How to Maintain Fundraising Success

Burnout is a very real concern in the not-for-profits sector. It’s not just something that befalls staff members and volunteers, either. Donors can also fall victim to fatigue and decrease their interest and engagement with your NFP. To prevent burnout, you need to understand the natural cycles that affect your relationships with your donors and take steps to build your connection with them to keep increasing the results of your fundraising campaigns.

Build a Foundation

Regardless of whether it’s a personal or professional relationship, it takes time to get to know others and establish rapport. In the early days of your nonprofit, your focus should be on creating a donor acquisition plan. During this stage of development, your main goals are to find as many ways as possible to introduce your nonprofit, it’s work, and, yourself, to your community.

Maintain Your Relationships

As interest begins to build in your nonprofit, it’s important that you don’t spread yourself too thin. Recruit board members and others in your organisation to help you with your outreach to your donors. Offer fundraising campaigns that will appeal to a wide range of potential donors. Follow up personally with those key individuals who are most excited and engaged with your work.

As you work on maintaining and strengthening bonds with your community, look for ways to gain insight and feedback from your service beneficiaries, as well as your donors and other supporters. This way you can learn more about the true needs in your community, and what donors want to see from your organisation in terms of programs and services as well as information. Make certain that your programs put beneficiaries first, to ensure that your services are relevant.

Keep the channels of communication open and explain the difference that you are making in human, relatable terms. Doing so will help to build trust and credibility in your community. At this stage, you should be encouraging those who make annual or one-time gifts to consider making recurring gifts and always be encouraging your donors to support your organisation in multiple ways.

Prepare for the Future

As the relationship between your donors and organisation grows and matures, look for ways to show your gratitude to your key donors. In addition to thank you notes and acknowledgements which you should send to all donors at every level, celebrate how much your organisation has already been able to accomplish. Keep in touch with your key donors and keep them informed about the progress you are making. Share and emphasise your nonprofit’s vision for the future.

Ask donors for their insight and input on your future goals and what type of impact they would like to see occur. Use the information that you learn to create proposals that are tailored to the needs of individual donors and ask them to consider making a substantial investment in your work so that together, you can build a better future for your community.  

Build Trust to Boost Your Donations

The more that your supporters trust you to keep your promises to put their contributions to good use, the more likely they are to donate to your cause. Donations from both individuals and businesses are critical to helping your nonprofit grow sustainably, as this type of funding typically doesn’t come with pre-conditions on how it is to be spent. When your NFP receives donations, you usually just need to ensure that they are used for a charitable purpose that advances your mission. The following three strategies will help you develop stronger relationships and greater trust with your donors and encourage greater giving.  

Use Consistent Messaging to Eliminate Confusion and Strengthen Your Brand

Do your supporters know what your organisation stands for? What images come to mind when they hear your name and tagline or see your logo? Are your messages consistent with your values and does it bring your mission into sharp focus? Use consistent messages across all your communication channels to create a strong brand identity for your nonprofit that will increase your NFP’s reputation.

Increase Transparency

One trend that nonprofits must stay on top of is donors’ growing desire for detailed information about NFP finances and activities. One way to increase understanding about your nonprofit’s position is to publish your financial results frequently. 

Release the minutes of your board meetings and hold your meetings in public so that your supporters have ample opportunity to review your NFP’s decision-making processes. Show your donors exactly how their contribution impacts your organisation, and how their donation will specifically be used to advance your mission forward!

Develop Relationships and Avoid the Hard Sell

Most of us are more likely to give to causes that resonate with us and because we have some personal connection to the mission.  Focus on open communication and building strong relationships with your current donors and prospects. Take the time to connect with them and learn what makes them “tick” as individuals so that you can show them how contributing to your NFP helps them as well as others. Reach out to your supporters on a regular basis to keep them updated on your activities and the progress that you are making.

Segment your donor lists and adjust your approach based on the frequency and size of individual donations. If someone declines to give a gift, thank them for supporting your nonprofit and ask them to continue their support in other forms. For example, just because someone can’t or won’t donate right now doesn’t mean that they are unwilling to advocate on your behalf or volunteer. Look for ways to streamline and simplify the donation process so that transactions are fast, secure and simple.

Finally, don’t forget to show your gratitude to your donors and other supporters. Automatically thank your online contributors, and follow up with a more personalised, handwritten thank you note. Or, if you prefer, you can pick up the phone and call them to show your heartfelt thanks! 

5 Marketing Tips for NFPs

Even though your nonprofit is just that, an organisation that is not designed to operate at a profit, marketing is still important. Without an effective marketing strategy, it's almost impossible for NFPs to raise awareness about their cause.

Marketing plays a critical role in a nonprofit's ability to meet fundraising goals and have the money that is needed for operations to continue. There are only so many dollars to go around, and there are hundreds, if not thousands, of similar nonprofit organisations that must compete for donations and other sources of funding, and marketing makes it possible for your NFP to stand out from the crowd.

The following marketing tips can help your NFP increase the impact of its messaging with potential donors and other supporters.

Branding - In Addition to Functionality, Make Certain Your Website Connects and Informs

Having a website that looks professional, functions well on traditional laptop and desktops as well as mobile platforms, and that connects with and tells your visitors, is crucial to increasing support for your NFP's mission and goals.

Keep your supporters updated by posting on a regular basis. Use images and video on your NFPs blog and elsewhere on your site to increase your nonprofit's emotional connection with donors. Take steps to ensure that your nonprofit's messaging is clear, and consistent throughout your site and all of your channels, to brand your content, and use good SEO practices and promote your best content to increase your reach.

Make it easy for supporters to jump on your bandwagon and support your cause by using buttons to make it easy for them to share your posts and other messages with their social networks.  

By branding your content, including a clear call to action in all posts and making it easy to share, you can easily turn your website, blog, and social media into a network that functions to increase donations and other forms of support for your nonprofit.   

Make Certain that You are Engaging with Donors in Their Preferred Format

Just as the customer is always right in business, your donor is always right. Are you contacting your donors and other supporters as often as they wish, and in their preferred format? Survey your current donors and supporters on a regular basis to discover what is, and is not, working.

How do your fans prefer to be contacted: email, direct mail, newsletters, telephone or in person? What is the impression of your supporters on your NFP's mission, goals and services? Once you have the results, take steps to meet the needs of your audience by segmenting your followers based on type and frequency of contact that they prefer. Use the insight that you gained to refine your messaging to ensure that your supporters have the right impression of your NFP, the services that it provides and the impact that you make.

Segment Audience Based on Demographics, Personalise Messaging

Not every approach, or every message, will work to persuade every supporter. Divide your supporters into lists based on demographics such as their personal interests, gender, age, education and income levels, and then tailor your approach, and your message, based on their individual segment. Remember to use tools to personalise your messages to increase your connection with your donors.

Set Targets, Benchmarks, Test Messaging and Measure Results, Don't Forget to Refine Messaging

Once you've segmented your supporters, set fundraising objectives and other benchmarks, such as targets for sharing, sign-ups and other forms of support. Don't forget to test the impact of your messages and use analytics to measure your results and compare them against benchmarks and standards to help you be able to determine just how effective your marketing campaign is.

Don't be afraid of change, and don't be satisfied with the status quo, but always be on the lookout for ways to continually refine and improve your messaging to ensure that you continue to meet your objectives.

Increase Engagement by Starting Conversations and Keep them Going

In addition to making it easy for your donors and other supporters to share your posts, further extend the reach of your messaging by visiting similar blogs and starting conversations by liking others posts and leaving comments, including a link back to your NFP's site in your signature. Always promptly respond to any comments that are made on your posts so that you can keep the conversation going and win further support for your cause!

Free Webinars Can Be A Great Source of Learning

We all need to hone our skills or take in some learning from time to time, and the start of the new year is a perfect time to do that.

As a volunteer treasurer, we understand that your budgets can be tight and opportunities to learn can be difficult to say the least. That is why FREE webinars can be invaluable to your charity or non-profit.

They give you the opportunity to refine your knowledge and keep the dollars available for the more important things.

Here are four great webinars to look out for.

Asking Styles: A Revolutionary Concept in Fundraising - 10 January 2017

There is no one right way to ask a business or individual for a donation. If you ask in your own style, you will be more comfortable and successful as an asker. Are you a rainmaker, a go-getter, a kindred spirit, a mission controller or a mix of two styles? In this webinar you will learn the unique strengths you bring to the table and how to craft your case for support in your own words and style.

Online Fundraising Best Practices for Nonprofits - 11 January 2017

This webinar will share best practices including detailed formulas that every nonprofit should be using to track the effectiveness of their fundraising efforts. You will also learn the 7 steps to online funding success, the donor retention problem and attributes of a killer marketing piece.

Finding New Donors for 2017 - January 18 2017

Did you know that over 75% of funding comes from individuals and that it costs twice as much to find new donors as it does to keep your existing ones. This informative webinar will show you 9 new places to find donors offline, the 4 effective ways of building your email list, the stages of giving to help you steward your donors towards larger gifts and how transparency raises you more money.

Crowdfunding 101 - January 19 2017

Crowdfunding is a new tool in the fundraising toolbox to raise more money, faster, from a larger audience. In this free webinar you will learn why crowdfunding is important for your organisation, how to incorporate it into your existing fundraising mix and the concrete steps you can execute immediately.

Let's make 2017 a wonderful year for your charity and your year as a volunteer treasurer extremely rewarding.

Revising Your Fundraising Results

Planning is an integral part of successful fundraising, and you can never get an early enough start! As the end of the year fast approaches, many nonprofits are busy hosting holiday galas and other end of year events. Most members of the staff are likely occupied with their own personal holiday celebrations as well. Just because the season is coming to an end, however, isn't an excuse to avoid planning your nonprofit's fundraising efforts for the next year.

Now is the time to reflect on your nonprofit's results for the year, and learn from any mistakes that were made during your fundraising campaigns. The following steps can help you to gain insight into what does and does not work for your nonprofit so that you can revise and refine your strategies and be set to start the New Year off right!

Review Results of 2016 Fundraising Campaigns - What Did and Did Not Work?

Before you start making plans for your 2017 fundraising campaigns, take time to reflect on what did and did not work well this year. Go back and look at the metrics for the messages that you sent out during your various fundraising campaigns; did you effectively target your audience and reach your fundraising goals? Were there steps that you could have taken, such as using additional measures to segment your donors list to further tailor your messaging to specific target audiences, which would have improved your results? What specific additional resources do you need to increase your fundraising results in 2017?

Refine Messages and Targeting to Build and Increase Donor Base

Ideally, you should segment your donor lists so that you can ensure that you can tailor your fundraising efforts to match the demographics of your target audience. You should begin by segmenting your list into current and repeat donors and prospective donors, as your approach to reach each of these audiences should be different.

There are other ways to segment your donor list to improve your results and grow your donor base. For example, we know that certain audiences respond well to certain types of messaging and fundraising campaigns, so you should segment your donor list and group them into target audiences to ensure that you are reaching out to donors via their preferred method of interaction, such as email, social media posts, telephone calls and face to face contact.

Once you have segmented your donor lists, and identified their preferred means of contact and interaction with your nonprofit, you can then tailor your message to match preferences that are determined by such demographics as gender, age, location, shared interests and so forth.

Improve Communication and Storytelling to Increase Results

Improving your nonprofit's communication is really a continuation of refining your messaging and targeting. Review the ways that you communicated with your donors and other supporters throughout the year. What sorts of stories did you tell about your nonprofit and the good work that it does in your community? What methods did you use to communicate your nonprofit's stories?

Look for ways to keep your nonprofit's messaging in line with your nonprofit's mission and goals. Make it easier to build connections and increase support for your cause by expanding the ways that you communicate with supporters. In addition to using visual images that carry human interest and convey emotion, consider adding short "micro-videos," that can help demonstrate just what it is that your nonprofit does and how it makes a difference and helps others in your community.

Don't forget to test the messages that you send through 2017, and adjust them to improve your results. This includes the emails that you send about fundraising events and donation requests as well as the other messages and updates that you send to supporters throughout the year.

Use Creative Twists to Update and Market Popular Fundraising Events

Annual events are a great way to encourage repeat donations, but you must be careful to not allow fundraisers such as galas, awards ceremonies, auctions, raffles and other events to become stale and boring. Don't be afraid to use creative twists to keep things fresh, and interesting, at your nonprofit's fundraising events.  

Consider hosting events in a new locations, shake up routines by varying the presenters and line-up and look for ways to inject fun and excitement into your nonprofit's events to encourage donors to want to come to your nonprofit's next event.

Test and Overhaul Your Website and Revamp Social Media Efforts

Just as you want your nonprofit's fundraisers to be exciting so that they continue to draw repeat donors and encourage new supporters to attend, you also need to take the time to update your nonprofit's website on a regular basis. Make certain that your posts are fresh, interesting and helpful, both on your nonprofit's main website, as well as on social media posts.

Take time to make certain that all of your site's pages load quickly, and can be viewed on both mobile and stationary platforms. Make certain that posts are easy to share across all of your nonprofit's social media profiles, and make it easy for others to like and share your content as well.

Continue to test messaging, and make certain that all of your posts are in keeping with your nonprofit's mission and goals and will make the impression that you want while also getting your message across.

Above all, make certain that your site's main donation page and donation buttons work well so that it's easy for supporters to donate as well as be able to learn more about your cause.  

ATO App Makes Fundraising Easy

Smartphone technology is impacting many sectors, and there is an app or ten for just about everything you can think of. Relevant to the non-profit sector, the Australian Tax Office is making the most of widespread app use by developing one of their own. The Australian Tax Office App, contains many useful tools, including a function called myDeductions.

What can it do?

MyDeductions can be used by taxpayers to track, throughout the year, the deductible expenses they have incurred and donations they have made. This eliminates the possibility of receipts being lost, or having to be reissued, and will help many users file more complete returns. People or organisations who regularly contribute to the fundraising efforts by non-profit organisations will be pleased to know it is now easier than ever before to ensure their contributions are acknowledged and met with an appropriate deduction at tax time.

How does it work?

There are several simple steps that need to be taken, and then anyone can make the most of this tool. The free app should be downloaded from the app store on the appropriate device. After a donation is made, the user can enter the information into the highly personalised and secure app, including the cause, date and amount donated. They can also take a photo of the receipt, and all of this information is then safely stored, ready to be retrieved when needed.

Who can use it?

It may be beneficial for non-profits to share information about the ATO app with their benefactors, as it could encourage some supporters to give more, or more regularly. Many will be excited to find out they can input any number of deductions into the myDeductions tool, including vehicle use, equipment purchases and other work related expenses. As a lot of individuals forgo claiming everything they are entitled to because of the extra legwork involved in storing and sorting receipts for a whole financial year, some will be grateful to learn there is a new, simple, alternative. And you never know, they may even opt to show their gratitude by making a bigger contribution to your fundraiser.

Celebrating 2015

Well, what a year it has been. It has been choc-o-block full of successes, triumphs and steep learning curves. And dare I say it, we know our charities and ourselves a little bit better than we did at the start.

Were you successful in securing funding for your NFP this year? It is a hard subject to tackle, but when working together with your local community, it can be very rewarding, not to mention beneficial in the long term. Or perhaps you had more luck with one of the available grants valid in your service area?

Many of our treasurers saw an increase in sponsorship which is a great move forward for NFPs and their awareness in the community.

Some of our working volunteer treasurers even had the chance to do some volunteer work outside of their usual treasury role. There are plenty of opportunities for volunteering, particularly around the December period when charities and NFPs are looking for additional hands to help with their Christmas-related projects.

Did you get a chance to look into the Fundraising Management Diploma at all? MTo recap, The Diploma in Fundraising Management is available to both home and international students as a distance learning course and enables participants to develop the knowledge and skills they need to advance in the area of professional fundraising – either working for an NFP or starting their own charity. Perhaps 2016 will finally be the year to take the plunge?

Whatever you will be doing, we hope that next year is, even more, eventful and successful than the last. So from Volunteer Treasurer to you, merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Fundraising and Sponsorship More Similar Than You Might Think

When it comes to growing your non-profit, sponsorship just may be the answer. Of course, sponsorship is not to be confused with fundraising which is a way of raising cash for your non-profit’s needs. Sponsorship may well be about the cash in the long term but like fundraising, marketing and relationships still play a major part.

At the outset they seem very different – fundraising is about cash – a transaction, whereas a sponsorship is a development of a long term relationship. However from the non-profit’s perspective seeking either, the approach needs to remain the same.

When it comes to finding sponsors or those willing to hand over their hard earned funds to support your organisation, a quality partnership must be established; one built on trust and understanding. What is it they want from you and you from them? Think about why someone would want to sponsor you or why they would give you cash in the first place.

But it goes further than that. You need to look after and respect your partners and funders, thanking them at each opportunity. From your perspective, regardless of how much you need the cash financing or support, it is all about them. And of course, both transactions whether fundraising or sponsorship based will need to be accountable at some point.

Unlike a donation which is money given non-specifically, fundraising or sponsorship offers you the opportunity to tell your side of things, to present yourself and your cause in a good light. This is your story and your opportunity to spread it as wide and as loudly as possibly. Attracting those who listen is important particularly those who respond positively to what you have to say. They are the ones who will speak the loudest about your organisation telling others of a great opportunity should they be interested.

More similar than you might think initially, right? Do you have a preference for your non-profit when it comes to fundraising?

Should You Have Your Own Fundraising Professional on Board?

Many nonprofits simply rely on their existing board members to develop their fundraising goals and strategic marketing plans. It's common for boards to turn the oversight of their fundraising over to the treasurer or even to someone else on the board that may have some experience with finances in their private life. In general this is usually a volunteer board member that works in banking or accounting, or other position that involves marketing.

As with most endeavours, board members will find that they can likely improve the results of their fundraising efforts if they enlist the services and experience of a professional. Just as you wouldn't turn to an amateur if you were facing a serious illness and would likely seek out the services of a professionally trained physician, nonprofit boards can benefit from having a fundraising professional on board.

A fundraising professional can help give direction and provide insight to the board when creating a fundraising campaign as well as be able to design one that will increase the amount of funds that are raised. This is critically important for most nonprofits given the fact that fundraising is often a nonprofit's greatest source of funding. Being able to have a reliable professional to turn to can not only improve your nonprofit's ability to achieve its service level goals; it can also increase your ability to continue daily operating in a sustainable manner.  

Because of their training and experience, a fundraising professional is able to help unify your nonprofit's approach to fundraising. They also usually take on the responsibility of doing the hard work that is necessary to keep up with communications that build and strengthen relationships. This helps nonprofits to be able to keep their current donors involved and emotionally connected to the nonprofit's goals while seeking out new donors in ways that are the most cost effective.

Increasing the amount of monies that your nonprofit receives from fundraising is about more than simply asking for more money from your existing network of donors. The most successful fundraising campaigns are usually part of a multi-year fundraising strategy. A professional fundraiser is especially beneficial when it comes time to develop these long range fundraising plans for your nonprofit's organisation as their experience enables them to be able to provide realistic targets for your fundraising goals and likely costs from year to year. This allows your nonprofit to be able to take swift action should circumstances and needs change.

In short, while your nonprofit will likely have to pay to hire a fundraising professional, this cost will probably be more than offset by the increase in the amount of donations that you normally receive while reducing your fundraising costs by providing plans that result in greater focus and less waste during the actual fundraising process. 

Volunteering in an Emergency

Have you ever noticed how the worst and most miserable situations motivate people to instantly lend a helping hand? In cases of floods and fires, earthquakes and hurricanes, even in an emergency like this one, people forget about their differences, limited time and their own everyday problems and join together to form an astounding force driven by good and changing fates.

The recent Sampson Flat bushfire near Adelaide brought similar thoughts to Bev Langley, volunteer and operator of the Minton Farm Animal Rescue Centre. Seeing the hundreds of volunteers arriving to the area of the disaster from every corner of Australia, Bev commented, 'I think it has brought the best out in a lot of people.'

And here is an interesting question for every NFP organisation to think about – how can you use this particular knowledge to your advantage? Well, it is obvious that emergencies and urgent situations motivate people to volunteer. Of course, we don’t encourage you to set a school on fire and ask for help to save the children, but emergency may have many faces and forms. If you manage to convince people that your organisation needs urgent help in terms of volunteer force and donations, you will solve your problems for a long time to come.

One way to do this is, obviously, to have a very creative marketing campaign. Do not lie and do not distort the truth – just tell the facts in a really expressive, convincing and touching way. Remember why you started helping people, why you decided to help these particular people – and then tell the others why they should help. Do not show people that you will be fine without their help – instead 'We will be grateful for your help', say 'We need your help!' and instead 'As a volunteer you can make a difference' – 'You WILL make a difference!'. Using strong language will urge people to help and will make them think that you need them as soon as possible – and this is exactly the effect you want to achieve.

The most important thing you need to remember is that people need a reason to volunteer. You will get far weaker response if you tell them that you are recruiting just in case, or because it is good to volunteer in the first place. On the other hand, if you have an action that needs more people to organise, if the current levels of volunteering are really low and that may bring the end of your NFP, or if there is any other situation which requires urgent actions, you can be sure that people will respond.

To cut a long story short, you may need an emergency to recruit new volunteers and attract donors. The good news is that everything can be presented as an emergency. Actually, if you think about it, your organisation helps people, animals or the nature, and the fact that someone or something needs help is urgent enough to make people want to participate. You will just need to present it in the right way. Good luck!

Have You Applied For The 2014 Westpac Community Grants?

Is your NFP working to improve the lives of disadvantaged Australians?

Could you do with a boost to your funding?

The 2014 Westpac Community Grants might be just what you need.  The grants have been designed for specific purposes.  This is an extract from the Westpac page.

What we do fund:

• Projects that build on a community organisation’s core work
• Running costs, including salaries, to ensure that community organisations can maintain and develop their core work and services.

What we do not fund:

Organisations that do not have a Deductible Gift Recipient Item 1 status with the ATO, or are not auspiced

• Charities that mainly work overseas
• Hospitals, hospices or medical centres
• Medical research, funding for medical equipment or medical treatments
• Rescue services
• Schools, colleges and universities
• Sponsorship or funding towards a marketing appeal or fundraising activities
• Capital projects, appeals and refurbishments
• Projects that support animals or to promote animal welfare
• Programs promoting religion.

The Westpac Foundation has already provided over one million dollars of funding for community grants. These grants have helped over 113 Not for Profits to expand their operations.  That is a very impressive record.

This year there is a total of $530,000 in grant money available to groups who can meet the funding requirements.

If you have never applied for a grant before, take the time to read the documentation on how to apply and check the selection criteria.  Both are found on the information page.

Applications are open until March 31^st and grant recipients will be announced in June. Please visit the Westpac Foundation to discover more about the grants and to make your application.

How Your Blog Can Support Your Fundraising Efforts

Board meetings can be long and dull, particularly if you are focussing on some of the tough financial issues every not for profit organisation has to deal with.  The problem is that these kinds of tasks suck your energy and stifle your creativity.

It’s difficult to find a way to inspire people to support your charity when all you can think of are numbers.

That’s where your blog can be very useful.  The organisation’s blog is the perfect vehicle for spreading the message about what you do and why you do it.  As volunteer treasurer you should be involved in creating posts which show what happens to the money that people donate.

Take a look at the Starlight Foundation blog as an example.

What’s good about it?

·         It’s filled with photos which tell a story about the people they are helping.

·         It takes readers right into the lives of the children who need the help.

·         It shows their corporate successes and acknowledges their big benefactors.

·         It shows the volunteers actively helping people.

·         It introduces members of the team.

·         It is filled with personality and touches of humour.

Can you imagine how influential that blog could be for someone looking for a charity to support?  It touches every emotion you can think of plus it builds faith in the commitment of its workers.

As a volunteer treasurer you know where the money is being spent and why.  You know when your not for profit is going to need extra funding and you will know when to celebrate success and share it with your followers.  This can be used to help you plan the kind of posts you need to share and their timing.

The volunteer treasurer role isn’t just about counting and managing the money that comes in; it also involves inspiring people to donate.

If you don’t have a blog which tells the story of the work your not for profit organisation does, why not suggest starting one?

Is Social Influence Important?

Once upon a time fundraising was all about knocking on doors, making hundreds of lamingtons or selling raffle tickets. These days with the rise in popularity of social media comes a new way to raise money; through online social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs or LinkedIn. Not only are these methods free to use, the potential audience reach can mean a very successful campaign for a non-profit organisation.

Facebook

Aside from creating a page for your campaign and starting a fundraiser via a Facebook page, one of the most well-known social fundraising tools is called Facebook Causes.

Twitter

Also has a special platform called Twitplay. Twitplay works especially well because of the viral nature of Twitter – donations are created based on re-tweets which means more visibility and in turn, more donations.

Blog

Create a blog post, or series of blog posts on your fundraising campaign, your organisation, personal testimonials or stories using photos, videos and guest bloggers. This will create a more personal side to your non-profit organisation instead of just being seen as a large organisation.

You can also add a PayPal button at the end of the post (or posts) which will encourage and motivate people to donate.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn gets far less attention than other social networking sites but if used cleverly, it can really generate big business for non-profits by building on connections. LinkedIn also has search tools which will enable you to locate and find excellent prospects. You can target your search geographically, by industry or by keywords.

If you want to know more about LinkedIn and the first steps you should take, there is an excellent blog post entitled Getting to know LinkedIn written by Gayle Roberts.

So, back to the question – is social influence important? Without a doubt, yes. It is an essential way to raise money and awareness of a campaign in modern times and without it your non-profit organisation is not only missing out on potential sources for raising funds, but also awareness for your cause.

Using Facebook for Fundraising

If you thought that Facebook was a waste of time or perhaps useless for charities and not-for-profit organisations you might want to think again.  Take a look at how The Royal Children's Hospital Good Friday Appeal used Facebook for fundraising.

The charity set up its page in the weeks leading up to the event and had around 38.000 members within a few weeks. A report by Pro Bono News quotes the appeal director who says "....the Facebook page went from hundreds of fans joining up each day to thousands as the Appeal got closer – with each fan telling their own story of appreciation and care from the Royal Children’s Hospital.  She says as it got closer to the day the fans then began urging each other to donate as well as connecting up with families they had met at the hospital over the years."

The beauty of social media is that your fans become your campaigners as they each spread the word about your good work.

Have you set up your Facebook page yet?  If not, you could be missing out on some potential income.

Canberra Business Twitters US$1000 for Breast Cancer

When two businesses provide a funding boost to a volunteer organisation it is worth spruiking about. Well done Kayako for running the competition.

Canberra-based software company Admin Bandit has won US$1,000 on Twitter for Bosom Buddies, a local volunteer group that supports women living with breast cancer.

Director Nerida Gill secured the donation on the popular social networking site by entering a competition run by Kayako, an international provider of online help desk software, which invited entrants to nominate a charity to receive a funding boost.

“A number of friends and family have suffered from breast cancer, so this cause is close to my heart,” Gill says. “Bosom Buddies provides vital aftercare for women who have undergone painful treatment for a disease that is frightening and often makes them question who they are as women.”

As a provider of volunteer treasurer software in community groups and a user of Kayako, Gill is also pleased to have won funding for an organisation staffed by volunteers. “Everyone at Bosom Buddies gives their time and energy simply because they care,” she says. “This kind of selfless giving is the backbone of our communities.”

Bosom Buddies is delighted with the unexpected windfall: “Nerida’s donation is like a rainbow delivering a pot of gold,” says Marilyn Brookes, chair of the organisation’s breast awareness education subcommittee. “We raise all our own funds, which is time-consuming and hard work.”

Brookes says the gift will be used to provide a range of support for those experiencing breast cancer, as well as their families and supporters, including: education materials, 24-hour telephone support, a one-on-one buddy system, hospital visits, and practical surgery aftercare in the form of soft prostheses and cotton shoulder bags to hold post-surgery tubes.

Kayako Chief Operating Officer Ryan M Lederman is also pleased to assist such a strong initiative. “We’re glad Admin Bandit chose to donate their US$1,000 to Bosom Buddies,” he says. “Breast cancer is a very important problem facing the world today.”

Lederman adds that Twitter was the perfect forum for hosting the competition. “Social networking is hot right now,” he says. “We believe in building relationships that last a lifetime and we want people to know they’re our highest priority. Twitter is one of the best ways we know to do that.”

Sponsorship is NOT fundraising

As is often said, "money doesn't grow on trees" and sometimes the stress of being a volunteer treasurer comes from not having enough funds to achieve the goals of the organisation. Sponsorship can be the answer.

Sponsorship is not about donations. If you are looking for a donation - ask for it. If you are looking for sponsorship then it is important to understand that successful sponsorships are about understanding and delivering on your sponsors requirements. In most cases they do not share your passion for your cause. Instead they are looking for the commercial outcome resulting from their spend with you - their Return On Investment. 

Therefore, when approaching a sponsor don’t talk in terms of the outcomes their money will have for your organisation. Instead talk about how sponsoring your organisation will help them to achieve their organisational goals. When someone asks the question “Why should we sponsor your organisation?” you need to be able to respond “Because we can help you become more successful/profitable by …”. When communicating with your sponsor always keep in the forefront of your mind “how will this benefit them!!” By making it about them you will be much more successful!

This article was written by Julian Moore and reproduced from the Strategic Membership Solutions free email bulletin. SMS assists associations, charities and other nonprofits to be as successful as possible in generating income, developing and maintaining income streams and managing membership growth. They provide workshops and training and have great resources on their website. Now that you know the difference between a donation and a sponsorship, check our Julian's article on "Tips for approaching prospective sponsors".

Meeting your objectives through successful fundraising

Volunteer treasurers are an important part of any committee and if there are insufficient funds to meet the goals of the organisation it can make the job more stressful. This can be overcome by the organisation running successful fundraisers through goal setting.

S.M.A.R.T Goal Setting

Like all successful endeavours, a fundraiser should start by clearly setting its goals. There is nothing like a good goal to help your team focus on the job at hand, and keep the big picture in mind. The most common method for arriving at a goal is to use the SMART technique. That is, a goal should be:

Specific – well defined and clear
Measurable – activity or production should be quantifiable in terms of progress toward the goal
Agreed – all key stakeholders have agreed to the goal, and have some stake in its achievement
Realistic – based on real world estimates and information, and not over-ambitious
Timely – should have a time frame built in.

A well put together goal might read something like:

‘Kindergarten Centre aims to raise $5 000 by 30 June for the construction of new playground equipment’
Or
‘All funds raised from the Club Trivia Night will go toward purchase of new team uniforms’

Without clear goals there could be a lack of understanding among your team as to what you are trying to achieve – which means valuable energy and resources may not be being employed in the most productive way. You will find that your team will also be more cohesive, and experience a greater sense of achievement when your goals are achieved.

This article has been supplied by The Fundraising Directory who provide an A-Z guide to Fundraising Products and Services in Australia.