Separate Fundraising Unit
Fundraising Sample
Non Profit Management Software
Youth Fund Raising
Non Profit Consultants
Non Profit Fundraising Strategies
Non Profit Fundraising Software References
Endowment Nonprofit
Cookie Dough Fundraisers
Nonprofit Fundraising
Mystery Shopping

cookie dough fundraisers
Usually all that is needed are some volunteers willing to work for free. Does letter, even, she has an instant in to talk to the owner of Acme Company - I am calling about the letter I sent to you a week ago concerning the Felicitations Child book project. Keep track of volunteers and workers and print off to do lists for all your volunteers. Usually all that is needed are some volunteers willing to work for free. Fairs and bazaars are basically mixed events that may contain rides, auctions, fair booths (such as palm-reading stations, pie eating contests, dunking booths and others), rides, refreshments, and other attractions.

cheerleading fundraising
You need to be able to convince donors that they should give money to your group - not to the many other groups and individuals who are asking for money. This will help make those people you are thinking rightfully proud of what they have contributed. If you only want to raise a small amount of money, this may be fine, but for many groups this approach is too uncertain and too limited to be very effective.

Fundraising and Technology: Can You Really Fundraise from a Computer?

Technology has come a long way in the last several years, and some non-profits have found that technology has made fundraising easier than ever in some respects. Other non-profits are reluctant to use technology to help them fundraise, either because they are unfamiliar with the technology of today or because they have had a bad experience. Whether you decide to use a computer to fundraise or not, there are some technologies that you need to be aware of:



Fundraising Software

For many non-profits, this software helps them fundraise more effectively than ever before. Fundraising software basically manages all the components of non-profit fundraising, leaving you with more time and actually reminding you of things you need to be reminded of. This software is often custom-designed by a software developer, and is created specifically for the needs of your group. This software can do many things (depending on the actual program):

Keep track of grant applications and remind you when to apply or start applying

Keep track of your donor list (no matter how large or how small) and remind you when to contact specific donors. The software will even allow you to print out address labels for part or all of your donor list and the word processing software will allow you to send pre-written letters to donors you select from a database.

Easily keep track of all donations, expenses, bills. Most software will even graphically represent money data so that you can see from a glance at a chart how you are doing with fundraising.

Keep track of volunteers and workers and print off to do lists for all your volunteers.

Keep track of your fundraising efforts and remind you (you program the software when you want to be reminded of certain things) when specific tasks must be done.

Provide virtual files where you can keep your receipts, research, and other data.

Provide full cross-over to other computer programs, so that you never have to retype information over and over again.

This type of software can be expensive, but if you are not great with keeping organized the user-friendly software can easily help keep you on track. If you can afford it, it can make a lot of sense for your non-profit, especially if your donor list is getting quite large (which it hopefully is).

If you decide to use fundraising software, shop around for a company who has created software for non-profits with needs similar to yours. Also make sure that the software has safety features that will keep your donors personal information safe and secure.

If your software is breached by hackers and credit card numbers stolen from your database, your donors are unlikely to trust you with their money in the future. Also make sure that you have the time to learn to use the software well. At first, fundraising software can take some time to learn because it has so many features. For many non-profits, though, this effort is well worth it.


The Internet

The Internet is a great initial resource for non-profits. You can research (and even try) fundraising software online, you can research other non-profits and their fundraising successes and failures, you can read about companies offering fundraising ideas, you can look for volunteers online.

The Internet can be accessed at any time and can be a quick way to get a grounding in specific fundraising issues. Just be aware that not all information online is completely accurate. Treat the information you find online in much the same way you would treat information offered to you by an acquaintance - simply use your own good judgment to decide what is credible and what needs to be checked.


Web Pages

If you are a non-profit, you should set up a web page. Web pages are quite inexpensive to set up, especially if someone in your group already knows how to design one. These online pages are also a great resource for potential donors, who will want to check the authenticity of your non-profit before donating money, in many cases. Your web site can also tell donors what they need to know about your group before deciding to donate. In general, your web page should contain:

Full contact information

Current and upcoming fundraising events

Full details about the cause your group is working for - including pictures related to the cause, stories and anecdotes, and why the cause is important

Visually appealing details (art that makes the site attractive to look at and easy on the eyes)

Information about how to make a donation

Any good press your group has gotten

Any evidence you have that your group is legitimate

Any celebrity endorsements your group has received

Answers to questions that donors tend to ask frequently

Details about your group - how it got started, what exact programs it runs

Ways to support the group that do not include cash or money donations (i.e. information about letter writing campaigns or other things supporters can do)

Information about your volunteers (no personal information)


Email

Some of your donors (especially those who contact you after looking at your site) will contact you by email. You need to make sure that your emails are informative, prompt, and short. Email tends to be a more informal style of communication, even though in some ways it is similar to letter-writing.

It is best to keep email short, as they are used to mostly give specific information. Be sure to respond to emails quickly, as it is expected that emails are acted upon faster than letters. You can set up your email program to automatically add a signature to your emails. This signature should contain your name, your non-profits name, and full contact information. When using email during fundraising, avoid using special fonts (which cannot be read by all email programs) or graphics (which are large files and do not always load well). Simple, plain text email is often best.

Some non-profits are tempted to use email as an alternative to direct mail. Some email marketing companies will suggest that using email to solicit donations is effective. However, you need to be aware that unsolicited email is called spam and is generally hated by those who use email. Spam is considered intrusive and dangerous (as it can spread computer viruses) and it is often filtered out or deleted. Many people who get spam do not look at it. You should only use email donation soliciting after careful consideration and only with other fundraising methods that are sure to grant money.

No matter what forms of modern technology you use, you will need to work hard to keep your group safe online. Just as you would not leave the door of your office space wide open after hours when you are not present, you must take steps to ensure that your technology is not being used by people who may harm your computer or group.

The first step to keeping your technology safe is to install and regularly update antivirus and firewall programs on any computer in your non-profits database. These programs will keep out hackers and viruses that can damage your computer and your computers systems. You may also want to use passwords to ensure that no one can access your computer. After hours, lock up your computer so that thieves cannot steal your actual computer and extract donor information that way.

Even if you are very cautious, computers can fail. Thats why its very important that you have a paper backup of all your paperwork and important information. You do not want to lose your financial information and your donor lists because your computer broke down. Backing up data on a few different disks is also fine. However, keep a few copies, make frequent backups, and be sure to store the backups in a very safe place that no one can access.