Fundraising News Roundup: Fundly Hits A Milestone, Political Campaigns See Boost

Following the Supreme Court’s landmark June 28 decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the political fundraising field has been awash with donations to figures on both sides of the aisle. But the political arena is not the only beneficiary of donors’ generosity: Fundly has succeeded in passing a major monetary milestone. Learn more about these developments and others in this week’s news roundup:

Fundly.com – Social fundraising giant Fundly.com recently announced more than $250 million has been raised for the many causes and events that use its online platform. Among the national and international organizations to use the fundraising site to good effect have been Habitat for Humanity, whose volunteers have created more than 650 Fundly campaigns, raising roughly $1.5 million, and Teach for America, which has raised more than $400,000 for projects in at least 20 regions across the country, reported the Paramus Post.

“Fundly’s mission is to help more people give more, and we are delighted with our success to-date in advancing that mission,” Fundly CEO Dave Boyce said at the Personal Democracy Forum thought leader conference early this month in New York City.

Restoring Love – With just three weeks to go until its “Restoring Love” event, Mercury One has nearly reached its social fundraising goal of $125,000 on Fundly.com. The rally, which will take place July 26-28 at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas will include a day of religious and charitable outreach to local neighborhoods and organizations, followed by a day-long celebration featuring guest speakers and musical acts.

StudentMentor.org – StudentMentor.org has set a goal of $25,000 in its 2012 Fundly campaign, and as the year passes the six-month mark, they appear to be halfway to completion. The group is dedicated to providing academic support to students at the college level, 51 percent of whom fail to graduate within six years, according to stats from the organization. The goal for the year is to provide 500 students with one-on-one support from a mentor to help them graduate on time.

The American Revolution – Independent documentary film “The American Revolution” chronicles Boston radio station WBCN, which had an underground progressive rock format from 1968 through 1974. The filmmakers are approaching the halfway point toward their $250,000 goal, which will be used for post-production editing and promotional outreach. Donors can receive a ticket to the December 3 donor celebration event.

Blackbaud Social Score – Fundraising analytics firm Blackbaud recently announced the release of its new Social Score software platform, which is designed to help non-profits evaluate the influence of their donors on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. According to the company, organizations can use the data to increase awareness among potential donors and potentially increase their donor rolls and event attendance.

Political campaigns – The Supreme Court decision regarding PPACA has led to a surge in donations to congressional campaigns, according to the Huffington Post. Democrats in particular have reaped the reward of the high court’s healthcare endorsement, with House democrats alone raising a combined $2.3 million since the announcement. Interestingly, the donations are being made largely to congressional campaigns, which are seeing grassroots support surge in the runup to the November election. Donations of roughly $35 appear to be the average, the Huffington Post reported.

According to a Washington Post analysis, donations to congressional and senate campaigns during the 2012 election cycle have soared over recent years, topping $884.6 million as of March 31. This is compared with $685 million raised during the same period four years ago

Jeb Bush to Support Jon Huntsman

Long ago William Shakespeare penned the line “What’s in a name?” Well, in the political arena your name is worth its weight in gold… especially if that name happens to be “Bush.” Fortunately for Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman, Jeb Bush Jr. is lending his name and extensive resources to Huntsman’s political campaign for President.

Reporter Patricia Mazzei shares this story in the Miami Herald and explains that, “Huntsman touted the backing from Bush Jr. and Ana Navarro, a longtime fundraiser and strategist, as significant as he tries to grow an operation off to a shaky start into a top contender… Bush Jr., a real estate developer with an extensive network of contacts, will lead the campaign’s outreach to young professionals. Navarro, who co-chaired John McCain’s Hispanic outreach in 2008, will head Huntsman’s effort to attract Hispanics, a crucial demographic to make Florida go red or blue.”

It’s no secret that the name “Bush” is synonymous with former presidents, conservative politics and big industry. It also brings to mind an era where the dollar was stronger, unemployment wasn’t as rampant and morale was high (didn’t we all rally together after September 11?). It will be interesting to see how the names “Bush” and “Huntsman” will combine to create a viable presidential candidate for 2012 and if this endorsement will help give a boost to his political fundraising endeavors.

To learn more about how Fundly can benefit your political fundraising efforts online, please contact Fundly today.

6 Keys to Online Fundraising

Intimidated by online fundraising? It may be new to you, but if you follow these 6 steps you’ll be well on your way to an effective social fundraising   campaign.

1) Make it visible – Let everyone know that you’re actively fundraising. Email your contact list, announce it on Facebook and Twitter, and put a banner on the home page of your website. If you send direct mail, make sure to let people know that they can donate online as well. You would be surprised at how many people respond to direct mail with an online action.

2) Make it easy – “Big” and “obvious” are the key thoughts you should be channeling. Put a large Donate! button near the top of every page of your website. When a user clicks on that button, don’t make them log in or create an account. They should be able to start and complete their donation in 1 or 2 pages. Allow them to select from “suggested donation amounts” or enter their own amount if they wish.

3) Make it compelling – The story you tell on your donation page is the just as crucial as the home page of your website. Try different variations of your story to see which elicits the best response. Be sure to directly ask the reader for a donation. Use powerful images wherever possible.

4) Make it social – After their donation, the donor should be encouraged to share the news of their donation on Facebook and Twitter. When their friends see that they have supported your cause, they are much more likely to donate as well. Here at Fundly we like to call that effect the “Social Multiplier”.

5) Make it appreciated – Show gratitude for the donation through a timely email or letter. Help the donor understand how their money will be used and what effect it will have in the world. Give them the opportunity to get further involved with your cause. Every once in a while, write a handwritten letter to remember how it feels to express thanks.

6) Make it regular – Give donors the option of making recurring donations. Reach out to them again the next time you run a fundraising campaign. Send them periodic emails updating them on the progress your organization has been making.

Viral Storytelling for Online Fundraising

Here’s the recording of the webinar we recently hosted, Viral Storytelling for Online Fundraising  . After watching, please check out how Fundly can help you effectively tell your story to drive donations  .

No Corporate & Union Money for Political Campaigns, Yet…

By Erik Nilsson, President

On political fundraising …

Remember last years ruling in the Citizens United vs. FEC case? This is where the Supreme Court decided to allow corporations and labor unions to make independent expenditures and send out electioneering communications. It is not often I get to use “electioneering” in a sentence (thanks FEC). The FEC is finally working up a plan to figure out how to implement the ruling.

Last Thursday, the FEC sat down to begin hammering down the rules we all have to play by and, guess what? The 6 person board has all kinds of ideas (50 pages of them) but couldn’t come to any agreements. Ideas include:

- increased disclosures,

- disclosures targeting foreign influence, and

- rules that would force corporations to change the makeup of their boards of directors.

Sounds like they are using the Citizens United vs. FEC ruling to bring in all sorts of provisions that the courts have neither upheld or expressly reviewed. This almost sounds like they are trying their own hand at pork barrel politics. It is early days but it will be interesting to see which rules we are stuck with for this next cycle.

For all you corporations and unions, it would probably be wise to increase your political compliance budgets. For all you compliance attorneys, let the good times roll!

Facebook Changing the Political Landscape

The times are definitely changing. No longer are buttons that say “I Like Ike” or traditional door-to-door canvassing enough in the campaign world. In these times of fast-paced media, iPads, laptops and iPhones, candidates are turning to social media to gain approval and public support from voters.

Laura Phelps writes in the Miami Herald that many local and presidential candidates are putting a lot more stock into social media sites. Consultant Josh Koster, a managing partner at Chong and Koster, a progressive digital-media communications firm, said “campaign budgets used to be about two things: raising money and spending it on TV. But this year’s budgets reflect today’s new media market as more Americans go to the Internet for news. This is the first major election cycle that online strategy is receiving a large media budget for advertising.”

Michael Beach, a co-founder of the Republican digital-strategy firm Targeted Victory, estimates that approximately 25% of a candidate’s budget is designated for online strategies. He believes that while social media won’t fully replace commercial spots and voter recruitment campaigns, it will continue to have a larger role in the upcoming election and beyond.

Phelps brings up some interesting figures when it comes to politics and the internet. She states that, “60 percent of all U.S. adults and 76 percent of U.S. adult Internet users are on Facebook, according to the Pew Research Center.” Furthermore, “22 percent of adults online used social networking sites such as Facebook to connect with campaigns or learn about the election.”

“Facebook and social media make it much easier to organize to raise money and to engage supporters because successful campaigns ultimately are about social organizing,” said Andrew Rasiej, a co-founder of techPresident, a blog that covers how candidates use Web technology. “If a political conversation is happening on Facebook, then to be able to donate where the conversation is happening is key.”

Obviously Facebook and Twitter aren’t just affecting how people are socializing, but it also is impacting the political world and how voters are choosing to support their candidate. Fundly is proud to be a part of this monumental change on the electoral horizon with so much emphasis on social media, and we are excited to participate as a democracy and technology partner together to reach the masses. We have several candidates using our social fundraising platform to reach their supporters, collect donations,  and we would love to come aside your campaign to help you achieve your potential.

Facebook Catalyst for Bridging Political Interests

We all have opinions about the big issues and most of us don’t mind sharing them. How would you like to have your thoughts on important political topics posted on a billboard in New York’s Times Square? You just may have your chance!

In a New York Times article a new Facebook application was highlighted called 2012 Matters: What Matters most. According to reporter Tanzina Vega, “Starting this week, Facebook users will see poll questions in their newsfeeds asking them which of two issues matters more — say, the economy or the environment. When a user answers the question, the result will show up on that user’s personal news feed and on friends’ newsfeeds. The friends also will be prompted to take the poll… Data showing which issue is most important to users in each state will be posted across the street on the Nasdaq digital billboard.”

The motivation behind this idea was brilliant: the purpose was to create interest and start discussions with people who are not engaged in politics with those who are. Combine this with executive vice president and chief technology officer at R/GA John Mayo-Smith’s idea that “we’re at the intersection of social media and branded event advertising” and you’ve got an impressive link between social awareness and marketing strategies. Furthermore, “Facts don’t spread. Emotions do spread,” said Paul Adams, a brand experience manager at Facebook, in a presentation before the group. “We need to think about what an interaction looks like in that environment,” he said, referring to Times Square.

This is a perfect instance where non-profits can follow the example of the for-profit world. This strategy could get people involved in national and global issues and emotionally invested. Getting people to stop and think about a cause and then getting them to engage with others is the first main hurdle that any non-profit tries to scale. Add to the mix the millions of people on Facebook, and this could spread like wild fire.
Fundraising via social media is by far the most effective and efficient way to further a cause, and this is one extreme example of how to reach millions of people to take notice. While probably less than 99% of charities have the resources to rent space on a Times Square billboard, most can invest a little time and effort into connecting with their supporters online.

Facebook Changing the Political Landscape

The times are definitely changing. No longer are buttons that say “I Like Ike” or traditional door-to-door canvassing enough in the campaign world. In these times of fast-paced media, iPads, laptops and iPhones, candidates are turning to social media to gain approval and public support from voters.

Laura Phelps writes in the Miami Herald that many local and presidential candidates are putting a lot more stock into social media sites. Consultant Josh Koster, a managing partner at Chong and Koster, a progressive digital-media communications firm, said “campaign budgets used to be about two things: raising money and spending it on TV. But this year’s budgets reflect today’s new media market as more Americans go to the Internet for news. This is the first major election cycle that online strategy is receiving a large media budget for advertising.”

Michael Beach, a co-founder of the Republican digital-strategy firm Targeted Victory, estimates that approximately 25% of a candidate’s budget is designated for online strategies. He believes that while social media won’t fully replace commercial spots and voter recruitment campaigns, it will continue to have a larger role in the upcoming election and beyond.

Phelps brings up some interesting figures when it comes to politics and the internet. She states that, “60 percent of all U.S. adults and 76 percent of U.S. adult Internet users are on Facebook, according to the Pew Research Center.” Furthermore, “22 percent of adults online used social networking sites such as Facebook to connect with campaigns or learn about the election.”

“Facebook and social media make it much easier to organize to raise money and to engage supporters because successful campaigns ultimately are about social organizing,” said Andrew Rasiej, a co-founder of techPresident, a blog that covers how candidates use Web technology. “If a political conversation is happening on Facebook, then to be able to donate where the conversation is happening is key.”

Obviously Facebook and Twitter aren’t just affecting how people are socializing, but it also is impacting the political world and how voters are choosing to support their candidate. Fundly is proud to be a part of this monumental change on the electoral horizon with so much emphasis on social media, and we are excited to participate as a democracy and technology partner together to reach the masses. We have several candidates using our social fundraising platform to reach their supporters, collect donations,  and we would love to come aside your campaign to help you achieve your potential.