Last month, the Causes Impact Team held a contest to pick four fundraising projects, submitted by our nonprofit partners, to coach and promote to Causes users. Even if you didn’t apply or your project was not one of the lucky winners, you can still create new fundraising projects at http://nonprofits.causes.com/campaigns/new.To help you get started, we’ve thought long and hard to synthesize the four most important tips for successful fundraising on Causes:
FUNDRAISING PROJECT TIP #1: Demonstrate Impact
- When selecting a project, make sure that your goals are achievable and that it’s specific impact — not just fundraising for your general fund. Explain the costs and goals of your project to your supporters so they understand your intentions. You want your potential donors to know what you are doing with the money and what kind of impact the project will have once it’s complete. This level of transparency helps your donors understand how they are helping create change by supporting you.
FUNDRAISING PROJECT TIP #2: Make it Relatable
- Tell a story with your project. You want your organization’s efforts to catch the eye of people across Causes who care about the issue your project is based on. Even if your project has a local focus, keep in mind how to communicate the importance of what you’re doing to both local supporters and new supporters outside your immediate community.
FUNDRAISING PROJECT TIP #3: Break Down the Costs
GiveIndia provides a powerful example of effectively breaking down the costs for their donors. To provide life-changing cataract surgery for one elderly person in India, the cost is $25. See how GiveIndia used the Donor Choices feature to reflect this on their cause. Specifying price points for what your project costs is not only inspiring to potential donors but can also increase the average donation amount on your cause. To create Donor Choices for your project, click on the Donor Choices tab of your Fundraising Project in your Nonprofit Partner Center.
FUNDRAISING PROJECT TIP #4: Use Your Network
- It is important to remember to leverage all communities surrounding your organization in order to publicize your fundraising project. Instead of viewing Causes as an entirely separate community, make sure you reach out to all of your offline and online supporters when you start your fundraising project!
Remember to use these tips and others in How to Run a Successful Fundraising Campaign when you start your next fundraising project. Stay tuned for the launch of our four Supercharged Projects!
And don’t forget about this month’s webinar at 2pm EDT on July 27th! This month’s topic is Expanding Your Network: Tapping into the Full Potential of Social Media through Collaboration and Outreach. We’ll teach you how to find potential partnerships, reach out to them, and greatly expand your organization’s potential. How did a 2-person nonprofit organization get 3.7 million people to sign their petition about breast cancer? How did another small nonprofit get 98 causes to feature their fundraising campaign? This is a session you won’t want to miss. Register at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/911367771
Welcome to the Causes Blog
" RT @ecorazzi: #Twilight star @KellanLutz asks for donations for @PETA to purchase a new #rescue van to transport animals. http://t.co/tU ... " — causes Connect with us: 
2 Responses to Supercharged Fundraising Tips
Fundraiser coins
Whether your group is large or small, fundraising ideas are always needed to generate resources for the group’s mission. With fundraising coins, there are several options available that are unique and will help make your fundraiser stand out. Using a sample coin production process, your organization can have a customized coin in hand to promote a fundraiser, to market sales, and to generate public interest in your cause. This product-in-hand is unique as a tool to generate funds. Once donors are identified and money is collected, simply complete the order to exactly how many fundraiser coins are needed. There is no need for inventory, wasted or unused products, or worry about perishables. Many fundraisers provide products that are either consumable or trivial, and almost none of them are customizable with your group’s logo or mission statement. Donors who purchase a fundraiser coin will have something that will last forever and will always be mindful of your mission that they helped to support.
Another option for groups with a large monetary goal in mind is to have fundraising coins made for different levels of giving. For example, a $20 pledge could earn a bronze coin, $50 for a silver coin, $100 for a gold coin, and $500 for a platinum (rhodium) coin. The versatility of metals used for production of coins allows your organization to work with the manufacturer to create a design once but have multiple finished products using that design.
These are good tips for anyone trying to fundraise for their favorite cause(s). We think that #4 is especially key– getting your cause out to everyone in your address book and then some will ultimately pay off for anyone trying to raise funds. In our blog about how to raise $1,000 in a week’s time (http://bit.ly/bU7Zqp), we add on a very important tip: set a big goal.
If you show people you are asking for money that you have a target in mind, they are more likely to donate. Asking for smaller amounts, like $10, will get you smaller amounts; ask for bigger donations. Then, if you get smaller, at least you tried. Thanks for the post!