Best Practice in Online Fundraising: How to Use Teams, Competition and Prizes to Raise More Money

Online fundraising made easy

Welcome to Firstgiving’s Webinar

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• Please be sure you are able to hear audio– Call: (641) 715-3222 – Access code: 361-338-962

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Presented by: Susannah Richardson, FirstgivingDavid Karp, Firstgiving Andrea Farwell, Junior Achievement of Eastern Massachusetts

Best Practice in Online Fundraising: How to Use

Teams, Competition and Prizes to Raise More Money

Call: (641) 715-3222 Access code: 362-049-451


Agenda

• Person-to-person online fundraising• The benefits of teams• Junior Achievement case study• Competition and prizes• Demonstration• Firstgiving account types

Call: (641) 715-3222 Access code: 362-049-451


What is Person-to-Person Fundraising?

Your Nonprofit

Supporters/ Fundraisers Donors

Donors

- People making personalized appeals for causes that are important to them

- Giving your supporters the ability to leverage their social network to make a difference

Call: (641) 715-3222 Access code: 362-049-451


What is a Fundraising Page?

• It puts a face to your nonprofit organization

• They eliminate “fear of asking”• Gives donors a convenient

option: give by credit card• Automatically generates

donation receipt, for tax purposes

Progress thermometer

Personal appeal

Donations and comments


Donors Give and Leave a Comment

“Good luck with your recovery, I admire you more than you know!!!”

“Glad to help! H.S. classmate of your dad.”

“I am so proud of you!”

“Better late than never”

“I Gave More Than Martha, Thus I Care More....”

“You are an inspiration”


Now: The Benefits of Teams


Why Teams?

1. Great recruitment tool• “Join my team” is an easier ask than “Walk with me”

2. More personal• Easy to rally around a unified cause:

i.e. “My sister has Autism—join our team to raise money for research and programs”

3. Bonding, camaraderie and comfort• Less daunting to know you won’t be going at it alone


Why Else?

4. Teammates hold each other accountable to raise more money

• One is more motivated if responsible to peers

5. More friendly opposition• My Team vs. Your Team is nicer than Me vs. You

6. Competition is inherent• Rankings are expected, raising you more money


Please Welcome Guest Speaker:

Andrea FarwellSpecial Events & Marketing

Manager


Junior Achievement & Firstgiving• JA is currently using Firstgiving for the second year in a row.

• JA uses Firstgiving year-round for our Bowl-A-Thon (BAT) events.

• During the 06/07 BAT season, JA raised $50,000 more than the previous year without Firstgiving.

• As of 4/25/08, JA has 287 active fundraising pages on Firstgiving.


Benefits of Firstgiving’s Team Function for JA

•Firstgiving’s ‘team’ function helps JA organize the entire BAT season.

•Teams can set goals and keep track of fundraising efforts. This proves to be a great way to motivate our bowlers.

•Firstgiving’s easy to read fundraising reports dramatically reduce accounting time, helping JA to serve our ‘teams’ better and faster


Tip:Give clear instructions, make teams simply part of the process


We have more than 20 BAT

events scheduled this spring, thanks to Firstgiving, each

company (team) can easily access

their own page and begin fundraising!


On the back end, Firstgiving

makes it very easy to see how

much money each team has raised.


Why Firstgiving?

“I wanted to see how much my company had fundraised before our event. I called JA and within minutes they turned around an excel spreadsheet with a list of everyone’s names and how much they raised.

I praised JA for the wonderful customer service but they said to thank Firstgiving. Thanks to Firstgiving, I approached all the bowlers who hadn’t reached their goal and gave them a ‘friendly’ reminder.

Now we’ll raise even more money for Junior Achievement!”

-Bowl-A-Thon Coordinator, PricewaterhouseCoopers


Thank you, Andrea!

• Next: More about teams


How to Start?

1. Include team info on all event material

• Website• Start Page• Event posters• Flyers• Etc.


2. Send an email asking

supporters to create

their own teams

• Friends (i.e. Class of ’88)• Family (i.e. The Smiths)• Coworkers (i.e. Team Firstgiving)• Departments (i.e. Firstgiving’s Marketing Team)


3. Let your supporters dictate the terms

• Your supporters know what “teams” are, so let them make it their own

• Be patient—it may take some time to catch on


Tip:Don’t Leave ‘em Hangin

1. Send frequent emails with team rankings to motivate and remind fundraisers

2. Ask successful teams to give tips and pointers to lower performing ones


Encourage your supporters to use social networks to recruit donations and team members

Tip: Use Social Networks


PrizesThe event is over—what next?


Tip: Don’t be Afraid to Use Small Prizes

• Oftentimes, it’s more about the thrill of winning

than the prize itself. Offer small prizes or simply

bragging rights!

a) Mention the winners on your homepage, blog, or newsletter

b) Trophies: websites offer trophies for less than $10

c) A tour of your facility—the inside look most people don’t get to see!

d) $10 gift certificates: Starbucks, Amazon, local sandwich shop, etc.


Tip: Use Non-Monetary Reasons for Giving Prizes

• It’s easy to spotlight those who raise the most money, but that’s not what it’s all about.

a) Who took donations from the most people?Example: A supporter obtained $1 each from 50 friends. Though

he only raised $50, he has introduced your cause to 50 people!

b) Who sent the most emails?c) Who has participated in your event for the

most (consecutive) years?d) Who completes your event wearing the

craziest costume?e) Who has the best/most creative/funniest

picture on her fundraising page? Special Olympics Polar Plunge, 2008


Next: Demo

The Firstgiving Experience


Cost

• Creating a fundraising page and making a donation are free

• We deduct a 7.35% transaction fee from donations• Credit card processing charges are included in fee


Premium Start Page

Organization and/or event description

Total raised online

Easy call to action for

fundraisers

Your banner

Top Teams

Top Fundraisers

Nonprofit Resource

Center

Up to 3 custom Images


Firstgiving Nonprofit Accounts

Nonprofit Account

• Cost: Free• Start Page• Unlimited fundraising

pages• Online reports: fundraiser

and donor contact details

Premium Nonprofit Account

• Cost: $300/annually• Branded Start Page

– Branded fundraising pages with your logos and banner

• Includes:– Event registration– Event reports – Team functionality


Premium Start Page:www.firstgiving.com/atlantahumaneStart Page:

www.firstgiving.com/npo/3179

Example Start Pages


Interested in learning more?– Visit our website – Sign up for a nonprofit account today

• http://www.firstgiving.com/statements/npo

– Email [email protected]

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Economy & Finance

Best Practice in Online Fundraising: How to Use Teams, Competition and Prizes to Raise More Money