas here

Provide your supporters and staff with the website that will allow them to save money by clipping valuable, free coupons and discovering free community services available to them in their local community. Every time they clip coupons, funds are donated to support your agency.  You get 60% of the profits or 20% of revenue, whichever is greater, at no cost to you. 

Basically, you are getting free marketing and search engine optimization for your nonprofit. And because everything links back to you, you never have to duplicate or update information. This is worth checking out!

This group helps community and faith-based charities, churches, and schools strengthen their leaders and boards, define a clear and innovative strategic course, and raise the funds needed to act. Since it's their five year anniversary, they are giving away $1,000. Just answer the questions listed here. Just remember that you don't get something for nothing. They may be doing this give away to obtain your email address to seek further business...but it may be worth it.

To help non-profits raise money for their cause, these folks provide an effective online auction experience for organizations and bidders alike. They contend that by holding a silent auction online, you can reach more people. Better yet, you control who you invite to participate in the auction. These auctions are not open to the public, just your trusted network. It's as simple as providing an auction id and password to your invitees. Although they will be offering a premium version at some point, this site is FREE. If you'd like to compare this to another auction site, here is another good one, but it charges a very slight fee.

The Just Enough Planning Guide, A Road Map to Help Non-Profits Achieve Their Campaign Goals is an interactive guide developed to help those looking to create winning policy campaigns, issue campaigns, corporate campaigns or public education campaigns. At the end of the process, you will have a fully completed plan that links your organization's objectives to the many strategic decisions necessary for a successful campaign. Click on "Learn More" and then download at the bottom of that page.

Register your nonprofit to be included in the list of nonprofits that a seller may choose (if they wish) to submit some portion of their sales made with eBay (click here for eBay's charity arm) amazon.com and other online retailer hubs. For amazon.com's program, click here and go to "Amazon Payments" for this program. Also note, amazon offers nonprofits the ability to create wishlists and the only key is that your agency then inform your donors and volunteers, etc. that your organization has a wish list on amazon.com, what it will be used for, and the link where they can go to purchase items for your group. If a seller on eBay chooses to provide 30% of their sales to your nonprofit, after the sale is complete (which your organization is not involved in) your nonprofit then receives the 30% of the designated sales as a donation check. Pretty cool.


 

A must read about professional fundraisers

Non-profits’ reputations are at stake (again) as you will see in a well researched article that showed up in the L.A. Times on how, on average, fundraisers keep 54 cents of every dollar they raise!  That makes donors think that only a small percentage of the money they give is actually going to the non-profit, which makes them question whether or not next donation will go to another agency.  Before making a commitment to bring in a fundraiser, you have to be very clear on “who gets what.”  Lots of the things they say they’ll do for you are things you don’t have to pay for; your own volunteers or staff could do.  Plus, “fundraisers” are usually “planners” who tell you what you must do.  So it’s really you who is still asking for the money, selling the tables, getting the sponsors. PLEASE read this article at least to let your donors know that the examples given in this article are not what happens with the money they donate to your agency. It’s a long article; be sure to continue reading the pages listed so that you can see some of the charts and data they present.  It’s shocking!

Visibility = $$$

When it comes right down to it, we need money to function.  Hand in hand with raising funds is visibility: the more people know about us, the more likely we will get them as donors.  Here’s a great deal that’s free.  It’s a site that people go to who are looking for places where they want to make a contribution – in dollars, as a volunteer, attend an event, whatever.  All you have to do is set up a profile for your nonprofit and there’s your visibility!

Embedded Giving

The New York Times raises several issues that concern non-profits.  If people feel that they’re making donations during the year as they shop, will they be compelled to write the big check at the end of the year?  Is the money, allegedly pegged for certain no-nonprofits really getting to them and if it is, what are they using it for?  Check out the article: at NY Times website.


A few websites are offering to help nonprofit organizations obtain donations over the Internet -- just by signing up. It sounds great, but when’s the last time you had a “free lunch?”  You didn’t know these opportunities were out there?  Check them out, below, but before you sign-up and get yourself into something you’re sorry you ever got into, read this Net Action article for suggestions on how to investigate each enterprise.
4 Charity
This is an online mall where stores with affiliate programs offer a percentage of their sales to the charity selected by the buyer. There are 30 non-profits in the database. 
Greater Good
This is an online mall where stores offer a percentage of the price of their goods donated to the charity of the buyer's choice. There are 640,000 non-profits in the database. How much of a “share” would that give you as non-profit #640,001??
Igive
The site operators claim nonprofits can raise "$5, $10, or more each month." The site lists about 5400 non-profits in its database.
Charitable Way
This is a little different twist. They create a profile of the non-profits they represent, and solicit donors electronically for their affiliated nonprofits. Hmmm. What’s in it for you?
more articles:

  • Looking for a way to grow your online donations? Need help planning and executing an online fundraising campaign? The folks at Network for Good and Firefly Partners put together this fundraising guide. It features a 7-step process that will quickly lead you through the planning of a successful fundraising campaign. It's a great tool. Take advantage of it. And here's a 6 minute guide to wining fundraising campaigns.

  • Take advantage of using Mother's Day and/or Father's Day as fundraising opportunities. You can really make life easy by doing it online. You'll find ideas here and here.

  • In this economic climate, it is tempting for nonprofit leaders to seek money wherever they can find it. We read one source who said "I don't care where the money comes from; if it is used to help people, it can't be 'dirty.'" These experts contend that veering off course from your plan would be a mistake. During tough times it is more important than ever for nonprofit leaders to examine their funding strategy closely and to be disciplined about the way that they raise money. This article provides a framework for nonprofit leaders to do just that with ten funding models to choose from.

  • Finally, a hotline for non-profits. If it's not an emergency, of course, nonprofitbuzz would love to answer your questions. Just go to www.nonprofitbuzz.org/buzzus.htm. In fact, your question may have already been asked and answered by someone so you can check it out. But if you absolutely need your help within 24 hours, click here, fill out the form with your question and soon you'll have your response.

  • Seriously, we’re not kidding, this is everything you need to know about fundraising from an experienced fundraiser.  Click here and find handouts and exhibits to use at your fundraising meetings.  Click here to find all you need to know about campaigns, donors, and more.

    There’s more and more information daily on tips to help you fundraise during this recession. You’ll find eight things that you should be doing in this brief non-profit hard times survival guide. In this article on how communication is the key to fundraising, cultivation and stewardship are emphasized with tips on what you should be doing.  How to go about grant seeking (with some useful links) is the basis of this article. And here's an article that gives you seven reasons to be optimistic in 2009.

    There was a VIP in our community who would buy a table for our fundraiser, invite her guests to lunch, and then not pay for the table!  After several months of sending invoices, which she chose to ignore, we finally set up a meeting with her and organized a timetable for her to make monthly payments to fulfill her obligation.  Don’t even get me started about how despicable it was for her to treat her guests to lunch on the money that we needed to buy kids milk.  It took three years, too much of our time, and a several bottles of Excedrin for us to finally get her paid in full.  But what if someone pledged money for your capital campaign, or an appeal and just decided not to pay after a letter of confirmation had been sent and you included the pledge in both your publicized total and your audit?  Perlman & Perlman answer many of your questions in this document.

    FREE survival guide to learn how to market and fundraise more effectively during a downturn. The guide, put out by Katya Anderson and her colleagues at Network for Good, features 12 real-life strategies nonprofits are using right now to succeed during the downturn, great tactical advice, creative samples and other resources.

    Here’s a tongue-in-cheek article thinking what it would be like if fundraisers functioned like the Big 3.  Are you stuck in the old way of doing things and avoiding new tricks of the trade?  It gives you something to think about.

    More articles on fundraising in hard times. Can you afford NOT to read them?
    1.  Seven tips to weather fundraising in a recession.
    2. Raising money when there doesn’t appear to be any.
    3. Local nonprofits in Massachusetts offer insight.
    4. You can do it – a motivational article worth the read.
    5. An article from Canada on why charities need contingency plans.
    6. What we Wish Foundations Would Do.

    A number of kind hearted women and men (but mostly women) have put their money together to donate to organizations in which they believe. They call themselves Giving Circles.  Perhaps you’ve got a Giving Circle in your area that would be interested in knowing about your agency.  You can look up your state  here and find out more about them here.

  • General information on fundraising from grants to board involvement
    Read here.
  • Transformational Fundraising

  • CHANGE is the name of the game in politics and in the direct mail world of non-profits.  In summary, a senior fund-raising analyst at Target said,“I do not think direct mail is dying, but it is changing,” she said. “The catalog industry has learned this: They still send the catalog, but customers no longer order through the mail. They get the information in the mail, but they buy over the phone or online. Direct mail has to change so it can accommodate that trend.”  Read the entire article:  Direct-mail-appeals-suffer.

quick links:
quick links:

A whole new twist on bequest mailings.

Write a fabulous case.

The impact of handwritten letters.

Cost saving ideas for 2010.

Using tins for small change still works as a fundraising tool

MLK said, "I have a dream," not "I have a strategic plan." Read the rules of enagement.

Consider finding profits through earned revenue.

Fundraising advice

Steps that will help you keep up the end of the year momentum

You can't raise money until you know how much you need to raise and for what purpose. See this quick way to "get it."

The plan is more important than the money. See this easy explanation.

Take the time to do things for a more effective phonathon.

Here's a fundraising plan for 2010

Hurting for dollars, here's some examples of what non-profits are doing to raise their money.

Ten steps to creating your fund development plan.

Is your agency in Los Angeles? Loans are available for struggling non-profits.

Ride out the economic storm with this guide.

This is pretty much everything you must know about chairtable gift annuities.

An endowment or capital campaign should not go on forever.

Planned Giving volunteers need to be the best of the best.

Use fundraising basics for planned giving.

Work closely with your IT folks for the fundraising.

More than half of all non-profits reported a drop in contributions this year, from March to May. See report.

Take a look at cross-training as fundraisers look at their roles in order to save their non-profits money.

Don't forget bequest pledging, which is different than planned giving. Check it out.

Here are some key steps to changing your thought process from "we're a charity" to "we're a social enterprise," from a recent webinar on this topic.

These tools that every fundraiser should have in their online fundraising toolbox are critical to a well rounded fundraising program.

Face the music and dance or face the facts and plan your emergency fundraising program. Here's advice on how to do it.

Experts say that now is the time for non-profits to retool their technology, which is so critical for fundraising.

The fundraising landscape is always changing. Here's what's hot and what's not.

Here are 50 ways to net more dollars.

If the information you research about a potential foundation says that it accepts phone calls, by all means call them! This blog gives good support for what to do, when and why.

Fundraising in America is given a "C" by a known scholar. He suggests what needs to be done about it in this article.

See updates on fundraising in regards to your audience.

What percentage of my donation goes to the cause? Dan Pallotta explains why that's the worst question a donor can ask!

Top fundraising strategies for thriving in times of economic stress.

Here's a comprehensive study of what worked and didn't work in a campaign to raise funds using Twitter.

Tom Ahern contends that direct mail is the tool of choice to attract new friends and that for non-profits, now is the time to reach out. Look at the stats and get some advice here.

It's not just you. The negative effects of the economy on nonprofits has accelerated during the past six months. Here's some advice.

We've all thought about this in one form or another- what does Bill Gates have that we don't have? This brief article answers that question.

Knowing on what level you are talking to whom, will make the difference when you are asking for money. Here's a good analogy with some good advice.

President Obama signed the community service act into law, which contained a $50 million innovation fund to provide aid to the most promising nonprofits in the country. This article encourages the private sector to participate in assisting non-profits. Listen to this podcast discussing how social innovations in the White House may impact your agency.

If you would like to get the benefit of much of the Fundraising issues that were discussed at Fund Raising Day in New York 2009, there are several videos you can choose from if you click here.

Vinay Bhagat, founder of Convio, discussed the myriad ways fundraising is transforming and keys to fundraising success amidst the transformations, at Fund Raising Day in New York 2009.

I've never been to England but I really love the Beatles. If you're a Beatles fan, or if you just want some good advice about fundraising, check this out.

Fight to the death to save donor acquisition funds when they're cutting the budget.Find out why.

This is a pretty comprehensive article about improving cash flow management in challenging times.

A recent webinar discussed what the philanthropic trend has been in during this recession and what fundraisers can do about it. Here is a summary from which you can borrow statistics to let your board and supporters see and compare to your agency.

It's important to look at the donor's psychology of giving.

Matching grants

Your agency can do some simple things to raise more funds and have more success grant writing

Three laws of fundraising dynamics.

Create excitement, not hype.

Six traits of a good volunteer fundraising campaign chair.

Here's an example of how one organization went from going downhill to getting better. You could do it, too.

Tips for widening your funding net

Chart to help you measure your donor outreach and success.

Direct mail is not dead! See here how it lives on.

Five keys to deciding upon your fundraising format for the best impact.

Build support the old fashioned way. Everybody should be building relationships.

35 Essentials of Fundraising. This is the free, 1983 version but not much has changed since then. A new, for cost version is in print. (Note: It is many pages and takes patience to download)

There are only three instances where you should not ask for funds.

Can you maximize revenue through frequency when it comes to direct mail?

Twenty five random things about fundraising.

Development and communication go hand in hand (or ear to ear). This worthwhile article gives you some reminders and good advice.

Trying to get sponsors for an event? This article tells you how to go about it and how to work with the potential sponsors.

Here's some tips to do and tips to avoid in your reply piece.

Insiders guide to fundraising offers good advice.

Fundraising through product sales. Read this before you decide this avenue is for your agency.

Good tips on things to avoid with direct mail

Tips for a good fundraising letter.

Questions to ask yourself before you start asking anyone for a donation.

Self-coaching questions for fundraisers

Fundraising Hint #36: Keep it simple

Do it yourself fundraising

Nine things you should avoid in fundraising.

One in five visitors to an np website wants to make a donation, but many websites are not user friendly. See statistics.

Four things to be sure to do when writing a fundraising letter.

What is a leadership donation and how to get them.

By-laws guide for Booster Clubs

Is the cost of having a fundraiser (if you're selling a product) worth it?

Take the test to find out if you are ready to hire a development director.

Tips for increasing women's giving.

Make an easy $1000 in just six weeks. This is really quick and easy, but don't waste your time if you need way more than $1000.

Increase your impact; collaborate.

According to a study, fundraisers who stay in one place are more successful at raising money than those who move from job to job. Other advantages, too.

Show your appreciation for planned gifts. Here's how to do it.

Top ten truths about direct mail fundraising.

You may benefit from the lessons learned from this veteran fundraiser.

How far are you willing to go to get people to donate? Would you shave your head? Read this blog to see that public humiliation often works. Just be careful what you promise. When chairing the United Way drive for the small city I was living in, I promised that if we reached our goal I would do a cheer at city hall. Although I was thrilled when we surpassed our goal, I wasn't so thrilled at finding a cheerleader's uniform and pom poms and actually doing the cheer in front of a crowd of people and the local media.

Find resources for fundraisers here.

Charities that use premiums (gifts as incentives) to fundraise will get a major postal increase.Read more

Technology is making it possible for giving anywhere, anytime. Check it out

A doctor, a lawyer and a fundraiser arrive at the pearly gates of heaven. St. Peter tells the doctor that he will grant him one wish before he enters heaven so the doctor asks for a million dollars. St. Peter grants the wish and the doctor enters into heaven. This generosity did not go unnoticed by the lawyer so when St Peter asks him for his wish the lawyer asks for a billion dollars. St. Peter grants the wish and the lawyer enters into heaven. When St. Peter asked the fundraiser what she would like, she says, "If it is not too much trouble could I please get the business cards of the two people who entered heaven just ahead of me?"

Here's some professionals who believe that your board is NOT responsible for fundraising.

If you don't have a website, but want people to contribute to your agency online, here's a possibility

This is a podcast of how to work with a fundraising consultant

Great information here on how to build a planned giving program

Door to door canvassers? Are you up for that? Apparently, door to door canvassing is working really well for one organization, but the point of this article is that personal contact is more successful than anything when it comes to fundraising.

Here's a simple fundraising idea – encourage your board and email or mailing list of "friends and supporters" to consider asking their friends and family to make a donation to your organization instead of getting presents. If you have a "how you can help" list, add this idea to the list. There's no attached link here – it's just an idea for you to use.

Just a reminder that your attitude is everything.

"Go where the money is" and "for those who can" - advice from two successful sources.

A checklist to help you establish diversified revenue.

Here are some things that are working in fundraising right now: online fundraising, online auctions, grants and mobile fundraising. 

The 10 laws of fundraising if you are looking for sustainability. It's an old article but still true as can be.

Six steps to a fundraising plan for a newbie.

Tips on developing each phase of a corporate giving partnership

Direct mail - this article deals with mistakes that should be avoided. Especially good for beginners.

Ask everyone for planned gifts

Listen, learn adapt; it will help your social media status

Prepare to listen before you get into social media & if you're already in it - are you listening to what people are saying about your agency?

We never like to let a FREE fundraising opportunity go by.  This one is unique, but will only be worth it if you have a huge constituency who will participate.  Check it out.

Since the job is so difficult, we thought it was a kick to read an article in US News & World Report, naming Fundraiser as the best career for 2009!

Networking vs. cold calling

This is really good fundraising advice that goes along with the theme - "don't waste a good crisis."

Donors must have affiliation with your organization, not just with you.

For beginning fundraisers, here's good advice.

Hints for hiring the right fundraiser in these economic times

Trying to get a business to support your charity. One incentive is that it will bring the employees together. See others.

To be a good fundraiser, you've got to have a good relationship with your staff.

Trying to get a business to support your charity. One incentive is that it will bring the employees together. See others.

Indeed, charities have been feeling the pinch this holiday season.  You can read this article to know you’re in good company, but the last sentence is what got me – yet one more organization utilizing Obama’s successful internet fundraising efforts. Here’s just one article that tells you how the candidates raised funds over the internet.

Fundraising myths and truths

Ten ways to take fundraising to the next level

Avoid these fundraising mistakes part 1.

Avoid these fundraising mistakes part 11

You need to be focused on all of these areas of fundraising and be aware that giving is not only for the older crowd.

10 steps for Catholic Fundraisers

What is your SROI (Social Return on Investment)?

Cause related marketing - or how to make some money for your org

Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services' booklet that helps nonprofits deal with in-kind donations.

Use this issue to identify benefits corporations will get from donating to your agency. Pg. 12 has how to plan a successful company sponsored volunteer project.

Great idea for a fresh fundraising start.

Stick to the basics in fundraising; they always work.

Storytelling makes all the difference!

Be clear and honest when specifying what the donor's money will "buy."

Excellent guide to understanding and drafting gift acceptance policies.

Benefits of donors giving life insurance.

More tips for fundraising in a recession.

Fundraising 101. Where to start.

How board members can help raise money. Great article w/ 55 ways board members can raise $$.

Nine myths of fundraising and who should do it.

Ideas on how to get more corporate gifts.

This index of national fundraising performance for 2008 is designed to give np's maximize their fundraising potential.

Ways to raise big money.

Just click your heels three times and say:” There is nothing like operating support.  There is nothing like operating support.  There is nothing like operating support." At least foundations are talking about the need to be more open to providing operating support to the non-profits they fund.  Check it out.

Evaluation - how to share with your funders.

Success of telefundraising.

Ensure your telefundraising efforts work!

Get people to give with the incentive that their employer will match their donation. Get employers to participate in this effort.

Diversify. Don't depend on one source of income.

Board vs. staff roles in Fundraising.

Give/Get Form

Use caution. Every potential fundraiser isn't going to work. Don't prostitute your name.

Corporate partners: measuring the ROI (return on investment).

What you must assess about your organization before you can raise money.