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Nonprofit Fundraising Using Social Media:

 Basic rules of engagement

By Thomas R. Reich and Chris Romero

This is the year to imporve you skills with nonprofit fundraising with social media

Nonprofit fundraising using social media can be a lot more fun than you may think!  We are about to cover some fun, free projects your organization can try right out of this blog.  Let us know how they work!

Today, in 2012, nonprofit fundraising using social media has gotten both easier and way more complicated!  If you remember the basic rules of engagement, then nonprofit fundraising using social media can be a smooth running snap!

if you cause is the California Condor, nonprofit fundraising using social media lets you brand it that way!

One of the basic rules of engagement for nonprofit fundraising using social media is to come up with an event, because donation or item sales drive that is consistent with your mission statement.  If you are a charity designed to feed the homeless, a food drive and donation drive is appropriate.  If you an organization designed to save the California Condor, why not try selling logo embossed peanut brittle?

Letting the donor have something physical for their donation is a key method used today in nonprofit fundraising using social media, it gives the donor a feeling of value and lets them walk away with something that shows others they donated.  Another advantage of an item for a donation, is that item is advertising to everyone that sees it, the donors family and friends, if they take the item back to work who knows how many will see it.

Another great fundraiser is donations for an event, dinner, concert or even a car wash.  If it is to be a donation for a dinner or a concert, be very sure you have the funding to pull off the event even if you do not get the numbers of attendees you hoped for.  Concert venues want paid, lighting and sound must be paid, so consult with professionals before you get in over your head.

Nonprofit fundraising using social media can increase results 3 fold!

Back to the car wash idea, you have seen them many times, but we have a new twist.  Think in terms of old marketing first, sell tickets to get a car wash, this way you know in advance of the event that you will have money coming in and a successful event before it happens.  But it gets better, some who buy tickets will forget to come, and others that don’t want to let some kids wash their new car will buy a ticket to support your cause, but never use it!  Finally the event will draw the donors that see the car wash as a spur of the moment thing just like any other car wash anyway.  Can you see how nonprofit fundraising useing social media could increase this method even more?

Same rule applies for bake sales, thrift sales, arts and craft sales and raffles.  But where do the social media come in.  Nonprofit fundraising useing social media is simple if you follow the basic rules of engagement for a nonprofit event, and then talk about it constantly on you twitter feed, Facebook and LinkedIn to boost your exposure.

Basic Rules of Engagement:

1)      Design a realistic and achievable fundraising idea,  make sure you have the funds to cover any eventuality and that your price point is affordable to your core donor audience

2)      Have someone who is dedicated to the successful planning, running and execution of the event or drive, this is espicially critical for nonprofit fundraising using social media.  If you have an experienced person on staff or a volunteer who is reliable and known to complete tasks properly

nonprofit fundraising using social media puts you in the web

great, if not there are professionals who can organize and execute it for you at a reasonable cost.

3)      Set clear and attainable goals; don’t make the drive to raise a million dollars if you are selling 5 dollar car wash tickets.

4)      Clarify the purpose of the event or drive, what are the funds going to benefit, if it is to benifit the general funds of the charity or foundation, great.  If, however, it is to benifit the California Condor, then you might be able to get other organizations with similar goals to join in through the internet, remember nonprofit fundraising using social media offers a whole world of new options for partnerships in humanitarian goals.

5)       Use social media and traditional methods to market market market!  Nonprofit fundraising useing social media can be tied in with traditional methods to great effect; think about having a ticket sales booth at a cretin location and then announce it through social media as well as the way you normally do it, you will have the potential of many more coming by!

these are a key part of success in nonprofit fundraising using social media

6)      Use social media to publicize the event, blog about the cause and push the effect of a donation or participation in the drive.  Nonprofit fundraising useing social media expands your world, expands you influence and adds to the good you can do!

Let’s say your event is a Spaghetti Dinner, we will use that as our final example.  Traditional marketing says you sell tickets to friends church members working with you and maybe at the local grocery store, using a table with a hand

Think differently

written sign.

Let’s look at how nonprofit fundraising using social media could work.  In your announcements newsletter, you begin talking about the amazing spaghetti dinner coming soon, and that last year it sold out so buy tickets early.  Then you begin to Tweet the event and list it on Facebook and LinkedIn, now remember not just your organization social media, but the Facebook and twitter of every member, volunteer and booster of your organization.

Try a different approach; nonprofit fundraising using social media

Next, in your social cause’s blog you put a story about the cause followed by an announcement of the event.  Finally you put out a press release, and all social media coverage on the unique recipe of the spaghetti sauce.  Make sure there are comments listed on blogs and tweet responses expressing agreement at the unique good flavor of the spaghetti!

Can you see how this could cause a “viral” effect, because many people you never knew existed will now come and be exposed to your cause!  This is how nonprofit fundraising using social media works.

If this sounds interesting, but you still want to learn more, join the staff of CharityNetUSA for a totally free seminar on Wednesday February 8, 2012.  We at CharityNetUSA have helped a myriad of organizations with nonprofit fundraising using social media as well as all forms of business services.  In fact we have helped over 12,000 organizations over the years, and we can help you too.  We have a nonprofit webinar free on many topics every Wednesday and a small business webinar every Thursday also totally free!

Sing up now, it’s free and it is packed full of great information on fundraising in general and nonprofit fundraising using social media as well, remember as always this is not an infomercial, this is a true free webinar.

If you would like more information on the full range of services offered to set up and service a charity, foundation or church please contact CharityNetUSA by visiting www.CharityNetUSA.com or by calling, toll FREE 1.877.857.9002.  Please follow us on Twitter and Like us on Face Book to receive free daily tips and tricks as well as notification of our FREE Award Winning Webinar series!

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Providing Nonprofit Startups with the Tools to Raise $10,000 in 10 Weeks!

Here at CharityNet we are all very excited to announce the official launch of our new fundraising program for nonprofit startups.   With initial and early-stage funding being one of the most difficult tasks for organizations to conquer, we are happy to be able to provide organizations with a simple problem-solver. Check out today’s press release to learn more about the program and while your at it, sign up for our upcoming information session to see if it could be a good fit for your organization!  By the way did I mention, the program is free!

CharityNet USA is excited to announce the launch of their new 10 X 10 Program.  Combining elements of capacity building and fundraising, the program will help nonprofit startups raise $10,000 in 10 weeks enabling them to build a solid foundation for

View the 10 X 10 Program Information Packet

future growth and mission fulfillment.

“ Tackling fundraising as a nonprofit startup can be extremely difficult – seeing as often the organizations lack the resources, individuals and time to plan and execute the fundraiser,” said Melanie Swift, MNM, Director of Nonprofit Services for CharityNet USA.

CharityNet USA’s 10 X 10 Program provides participating organizations with a seamless process for event execution, while tying in an achievable time line for financial and administrative growth.  Once an organization enrolls into the free program, CharityNet will begin a comprehensive analysis of the nonprofit startup to determine what critical elements are needed to sustain and further develop the organization.  Once goals have been identified and placed on the timeline, the organization is given all the necessary event planning tools…

The program includes a variety of nonprofit fundraising events, from basic car washes and bowl-a-thons to elaborate sports events and galas each allowing for its own elements of customization.   Money generated through the program becomes invested into administrative fundamentals essential to the organization’s long-term success.

For nonprofit startups interested in learning more about the 10 X 10 program, details of the upcoming 10 X 10 information session are below:

Who: CharityNet USA
What: 10 x 10 Program Information Session
Where: Online at any computer with an internet connection
When: Wednesday, August 4^th, 3pm EST
How to Register: Visit the following link https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/751133515

We hope to see you at the info session. If you have any questions or concerns don’t hesitate to contact us or leave a comment in the “comments section”.  Click here to view the full press release.

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If you want your nonprofit organization to be successful, you need to keep in the mind the rules of fundraising. The previous blog, Fundraising part 1, left off with the fourth rule: marketing. There are marketing services out there that can be pretty expensive, but don’t let that get you down.  There are other ways to help build awareness to your nonprofit organization while keeping the costs down.

First and foremost, utilize social networking media such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc. to publicize your event. These sites are free and millions of people use these on a daily basis. Another marketing tip is create a flyer utilizing a word processing software and print about a thousand to hand out to the local area. These do not have to be fancy color printed flyers. You can be as simple as black and white print on a colorful piece of paper. Do not forget to tell people that you are going to be conducting a fundraiser because word of mouth can help your marketing efforts exponentially.

The truth is, fundraising can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. Take a typical dinner event, whether it be a spaghetti dinner or a chicken barbeque. Most often you can get food donated or offered at a discounted rate by local area grocery stores and supermarkets. This is especially true when it comes to a spaghetti dinner because most of the food and beverage items it takes to put on this fundraiser are really cheap. Often you can get paper items such as plates, cups, napkins, silverware, etc. donated for the actual event. As for a facility, usually most towns have a local community center, park, or even a church which will let you utilize their facility for free or for a small donation. The biggest thing to know is you will have to conduct some legwork and ask around for these donations for the event. Ask the local store manager or of your supermarket if they are giving donations for charitable events. If they aren’t, thank him or her for their information but do not forget to ask about any discounts they may offer. Remember: anything you can get donated or discounted increases the profits of your fundraiser. Utilize volunteers from the organization to cook items and serve the food.

Honestly, the biggest fundraising tip or rule that I can give you is to ask for donations when conducting your fundraisers. What is the worse that is going to happen to you? They say “no, we can’t afford to do that right now”? What have you lost by asking? I’m going to go out on a limb here and say nothing. However, if they say yes, then you and your event have gained some or maybe even all of the items you need. Many organizations like to give to causes but do not have the financial means; however, they are able to give in-kind donations or items which you can utilize to conduct your event. The long and short of it is that fundraising can be very rewarding for any nonprofit organization. As long as you and the organization you are representing are willing to put some effort into it, you can help grow through fun and effective fundraising!

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Many new nonprofit organizations go through the internal battle of whether or not they should participate in fundraising. Fundraising can be a wonderful tool in the arsenal of a newly formed nonprofit organization and even in a nonprofit organization which has already been established. For example, every year around January you hear the ding dong of your doorbell announcing the arrival of the Girl Scouts heralding their annual cookie fundraising drive. Honestly, I know that $3.00 is a lot for a box of Thin Mints, but a portion of the proceeds goes to help the local Girl Scouts in my community so I feel justified in paying a little bit more than I normally would for cookies. Fundraising can be an ideal way to raise funds because people feel as if they are getting “something” (whether it be cookies, a car wash, a snack, t-shirt, etc. It is a sad state of current affairs that most people do not give to legitimate causes because of the good feeling it gives them anymore. Most people expect something in return for their “gift.” Fundraising is just the ticket because both parties feel as if they are benefiting from the arrangement.

There are a few simple rules when it comes to fundraising for an organization. The first rule in fundraising is to BE REALISTIC! Plan an event that fits the current funds which the organization has. In other words, don’t plan a huge annual fundraising gala where there is a sit down meal and attendees have to pay $500 a plate if you do not have the money to rent the facility, pay for the food expenses, pay for entertainment, etc. Work within your means.

The second rule and what I believe to be the most important of fundraising is to HAVE SOMEONE WHO IS COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY DEDICATED TO THE SUCCESS OF THE FUNDRAISER. Does this mean you need to hire a professional fundraiser? Not necessarily. It is entirely possible to put together a fundraiser without professional help; however, you do need to have someone dedicated to the success of the fundraiser, whether this person is a board member or a volunteer of the organization. It’s entirely up to you.

The third rule of fundraising is to SET A GOAL. This will help clarify the purpose of your fundraiser and will assist you in realizing how many items you need to sell to reach your goal.

The fourth rule of fundraising is MARKET, MARKET, MARKET! I cannot stress this rule enough because if no one knows about your event, how are they going to attend? These days marketing costs can sky rocket your expenses, however, there are ways to keep these costs down and help achieve your goal: raising money for your organization.

Keep an eye out for the rest of the rules of fundraising… Part 2 will be posted in a few days!  In the meantime, feel free to share some of your nonprofit fundraising ideas and the steps you follow to ensure they are a success.

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No matter how worthy your nonprofit’s cause, you won’t automatically attract funds.  Sometimes you have to start with the basics; fundraising. Successful fundraising requires organization, a simple implementation strategy, a plan to motivate your volunteers and something to offer in return for the “donor” support.

Many nonprofits are sitting on a pile of gold and they don’t even realize it.  There are numerous volunteers, private foundations, businesses and individuals interested in helping, but it’s up to your organization to network and engage the community in your mission with proven fundraising strategies.

Below are 5 simple fundraising events that can get you started!

Register on CharityNetUSA.com today to get a plethora of free fundraising tips, resources and more event ideas; along with instructions on organizing, marketing and executing them! Click Here to Register Now!