What Do Shark Week and Fundraising Have in Common?

This week marks the 25^th anniversary of the Discovery Channel’s ever-popular Shark Week! Here at Fundly, we too fall victim to shark mania, the annual celebration highlighting some of nature’s most captivating predators. From the first time I saw the movie Jaws to the many times I’ve watched the movie Deep Blue Sea on television, I love the suspense and action that these thrillers bring. I still have second thoughts about entering into the ocean!

What in the world does Shark Week have to do with online fundraising? Keep reading for some takeaways from these fascinating sea creatures…

1)      Prevent  your donors from feeling like prey – The shark fin in the water from Jaws and eerie music (da-nuh, da-nuh), sets the tone for sharks in popular culture. It gives the viewer a sense of feeling like they are being hunted (I’m coming for you!).  How do your donors view you? Continually asking for donations, rather than truly connecting with people who are supporting your cause, can often times cause them to lose interest. Listening to comments and ideas goes a long way towards building trust between your organization and donors. Timely thank you’s, sharing of milestones and progress, and discussion about topics beyond your cause can also do wonders as you create lasting relationships with your supporters. Don’t be a fin and the water hunting for donations, show your face and tell your story to allow people to approach your cause in a positive way!

2)      Don’t stay in one place, migrate! – Great white sharks travel thousands of miles to keep their bellies full, from the coastline to the deep waters of the ocean. As the weather changes and different species migrate, the shark explores different paths to avoid depleting one source of food and to find other means of surviving. Nonprofits can learn a valuable lesson from this: don’t spend the entire year feeding on the same limited resources. As a nonprofit leader, it is important to be mindful of your donors so they do not burn out and become extinct. Building a fundraising strategy that includes several types of donors and fundraising avenues will allow your nonprofit to sustain itself throughout the year. Look for new places to fish –  like social networks, community mixers, or public events.

3)      Getting “chummy” with your donors – We’ve all seen divers throw in buckets of fish parts into the water to attract sharks with the enticing scent of blood penetrating the water. To catch a larger shark with a fishing rod, the bigger pieces of bait need more hooks in them to hold heavier sharks.  The same is true when you are looking to attract higher end donors. What type of bait are you putting on the line? Consider advertising, press releases, public relations, tax write-offs, and volunteerism to build community as part of their benefits. You also may want to honor individuals at annual events, create a major donor plaque to display in your front office, or highlight levels of giving in your annual report or quarterly newsletter. Even the simplest of thank you on social media can go a long way to help keep them on the line.

Here a few more key lessons from Shark Week:

• Start a feeding frenzy.
• Keep moving.
• Sometimes it helps to hunt in packs.
• Trust your instincts to stay afloat.

White House and Teach For America Support Latino Teens To Make a Difference

Fundly is so very proud to join the White House in recognizing the efforts of Teach For America and the Hispanic Heritage Foundation’s (HHF) Latinos On Fast Track (LOFT) Institute to train 50 Latino teens to make an impact on their communities:

Each of these students submitted an Action Plan for their community. The goal is for each student to positively impact 300 individuals more for a total impact of 15,000. Through different technologies including mobile phones, the students will document their projects throughout the year and will receive ongoing support and guidance from established leaders on LOFTnetwork.org, an online community.

LOFT is supporting Latino teens by providing:

• LOFT Network; an online community made up of 75,000 vetted Latino students (age 18-28) to exchange ideas and get support to improveg local communities
• LOFT Institute; providing leadership training, industry-specific workshops and orientations with experts, connectivity to other members and established leaders, educational grants, networking and content
• LOFT Workforce; providing mentorships, fellowships, internships, and full-time positions with Fortune 500 companies and government agencies

Now the White House has taken note of the wonderful work of LOFT and these teens!

Throughout America, ordinary people are doing extra ordinary things in their communities to out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world. Every week the White House invites some of these Champions of Change to meet and share their ideas with the White House to win the future. Eleven of the 50 LOFT Fellows have been selected as Champions of Change and will be meeting with White House officials and featured on http://www.whitehouse.gov/champions.

See the press release from Teach For America and LOFT here.

Please join the White House and support these Latino teens by giving generously to LOFT at http://fundly.com/loftactionableleadership.

With your support, LOFT will continue to run these wonderful programs!

Congratulations to the LOFT Fellows and keep up the good work!

Socialbrite gives Fundly the nod for its “super easy” setup and Facebook fundraising

From content creation to strategy development, social media maven Janet Fouts knows more than a thing or two about online community; she’s been successfully building it for over 13 years. In a recent blog post for Socialbrite.org, Janet highlighted Fundly as a “top 5” social fundraising tool!

It’s more important than ever for organizations to offer their supporters optimized platforms for donations, Janet reminds us. Social media networks are leveraging critical fundraising support by allowing people to spread awareness for a cause to their friends. In addition to offering tons of insight into the emerging world of social fundraising, Janet’s blog post thoroughly describes and evaluates five top social fundraising platforms. She gives a special nod to Fundly for its “super easy” set-up and facebook application.

Thanks for the mention, Janet!

If you want to try out Fundly for yourself, setup your own free account here.

The 14 Best Nonprofit Blogs

I read a lot of nonprofit blogs. There are hundreds to choose from, but I read 48 on a regular basis. Of those 48, there are 14 that consistently stand out as being the best nonprofit blogs. They are updated regularly, have good content, and most importantly, they teach me something!

Future Fundraising Now

Odds are that you haven’t heard of Future Fundraising Now or of its author, Jeff Brooks. You’re missing out. Jeff’s posts are clever, insightful, and interesting. Of the best nonprofit blogs, his is easily my favorite. Do yourself a favor and subscribe to his blog now.

The Agitator  

Like its name suggests, The Agitator is a nonprofit online fundraising blog with “an edge”. Think of it as a sort of devil’s advocate. The blog questions basic assumptions and challenges you to think a little more analytically. It’s an enjoyable read.

osocio  

Get ready for a blog that’s not like the others on this list. osocio features social advertising and non-profit campaigns from around the globe. It really gets my creative juices flowing. I love to see the innovative things that other people are doing.

SocialBrite  

Another phenomenal resource for social fundraising information, SocialBrite has several bloggers writing for them. The result is an awesome mix of videos, interviews, blog posts, and statistics.

Beth’s Blog  

Beth Kanter is a nonprofit rockstar. Everyone reads her blog, and for good reason – it’s extremely well written. She draws on a deep well of industry experience, and often presents solid data to back up her advice. Don’t be turned away by the cowboy hat!

Katya’s Nonprofit Marketing Blog  

Like Beth’s Blog, Katya’s blog is one of the most popular nonprofit blogs today. She posts frequently and does a great job of covering the entire spectrum of nonprofit management and fundraising.

The Fundraising Authority  

The Fundraising Authority consistently churns out interesting and relevant information on social fundraising. They analyze data, dig deeper into numbers, and present their findings in an interesting way.

Pam Moore “The Marketing Nut”  

Although not related solely to online fundraising, The Marketing Nut has phenomenal tips about social media management and… well… marketing. It’s relevant to every nonprofit out there that is engaging in social fundraising.

NTEN  

NTEN is your source for data. They regularly release studies regarding the nonprofit use of technology. Don’t be afraid to dig into the numbers – they often include easy-to-read charts, graphs, and infographics.

A Small Change  

This is another blog I constantly find myself reading. They have good content, a clean layout, and they really get me thinking.

SocialFish  

These guys are the nonprofit social media experts. Chances are, not everything they talk about will apply to you. But every few posts, there’s something dynamite that could change your social fundraising strategy.

Mashable  

Mashable has long been known for the sheer volume of content they put out. They’ve got a lot of people writing for them and there’s constantly something new. Check them out.

Step By Step Fundraising  

The layout of their website is horrendous, the content is great. Tune in for a new nonprofit fundraising post almost every day of the week.

Fundly  

Last but not least, we put a lot of effort into our blog and think it’s pretty phenomenal. Fundly is your source for social fundraising   information!

If you’d like to subscribe to all 48 nonprofit blogs I follow, you can do it in one easy click – subscribe in Google Reader  

What are some of your favorite nonprofit fundraising blogs?

Holiday Fundraisers: Ideas You’ll Love

The greeting card industry has done us a great service: they have created a holiday for every month to make sure we have something grand to celebrate. Be it Valentine’s Day with its saccharin sappiness or Halloween and its sugar-high loaded spooky splendor, nonprofits are sure to find some way to capitalize on these fundraising opportunities. Here are a few ways to make the most of these special days.

1)      Matching Fund Day – I came across a great campaign called Giving Hearts Day in which one couple is willing to match funds up to $4,000 for every donation that comes in on Valentine’s Day. Choosing a holiday is great for donors to remember when to give and is perfect for charities that are in the health care industry, a heart disease foundation, etc.

2)      Banquet Time – I know I focus on banquets a lot, but this is a perfect way to gather a bunch of donors together and with a holiday, the theme is already built in. On a night like Valentine’s Day
many people are already going to drop a pretty penny on a special night out; why not create an evening of dinner and dancing to support your cause?

3)      Client Focused Events – Most people tend to get super sentimental about any holidays. It seems to bring up elementary school construction paper projects and a sense of nostalgia that brings forth a generous spirit. Tap into this opportunity by creating a special project that brings donor volunteers and maybe your charity’s clientele together. An informal party, craft project, concert, or play would make the day memorable and cause your supporters to become more emotionally invested in your mission.

4)      Perfect Time to Show Appreciation – E-cards are free and can show appreciation for your donors while wishing them a happy holiday. It is important to stay in contact with donors and this is a perfect time to say thank you. For Valentine’s Day you can say “We love our donors!” or on St. Patrick’s Day you can write “We’re lucky to have you.” Cheesy? Probably. Does it get the job done? You bet.

We all know that Thanksgiving and Christmas are the biggest giving seasons of the year, but every month seems to have a day of celebration. Why not use that as an online fundraising strategy? You can easily post your events, thank yous and campaigns on your website or in Facebook posts and reach a multitude of supporters. Get into the spirit of the season!

Fundraising To Make It Through A Tough Economy

In general, asking for money can be awkward, and asking for money in a bad economy is very difficult. However, for non-profits, there is no such thing as a recession or a good economy, they have to continue their work and to be able to do this, fundraising is a constant effort.

Usually, causes that are close to the heart rarely suffer too much during a tough economy because people always find ways to give and support a cause that has a personal affiliation to them. Typically, political fundraising campaigns bring big and small donors to contribute since people are always passionate about their political parties/affiliations. Fundraisers that emerge as a result of a natural disaster or tragedy such as the earthquake in Haiti will also bring a humanitarian response and get people to empty their wallets. Of course, one hopes that these disasters don’t happen at all or at least too often.

In a stable economy, there are several fundraising ideas that one can implement to raise money for their cause or campaign. Non profit fundraisers are mostly events, auctions and banquets – a great way to engage with donors but not the best and most sustainable way for non profits to fundraise. Event fundraisers usually come at a cost; even if the space or food are donated, there are overheads involved and this drives up the cost of the ticket for the donors; and eventually limits the number of people who can afford to buy a ticket or two for the fundraiser. As you can see, this is all too complicated and it really doesn’t have to be this way!

All non profits should look into online fundraising for their causes. It is the best way to fundraise without incurring additional costs. Setting up a fundraising page online is very easy, there are several websites that allow you to do this with little or no fees involved. There are some great fundraising tools available that will let you track the contributions made to your cause and also allows donors to keep track of how the funds are being used.

Especially today, with the whole world hooked on social networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter, online fundraising allows you to connect with people all over the world. You no longer have to depend on the same group of donors to come forward each time. Your cause may appeal to a group of people half way across the world! Through online fundraising, you also eliminate costs involved in printing and postage for direct mail and through an email you may even get people in India or New Zealand to donate to your online fundraiser!

Online fundraising allows everyone to donate as much as they want to and makes every penny count! So don’t let the bad economy discourage you and hold you back from doing good…turn to online fundraising and be on your way to changing the world!
For online fundraising tools for your non profit and to monitor donations and progress of your fundraiser, check out the several fundraising ideas available on the web and get your fundraiser off to a great start

The Most Common Fundraising Challenge Plaguing Non Profits

Non profits have a lot to worry about! For starters, many of them are on a shoestring budget with mammoth goals to achieve. With a long to-do list, one of the first and most difficult challenges all non profits face is getting people to volunteer and help out with fundraising. Today, convincing someone to do something without any reward, in kind or cash, is a huge issue. I guess that’s what they mean when they say “there are no free lunches anymore?”

When people think of volunteering or philanthropy in general, I suppose their first instinct is to hold on to their wallets. I suppose the common notion is that charitable giving is for those who have spare cash or for the incredibly rich and famous who can donate hundreds and millions of dollars at fundraisers. Obviously, such a mind-set is tough to overcome. Very little, do people stop and think that the world has billions people, while hundreds of millions of people that can afford to give maybe $10, $30 or $50 more frequently and that there are less people out there who can afford to contribute huge amounts of money to fundraisers.

Today, hopefully that challenge of getting people to work with your charity is a lot easier with fundraising online. Using the internet is definitely the most efficient way of getting your message across to a wide network of people, informing them of your cause and encouraging them to participate in your fundraiser. It can be tempting for non profits to work with just about any one who rolls through the door but it is important to make a distinction between those who are interested in the cause and passionate about making a difference in society versus those who just want something to put on their resume. This might seem like a ‘for profit’ approach, but really, if you think about it, for a non profit to be successful in their fundraising and overall goals, you need to hire people just like a for profit firm would. You want people with easily transferable skills, bring new fundraising ideas to the table and manage fundraisers with little or no supervision!

Usually, if a charity or a cause is able to tie up with a corporation, their volunteer problems are solved. Corporates like to encourage their employees to do some “time” and employees get to use it as work hours. Occasionally, you’re able to gather a group of people who are regular volunteers and from a for profit background who can then contribute some great fundraising ideas that can be very useful to the cause. To top it off, both the company and the employee get a tax break when a donation is made by the employee and matched the company!

There are great online fundraising tools available today that can be managed with ease and need very little prior experience or training. Today’s lifestyle has made it such that everyone shops online, so nobody is uncomfortable with using their credit cards on the web. Time is scarce and it’s an online world out there, so non profits should definitely keep this in mind and explore the gamut of online fundraising tools available to them!

Taking the time and effort to get savvy with fundraising online is definitely a good investment; it will solve your problem of looking for volunteers to approach people for donations, you can send out hundreds and thousands of outreach emails at a time and build your donor base, and you can host multiple fundraisers at the same time. So be sure to check out all options available online quickly so you don’t miss out on achieving your goals and doing good in the community due to lack of volunteers and participation!

Fundraising Online with Free Fundraising Tools for Causes

If you want to raise money for charity, fundraising can be done online using various free fundraising tools that are available in websites. Internet surfers can become possible donors. The first thing to do is to create a website and make your presence known online. With a website or a web page, this will get you money from donors with just a click of the mouse. A website will allow you to make a fundraising event, do an online auction, accept donations and sell event fundraiser tickets.

Once you have a website, you can do all the preparations and invitations of a fundraising event. You can hold a dinner-concert where the proceeds will go to your favorite charity. You can invite donors to the event through your website which contains all the necessary information of your activity. They can buy the tickets online using their credit cards and confirm their attendance there. This will save you and your donor time and money spent on communication.

With your website, you can do fundraising online by accepting donations. A donor can just give your organization money using his credit card. For this, you will need a tool to be used on your website that will allow you to collect money via e-transaction. Make sure your site has a donor’s page and make it informative, attractive and compelling enough to capture people’s interest and encourage them to donate.

Donating via credit cards is a way of showing that your organization is professional and legitimate and because of its convenience and accessibility, it will encourage supportive people who are far away to donate.
You can also sell event fundraising tickets via your website. People who are interested to attend the fundraising activity you have organized, such as a benefit concert, can with just one click and purchase many tickets at once. They no longer need to go to an office to buy the tickets thus saving them time and money. For your part, selling tickets online will allow you to make an easy inventory as online ticket sales can be immediately documented and easily tracked.

You can also conduct online auctions with your website. Ask your family, friends and members of your organizations to donate some things and sell them online. You can also enter into agreement with other websites that do online auctions and bid items with them. You share the profits, depending on your agreement. Donors will purchase something they do need and be able to contribute to the less fortunate or to the cause you are fighting for.

When you have a fundraising event advertised in your website, you can add a Sponsors Page where individuals and businesses can place their ads. They just need to upload their ad and pay for it via credit card. This will earn you money and give your donors exposure. You can also tie-up with a fundraising website that will allow you to create a web page with them. There, you can have free fundraising where you invite people to donate to you while the website owner manages the page for you.

With these fundraising ideas, your noble cause will surely succeed.

Fundraising Ideas for Online Fundraisers

People from all over the world spend most of the time on the Internet therefore fundraising activities can be successful using this medium. Donors can give to charity or donate to organizations online without leaving their house. There are many fundraising ideas that can be done through the Internet that people in need can benefit from. The proceeds immediately go to organizations in a short period of time as payments are done via electronic transactions. These organizations do not need to make time-consuming and stressful inventories just like in regular fundraising activities that are done personally.

Fundraising online is possible through Internet auctions. Members of the organization can bid some of their stuff in websites that do auctioneering. They collect a portion of the proceeds to be given to charity. Non-profit organizations can also register their group in a certain website that has a charity program of their own. These groups will be able to get all of the proceeds from the items that they auction provided they open a seller’s account in the said website.

Another way for fundraisers to raise money for charity is to tie-up with local businesses. A specific amount of some of the items sold online by these businesses can be given to the fundraisers. For example, a company that sells baby clothes can donate 10% of the sales they make online to an organization supporting an orphanage. A cosmetic company’s website that sells make-up for women can also donate a percentage of their monthly sales to a women’s crisis center. A publishing company can also donate children’s books to a public school.

There are also fundraising websites that allow organizations to create a page of their own with them. The website manages the page while the organization is the one who asks for donors and does the fundraising activities by advertising the page to family, friends and supporters. All the proceeds that the organization will receive will directly go to them. This is a way for the fundraisers to help such organizations in their missions and goals for a specified time.

There are also fundraising malls in the Internet that help organizations raise funds for charity. To do this, an organization has to have a website where they will put a link to the online shopping mall. When a person buys something from the seller’s website through the link provided by the organization, the latter gets a portion of the sale made. The customer gets to buy something he really needs and at the same time would be able to give to charity. There are also online shopping malls that encourage organizations to create a web page in their websites for easier and instant access.

Online fundraising is easier to do than the traditional fundraising activity, which requires time, preparation, location, transportation expenses, advertisement, and inventories. Fundraising online just requires a web page and that alone can reach millions of people around the globe. There are just so many fundraiser ideas that can be implemented via the net that would benefit those who are truly in need.

How to make a political fundraising event successful?

Political houses and public figures raise funds for their campaigns by offering to sponsor to political fundraisers. So if you have made up your mind to support a particular candidate or a political group you can go ahead with your plans and organize a political fundraising event. Apart from gathering useful funds, this can also give you a chance to spread awareness about the party or candidate that you are offering support to.

Political fundraisers need to proceed in their endeavor of political fundraising carefully as this is a unique area and need a special type of approach.  Political fundraising is different from the other kinds of fundraising and you can follow this guide, if you want to emerge successful in your efforts.

Decide on the event

This is the Step 1 of your political fundraising endeavor and you must have a clear idea of what kind of event you are going to hold – how big or small you want it to be? How many invitees do you want? Do you want a guest speaker or not? Etc.

Contact the party office for support

Get in touch with the political party or candidate whom you wish to offer support to and give them/him an idea of your plan. In all likelihood, you are going to receive active help. You can get access to information material, support staff, list of political fundraisers, promotional items, hoardings and banners from the party office, to name  a few. Have a short discussion with them regarding the rules/regulations that they would like you to follow and how you can forward the proceeds to them.

Prepare a brief of topics that you want to talk about prior to the event

Every political fundraising event must have a brief lecture, addressing important topics about the party that it is hosting. Therefore, make sure that you make ready a thoughtful and informative awareness lecture to be delivered prior to the event. Focus on a single important topic or at the most two, but ensure that it is interesting to a majority of the guests.

Political fundraising ideas

Incorporate fun political fundraising ideas into the event like 80s Prom, Bingo evening, Wine tasting party etc. Semi-formal events work the best and have a record of being the most popular crowd pullers.

Make a guest list

With due regard to the interest of your acquaintances, friends and family, prepare a guest list comprising of people who can appreciate your political message.

Prepare invitations

Unlike other fundraising invitations which need not be exactly specific, political fundraisers must always ensure that the invitations sent out include all relevant information and details. Topics of discussion, fundraising events incorporated and the aim must be clearly mentioned. Highlight the fact that invitees are required to contribute money.

Winning political campaigns need both good propaganda and funds. A political fundraising event prepared and executed with time and patience by dedicated political fundraisers, can be the best endeavor to accomplish everything in one stroke.

Fundraising Ideas That Help Causes Raise Money More Effectively

There are many ways to go about trying to brainstorm for quality and creative fundraising ideas. These ideas could be used for any number of applications however it would be a good idea to look at the root of the problem of why people want to go ahead with fundraising rather than trying to take it completely out of pocket. The idea about fundraising is that people do not want to pay everything for an event or fundraiser, completely out of their own pockets.

So, they go out and look for an idea that could involve numerous people who would donate their time to try and to raise more money over their time invested into fundraising. This could also be used to have children help you who may be too young to hold a job that could put money toward the cause at hand. This helps in many different ways when you’re trying to come up with fundraising ideas. Most of us have had to come up with fundraising ideas ourselves for either one group or another. We have all had to go out and sell something that we were not necessarily happy with selling, just to raise money. In a way you can almost think of this as a rite of passage of being in school and for raising money for any one of your causes.

However, fundraising ideas have sprouted into many other different areas. The traditional means fundraising have proven to be not as successful as fundraising online, as this is what has advanced new fundraising ideas in lieu of new technologies, mainly web based. New and creative fundraising ideas have slowly turned to the Internet as the Internet began to gain in popularity. This popularity was mostly due to the fact that the Internet started to be center stage in the lives of people who either use it as a social nerve or as a contact medium for any number of people.

Using web channels such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, causes using these channels have become a standard for both getting your message about your fundraisers to the masses. Another reason the Internet is so great for getting your message out about your fundraisers, is because it increases your exposure and engagement with potential new donors. With normal and traditional fundraising ideas, they were kept as close to home as humanly possible so that you would not have to go very far while you were involved in any fundraising efforts.

However, with the advent of the Internet it has made it much easier to describe your fundraiser as well as send the message about your fundraising ideas all across the world. This will also help you reach people who may have interests that are extremely similar to your fundraisers but are not geographically nearby you. In closing, there are many different fundraising ideas out there. However, the only thing that is limiting you in the amount of exposure your fundraiser has to both the outside world but also to the community around you. It would be a very good idea to explore all your options with fundraising while you have the opportunity to do so.

Fundraising Ideas That Help You With Online Fundraising

Fundraising is an activity that has been around for a long time.  It is one of the popular ways of gathering or collecting money to fund operations.  There are different types of fundraising ideas.  There are the traditional methods like auctions, dinner events, and bake sales.  Newer methods are being created to ensure the success of fundraising through creative ideas and events.  The main rule in fundraising is to stand out.  If your event is unique enough to attract attention, it would be easier to invite donors and supporters.

One method of fundraising that is becoming the ‘go-to’ way today is online fundraising.  Because of the influence of the internet to everyone’s lives nowadays, posting your fundraising ideas online is one of the best methods you could think of.  By going online, you could reach out to everyone, not only to people within your region, but to foreign countries as well.  It is like hitting a million birds with only one stone.  Plus it is not difficult to do.  All you have to do is post your fundraising link or page and the internet will take care of the rest.

Fundly is an online fundraising platform that allows you to promote awareness about your fundraising efforts.  Anyone with an intention of raising money for a cause can set up a free account with Fundly.  Once you have successfully set up your account, you can now create not only one but multiple fundraising pages.  So if you have different causes or operations that you need to raise money for, Fundlyis an ideal online tool for you.

Fundraising ideas should be unique and attractive to be able to catch the attention of people.  This is why Fundly made sure that you would have the required tools to be able to personalize and customize your fundraising page.  You can set the design, colors, themes, and layouts according to your own preferences or to the operation you are raising money for.  For example, if you are raising money for a local baseball team, you can design your fundraising page with baseball bats and mitts.  You can also incorporate the team colors into the page you are creating. You can also post photos of the team so that people would see that there is indeed a baseball team that needs financial assistance.  People are willing to help as long as they are provided enough evidence that there is a need and that they can make a difference.

After making your fundraising page as attractive as you possibly can, you can now post it online.  Where?  Post it on websites where most people go, of course. Social networks are the latest trend in social interaction through the internet. Facebook, for example, has a million users worldwide.  You can post your link here so that people within your Facebook network would be able to see what your fundraising is all about.  This is very convenient for them because they do not have to leave their homes to be able to get a chance to help out.

It is also convenient for you because you do not have to deal with time pressure, unnecessary expenses, and exhaustion just to raise the money your organization needs.  Unlike other fundraising ideas, Fundly multiplies the number of your donors and supporters with only a minimal effort requirement.

Creative Fundraising ideas that Increase Donations

Creative fundraising ideas can virtually uplift your drab donation campaign and turn it into a successful achievement. The only thing you need is to use fundraiser ideas that can attract large number of people and maximize the amount of money raised.

Finding the best fundraising ideas
There will be two options for raising money for a cause closer to your heart. You can use the traditional methods of merchandising, event organization and promotional campaigns. You will also have the option of using the Internet to reach out to people and win their support for your cause.

Fundraising ideas – Merchandising
It is one of the oldest ways of collecting donations for a particular cause. Under this method, you can create merchandise that you can sell to collect money. It is not necessary to have a major production line at the ready as you can also collect funds with as simple a job as selling candies and pencils. It greatly depends on the amount of money you want to raise.

Fundraising events

Fundraiser ideas essentially include event organization as core part of their money raising ideology. You can follow this age-old method for collecting money but there are certain pitfalls that need to be avoided. The first thing to keep into account is the money spent on organizing a gala dinner, charity ball or sports matches. There is a possibility that you spend more on making the arrangements than what you will earn from these events.

Public interaction
The easiest way of fundraising is to reach out to people on the streets and ask them for money. This, however, is not the most useful methods unless you have deployed a large army of volunteers. A single person can only reach out to a few people who are eager to spare change for a cause. You will need dozens of volunteers who do the canvassing to earn sizable amount of money. Expenses incurred in food, transportation and printing of pamphlets will drain this resource unless you have been able to collect large amounts of money.

Online Fundraising Campaigns
One of the best fundraising ideas is to skip the traditional methods of raising money and instead turn to the Internet. This will remove the biggest hurdle associated with traditional methods where expenses far outstrip your earnings. There will be no such limitations on the internet as you can implant your fundraiser ideas for free on websites like: Facebook, Twitter, and Linked-in. These websites are visited by hundreds of millions of people a day thus giving you the freedom to reach out to as many.

Online fundraising and Donation platforms
Facebook is the most popular platform on the Internet with more than 600 million global users. It is free to implement your fundraiser ideas on this portal as you can create a page and start canvassing others to support your cause. You can follow the same strategy on Twitter. The only thing that you need to take care of is the presence of a platform where people can donate easily and with a greater sense of security.
Online fundraising platforms thus emerge as the best option as they are fully compatible with social networking websites and offer a one-window tracking system for the administrators. They will enable you to implement your fundraising ideas and earn significant returns.