Keeping Fundraising Fresh

Having trouble getting employees to participate in your fundraising events? While bake sales in the lunch room and casual Fridays are classic fundraising events that work on a smaller, more personal level, replacing traditional fund raising methods with fun events attracts many more participants to your cause. Keeping ideas fresh and up to date with some of the most popular trends will spark the interest of employees and your community! Here are a few fundraising events your PR department might like to try: 

ZumbaThons: Zumba, a dance fitness program that incorporates many different types of music and dance styles into the workout, has become immensely popular in the United States. Zumbathons are a fun, high energy fundraiser that gets everyone up and dancing for a few hours, and with the increase in health awareness over the years, this is sure to spark the interest of coworkers. Adding a raffle and some donated goodie bags makes an event like this a winner - for your company and employees!

5k Run/Walk: Organizing runs not only get your employees involved, but also the surrounding community. They also attract all ages to participate. Many times, local businesses will donate food and water to give to runners as they cross the finish line. Handing out free T-shirts to runners and walkers are great gifts, and remind them to participate in the event every year. 

Concerts: Local bands and artists are great to hit up for a fundraising event. Not only do they get their name and talent out there, but it is also gets employees to socialize with one another and relax. Starting the evening off with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres is a great way to make an entire night out of it!

By incorporating some new ideas into your fundraising, more people will be attracted to participate and will, in turn, raise more money for whatever the cause may be.  

What are some of your favorite fundraising ideas? Leave us a comment and let us know!

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Staff Member Tessa Cohn.

Tips for Making Your Charitable Event a Success

This week during Temple's PRSSA meeting, Julie Cassidy, the Director of Special Events and Group Sales at the Wilma Theater (and my previous internship supervisor) came to speak with students about some of the challenges and tips for success in regards to organizing charitable events. After interning with a few nonprofits as a special events assistant, I have experienced first-hand how difficult it can be to throw an event thats unique and exciting while having limited resources to work with.

The website Fundraiser Ideas posted a great article with six simple and effective ways to create an outstanding charitable event:

1. Reservations, please. Especially when there is limited space available and food and beverage are being served, requiring reservations eliminates wasted food and prevents overflowing crowds. Additionally, reservations serve as a useful way to evaluate the methods you use to publicize these events and fine tune your PR strategy.

2. Know your audience. Depending upon the type of event you are throwing you should shape your donation level accordingly. For example, if you are hosting a tailgate party, smaller donations are more acceptable whereas if you are throwing an elegant gala, donations should be on the higher end. By accurately gauging the audience you are targeting, the more accurately you can gauge the financial results for the charity events.

3. Keep the ball rolling. Planning events well in advance allows time for changes to be made and can provide a sense of momentum to your fundraising activities.

4. Put it in print. It's one thing to organize a spectacular event but it all means nothing if nobody is hearing about it. Promote your event through press releases and local newspaper stories to increase public interest.

5. Utilize online networking tools. Use Facebook and Twitter to their fullest potential! It's easy and free advertising for your event and can reach large audiences. Use these forums as a way to announce your upcoming events and allow guests to respond to your invitations. This can allow your organization to open up a dialogue with potential donors and create relationships that can help your charity or nonprofit raise funds more efficiently.

6. Say thank you. Thanking donors and guests for their contributions is incredibly important and will increase your likelihood of donations in the future. By expressing gratitude to your donors, you are enhancing your public reputation and make sure your organization is regarded favorably by those who make its work possible.

What are some pieces of advice you would share for organizing a successful charitable event? Let us know!

Fundraising for Social Good

As the nonprofit cheerleader and advocate that I am, one of my favorite twitter feeds and blogs is @Nonprofitorgs (http://nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com). One of the most critical responsibilities tasked to nonprofits is raising sufficient funds for the organization. Thanks to social media, nontraditional approaches are allowing nonprofits to reach wider audiences, gain more awareness and visibility and therefore increase overall funds raised. The blog Nonprofit Tech 2.0 posted a great article on 6 online fundraising tools that many may have never heard of:

1. Swipegood: This resource enables donors to round up all of their debit and credit card purchases to the nearest dollar and allows them to donate the difference to the charity of their choice. It's an easy and effective way for people all around the world to put good use to their spare change.

2. Philanthroper: Just like Living Social or Groupon, Philanthroper is a daily deal site, although instead of selling you pizza for half price, the website shares a different nonprofit's mission and story daily. If you like what you read, you have the choice to donate $1 to the organization.

3. GiveBack: GiveBack allows donors to create their own foundations (giving portfolios) where they can follow their favorite nonprofits, donate directly, and allocate dollars raised through their online shopping portal.

4. Give A Tweet: Give a Tweet was founded to leverage the real-time power of Twitter to make it easy to donate to non-profits. Donors can either give directly to nonprofits, or match another donor’s gift. It’s a creative way for business brands on Twitter to get recognized for their philanthropy.

5. Cauzoom: Cauzoom allows nonprofits to create projects/cauzs that can then be crowdfunded or endorsed by individuals and businesses.

6. BroadCause: BroadCause is a social good platform where individuals can join cause communities and nonprofits can create wish lists, events, and fundraise. Integrated with Twitter, there is also a corporate giving component where brands can sponsor your nonprofit’s cause.

Social media is revolutionizing the way nonprofits conduct their fundraising campaigns and it provides these organizations with brand new tools that will enable them to continually increase their donor base and overall funds. Nonprofits have always had to struggle with having their message heard, however with the development of social media, their messages are not only heard but easily spread around the world.

What other fundraising tools do you use when supporting nonprofits or raising funds for your own organization? Share with us!

Fundraising for a Cause

One of the main reasons a business exists is to make money. Charitable non-profit organizations often face the challenge of making enough money to provide their services, but the basic goal of non-profit organizations is still to make money. My entrepreneurial marketing class this semester challenged students to raise money on behalf of a cause for social good.

This semester I began working with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), a personal cause for me since I lost a close friend last summer. I have spent the semester raising money, which will be donated to the Philadelphia chapter of the AFSP in May. My hope is to raise awareness of the resources available by the local chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention by providing the organization with the monetary funds to increase its awareness efforts.

One of the the things I have noticed through my work for the AFSP this semester is people do not like to be reminded of difficult times or "depressing" circumstances. It is important to remind your audience of the positive aspects of your cause. My fellow group members and I often reminded people of the difference they could make in one life by simply donating a few dollars to our cause.

There are so many causes out there, that you have to make your cause stand out. Using a personal story often improves the success of your cause. Each of our group members had been personally affected by suicide, so relaying our own personal stories allowed people to identify with our cause.

Have you ever raised money for a charitable cause? What are some difficulties you encountered? Are there any tips you can share for our readers to increase the success of their fundraising efforts?

Digital Donating

The holidays have gone digital!

The Salvation Army has been collecting money in its red kettles during the holiday season since 1891. This year, the Salvation Army is running an Online Red Kettle campaign.

Individuals, teams or companies can host their own online red kettles. People can go online and donate to the kettles, watch as the kettles get "filled," and keep track of progress toward fundraising goals. The site helps users build a profile and send e-mails to their friends and family to invite them to donate this holiday season.

In setting up the Online Kettle Program, the Salvation Army has found a way to merge tradition with modern technology and to leverage the power of new media to raise both awareness and funds. The campaign has also allowed the organization to personalize the fundraising process and generate buzz about their cause.

It will be interesting to see how much the Salvation Army raises this year and to see if other organizations adopt similar digital fundraising concepts.

Be sure to check out the Online Red Kettle campaign, and let us know what you think.