Birthday Wish

Use your birthday to change the world! We all get things we don’t need for our birthdays, why not use this special occasion to raise money for a cause you really care about? This feature allows any Facebook user to create a Birthday Wish and ask their friends to donate to the cause of their choice as a birthday present. We also provide promotional tools such as emails to friends, status messages, and more. To create your own Birthday Wish, go to http://apps.facebook.com/causes/birthdays/new

space

TIPS

*Make it personal – pick a cause that is meaningful to you and reflects your interests. Your friends will feel more invested in supporting your cause if they know why it means something to you.

*Don’t be afraid to ask. Your friends can’t donate to your birthday wish unless they know about it! Use our tools to send emails and set status messages, but don’t forget to talk to your friends about it, post the link everywhere you can think of, and get the word out.

*Say thank you! Don’t forget to thank your friends who donate. A personalized heartfelt thank you means a lot.

space

TIPS FOR NONPROFITS AND CAUSE ADMINISTRATORS

*Spread the following link around to all your supporters. This link is customized for your cause specifically – when someone clicks on it, they will create a birthday wish with your cause already selected as the beneficiary: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/birthdays/new?cause_id=[PUT CAUSE ID HERE]

-don’t know your cause ID? Go to your cause. Your cause id is the number after http://apps.facebook.com/causes/_____ OR you can also click “Admin Center” then the “Birthday Wish” tab for your customized link.

*Post an announcement on your cause telling your members to start birthday wishes if they have birthdays coming up. Don’t forget to include the customized link above and to send the announcement as an email and a Facebook notification (check both boxes under the announcement).

*Send an email to your email list asking your supporters to create Birthday Wishes.

*Some of our most successful birthday wishes so far have been board members of nonprofits. Make sure your board members, employees, interns, and supporters know about this opportunity!

*Use your website, Twitter feed, newsletter, e-newsletter, put it in email signatures, or use other ways you talk to your existing supporters to get the word out. The more people know about this, the more people can start fundraising for you.

*Get creative – start a contest for who can raise the most money for their birthday next month. Coordinate several supporters to all start birthday wishes and then throw a real birthday party for them. Offer to recognize the top birthday fundraiser in your newsletter. Challenge your two top supporters to both start a birthday wish and then publicize who’s winning and encourage others to donate to one of their birthday wishes.