Online Fundraising : Raise Money For Causes

School Fundraising Campaigns Online Get More Donations Fast

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:27:02 -0700

Are you involved with school fundraising projects? It’s often difficult in the real world to raise enough money for school projects or other initiatives through regular fundraising efforts. In the age of the Internet you can bring your school more money by taking the bulk of your fundraising effort online and generating interest in your campaign.

Traditional Fundraising Efforts

No matter how hard you work there’s only so much money you can raise in your local area. You can have the traditional bake sale or have a community car wash day but this usually doesn’t provide the school with the funds you need to meet your fundraising goals. When you need money for field trips and other school projects this can be difficult to achieve without enough funds coming in through your efforts.

The Internet

Online you can raise money quickly because you’re able to reach a very wide audience through your efforts. You can get more people interested in your project, even if they aren’t in the same locations you are. This is a very powerful way to raise money for your school and help meet the financial needs of the school so students can take those trips or get equipment they desperately need. Online fundraising websites such as Fundly can help you achieve this.

Why Go Online to Fundraise?

The main reason you should take your fundraising efforts online is the amount of money you can raise. With the Internet you can reach a great deal more people who might be interested in your project and the needs of your school. A regular fundraiser just doesn’t have the reach needed to bring the funds in that you need. Websites like Fundly allow you to do so many things to help you raise the finances needed.

With a site such as Fundly you can begin to raise your funds immediately after you sign up and start getting the income you need for your school projects and other plans. You can add videos, text, and images to your campaign in a few minutes so you can give the visitors to your campaign a multimedia experience. You have the ability to define custom levels of giving so people can donate as little or as much as they want to your cause. The Fundly site has social sharing features so you can send your fundraising effort to social media sites and gather even more support for your cause.

With the Fundly site you can use the dashboard provided for you to see how your campaign is doing and how many supporters you currently have. You can have your supports share your fundraiser through their own personal accounts such as Facebook and Twitter so your message spreads quickly online.

Starting a campaign on a site such as Fundly just makes sense as it offers you an amazing opportunity to reach many more people that are interested in supporting school fundraising causes such as yours but don’t know where to donate their money. Taking your fundraising online will help you reach these people and bring your school that needed money.

Combine Online and Offline Efforts

You can use online fundraising along with your regular local fundraising to bring even more money and support to your cause. You don’t need to give up your regular efforts when you go online you just get more options to raise money when you take the campaign online.

When your school is in need of funds for projects and more, you should consider raising money online using an online fundraising platform that makes fundraising for schools so much more efficient and productive for all involved. To learn more, check out one of the leading fundraising platforms, called Fundly today.

Fundraising Online Gets More Donations for Non-Profits, Churches, Kids, and more

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:21:48 -0700

The State of Online Fundraising for Causes of All Shapes and Sizes

This is great for getting word about your cause and/or news around the world quickly, it is great for sharing information in general, and it’s also great for raising awareness about fundraisers. By comparing traditional fundraising with online fundraising, you will find ways to combine the two and/or just go raise money online in a much easier way for your fundraiser, whatever size your goal is, or the amount of people involved with it is as well.

When it comes time to plan a fundraiser, online fundraising is rarely what comes to mind for many people.. in the past, but that is changing as we now know. People tend to still go right to the classics like bake sales, door to door canvassing and car washes. These can be great ways to raise awareness as well as cash, but online fundraising can be much more effective in a lot of cases. No up front investment, hours and hours of time spent, while only gaining a little return in donations. Plus, you have to manually collect cash and checks, make trips to the bank, have excel sheets to keep count of who donated and more. As you can see, the time keeps adding up.

When trying to organize a carwash fundraiser, for example, you’ll need a whole group of people to volunteer. You’ll need people to make signs, while others stand around holding the signs and getting attention, you’ll need people to wash the cars and people to handle the cash, too. When you think about all of the work that has to go into it, many of the organizations are starting to think about if their investments and efforts could be better used elsewhere. When running a bake sale, for example, if doesn’t do too well you can actually end up losing money that was spent on buying all of the ingredients. Whether you decide to go with traditional fundraising, online fundraising, or a combination of them both - it is very important to make sure you stay on top of the finances.

Online fundraising allows you to get your message out there in a very inexpensive way, but better yet, it allows you to do more of the things you love doing the most and not spending so much time on just fundraising. By simple building a website or a small community online, you’ll be able to share information and interact with people who want to support your group. Clever fundraisers can think of ways to attract a whole lot of attention to their cause to help with their online fundraising.

By bringing together the power of the social web to spread news and to build up a community, and combining that with more traditional types of fundraising, you may really be amazed at how much of a boost you can give to all of your future fundraising efforts. Online fundraising has already proven itself to be incredibly effective time and time again, so why not claim a piece of that successful fundraising pie for your organization today?

Fundraising for Churches continues to move online

More and more, we’re seeing church fundraisers make the move online, but specifically, email and social media networks. Having a website is a great way to promote your church events, share information, and even for any number of your church fundraisers. But, here we are going to be looking at some ways to use the internet to raise money for a church. Church fundraising online using Facebook and other social networks is one of the primary reasons that churches are able to help out in the community, and abroad as well. Anybody who is curious about fundraising for churches online will find value in learning more here.

Why is online giving to churches and other causes growing in popularity?

●Convenience. It’s so easy and convenient to give money online to a church fundraiser. If you cannot attend a fundraiser, you can still give a donation online.

●Donations are Tax-Deductible: Often when making qualifying donations online, you’ll be able to get a tax receipt right away.

●Less resources needed. To raise money online takes a lot less investment of time, money, and other resources than trying to organize large offline and event fundraisers.

●Combine classic fundraising with online fundraising, and you will have found out an excellent way to raise money for a church.

The reason that online fundraising churches along with working together with traditional fundraising methods can work so well is really quite simple. We’ll use a traditional friend-raising event or better, a bake sale as an example. A bake sale with 20 some customers likely isn’t going to do as well as a bake sale with 120 customers. Using the internet, for example a fundraising website, a mailing list or even a Facebook page, you can promote the fundraiser and immediately raise awareness for this bake sale and allow members of your church to spread the news easily as well.

So, there is no doubt that churches will continue to turn online for their fundraising because there are just so many advantages. Creativity is rewarded when it comes to the internet, and the potential to gain a lot of attention is very desirable for any kind of church fundraising. The internet is a great way to spread the word about church fundraisers.

Fundraising for Kids is Moving Online Too!

Some of the most popular fundraisers for kids traditionally are things like selling chocolates door to door, candy, suckers, arts and crafts sales, rummage sales, concerts, car washes, and things of that nature. These are all great ways for kids get involved with charity and/or to raise money, whether it’s for their school or for a sports team or any other kind booster club. The most important part is telling your story and then getting your message out there and letting people know that you are raising money for a good cause. You’ll only be able to reach so many people rather than by standing outside a grocery store or going door-to-door, which can be dangerous to subject your kids to this. This article aims to explore ways for kids fundraisers to gain more exposure using technology and using the social web.

Kids are spending more and more of their time behind the computer screen. And now, with smart phones, they’re even online during the day and when they’re out and about. It’s time that fundraising for kids adapted to our world’s growing technology evolution and embraced it for the many ways that it can help with kids fundraisers.

With an online fundraising platform for crowdfunding donations from supporters via social media networks, there is much less of a headache to worry about anymore. You won’t have big or even small envelopes stuffed with cash coming in to sort, organize, or have to deal with any extra or missing money, and then make one or several trips to a local bank to deposit everything. An online fundraising platform can help you take care of all of this for you, and can also help in a lot of other ways. Combining the power of social networking alongside a quality online fundraising platform will create a very powerful duo, as we’ll see all of this right away with your increase in donations, fun, feedback, and fundraising success for your kids fundraiser.

Hypothetically, say that there are 15 kids fundraising for something they care about. These 15 kids will be going door to door, may be able to reach about 20-30 people each. If, however, each one of these kids goes online and uses social media to share their cause with a few friends (with the parents supervision), then those friends can in turn share it with their friends, and that’s exactly what happens when something goes viral with mass engagement.

Kids fundraising online by using the internet to help is a really great way to raise awareness for their fundraisers of all sizes, which in turn will translate into a lot more contributions for the organization, since it is really tough to say no to a kid. When kids fundraisers goes online with the help of their parents, you’ll also be able to create and manage email lists which is a great way to relay information, updates and progress reports to everyone who is involved. Place a picture and appeal message with you kid on the fundraising page, and boom, donations will flow in. This will also give you a great way to keep in touch with past donors, since they’re more likely to give again to the kids at the appropriate time. Keeping previous donors up to date with where their money has gone, for example a newsletter saying what the kids are up to, is a great way to encourage them to give again someday, especially if they know that what they gave to through these kids got done and was accomplished.

Fundraising for Schools and PTA Fundraisers Has Moved Online

With a super busy schedule these days, it can be really hard to find time to do a lot of things for parents and teachers. Many people want to participate in their school’s parent teacher association, but they worry it will be too big of a commitment, since they are capped for free time. PTAs often help to organize and promote fundraisers for the school, and their jobs have gotten a lot easier thanks to the internet. The rest of this article will be discussing how pta fundraisers can turn to crowdfunding platforms to kick off their projects in order to simplify the fundraising process for everyone involved.

Crowdfunding is when a group of people come together to provide support and funding for something they typically really care about. You’ve likely heard about a number of popular platforms used to get massive amounts of donations and exposure in very little time and effort involved. This strategy can also work on a smaller scale for pta fundraising events and campaigns literally for any size goal.

When the PTA has special fundraising goals in mind to raise money for their cause, sometimes you really just don’t need to worry about running more bake sales or other traditional ways that you often see the pta fundraising committees opting for. If the goal is something enough people care about, they will likely just give on their own, and also share what they care about with their friends too. Schools around the world have raised a lot of money through donations to specific projects. It’s important to make sure people can connect with your project, to relate the need to their own lives, and to be able to share the process with several others if they wish to. If you can find a combination of those successful elements, you will undoubtedly find that fundraising for a pta event can be a lot easier than it has been in the past, thanks to the use of social fundraising and the evolution of social networks online.

Using the awesome social web for pta fundraisers gives you a much better tangible reward for the amount of time you will likely put in otherwise. It takes a lot less time than trying to round everyone up for meetings, delegating tasks, dealing with scheduling conflicts, trying to avoid drama and all the other headaches that are notorious for causing problems within a PTA committee. The less time that everyone involved needs to spend on running and managing the pat fundraisers, the more time that and the other members will have to work on all of your important projects you would love to be doing, and of course time to work on putting that money to good use.

So, Why use Social Fundraising Platforms to Crowdfund Donations Online?

Fundraising online is easy. It is social. It is fun. It is typically more successful. You can spend much less time and investment. The return on your time and effort with donations is always much higher. You can also increase supporter engagement, grassroots fundraising, donations, donor retention, and lifetime giving value of your donor base much easier and in higher quantity than when using old school fundraising techniques to raise money. Give it a shot today. Here is a really great solution for online fundraising you should check out and test and/or launch a campaign fundraiser online for your cause.

By opting for online fundraising, it makes it a lot easier for cause-based fundraisers of all sizes to raise the money they need fast and with little time and effort that typically goes into campaign based fundraisers.

Fundraising for Schools Online Provides an Easy Way for Fundraisers to Collect Donations

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:20:14 -0700

Fundraising for schools has come a long way from a campaign that is done in schools and communities through different events to being available online making it accessible to as many donors and interested fundraisers as possible. The Internet, but especially popular social media networks is an excellent place for you to advertise about your school fundraising campaign. There is no need for you to sell cookies and candy bars door to door for your school. Online fundraising for schools is a great, better and more lucrative alternative.

Some of the benefits of using the Internet to raise funds for school include not having products to sell, no upfront cost, no money to collect and no orders to list. Instead of using your energy and resources selling all those stuffs just to collect as much profit as you need, your time can be very useful in trying to make your website desirable and appealing to those who may be interested in giving their donations on it.

Creating a free fundraising website for your school is very easy given that the Internet provides free tools you can make use of. This can help teachers, students and parents to collect donations every time your supporter gives their donations online. Online school fundraisers have helped a lot of schools raise thousands of dollars each year and this is one very good reason on why you should consider using this as a way to collect funds for your school.

An online fundraising campaign has two unique aspects that will surely benefit your organization. First of all, there are no sign up fees, costs on memberships and other payments involved with joining. Secondly, there are many channels where you can advertise about your campaign such as the use of social media websites like Facebook and Twitter where everyone in the community can learn about the ongoing fundraising campaign of your school.

Fundraising for schools online can also spread your campaign more easily and students will be more motivated to participate in the campaigns as they can easily make some posts, tweets and comments about your fundraising campaign. The good thing about using the Internet to raise funds and find more donors is you get to provide them with the information they need before making their donations such as your mission or vision, your goals and your cause.

When the donor understands these details while browsing your website, they will be able to easily decide on whether or not they should give to your school. It is important to post some photos about your accomplishments as it will inform the donors where their donations have been used. When they are able to see their donations have been put to good use such as acquiring laboratory equipments, repairing buildings, buying books and other supplies or any other purpose, they will be more inspired to give continuously and support your campaign to raise money and make your school an excellent place for learning.

A lot of schools from all over the country have exploited the Internet in reaching out to their school fundraisers and donors and even in expressing their gratitude for the support they extend on them.

Fundraising for schools can be made very easy for all involved when using a quality online fundraising platform to raise money online from your supporters via popular social media networks.

Recruiting Volunteers Through Social Media Networks

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:18:36 -0700

It may take a village to raise a child, but it takes a community to run a nonprofit. While many for-profit companies focus mainly on marketing and perfecting a product, it often times feels as though nonprofits are running two “businesses”. One side of their organization includes the day-to-day business operations that all companies have to oversee to ensure smooth operation.

On the other side, they have a second list of management duties pertaining to fundraising and addressing the purpose of their cause with its countless projects. Garnering volunteers through social media is one way non-profits can juggle these additional tasks, while having supporters invest in the future of their organization. Here are some ways to recruit individuals to donate their time and talents using online tools.

ASK!

This may seem terribly obvious, but many people would be willing to help if they only knew what the need was. Create a wish list/job list of what you need done in your organization and post it on your website.

For example, if you have an event or big campaign coming up, analyze every essential aspect and list specific jobs that need to be completed, how long the tasks will take, and how many people will be required to get the work done. Once you post your plea for volunteers on your website, Facebook, and Twitter, provide the necessary steps to sign up online. Construct an easy-to-use form specifying day/time options and what task they would like to work on along with the basic contact information.

KNOW WHERE TO LOOK

Sometimes just knowing where to look can make all the difference. There are several companies, students, and other organizations looking for volunteer opportunities. Many large businesses offer a day off for community work to provide team building skills. High school seniors have a required number of volunteer hours that they need to complete in order to graduate.

Connect with a high school counselor or vice principal and ask if you can leave forms for students to contact you to complete their volunteer hours. Countless college students are looking for internships for job skills and experience to put on their resumes. Organizations like the Girl Scouts or church youth groups want to reach out and get participants more involved in their communities.

There are also increasing numbers of online resources available to find individuals or organizations around you that may want to partner with you on a project. Check out websites such as Idealist.org, Volunteermatch.org, Sparked.com and Mediacause.org to get matched up with volunteers on short-term projects or for long-term commitments. The possibilities are endless!

MAKING VOLUNTEERING A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE

Organization is the key to any successful project. You want your volunteers to walk away with a better understanding of what your nonprofit is doing, how you are doing it, and that you are accomplishing your goals. This may be the first or only time that those who also give financial support step in to your building to see what goes on first hand, so it can have a huge impact on future support. Being organized by having all of the supplies ready, having a neat and clean work space, and carefully using your volunteers’ time by not having them wait around is fundamental to showing that you are professional and considerate.

Secondly, record your volunteers’ experiences through interviews and pictures to post in a follow up e-mail, blog, Facebook post, or next year’s volunteer recruiting push. It will bring back fond memories for those who were involved, while also encouraging others to participate in the future.

SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION

The best way to ensure that your volunteers will come back is to show your gratitude. Provide refreshments, have a director greet and thank your guests, give a tour of your facility, and send an old fashioned, hand written thank you note. Of course the depth of your appreciation correlates with the amount of work done, the time dedicated to the task, and the skill level required, but every job deserves a thank you. Your supporter should walk away feeling needed and that their time was well-spent making a difference.

Online fundraising can have many difference faces and finding volunteers is just one aspect. Volunteers can save you money, be encouraged to financially donate, and can be ambassadors for your nonprofit to their friends. What is free has the potential to be priceless!

Recruiting volunteers via social media networks like Facebook and volunteering platforms such as VolunteerMatch.org can be great channels to gaining support to not only help you on the ground, but from their desktop too. With the ease of using an online fundraising platform and social media, your volunteers can help you fundraise online, promote your online fundraisers by sharing with friends, which will help you collect donations online and in much greater volume for your cause.

What Online Fundraisers Can Learn From Online Dating

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:17:21 -0700

What do online fundraising and online dating have in common? Each requires you to set up a profile to pique interest of someone on the other side of the computer screen. Both require continual maintenance and interaction to reach the desired result. And, ultimately, both seek to foster an ongoing relationship between two parties. You are, at the end of the day, courting donors for your cause. Okay, call me crazy, but here are some great tips to follow:

What is special, unique, distinctive, or impressive about your organization?

For every basic cause or need, there are dozens of charities to address it. It’s easy to find hundreds of homeless shelters, PTA groups, political candidates, and medical research foundations out there. What makes yours stand apart from the rest? You may want to share that you are the only shelter in your area that has housing for families to board together. Maybe you have a project that was highlighted on the local news for reducing youth crime rates in your city. You might even be the only foundation researching the cause and prevention of a certain pediatric disease. Think about what you do that no one else does.

Additionally, consider boasting about the longevity of your nonprofit, the vast number of people who have been helped, or an award or accolade that you have won. Ponder successes that have set you apart and prove that your organization is strong and necessary.

What is the single most compelling reason you can give a person to be interested in you?

In this fast paced world of information overload, you need to convey as much information as you can in a concise way. I’m sure you can write a page of reasons why people should donate to your charity, but create a hook that grabs your potential supporter to encourage them to keep on reading. Your reason should be urgent, attainable, and thought provoking and contain one or two sentences.

What would happen if your cause didn’t exist? Why should readers take an interest in your cause above others? On your website or donation website, I would write a sentence about the most compelling reason why people should give to your cause in bold letters at the top of the page followed by about 10 facts, figures, and statistics backing up why something has to be done to solve these critical problems. How will people be affected if the problem isn’t solved? How will the donor directly be affected if something isn’t done? The best reason to give is when the problem hits home.

Don’t forget to run spell-check.

If you have misspelled words in your profile, it tells the world that you just don’t care about what you’re doing.Have several people proof read your webpage, e-newsletters, or direct mail campaigns and be sure to double check your Facebook posts. A misspelled word portrays that you are sloppy or uneducated. Also, click on your links to ensure that your donors are going to the correct website.

Do respond to the e-mails that you get.

If you were walking down the street and someone said hello, you’d probably say hello back. It’s the same protocol online. One great thing about social media is that you can contact people through posts and messaging saving about half of the time it would take to speak with someone directly. On the down side, it means that you have more people contacting you so the time that you may be conserving is negated.

However, if someone e-mails you, asks a question on your Facebook wall, or gives you a compliment on Twitter, you should try your hardest to acknowledge their comments in a timely manner. Just as social etiquette dictates that you call back someone or send a thank you note for a gift, so does social media etiquette suggest that interaction is not only polite, but creates a stronger bond to your donor. Of course you may have to delegate this task to someone else and pick and choose which things to respond to, but even a simple line of gratitude makes a big difference.

Who are you attracting?

What does your website say about you and what kind of donors are responding to it? If your suggested giving amounts are too high, you’re probably turning off lower end donors. If your pictures are only of a certain race, sex, or age, you’re potentially leaving out a large population of supporters.

What is the call to action that you are looking for? Certain times of year and different projects that come up have varied needs. If you are looking for volunteers, reflect that on your webpage. Are you collecting school supplies for underprivileged kids? Use this theme to design your newsletter. Are most of your donors older? Create a campaign that’s primary focus is to get supporters from the next generation. Mix it up so that you have a broad base of partners joined with you in reaching your goals.

For both online fundraising and online dating, the purpose basically boils down to creating the best advertisement you can when someone is seeing the product on a one dimensional page. You need to generate interest, stand apart, and show your best qualities for an outcome of commitment.

The explosion of online fundraising for cause-based fundraisers of all sizes will continue to grow online and that means your cause will need to be much more creative and better at promoting your message that not only reaches your target donor audience, but engages with them as well. To learn more about fundraising online and/or create your own online fundraiser, check out Fundly today.

5 Reasons why you should consider Online church fundraising

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:16:25 -0700

Most of the offline church fundraising campaigns end up in disappointment because less people turn up for the event, even if donors turn up they do not give as much donation as expected.

The traditional church fundraising methods do not work well now a days as most people are busy with their work schedules and rarely does a church fundraising volunteer gets an opportunity to talk face to face with a potential donor. The people who are unable to attend church prayers and activities can be reached through online platforms and social networks. Running an online church fundraising campaign online, would increase the number of donors with less or no additional cost and manpower.

1. Have a church fundraising website

Having a church website provides a platform to inform the people about the activities of your church. Most of the people prefer visiting the website of the church to know about the church activities rather than actually visiting the church, as it is much easy to type in the website address than actually visiting the church. An ideal church website should highlight its church fundraising cause and not the event. You should write about how the money collected from the donors would used by the church. Appeal to the emotions of the possible donors to increase the amount of the donation received.

2. Run a Facebook fundraising campaign

Most people will login to use the face book once in a day, having a face book church fundraising page to promote your church fundraising helps to gather more subscribers as well as increase the donors. If someone subscribe or like the fundraising cause page, it would also be shown on their wall post. His friends and relatives would also see his wall post on the fundraising campaign of the particular church and like the post. In a matter of days the whole town would be know about the church fundraising campaign and many of the natives would give generous donations to support the cause.

3. Email campaigning

The church website should offer an online newsletter, if the father of the church has a online blog, then ask him to start an e-mail newsletter as well. It very easy to install an auto responder on your blog and one can do it himself. You can be in constant touch with the visitors who has opt-in to your newsletters, the church fundraising campaign can also be easily informed to them with the help of e-mail newsletters.

4. Online Church Fundraising Auctions

Church can list the inspirational sculptures and paintings belonging to the church in online auctions. A lot of people would be interested in this type of auctions and the revenue generated by this auctions support church programs and fundraising campaigns.

5. Inspirational products and Inspirational Candle sales online.

Inspirational eBooks and the church websites giving daily motivational quotes are always a possibility for church fundraising. You can offer t-shirts, candles and bible for sale through online shopping websites and use the revenue to fund the church fundraising. People would love to wear the t-shirts featuring a cause and you should also consider the fact that an average household buys 40 candles an year.

You can also show your appreciation to the volunteers who have donated for the cause by sending them thank you cards online. Its cost effective and makes them special. You can also expect them to donate on the future fund raising campaigns by the church. Many websites also offer free online fundraising websites. You can create a fundraiser in minutes, share it online and collect donations quickly with fundly.

If you need to raise money for a church, these days your best bet is to utilize an online fundraising platform, like Fundly, and launch your church fundraising drive online using popular social media networks like Facebook to get the word out and begin collecting donations for your church fundraiser via your supporters. It is much easier for all involved and you will likely get many more donations for your church.

Social Media for Nonprofits Best Practices: Gain Online Support for Your Charity Beyond Donations

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:14:24 -0700

Soliciting donations is the basis of fundraising for non-profits, but creating a network of supporters is the avenue to this goal. How can you increase your online exposure to potential donors?

Online fundraising efforts are usually focused on that little donation button that is highlighted on our website, but creating traffic to the site is just as important. If people don’t know you’re out there, or what your organization is about, there is little driving them to give. Sree Sreenivasan touches on this in Using Social Media to Bring Attention to Nonprofits, discussing the importance of having your donors promote your organization to their friends on various social networking platforms.

Sreenivasan writes, “Sending money, of course, remains the single most important way to support nonprofits. But social-media users have learned that you can also have an impact by paying with something else. Attention — your own attention and your friends’ attention.” He goes on to add “hitting ‘Like’ or ‘Share’ or retweeting a post from a nonprofit can bring awareness to new circles of users — and potential supporters. And nonprofits big and small are finding ways to harness the energy of their fans to get more awareness to everything they do.”

HOW CAN YOU GET MORE ATTENTION ONLINE?

Flipping through the channels, there seems to be trends emerging among many television news stations: at the end of every program they comment “Like us on Facebook.” They are asking their viewers to take action and join their brand page while also inadvertently advertising to their social network. Many supporters are focused on socializing on Facebook and probably haven’t considered “liking” your nonprofit or “sharing” your post with their friends. Bottom line: ask. Depending on your charity, marketing buzz words are a good place to start.

A few examples: Please like us on Facebook…

… to share with your friends the importance giving children a brighter future.
… to help us feed 10,000 hungry people this holiday season
… to bring awareness to the hundreds of homeless animals that desperately need a healing touch.

You can also encourage your donors on Twitter to retweet your comments, therefore introducing their followers to your organization.

SOMETHING WORTH SHARING

Another way to empower donors to share your comments and posts with others is to produce engaging content. Utilize the incredible statistics about your cause and share them in new ways to inform your followers. Find a heartwarming story that will pull at supporters’ emotional side. Explain how a new law or candidate is going to impact your organization and encourage supporters to rally for your cause. Post any media coverage that highlights your organization. Reinvent content to keep it interesting, relevant, and causes a reaction to bring interaction.

MAKE YOUR POST AN INVITATION

There is one organization that I work with that had a great idea: they created a beautiful invitation for an upcoming event and posted it on Facebook. Several of my friends have “shared” it so it has popped up on my home page about four or five times with comments of support from the person who forwarded it. I get about ten pretty pictures with sappy sayings each day, why not use a great picture of your organization’s work with a call to action written below?

Finally, on your Fundly webpage your donors can make a financial contribution or just show their Facebook and Twitter friends that they support your cause. We make it simple so that even the most inexperienced computer user can spread the word on your behalf. Social media fundraising reaches its potential when it has a domino effect to touch countless possible supporters.

Since soliciting donations is the basis of fundraising for non-profits or all shapes and sizes, then creating a tight network of supporters is the avenue to this goal. Supporters can not only give a donation, but also help fundraise online for your non-profit fundraiser, espeically when using an online fundraising platform like Fundly to collect and multiply donations via social media networks like Facebook and Twitter.

6 Great Tips for Using Twitter for Fundraise Online

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:13:27 -0700

With so much of fundraising taking place online, it is more important than ever to utilize and optimize how you reach and communicate with your supporters. Everyone knows they should have a Facebook page, but far fewer non-profits have made the jump to Twitter, the real-time network that asks its hundreds of millions of users to share “What’s Happening” in 140 characters or less.

Although Twitter certainly can and should be harnessed as a creative new approach to fundraising, perhaps its greatest strength is in forming and deepening relationships with supporters. A recent study found that around 28 percent of young people said they have interacted with a nonprofit on Twitter, making it a platform that would be foolish to ignore.

Below are some useful tips for using Twitter for your fundraiser:

Keep a steady Twitterstream

Consistent and frequent Tweeting is vital in reaching new followers, making them take your account seriously, and keeping their attention. A Twitter account that only posts once or twice might as well be a short and very poorly written blog, and will likely drown in followers’ Twitterstreams.

That being said, is it still essential that everything you post is relevant and interesting; an excessive amount of Tweeting will simply annoy your followers and make them less likely to read your posts at all? Even worse than Tweeting pointless or underwhelming information is repeatedly posting the same thing, one of the quickest ways to get users to click the “unfollow” button. You only have 140 characters, make them count.

Have a Two-way Conversation

There’s no better way to engage your users and connect with them on a personal level than to get your followers involved in your Tweeting process. Ask them questions and value their answers by replying or retweeting one or two of the best responses. Congratulate them on making donations, retweet anything valuable they have to say, and use hashtags to trend a related topic and generate conversation.

For example, Teach For America regularly retweets teacher’s inspirational answers to the question, “Why do you #teachforamerica,” eliciting heartwarming stories and snapshots into their classrooms.

Use Compelling Statistics

Using a shocking or powerful statistic is one of the quickest and most effective ways to reach your audience. A number and a brief explanation fits perfectly into the 140 character limit, preferably linking to the source or other further information.

Make a Call To Action

Twitter is a great way to tell your supporters exactly what you want them to do, real-time, right now. You can urge them to make a donation, go to an event, vote on a certain ballot, or even share something with their friends. For example, @GOpublicSchools Tweets fundraising updates with a clear and direct message like “Only 1 more day left - help us reach our goal! Small contributions count!” with a link to their Fundly page where users can easily make a donation.

Link to Relevant Information

If there is more to what you’re Tweeting about than what fits in 140 characters, include a link to the full story. Not only will it make your Twitter a richer source of information, but it will also most likely link back to your site in some way more times than not, generating more traffic and adding value to the platforms you’re already using.

If you’re tweeting about fundraising, link to your donation page. If you’re talking about breaking news, link to the article. If you’re posting about an upcoming event, link to the Facebook page. Adding photos and links to videos are also a great way to engage your followers by not only telling them “what’s happening,” but showing them.

Let’s Get Personal

The short, informal nature of Twitter makes it a perfect opportunity to show a little personality every once in a while. Posting something personal or funny sparingly and tastefully can be a powerful tool to connect with followers. See how the Red Cross used their sense of humor to diffuse a potentially problematic situation and even turn it into a fundraising opportunity in this article.

Twitter is a great way to promote your fundraiser online, no matter what the cause is or size of your fundraising goal. By using twitter as a channel for fundraising, you can gain the attention, engagement and support of new people, which will likely be followed by an influx of donations from what could be complete strangers from around the world.

If you plan on doing some online fundraising, make sure Twitter is in your wheelhouse as a tool for promotion and gaining new donors and supporters from around the globe.

If you are going to be fundraising online, then you need to be using Twitter as a tool to promote and engage current and new supporters to get behind your online fundraiser. However, Twitter is just one tool you should have in your bag, yet importantly using a robust online fundraising platform like Fundly, which allows you to not only accept donations, but multiply donations, supporters, followers, and more, by building a community of engaged and passionate supporters online.

Non-Profit Fundraising – Leveraging Social Media to Find More Donors

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:12:19 -0700

Usually non-profit organizations are struggling with their fundraising efforts to encourage donors whether it is an event or concert. Fortunately today, the Internet is becoming more sophisticated and secured in which a lot of people are getting more comfortable using their credit cards to donate or purchase online. Here are some of the good reasons why you should focus your effort and time on raising funds using the online fundraising platform.

The first reason is it gives no pressure to your donors. Using the Internet to reach out to people for donations can relieve donors of having to make a decision instantly. This gives donors the flexibility to research about the cause of the organization before they donate or even pass it on to their friends who may also be interested in donating to charities.

Nowadays, donations that are made online provide immediately tax-deductible receipt that serves not just a huge motivation for people to donate and claim against their taxes. In addition, it enables traceability and reliability as well of the donation and there are consequences if the donation is not being utilized 100% towards the cause.

Another reason is it is very easy to set up a donation site online. It is in fact a low cost effort with the chance of higher returns especially when used properly. With some companies that are helping non-profits in setting up donation pages and giving trainings and essential tools for no subscription fees, non-profit organizations should not worry about using this excellent fundraising platform.

It also makes sense to offer an online non-profit fundraising platform to your donors and fundraisers as it is a green way for you to raise money. The latest buzz today is going green and many organizations out there find ways to prove it. For the non-profit organizations, online fundraising can help in reducing instantly the cost of printing fliers that usually ends up in the recycle bins.

It is definitely beneficial for non-profit organizations to use the Internet to encourage and motivate donors and fundraisers to give funds for their cause. For instance, the popularity of social media is something that one may take advantage of to find more donors and to increase their fan base. Facebook, Twitter and many other social networking sites have lots of online population and it presents an opportunity for you to find people who may be interested in helping your organization and in helping you meet the cause of your organization.

Non-profit fundraising can be easier if you leverage the Internet and make the most out of the opportunities it offer to contact and advertise to as many people as possible. Non-profit organizations, whether big or small, should take a look at online fundraising ideas that they can use as solutions to fundraising challenges. Setting up your own fundraising website is very easy today and a lot of other organizations have exploited the opportunities the Internet offers because for them, it is an effortless way to persuade people to participate in their campaign towards making the community better.

Fundraising for non-profit organizations using an online fundraising platform to crowdfund donations from supporters via the social web is becoming much easier and a lot more rewarding for non-profit fundraisers of all shapes and sizes. To learn more about successful online fundraising, visit: http://fundly.com

The Power Of Crowdfunding for Fundraising in a Recession

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:11:17 -0700

A study from Giving USA shows that while the state of recent economics has found a decrease in overall contributions to non-profits, in a time of recession and increased taxes for the rich, the sharpest and most impactful decline has been in the generosity of wealthy donors.

The Chronicle reports a 64-percent drop in the total value of gifts of $1-million or more in the past year, an undoubtedly devastating statistic for charities that have relied solely on these contributions. Non-profits can no longer depend on a handful of large donations as their primary monetary source, and this calls for a change in thinking as well as a change in fundraising. It’s time to turn to the lower tiers of donors, and this means getting creative.

This is where crowdfunding comes in. Crowdfunding platforms like Fundly allow organizations and individuals to create a much more interactive campaign page and donation form. With these tools, users network and pool their resources under a single organization or in support of the same cause, a collaboration that now proves more fruitful than these people simply making individual and isolated donations.

In minutes, anyone can make a campaign page with an “about me,” pictures and videos, a progress bar that shows your goal and how much you’ve raised towards it, and Facebook comments and shares. And with Fundly, it’s free. But unlike sites that claim they are “social” by simply providing a link to share your donation with Facebook or other sites, users create their own profile with Fundly. This allows campaign pages to boast a list of supporters, recent donations, and top donors and fundraisers.

In addition to making the donation process more engaging, social, and personal, users have the easy option of going beyond a donation and getting involved by becoming a volunteer fundraisers and making their own personal fundraising page under the umbrella of the greater organization. The magic of crowdfunding lies in this breakdown of transforming donors into fundraisers. Instead of making a singular donation, these users are now empowered, grassroot ambassadors for the cause, investing their own time and pooling their own resources. People may no longer have the money to make a large contribution out of pocket, but with Fundly, anyone with a computer has the ability to fundraise, and making the creation of personal fundraising pages so easy (and free) really encourages people to get more involved.

For example, consider Jane Doe, who was hit hard by the recession, and now, although still passionate about the American Red Cross, can only afford to spare $100 for the cause. But after becoming a volunteer fundraiser with Fundly, Jane Doe is no longer a weak credit card at the end of a donation form, but the manager of and driving force behind “Jane Doe for the American Red Cross.” While still easily linked to the main organization’s campaign page, she can also create her own about me that describes why she is personally invested in the cause and why her friends and family should donate.

Then she can share her campaign with her online world through Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, email, Pinterest, Tumblr, Reddit, and over 300 other platforms. In addition to exponentially increasing the number of people the original organization will reach, these people are much more likely to donate to a campaign from a friend with a personal plea for compassion and a direct call to action than to a general website or a mass message from a mailing list. If Jane has 300 online friends, even if only a fifth of them make a donation of $10, all of a sudden Jane Doe, who couldn’t afford to donate more than $100, is contributing six times that much!

Small donations may not have had much of an impact in the days of snail mail, but because of the campaign page’s public list of donors (although all donors have the choice to be anonymous) and the value of social media, each donation goes beyond its financial measure by building the networking power behind the campaign. Some non-profits have been able to get away with neglecting single and double-digit donors in the past, but with crowdfunding, these people are the building blocks to successful fundraising. The power behind crowdfunding doesn’t come from large bank accounts, it comes from the power of networking and community, and in an age when the former is in short supply, this power is everything.

In times of recession like what the world is experiencing today, fundraising for causes by crowdfunding smaller donation amounts via the social web, like using Fundly, the leading social fundraising platform for causes of all sizes and promoting your fundraisers via popular social networks like Facebook helps many causes big and small to engage more people and get donations online a lot easier than what has been done in traditional ways in the past.

Fundraising on Facebook is Getting more Popular for Causes of All Sizes

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:10:12 -0700

Fundraising on Facebook is Getting more Popular for Causes of All Sizes Facebook can be considered as the most popular social media platform available in the world. A large percentage of world population has their own Facebook accounts and most of them are logging in to their accounts on a daily basis. Therefore it can be used as an online fundraising tool in order to raise money for your cause. Using the Facebook, you can do promotions for your cause-based fundraising promotions of all shapes and sizes.

Fundraising is basically a story. All you have to do is to convince your cause through the story to potential clients. Fundraising on facebook is a powerful way to raise money online. Many people have raised millions of money for their causes through Facebook. There are so many methods available for the Facebook users to raise money from Facebook. All you have to do is to promote your cause attractively to the Facebook users by taking the use of options that are available in Facebook.

Basically you can use your own Facebook profile to spread the message and many fundraisers do it by using their own profiles. You can create a Facebook group in order to spread the idea about your fundraiser. As the group administrator, you can send messages to all the members and you can ask them to add people to it in order to help the cause. However, you will have to do some planning before going online in order to get a good start. Groups are better than Facebook fan pages when it comes to fundraising on facebook, so it is better to create a public group where anyone can join.

You can create short videos and photos in order to pass the message in a more graphical way. People normally get attracted to an interesting photo that they see on their news feed. Therefore they will assist you to attract people with less hassle. The video and the photo should sound serious and they should have all the necessary information about the cause. If it sounds serious the donors will tend to support you without any hesitation. You can use the Facebook video app to create the short video and the Photo app to create the photo. These applications will even assist you to spread your message effectively through the newsfeed.

Facebook events can be considered as a great option available to spread your message. You can create an event and add all the important details about your cause on event page. Then you can select an ending date for the event and you have to mention the amount of money that you will have to raise before the event ending date. You can update the progress of your online fundraising in the event wall. Most importantly, you have to include the way to accept donations in a clear way. If it is mentioned clearly, the donors can donate their money easily. All your fund raising depends on your ability and the way you promote your campaign. So plan properly and do the necessary things to raise money online efficiently.

The growth of fundraising online using popular social media networks continues to increase at a drastic climb year after year in America and around the world. If you are interested in social fundraising on networks like Facebook, you should look into using the most popular online fundraising platform for crowdfunding donations via the social web and for social good, Fundly.

Fundraising Online for Sports Teams is a Win for All Involved

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:09:25 -0700

It’s no secret that the world of online advertising can make or break a business’s success; therefore this exact theory can also be applied to fundraising for sports. The power of the written word and word of mouth is astounding. Likewise social platforms can also raise awareness and funds in the sports fundraising areas. In 2012 Facebook alone hit a staggering 900 million users. That being said, that gives sports teams and founders 900 million reasons to create a website or blog to endorse their team.

Social media platforms and online fundraising is a definitive way to get your thoughts and mission statement out there, but the key is doing it correctly. You need to drive traffic to your sites and purpose. The more visitors you have, the more apt you are to sell your purpose to ordinary people.

So how do successful campaigns and fundraisers online boost their profits and support?

First, the most successful fundraising campaigns, particularly in sports are aware of who their targeted audience is. To gain support and monies, sports must have a solid and clear objective. Decipher what it is you want to say, and who it is you want to say it to. You have to convince people that your team and cause are worth supporting. And you have to do it quickly. The average social media fanatic spends about 20 minutes on a social media platform. In that time they need to check their messages, share photos and converse with friends. So it is imperative that your fundraising ad or campaign is catchy.

Moreover, those who surf the Internet spend an average of 90 seconds on each website. That is not a lot of time to get someone’s attention and keep it long enough to gain their support. Marketing is entirely dependent on getting donor’s attention quickly; the more you focus on those who will be reading your website, the greater chance you have at delivering pertinent and relevant information to them.

Once a sports team has made their presence known, the site has to be maintained daily. A site left stagnant and not current will epically fail. Update often, keep it looking fresh and relevant and add lots of color and pictures of the team, venues they play at and the staff. Selling your fundraising ideas online is really about selling the team members and their talents. Other relevant information should include upcoming games and scrimmages. Those who donate to fundraising want to take part and see where their money is going. Are some of the monies you are raising going to new uniforms? Well those new uniforms should be on your social media platform.

By incorporating a sports team’s fundraising efforts into online search engines and by way of social media platforms, two things are being accomplished. First, you are gaining visibility of hundreds of thousands of people at one time. Second, it is the most inexpensive way that a team, individual or business can advertise themselves and ultimate goals.

As with real estate, fundraising is all about location. In the online world that has everything to do with search engines and your team and affiliates should be linked in with the best and most viewed platforms available. The bulk of traffic on the Internet is related to key words that random people are plugging into engines and searching. Therefore coming up with unique and crafty ways to market your sports team and fundraising pitches is important. Then find ways to link your efforts to the most popular search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN and AOL. And don’t only go for the heavy hitters. Lesser known but still powerful engines such as Duck Duck Go and Yippy have made huge headway in the search engine world. Even a few hundred additional visitors and viewers can add bulk to your fundraising.

Another additional benefit to social media and online fundraising platforms is that it gives people the ability to network and comment. Having an active and ongoing comment forum is a goldmine when it comes to fundraising. It gets people talking and excited about the cause they are supporting!

The ideal part of fundraising for sports teams this way is also that you link and tag it to social media sites that will bookmark your team’s purpose. Bookmarking can enable a team to compile thousands of optimized search engines all in one locale. This means your fundraising drive is found but innumerable people easily.

Incorporating some tried and true marketing techniques will also be a win/win situation when fundraising online and on social media platforms. Be sure to add images, highlighted and colorful text that will catch potential support’s attention. Coupled with the team’s intentions, fundraising by way of the Internet and social media is a fast and fun way to increase your team’s bottom line and help pay for their needs.

The world of sports fundraising is changing drasitically everyday, thanks to the rise of social media networks, like Facebook and Twitter, matched with top tier online fundraising platforms, like Fundly, which making fundraising for sports teams so much easier and more successful for the parents, players, coaches, and all supporters involved.

Need tо Accept Donations Online? Use а Social Fundraising Platform

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:08:24 -0700

Fundraising іs thе lifeblood fоr many organizations аnd thе gathering оf charitable contributions оf various people fоr а certain cause. Wіth thе advancement іn technology, thеrе аrе many opportunities fоr fundraising online, literally fоr anyone thеsе dаys. In thе olden dаys thеrе used tо bе certain centers whеrе yоu cоuld gо аnd mаkе your voluntary contribution fоr thе particular cause thаt yоu might care аbоut. However, today wіth thе advent оf online fundraising platforms, yоu cаn gіvе your desired donation tо thе intended cause online sitting right аt home.

Whеn yоu аrе raising funds fоr а cause yоu hаvе thе option оf promoting your cause online thrоugh social media networks. Yоu cаn advertise fоr your cause online аnd definitely, yоu would bе able tо sее positive results іn а vеry shоrt tіmе wіth an increase іn donations аnd mоrе user activity.

Email іs another wаy whеrе yоu cаn raise many funds fоr thе intended cause, since іt іs usually thе fastest wаy tо gеt your message оut tо your potential donors. Yоu cаn sеnd bulk mails tо аll your friends аnd family speaking аbоut thе fundraiser yоu аrе raising money online fоr аnd yоu would bе flooded wіth contributions frоm аll оvеr thе world, since wіth thе web, thеrе аrе nо geographical boundaries.

One advantage thаt Fundraising Platform like Fundly іs yоu cаn reach оut tо а large number оf people іn а shоrt span оf tіmе suiting right аt home, especially wіth thе use оf social media networks like Facebook. Yоu cаn reach оut tо people sitting іn thе оthеr end оf thе globe wіth а fеw clicks оf thе mouse. Thіs іs а vеry effective аnd efficient method оf getting donations fоr а noble cause. By using technology іn thе right manner, yоu аrе оnly able tо hеlp а fеw needy people оr а worthy cause. Thіs would gіvе immense satisfaction tо thе mind whеn yоu аrе busy wіth your daily schedule аnd hаvе lіttlе tіmе left fоr оthеr activities.

Donors, sponsors, corporate partners аnd оthеr supporting organizations аrе eager tо promote thе relationships thеy hаvе wіth charitable organizations. Increase your effectiveness аnd reach by empowering thеsе supporters tо advocate аnd raise funds оn your organization’s behalf thrоugh thеіr social networks like Facebook, Twitter аnd Linked іn. Portable donation forms cаn bе personalized аnd shared by everyone, anywhere frоm Fundly. Reporting tools mаkе іt easy fоr yоu tо sее whо raises thе mоst money fоr your organization sо yоu cаn immediately acknowledge аnd encourage thеіr efforts.

An online fundraising platform like Fundly is great tо use during a fundraising campaign tо raise awareness, increase donations within а limited amount оf tіmе, аnd energize your base. I suspect thаt yоu wіll аlsо need tо educate your fundraisers аbоut thіs brand nеw wаy оf fundraising merely by tweeting оr posting.

Fundraising іs thе lifeblood fоr many non-profit organizations аnd thе gathering оf charitable contributions from various supporters around the world. As important as this is, so is picking the right online fundraising platform to not only accept donations online, but multiply the amount of supporters, donors, and donations you can get when you go social. Reason being, Fundly is a great solution for successful fundraisers of any shape and size.

Tips for using Free Fundraising Websites to Raise Money Online

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:07:20 -0700

With the current growth in technology embracing the online platform to transact business, fundraising has not lagged behind for sure. Nowadays, many donation seekers and donors are collecting and donating online respectively. With such developments that defy the traditional fundraising methods, it has become times way easier and effective to collect donations with the help of online platform.

How do fundraising websites work?

This is easier, but the question is how? With the help of online platform via Fundly, one can possibly sign in for free an online donation collection account. Here a prospective online donations collector keys in the entire relevant donation related details from one end the Fundly website team on the other side their work is to ensure your donation request succeeds. This account is connected to a social website where people who log in to their social accounts can see the donation request link. Due to the high traffic of people using social websites, donation requests gain popularity and those who get curious can read further. If someone finds the request appealing and genuine they donate.

Why online fundraising?

The Fundly online fundraising website is a platform used by many causes big and small around the world, because it provide easy fundraising tools, online donation processing, a donor management system, customer support, and much more.

With the current era where everyone is subscribing to the e-platform, the easiest place to tap a huge traffic at the lowest cost is online. Using online channel to collect donation is rather intelligent since one reaches a bigger group of people and by extension increasing the potential to achieve the target donations collection within a small time margin.

Why use free website from Fundly?

Fundly is a world-wide website renowned for aiding donation related matters that anybody in the world can access from any point. This makes it easier to fundraise online for non-profits making organizations, charities, politics, clubs, schools, teams, churches, and many other causes to quickly raise money online from friends, family, colleagues, and other supporters via email, face book, twitter, websites, blogs, and social media channels.

Using a Fundly fudnraising website to collect donations online is advantageous since it is free and they have a team committed to ensure maximum collection of donations online for any one. Also by the help of collection of donations online, one is able to surmount many environmental challenges that come with many attached costs that kill the spirit of fundraising. For instance, traditionally people would organize a gathering where the issue of fundraising would be brought forth and afterwards donations would be collected.

The cost to collect such donations were way too huge given that one would need prior arrangements backdating up to six months, also one would have to seek permission plus there were a lot of paperwork involved, venue cost and time factor costs were too expensive. However, by use of online fund raising tool, donations become easier to give and collect plus given that it reaches a wide number of people increasing the donation collection potential from well wishers around the world.

By using Fundly, the leading online fundraising platform for crowdfunding donations via the social web for cause-based fundraisers of all shapes and sizes, you can create and launch as many free fundraising websites as you wish and begin collecting donations online within minutes of promoting your fundraiser to your social networks of donors, friends, family, etc

Fundraising Revenue for PTA's Increases with Fundly

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:06:24 -0700

The Parents and Teachers Associations are catching on to the ridiculously successful social media fundraising platforms that are taking online fundraising to a whole new level. As more and more schools face the challenges of decreased budgets, the PTA has been given the responsibly of finding new and ingenious ideas for how to raise the necessary funds it takes to educate our children of the future and give them access to the arts and sports. Fundraising is no small feat for any organization and as the PTA’s of America diligently forge forward in an effort to secure funds, they are quickly turning to online fundraising campaigning. One such popular and wildly successful online fundraising platform is Fundly.

Few people are not privy to online fundraising now that social media sites have exploded. Millions of people access such social media sites like Linked In, Facebook and BranchOut every day. Now with platforms such as Fundly, PTA’s and similar organizations and businesses can create campaign accounts on a platform that will also link all their information, mission statements and donating wishes to the many online social media platforms at one time.

Whether you consider yourself to be an expert fundraiser or this is your first go round in the fundraising capacity, you already know or will soon learn that fundraising can be time consuming and complex. Just organizing their efforts and volunteers can be mind boggling. What doesn’t need to be present is disorganization and confusion and that is where a campaign site such as Fundly.com can help.

Fundly, a social media fundraising platform can help your PTA with organizing, compartmentalizing and collecting all of the fundraising efforts. A polished and operational fundraising campaign can be created in little time; but the advertising capabilities on social media platforms that sites like Fundly can expose your cause to are powerful and amass.

PTAs often have to solicit and garner monetary support from large corporations, charities and individual donors and that is a task that can be daunting particularly for the novice fundraiser. By utilizing a fundraising campaign site like Fundly, you are shaving hours upon hours of time off of your campaigning efforts; thereby freeing up valuable time that can be directed elsewhere. The most successful fundraising efforts are those that get mass exposure in quick and efficient ways and with Fundly current and possible donors can have access to all the information they need to make an educated decision as to whether your PTA is appropriate for their donations.

What’s more is that they can donate in any amount that is feasible for them using a trusted and secure WePay method. WePay does not charge for donation transactions and keeps all the information from donors private.

Chances are your PTA will come up with a multitude of methods and ideas for fundraising. This is great, as you don’t want all your eggs in one basket; but it presents a challenge when the time comes for those separate and individually complex ideas to be managed.

With Fundly, you have access to their dashboard and reporting system that will virtually show up in seconds how each of your drives and fundraising efforts are performing. The reporting will also give you a clear picture of who is donating, where the vast amount of support is coming from and where some tangible changes can be made to improve the monies you are raising. In essence, your PTA has an up to date snapshot of each of your campaigns.

Additionally, each one of those campaigns can be linked to and posted on the most popular and frequently used social media platforms. This means free advertising for your PTA and affords your organization and the individual donors as way to stay connected and network. It is a win/win situation for everyone involved.

Since people and corporations are more apt to donate to a cause with integrity and proven authenticity, adding your campaign to Fundly gives it additional credibility and exposure. To date Fundly has helped increase fundraising efforts to over $230 million dollars and that number increases each day. Thousands of organizations, Booster Clubs, Non-Profits and individuals have begun to use Fundly as a way to increase their fundraising money and gain exposure.

The dire condition of educational funds continues to be not only an individual but an overall economic conundrum; it is imperative that PTA organizations find new and more competent ways to illicit monies that are desperately needed for our students. A simple but operative way to do this is by networking and creating a fundraising campaign through Fundly.

With no hidden fees and an easy way to access other social media websites, Fundly can forge your PTA campaign forward with a vengeance, while helping your members to manage what monies are coming in and where that money is dispersed. Each month your PTA will have a manageable picture of all your fundraising efforts while vastly networking will millions of others.

For more information on how your next PTA fundraising campaign can begin to benefit from a Fundly campaign visit http://fundly.com today.

Online Fundraising - Raise More Money using Social Media Networks

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:05:31 -0700

Fundraisers аrе increasingly turning tо thе Internet fоr nеw ways оf raising money. Online auctions аrе оnе оf thе mоst cost-effective methods fоr charities tо raise funds оn thе Web. Gіvе money аnd tіmе hаvе lоng bееn а staple оf fundraising іn thе offline world, but аrе often time-consuming аnd laborious tо organize аnd cаn bе disappointing іn results.

Everybody enjoys social media marketing social networking. We log оn tо discover buddies, discover what’s happening inside thеіr lives nоw thе tіmеs wіth websites like LinkedIn, Facebook аnd others, wе cаn actually gеt yourself а work although networking online; sо why wouldn’t yоu use thіs effective social networking platform tо ask individuals tо hеlp yоu along wіth your fundraisers? Requesting visitors tо assist yоu tо fundraise needs tо bе treated much thе same wаy аs requesting people tо become your “friend” оn Facebook оr twitter. Yоu want tо tаkе good care оf your associations, information аll оf thеm frоm tіmе tо tіmе аnd kееp thеm published regularly.

Thеrе аrе many benefits аnd advantages tо online fundraising. One оf thе mоst wonderful advantages оf fundraising іs thеіr enjoyableness fоr thе public. Net fundraising іs nоt оnly less costly; however іt іs simpler оvеr tіmе. Thеrе іs nо need tо organize аny events оr ad books іn order tо gеt donations. Yоu cоuld hаvе аll оf thеm placed thеіr name оn thе thanks page whеn thеy contribute tо gіvе аll оf thеm credit score your money cаn buy thаt thеy devote throughout thе fundraiser. Internet fundraising’ potential tо reach а vast аnd diverse audience іs а colossal advantage; Internet fundraising cаn bе accessed by huge numbers оf people frоm аll corners оf thе globe. Thіs іs іn stark contrast tо offline fundraising events, whose attendance іs vеry limited by geography.

Becoming оn thе market аnd noticed by your audience іs vital іn terms оf online fundraiser. Of course, thіs wіll nоt bе wаy too hard whenever fundraising оn thе internet since thеrе аrе а lot оf people thаt look аt items еvеry dаy. Yоu cаn really fееl confident thаt an individual looks your gift page оvеr tіmе. Thіs cаn bе а thіng thаt іs small, аnd thеrе іs nо need tо put а lot thought involved wіth іt, оr transform іt into а popular occasion аnd obtain аs numerous individuals аs yоu wish involved wіth іt based оn your abilities оr perhaps thе abilities thаt yоu hаvе using thеіr company people. Are yоu going tо іn terms оf оn thе internet fundraiser аnd thе wаy lots оf people yоu would like tо gеt involved?

Yоu wіll need tо distribute thе “link” tо areas tо gain focus оn thіs. Thіs really іs just аbоut thе mоst challenging areas оf having thе capacity tо distribute оn thе internet fundraising. Yоu would like tо mаkе certain yоu hаvе sufficient individuals whо hаvе thе fundraising link tо ensure thаt thеsе tо gіvе іt tо people thаt thеy knоw tо bе able tо gain іn contributions. Dо nоt turn оut tо bе anxious since thе World Wide Web іs really а quick wаy tо hаvе thіngs around.

Online fundraising with the use of popular social media networks will help you better promote your fundraiser and engage current and new supporters to get behind your campaign. However, you should be using an effective online fundraising platform, like Fundly, who has helped their fundraisers to raise over $250 Million online. You can learn more here: http://fundly.com

How to Raise Money Online the Easy Way

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:04:23 -0700

The once well kept secret is out: if you are involved in a fundraising drive or with an organization, raising money online is one of the most efficient and easiest ways to make your cause known, drive potential donors to your cause and collect the funds easily and in a manageable way. The ability to notify and educate possible donors utilizing a fast method not only lessens the time you spend soliciting, it also is a way to educate millions of people about one common idea.

Social media sites such as Facebook are a goldmine when it comes to fundraising efforts and campaigns; reports generated have shown that over 900 million users access their Facebook account on a daily basis. That means that it is plausible that those same 900 million users can be exposed to your fundraising campaign!

When combined with a fundraising and donor platform such as Fundly, your earning potential during your fundraising campaign can reach startling numbers in record time. Fundly.com is a social networking platform that allows users to manage and gather their donations by utilizing and linking to social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest. All of those websites combined virtually spoon feed you millions upon millions of current and potential donors for your cause, whatever it may be.

Social media platforms and online fundraising is a fundamental and operative way to share your mission statement, information about your charity and team members to a wide range of people that ordinary and traditional methods don’t afford. However, to be successful with online fundraising, there are key concepts that can help you maximize its potential

Visibility, accountability and proper management of funds are key to a successful online fundraising effort. If only a few people are exposed to your organization, non-profit or university, the likelihood that your donations will increase is low. That is why using a Fundly campaign can be invaluable to your fundraising drive.

By embarking on a Fundly campaign, which does not charge merchant fees or hidden fees as some other online social media fundraising platforms do, you have a simplified way to endorse your cause that is fraught with information. More importantly, with your Fundly campaign or multiple campaigns, you can link all your information to other social media websites. This accomplishes many things; prime exposure, saves time and makes managing and indexing your donations effective.

Millions of people access their social media sites every day and they in turn mention the happenings to roughly five other people. Those people will then talk to other people. Soon enough your campaign is common knowledge amongst an innumerable amount of potential donors.

Let’s also examine the common web surfer. The average person will visit up to 30 websites per day and many of those sites are found by online searches such as Google. Even though those people are surfing, the amount of time they actually put into search key words is minimal. Don’t leave your fundraising campaign to the luck of the draw that someone may stumble onto your website or organization.

If you need to raise money online for a cause, you should consider using Fundly, the leading online fundraising platform for crowdfunding donations via the social web on channels such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. From personal fundraisers to large scale non-profit fundraisers, there is no cause too big or too small that can benefit from using Fundly for promoting a fundraising campaign online and raising money a lot easier than traditional fundraisers.

Fundraising Online for Cancer Research or Expenses Continues to Grow

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:03:25 -0700

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death around the world and in 2011 over a million people were diagnosed with some type of cancer. In 2007 The National Institutes of Health estimated that it cost over $226 billion to provide medical care and treatment for those who were diagnosed with cancer. Since that time, the cases of cancer have increased despite research efforts to decrease yearly diagnosis. That number only applies to treatment however; millions of dollars every year are needed to support research and to run the various clinical trials needed to try to fight this disease.

One way to raise a lot of funds that many individuals and organizations, including cancer research centers are utilizing is online social networking fundraising campaigns. One such campaign is Fundly. Fundly is a social media fundraising platform specifically tailored and geared for fundraising. Whether you are a church, university or any other business, administering and supervising your fundraising using Fundly can ultimately increase your donations.

Since taking off, Fundly has assisted research and treatment organizations raise millions of dollars; is one of the most sought after and utilized social media fundraising platforms available today. Not only will it assist with raising more money, is easy to use and donors have one place where they can access information needed to control their fundraising efforts. Likewise, those who wish to donate funds can do so in a safe, visible or anonymous and reliable way.

In a 2009 census poll it was found that as many as 51 million Americans were uninsured; millions more were underinsured. Couple that with other legal and regional barriers when it comes to receiving medical treatment and we have a recipe for disaster among the medical community where so many people need life saving treatments and doctors need research to be conducted more quickly.

Cancer quickly spreads throughout our cells at a phenomenal rate and because of this those inflicted with it do not have the luxury of time. This is why Fundly is so brilliant. Once you begin campaigning using Fundly, your team, organization or individual fundraisers can begin receiving donations immediately without being charged per donation.

Social media platforms are a fast and effective tool for fundraising, not to mention a very affordable way to advertise your cause and campaign. The reason for this is that the viral world of advertising is rampant; your mission is spread throughout and can reach millions of people who can then also spread your cause to millions of other people.

We all know this to be true: word of mouth is powerful and can make or break a fundraising effort. People trust other people who have used services. And human nature dictates that we innately talk about things that we hear and see every day. For that reason, using Fundly is an ample way to maximize your word of mouth donating potential.

The first step is to set up a free account through Fundly. You can also set up multiple accounts if you would like to have categories to better manage the donations. Maybe one account will be for research and another for individual families. However you choose to set up the account, Fundly has all the tools you will need to begin your fundraising campaign as well as tools to help your organization as it trudges along.

The added bonus of using fondly is that everyone who donates can share that information with the social networks they partake in such as BranchOut, Twitter and Facebook. With a click of a button, your organization and its cause will be shared through vast social platform communities.

Every single individual or grouped donor can share the information about your cause as well as having the ability to set up their own individual pages to further help in cancer research and donations. Donors want to be able to give money quickly and easily once they have all the necessary information needed and they can do so using the WePay system on Fundly.

Fundly also has an amazing dashboard feature and this makes supervising your accounts and campaigns a cinch. In one convenient spreadsheet the entire group can access information regarding who is donating, how much has been received and there some campaigns are not going well. Having this information can help you and your group to better assess where some changes may need to be made to increase donations.

Much of the time spent trying to get people to donate is also wasted. By using Fundly, you have an optimal tool to get the word out quickly. Then the time you save can be applied to other duties. This is a fundamental benefit of using a social media online platform for fundraising. Not only is your cancer research team working diligently, but so aren’t all the people you are reaching online; some without thinking about it.

Fundraising online for cancer research and/or expenses continues to grow but we still need to find ways to increase the revenue and do it faster. Check out Fundly.com today and see how this online social media fundraising platform can help everyone surpass their goals in cancer research.

Fundraising for cancer treatments and research will continue to increase for many millions of people around the world and as this does, those who are running various cancer fundraising campaigns will need to be equipped with the best tools available to build support and increase donations. Check out Fundly.com for more information on this today.

Why you should use Social Media for Fundraising Online

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:02:06 -0700

If we have a cause that we are trying to promote from a charitable point of view we obviously want to maximize the number of donations we get. In order to achieve this goal we have to be on the cutting edge of knowing how to get our charity and our charities information to the masses. If you were not aware, the best way to do this in this day and age is through some kind of fundraising online using social media networks.

Yes, there are websites dedicated as platforms for fundraising online. In the midst of promoting your charity on line there are numerous benefits that come along with it. Those benefits are provided by certain features you get online that you could never get in the real world.

Think about the power of social media and the effect it has almost every aspect of our life. More importantly, think about the effect it has on the dissemination of information from a media perspective. When you put that kind of attention to the world of online fundraising you have an excellent way to promote your cause. We probably all have some kind of Facebook or Twitter account. Do we have one for our charity however? Think about it, your main goal is to get as much information out about your charity as possible to try and boost donations. What better way to do that then through social media networks that could have thousands if not millions of users that you can get in touch with, with one click of a button. Along with conventional social media platforms there are also dedicated online fundraising companies that get big results for your business from a social media network standpoint as well.

Fundraising online is a way to connect people around the world. Do not limit yourself to just your local area in terms of who can donate to your charity. You can use safe and secure platforms in order to solicit donations through these online fundraising entities. With the power of there platform notoriety in general and the use of social media you can definitely take your charitable functions to the next level. It is all about getting you the money you need to adequately support your cause and online fundraising is the state-of-the-art way to do that.

Some people shun online fundraising because it does not feel to them what charities are supposed to be all about. There comes a time when every industry goes through change and the fundraising world is going through one right now. If you choose to get on board with the technological advances that online fundraising can give you then you will set your charity up for better success in the future. Flat out ignoring the presence of online fundraising will not make it any less of a major player in the future of this industry. When you combine that with the fact that social media networks are just going to increase as they become more prevalent, you will have a hard time explaining to people who volunteer their time for your charity as to why you chose to not get on board with the online fundraising revolution.

When it comes to online fundraising, your charitable cause should definitely be using social media networks like Facebook and Twitter to broadcast your message, engage people, build community, and ultimately accept donations from around the world than you would if you limit your fundraiser to local area. Social media transcends traditional boundaries of time, space, and geographical locations.

Why You Should Get Into Online Fundraising Now

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:01:10 -0700

Fundraising is the process by which an individual or a group makes the effort of collecting contributions to a specific cause. Back in the day, fundraising was done through events, direct mailing and face-to-face solicitations. However, with the advent of technology, the Internet and the many tools that we have today, fundraising was elevated to online fundraising.

Online fundraising is rapidly becoming popular these days because almost everyone around the world is hooked up to the Internet. You can easily set up a website, post a status on a social networking site, upload photos or other graphics, and many more ways to show that you have an announcement that you need to raise money for a certain cause, and watch the donations pour in through your friends, colleagues, family and other people that you may not know from other places around the world who may support your endeavors.

Fundraising online is something that has taken the world by storm. Charity events and non-profit organizations have taken this route to be able to connect to their patrons and other more people who are aware of their causes to make a contribution. We have seen many tragedies in various parts of the world and we have all seen various calls to raise money online for them.

There are a few good things about fundraising with the use of the Internet.

Your supporters, donors and patrons can easily become aware of your cause. They can donate immediately through their online bank accounts or other secure means of transferring money while the information about the cause is still lingering in their minds.

In the same way, the organization who has organized the fundraising effort will almost immediately receive the funds and will also be able to establish immediate communication with the donors to thank them for their efforts. With this, the funds can also be immediately used for emergency situations, when necessary.

Being able to do online fundraising will also help you to instantly have analysis on the fundraising behavior of your donors and patrons. You can extract information such as effective marketing strategies, optimal website navigation design to facilitate quick donations, and the best call to action method that will help keep the issue lingering in their awareness. Having a website to be able to receive your donations and make an announcement will also enable you to centralize all information and data gathering efforts such as names and contact details of the people who have contributed to your cause.

You will need this to be able to show them gratitude for their contributions. It is highly important that your cause is always genuine and all the funds will go to where you intend them to be. Be transparent with your actions as an organization or individual who solicits funds from others because this is a good cause for the society and it should never be tainted with any harmful motive. There are various free online fundraising tools provided by a company, such as Fundly, who can help you with how to raise money online for your heartfelt cause.

Fundraising does not need to be difficult for causes, such as non-profits, charities, churches, politics, schools, groups, clubs, sports teams, and more. By fundraising online, you can raise a lot of money very fast and with little time and effort. To start fundraising online today, you can use these Free Fundraising Tools.