A Modern Approach to Fundraising with Facebook

Most nonprofits receive the bulk of their donations during the last quarter of the year. The last two weeks are especially critical if you want to capitalise on the spirit of generosity, goodwill and concern for others that is so prominent during the holidays. Use the following strategies to avoid the pitfalls and put Facebook to its best use in your end of year fundraising campaigns!

Help Your Supporters to Create and Share Personal Stories

Most Facebook users like to share content with their family and friends that show them in their best light. Help your supporters to spread the news about your nonprofit and the work that they are doing with you to help your cause. Create text and images that show what a difference a supporter’s donation or volunteer effort is making in your community and invite your volunteers and donors to use them on their own Facebook pages and other social media and ask their connections to join in and help them help you increase your impact!

Expand Your Reach with Facebook Ads

Even if you are on a tight marketing budget, Facebook Ads can be a cost-effective way to expand your audience and increase your donations. Use demographics and other built-in Facebook tools to target who is likely to see your ad and increase the chances that they will respond with a donation or other form of support.

Show Your Gratitude

Facebook isn’t just a place where you can share your nonprofit’s stories and engage with supporters. Don’t forget that it’s a great platform for expressing your thanks for the work and efforts of your volunteers and advocates as well as calling attention to donations big and small from donors of all levels. Use Facebook to give thanks to everyone that is involved in your cause and helping your community on a regular basis.

Seek Balance in Your Approach

Many nonprofits fall into one of two camps when it comes to using Facebook. They either ignore it altogether or, they use it exclusively and ignore all their other communications channels. Seek a balanced approach when it comes to using Facebook to build your brand and raise funds. Make sure that you integrate your Facebook marketing efforts into your overall marketing strategy and use a voice that brings all your messaging on all your channels into alignment with your mission and the impact that you wish to create in your community!

Want to learn more about how to create a Facebook page for your nonprofit that will improve your brand and increase your connection with your supporters? Check out our article New Facebook for NFPs, published on our sister site for more tips and tricks on using the platform to boost your results!

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Host a Charity Bake Sale

Need a fast, easy and fun way to quickly raise some cash for your nonprofit? Consider hosting a charity bake sale! This type of fundraiser not only increases the profile of your NFP in your community, but, it’s a great way to get more of your people directly involved in fundraising as you will need a host of volunteers to bake cakes, pies, cookies and other goodies, as well as sell them during your event! Consider using some of the following tips to ensure that your next bake sale is a success!

Enlist Help

Begin planning for your event early so that you have plenty of time to recruit several volunteers with culinary talent. Everything is more likely to go off without a hitch if you spread the workload out and have several people involved with the baking process.

Partner with local businesses or other third parties to increase the number and selection of baked goods that you offer for sale. Your partners may even be able to help with the actual selling process by providing space and manpower for displaying your baked goods and selling them on behalf of your organisation.

Diversify Your Offerings

The most successful bake sales offer a wide variety of tasty treats for sale. Think of multiple sizes and flavours of cookies, cakes, and cupcakes as well as pies, turnovers and similar fare. Be aware that some ingredients may put allergy sufferers at risk, so take the time to clearly label all of your baked goods that contain specific nuts and other allergens. Include some items that are gluten-free or that don’t contain eggs and dairy to give folks options if they are vegans or otherwise avoiding these ingredients.

Keep in mind that you don’t have to just offer the finished product at a bake sale. Jars of pre-made, speciality mixes for cakes, cookies and breads are popular choices at these types of events.  You could also offer tea, coffee and other refreshments to go along with the baked item. If you have a large space, consider offering to seat individuals who want to enjoy their purchase on-site.

Price Your Items

Offer items for sale at a scale that will encourage the items to move quickly. Clearly label each piece with its price before your event begins. Offer discounts to those who buy multiple items to promote greater sales.

Publicise Your Event

Make sure that you take advantage of all your social media channels to get the word out about your bake sale. Make and distribute flyers and handouts well in advance of the event, and consider advertising on local tv, radio and newspapers to publicise the event. You can also consider holding your sale in conjunction with another event that typically garners a lot of in-person foot traffic, such as a popular local festival or similar event.

Offer Additional Opportunities to Donate

Set up a mobile payments kiosk to make it easy for your supporters to tap, donate and go at your sale. Setting up a good old-fashioned collection jar is another way to encourage others to make a contribution to your organisation that’s above and beyond simply buying your baked goods.

Donate Any Leftovers

Rather than taking unsold items home, consider donating them to a local food bank so that nothing goes to waste.

Share Your Success!

Don’t forget to take pictures and videos of your event. Once you’ve tallied your proceeds, share the images of your sale, along with the results, on your website and social media to show everyone how much fun everyone had, and how their participation will be used to further your cause!

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How To Add Revenue Streams to Your NFP Event

To be worthwhile, nonprofits need to take in a healthy margin of revenue that’s above and beyond their costs to host their fundraiser. To accomplish this, many NFPs focus solely on increasing the price of admission, and the number of tickets that they sell, to reach their fundraising goals. This strategy can be a bit shortsighted, however, since it leaves potential sources of revenue on the table. The following tips will help you maximise your NFP’s revenue streams during events.

Use Sponsorships to Lower Your Cost

Seek out external third parties to sponsor your events to help defray some or all the costs associated with hosting the event. This way more of the funds that you raise can go directly towards your nonprofit’s programs and capital funding projects! Another way to reduce your costs is to recruit volunteers to staff the event!

Offer Tiered Ticket Packages

Consider offering general admission tickets, alongside VIP tickets that provide an enhanced experience. The latter will give more benefits to attendees during the event who pay the higher entrance fees. The benefits will help you  to increase the amount of revenue your NFP earns from the event.

Sell Refreshments and Merchandise

Selling concessions or merchandise that commemorate the event, such as customised t-shirts or coffee mugs, are great add-ons that typically sell well during concerts, festivals and similar events.

Sell Advertising

Another way to increase your event revenue is to diversify your NFP’s online and offline advertising spaces. In addition to allowing advertisers to place display banners on your event page, sell ad space on the event’s actual invitations, along with your NFP’s physical and email newsletters. Allow third parties to sponsor individual sessions during your event, or even invite them to showcase their expertise by leading workshops or seminars. You can also charge advertisers to hand out their brochures, freebies and other promotional items in person, or send several shout outs for your sponsor on your NFPs social media for a fee!

Survey Attendees and Sell the Research

Focus groups have long been a popular way for marketers to gather feedback from their target audience. Being able to assemble a large enough group of people for an official survey, however, is typically difficult, and costly to arrange. That’s why your nonprofit’s events are the perfect opportunity to poll attendees. The results offer valuable insight into a variety of potential topics that any number of marketers, advertisers or other researchers would be interested in obtaining in exchange for a fee.

Attend Free Training to Learn More

To improve your ability to raise additional funds at your events, consider attending this free online webinar offered by Charity How To on Wednesday, June 20th, 2018, at 3:00 PM (Local/EDT). The course is presented by event planner A. J. Steinberg, who will provide tips and insider secrets especially designed to help nonprofits increase their revenue streams.

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Fundraising – Where Do You Start

It takes more than good intentions to create an impact in your community. In addition to dedication and support from your staff and volunteers, your nonprofit will need to secure funding to pay for its programs and daily operations, as well as build your capacity to grow sustainably.

The following fundraising guide is a brief overview of how to get started raising the funds that your organisation will need to support its mission.

Set Goals

Before you start, it’s important to have a firm goal in mind of the amount that you want to raise with your current campaign. While prior targets can give you a good idea of where to start, you will also want to include room to account for changes in your donor list, and, the needs of your organisation. Try to set a target that is both reasonable, but a bit challenging as well.

While it might seem counterintuitive, setting a high bar can inspire affluent donors that want to make a significant contribution to causes they believe in and organisations that they think are serious about making a genuine impact.

When setting your goal, be sure to include benchmarks to help you measure your progress and the success of your event.

Create a Plan

Once you have a target in mind, you will need to decide on what type of campaign you will host. Will it be a special fundraising event, such as a gala or auction, or, will you be conducting an online campaign? How long will your drive last, and, finally, what steps do you need to take to make sure that this fundraising drive goes off without a hitch so that you reach your targets?

Recruit a committee to help you plan the event. The committee should make a list of every resource and item that is needed, along with assignments for who will be responsible for gathering the resources and putting into play at the event. Include such things on your list as VIPs, entertainment, catering for refreshments, the venue, items to be auctioned, publicity for the event, seating, transportation and so forth.

Set Your Budget

Once you have created a plan for your drive, you can then create a budget of estimated expenses for the campaign. Include a cushion of 10 to 20% of estimated charges to make sure that you will have enough funds to cover the costs before you make final preparations and publicity releases for the event.

Fund Your Plan and Put it into Action

Do you know how much you can reasonably expect to earn from your planned fundraiser, and, is this amount worth all the effort you are putting into the event? The total amount of donations that you reasonably expect to receive should far outweigh the total costs. Otherwise, it might be better to pare down your event or host a different type of fundraising campaign altogether.

Once you have decided on an event, created a plan and set the budget, it’s time to approach your board for approval and funding. Once approved, you can decide on a final date for the event and make arrangements for it to take place.

Get the Word Out

Publicity is an essential part of making your fundraising drive a success. In addition to any flyers, and direct invites you make to your list of donors and other supporters, make sure you utilise as many tools as possible to get the word out. Post on your website, and your social media channels. Send reminders via email, and text alerts on Twitter and elsewhere as the day draws near to encourage as many as possible to attend.

Evaluate Your Results

Once you host your event, it’s time to take a good look at what went right, and wrong. Use analytics to evaluate your results and point you in the right direction for ways that you can improve your processes before you host your fundraiser. The information that you uncover during this review will help you to create a strong foundation for your next fundraiser!

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From Financing to Fundraising: Altering Your Perspective

For generations, NFPs have placed their focus on raising funds from individual donations, endowments and grants to finance their operations and the services that they provide. This traditional approach could be holding your nonprofit back from being able to maximise its potential for growth.

Don’t Rely on Fundraising Campaigns Alone to Pay for your Operations and Goals

Fundraising will always be a crucial source of funding, but it shouldn’t be your sole source. The challenges faced by nonprofits today require more funds than what a few donations and grants can provide.

Rather than relying on fundraising campaigns alone to fund their mission, NFPs are better served by looking for a multitude of ways to finance their ability to serve their communities over the long-term. The following ideas can help your nonprofit to expand its sources of funding.

Cost Effective Campaigns

Many NFPs cycle through dozens of fundraising activities throughout the year, with very little downtime in between each fundraising activity or event. Holding several events during the year can literally wear out your staff and volunteers, not to mention your regular donors and other supporters!

When NFPs start to look for new sources of funding, they begin to move away from the mindset of, “What can we do with the amount that we’ve raised from our latest fundraiser?” They begin to see things from the perspective of, “How much must we raise to accomplish our goals, and, what are some different ways that we can secure the funding necessary to accomplish our short and long-term goals?”

Rather than focusing on the number of fundraisers to host in each year, the focus moves to how much net revenue is generated by each fundraiser. If a fundraising activity is costly in terms of time, money and other resources, and produces very little in terms of revenue or other benefits, then it’s discarded for activities that offer a higher net return.

Do Your Supporters Understand Your NFP’s Impact?

When fundraising, nonprofits typically place a great deal of emphasis on messaging, and, understanding the needs and values of core supporters and the intended audience. Targeted messages remain important.

Rather than focusing solely on answering your supporters’ questions and fulfilling their needs, however, NFPs need to do a better job with their messaging and make sure that supporters understand why the mission is important and how they can help your organisation create positive change in the community.

Just Because You’re a Nonprofit Doesn’t Mean that You Should Avoid Generating Revenue

A lot of nonprofits worry that charging for some, or all of their services, will be too complicated to get into, or, will distract them from achieving their overall mission. If your nonprofit lacks the monies that it needs to fund critical infrastructure, such as training and the appropriate software and other tools it needs to be effective, it may be time to rethink this strategy.

Just because your organisation is in the not-for-profit sector does not mean that you shouldn’t seek to raise revenue. Many nonprofits can increase their capacity and encourage greater growth by charging membership and rental fees for items such as equipment and storage. They might also charge for some, or all of their services. Others even sell products to help finance their overall operations as well as specific projects.

To increase the chances of success, nonprofits should look at their overall financial condition before they enter into activities designed to raise money for the cause. They should take steps to ensure that the activity that is generating revenue doesn’t interfere with their ability to provide critical core services while meeting their other financial obligations.

Should Your NFP Borrow to Finance its Goals?

Due to the unpredictability of any given fundraising campaign’s success, most nonprofits avoid debt. Taking on a loan might be a good move for your nonprofit, however, if it allows your NFP to expand its capacity to provide services, fund infrastructure and other capital improvements, and support long-term growth. As an alternative to loans, your NFP might want to consider earmarking funds in the budget specifically for projects and improvements that support long-term growth, as well as hosting specific campaigns to raise money for capital improvements.

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Facebook’s Free Fundraising Tools

A successful fundraising drive can mean the difference between being able to finance service projects that benefit the community and advance the mission forward, and, losing the ability to make an impact for your cause. A growing number of nonprofits now receive a substantial amount of their donations online, but, the results of these campaigns can be hit or miss.

Often individuals that are interested in your nonprofit’s work can easily be distracted as they navigate between pages. This is especially true if they are following a link in a social media post to reach your site and donate.

The more clicks that your supporters need to make before they donate makes it all too easy to get sidetracked and click away. No matter how urgent and emotional your call to action may be, it’s just too easy for followers to surf on to something else instead of following through and making a donation.

A Better Fundraising Toolkit

Now, Facebook is offering nonprofits a way to improve their ability to fundraise directly on their site: Facebook Fundraising Tools. In the past, supporters that connect with you on Facebook would need to see and read your post, and click on the correct link, assuming you included one, to reach your site and learn how to donate.

Prominent Donation Buttons Prompt Supporters to Take Action

With these new tools, you can collect donations directly from your Facebook page, and, within your posts. In addition to being able to add a donate button to your page and posts, you can also add one to your live video, and, the ads that you place on Facebook. This allows you to more directly control where supporters go when they click, directing them to the specific web address that you designate.

Tools Allow Supporters to Make Fundraising Personal

Perhaps the best feature is that the new tools allow your supporters to create and share their own fundraising drives on Facebook. This allows your supporters to share just how your nonprofit has made a difference in their life and improved your community. These personal appeals help to raise awareness about your cause, and, maybe more successful than some other types of fundraising since it allows supporters to share your nonprofit’s story with their family and friends.

Allowing your supporters to personalise their fundraising efforts on behalf of your nonprofit adds a genuine human touch to their fundraising appeal, which should increase its chance of success. Their connections can then share the fundraiser on their own social media, which further boosts your reach.

There are some requirements that nonprofits need to meet to qualify, but since the tools are free for nonprofits, and hold the promise of dramatically increasing your fundraising results, they are well worth the few moments it takes to learn more about the eligibility requirements and apply.

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How To Budget For NFP Events

Fundraising campaigns are one of the most significant sources of funding for most nonprofits. Most fundraising events are not without cost, however.

Preparing a budget for special fundraising events helps nonprofits avoid overspending, especially if their event does not raise an amount equal to or greater than its fundraising goal.

The Importance of Setting a Large Enough Fundraising Goal

When making plans for your nonprofit’s next fundraiser, it’s important to set an appropriate amount as your fundraising goal. This goal should be realistic; it should be an amount that your nonprofit can reasonably expect to raise during the event.

Your fundraising goal should also be for an amount that is large enough to cover all of the costs and expenses associated with the event. In addition to this amount, you will want to add a net sum that is left over after all of the costs are paid. This net sum should be large enough that it justifies the time and effort that is put into hosting the event.

The Importance of Creating a Detailed Budget Specifically for the Event

You should create a separate, completed budget that lists each expense that will arise as a result of hosting the event. This list should be thorough, and highly detailed to help you avoid under budgeting.

When creating your budget, look at the history of past, similar fundraising events held by your nonprofit. Look at the types of costs that were incurred, as well as the amounts that you have raised during these events. Can your nonprofit reasonably expect to spend a similar amount, or, have costs increased in one or more categories? Determining the answers to these questions can help you avoid underestimating the actual expenditure.

At the very least, your budget should include the cost to rent the venue for the event, as well as unique items related to the location. For example, will your nonprofit need to rent extra tables and seats or other items and equipment to hold the event at the designated location? Be certain to include realistic estimates for these items in your budget.

Catering, staffing, creating and sending invitations, security, transportation, VIP accommodations,  entertainment, ticketing, fundraising software, marketing materials, promotional and gift items/event swag are all typical expenses associated with special fundraising events, so be certain that you include these and any other costs in your budget.

Don’t Forget to Plan for the Unexpected and Include it in Your Budget

It’s also a good idea to include a built-in “cushion” in your budget to help your nonprofit be able to cover the cost of unforeseen events to help you make certain that your nonprofit has enough funds to cover the cost of the event.

Use Caution When Attempting to Cut Costs

Many nonprofits are still feeling the pinch from the global economic downturn of a few years ago, and remain short of funding, especially given the resulting cuts in Federal monies in the form of grants that many nonprofits relied upon. If your nonprofit is struggling financially, it can be tempting to cut corners to reduce spending. While reining in expenses is important, it’s equally important to avoid cutting quality.

For example, you don’t want to skimp and not spend enough on marketing, and word fails to get out about your event. You also want to make certain that you choose reliable vendors for the venue, catering, and so on. Just because one vendor offers a lower price, doesn’t mean that you can depend on them to deliver on time. Make certain that you still check references and look at past histories in addition to price when comparing services and creating your budget.

Accurately budgeting for your special event is an important part of ensuring your nonprofit’s financial stability. Don’t forget the traditional fundraising metrics such as net revenues and costs to raise when hosting your event, and preserve this information to help you more accurately forecast the budget for your nonprofit’s next special event.

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3 Smart Ways to Keep Donors Happy and Informed

Many nonprofits place the focus of their fundraising efforts on broadening their base of support, and increasing the reach of their messaging in order to recruit new donors. Retaining your current donors, however, is just as important as attracting new ones.

Generally, it’s easier to convince an existing donor to donate again than it is to convince individuals that are unfamiliar with your organisation to donate to your cause. This is because your current donors are likely already acquainted with your nonprofit’s mission and the important work that your NFP does to help its community.

While existing donors are already aware of the good work that you do, that doesn’t mean that you no longer have to put forth any effort if you want to receive additional contributions. In fact, it can require a great deal of follow-up and interaction to retain an existing donor and encourage them to continue to donate on a regular basis.

Maintaining the relationship and encouraging donor engagement is critical, the following are a few tips to improve your relationship with your existing network of donors so that they are more likely to want to continue to support your cause.

Show Gratitude

One reason way some donors choose to not make repeat donations is that they do not feel as though their contributions are appreciated. On your organisation’s website, make certain that you are expressing a heartfelt thank you to all donors, regardless of the level of their donation. Ensure that your online donations send an automatic expression of thanks at the moment that the donation is made.

To encourage repeat donations, especially to contributors who make larger contributions, or re-occurring payments, use a more personal touch to show your thanks. A handwritten note sent by post, a telephone call, or even taking the time to thank the donor in person all require extra effort and show your donors that your organisation truly appreciates their support.

For regular donors, and large donations, you might even consider sending complimentary free tickets to your nonprofit’s next gala, ball, auction or other event to show your appreciation and gratitude. Offering donors, perks, awards and other forms of recognition goes a long way towards building a relationship with your donors and keeping them happy and engaged with your nonprofit.

Keep them Updated

Donors are more likely to continue to contribute to your nonprofit when you keep them updated and informed about your latest, news, events and projects on a regular basis. Ensure that your website has a page that is devoted to interest stories that show the impact of your non-profit’s work.

Use social media networks such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to keep donors updated as well as to offer recognition for their efforts by giving individuals donors a shout out when they participate and give during special drives and other fundraising events.

Make certain that you post updates on items of interest to your donors in all of your nonprofit’s publications, including newsletters, emails, podcasts, and videos. Donors normally contribute because they want to make a difference and they are more likely to contribute on a regular basis when they can “see” the progress that your nonprofit is making towards fulfilling its mission.

Be Transparent

Donors are more likely to give to nonprofits when they trust them and the individuals that are involved with the day to day operations of the organisation. Take steps to increase your NFP’s transparency. Publish financial updates that show the status of your nonprofit’s financials. Devote a specific page to financials on your nonprofit’s website and update it frequently. Include staff pages and short biographies for board members, administrators and other employees or volunteers so that donors can learn about the backgrounds and personalities of those who are integrally involved in your organisation.

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Seeking Grants: What Are You Doing Wrong?

With only a limited number of grants available, most nonprofits face significant competition in getting their grant applications approved. Limited funding is not the only reason why some nonprofits are declined when they apply for grants and other sources of public money.

Sometimes, organisations themselves may be their own worst enemy when it comes to getting their request approved. The following checklist can help your nonprofit increase the likelihood that their application for funding will win approval.

Does Your NFP Follow the Rules?

Most organisations and institutions that offer grants and endowments have a list of instructions for the applications, as well as specific reporting requirements and deadlines. A surprising number of NFPs fail to take the time to read, understand and then comply with these instructions which can frustrate program advisers, grant committee members and others involved with the approval process.

Even something as simple as failing to reply to a request for additional information, to complete a survey, or to provide other feedback can decrease the likelihood that your grant application will be approved or renewed, so be certain to follow all of the rules and instructions and submit all materials in a timely fashion.

Did You Use All Prior Funds Before Applying for a Renewal?

Since available funds are indeed, limited, your nonprofit is less likely to be approved for a renewal of funding if your organisation has not already used all of the funds from your last grant before you apply for renewal. It’s also important for nonprofits to be able to show in their application how any funds from other grants have been spent, and how these funds directly impact their ability to deliver services and fulfil their mission.

Do You Take time to Build Relationships with Program Advisors?

Most organisations that offer grants, endowments and other similar types of funding provide a program advisor or officer that acts as a liaison between the grant bearing entity and nonprofits that apply for grants. Make certain that your nonprofit promptly responds to any requests for information from the program advisor on a timely basis, and always follow up with the designated advisor whenever you have questions about the grant process.

It’s also a good idea for nonprofit’s to follow up with their advisor throughout the year to strengthen their bonds as well as to ensure that they stay abreast of any upcoming changes to the grant making process.

Do You Proofread and Provide Complete, Accurate and Honest Information in Applications?

Finally, it’s always a good idea to go back over your application, as well as any other supplementary information that you provide, before you submit your nonprofit’s application. Take the time to proofread to check your spelling and grammar for mistakes. Make certain to check that all of the facts, data and other information that you have included in your application are complete, relevant, and correct! It’s very important that your organisation be honest in the application and give honest, fair opinions, evaluations and details about the nature of your nonprofit, the challenges that your nonprofit faces, and your specific plans for the money if funds are granted.

Before submitting the application go back over the requirements provided by the entity that is accepting applications and make certain that this grant, and the organisation that is providing the grant, are a good fit for your nonprofit. Also, it’s a good idea not to wait until the last minute to file, but try to submit your grant proposal and application as early as possible to show that your organisation is responsible, and is planning ahead.

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How To Raise Funds Without Fundraising

Some people find it hard to ask other people for money, even when it’s not for personal gain, but when it comes to not for profit organisations, the responsibility to stay financially viable partially rests on the shoulders of the board.  There are however creative ways to create income without ‘fundraising’.

Neil Edgington from Social Velocity has practical and nonthreatening suggestions on his article 9 Ways Board Members Can Raise Money Without Fundraising.

Edgington strongly recommends using the personal networks of board members in a variety of ways.  Well connected members may have access to information that can add weight to a submission, tender or contract, or be in a position to arrange a meeting with a contact in a targeted business partner or customer.

Board members who are business leaders or entrepreneurs are also of great value in accessing extra income, as they may be able to help create or assess a business plan in relation to an earned income venture, highlighting opportunities and strengths, as well as potential risks.

Also discussed by the author and according to Penelope Burk’s annual donor survey, 84% of donors would “give again if they were thanked in a timely manner”.  A personal visit by a board member, and an explanation of why they are committed to the organisation might be just the catalyst the donor needs to dig deeper, or recommend a donation to another potential benefactor.

Another avenue worth considering but not discussed by Edgington, is whether your organisation has underutilised infrastructure or skills that are worth a premium to other parties.  For example, you may own buses or offices that can be used out of hours on a fee for service basis, or be able to offer consultancy, advice or audit type services in your area of specialty to organisations starting out or experiencing a period of change or review.

In an uncertain and less buoyant financial climate than one seen for many years, the responsibility of boards to assist in maintaining financial stability for their organisation is stronger than ever, but need not be confrontational or uncomfortable.  You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

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