Posts Tagged “fundraising”

Years ago, while walking home from work, I passed a church with a message on its signboard. The white lettering, stark against the black felt background, read, “Nothing unconnected ever occurs.â€

Last night, an email my father sent me brought this forgotten quote to mind:

I’ve been with Firstgiving for over four years, and in that time I’ve seen so many compelling fundraising pages. This email from my father brought home to me the personal meaning of interconnectedness, and underscores for me all the reasons I love working here.

This fundraising page for the Kossev Endowment honors a great man, raises funds for an endowment to help future athletes, and brought a father and daughter on opposite coasts together in celebration of a life well lived.

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 Back in the (thankfully warmer) Firstgiving office this week, I’d like to highlight some NPOs and herald the new month again by alerting you to the fact that October is

 And if any of you reading this post hail from down under, October 31 is Australia’s National Bandanna Day, which has become one of Australia’s leading not-for-profit fundraising and awareness raising events for young people living with cancer. 

Happy October from Firstgiving.com!

Just a heads-up to let you know that we’ve registered for Blog Action Day 2008 on October 15.  This virtual event will bring together bloggers from all over the blogosphere to contribute to a worldwide discussion on the subject of poverty. 

Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

Firstgiving is currently one of over 5,000 voices registered to contribute to the discussion, and we are thrilled to be a part of such an important and multi-dimensional conversation.  We’ll be blogging specifically about how online fundraising and social media can contribute to solutions to ending poverty.

Register your own blog, find tips and ideas on how to help and what to blog about here.  And be sure to swing by on October 15 to check out our post.

Photo courtesy of Regan Pickard

I love bowling.  When I first moved to Boston I was introduced to a New England/Canadian Maritime form of it, candlepin bowling.  And since my ancestors hail from this region, I’ve developed a particular familial affinity for it. 

It may come as no surprise, then, that the “Be the Star You Are Bowling Classic” on Firstgiving’s site caught my eye.  This event, now in its 23rd year, supports West Michigan’s Junior Achievement organization and has already raised over $2,000 on Firstgiving.com.  Event organizers expect to raise $100,000 in total in order to serve 60,000 students in 3.000 classrooms during the upcoming school year.

The Bowling Classic also caught my eye, however, because it is an impressive gathering of the Grand Rapids community.  The weekend-long event will bring together 100 teams of bowlers from companies and organizations invested in the community and this cause.  It’s not every day (er. . . weekend) that you can bring 500 people together to bowl for a cause, or even for pure entertainment.

A few years ago, I read a very interesting book by sociologist Robert D. Putnam called Bowling Alone: the Collapse and Revival of American Community.  The number of bowlers in America, says Putnam, has increased, but bowling league enrollments are way down.   And this is significant, says Putnam, because it represents a trend by which the fabric of social life (aka social capital) in America is degrading. 

I think the jury is still out on this.  Traditional forms of social capital are declining, but it’s possible that they are being replaced by new ones in the mode of Web 2.0 and social media. 

When people talk about fundraising, they often talk about the importance of building networks and relationships with donors.  West Michigan’s Junior Achievement has clearly invested in these relationships, which is why their event participation is so great.  What is significant is that with a broad base of support, these event organizers have also seized the opportunities afforded by social media and extended the reach of their fundraising by empowering teams to fundraise online for Junior Achievement.  Kudos!  Best wishes for fundraising success from Firstgiving.com.

Looking for some inspiration? Meet one of our successful fundraisers, Sarah Lewis. Sarah recently biked 70 miles with a team in the Hope for New York Bike-a-Thon, and has raised over $1,000 with Firstgiving.com. We caught up with Sarah to hear more about her story:

Why are you fundraising?
I am fundraising for Hope for New York, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to the physical, social, emotional, and spiritual healing of the poor, defenseless, and marginalized in New York. Hope for New York is an amazing organization that has a real impact on the city, and the best part about fundraising for them is that I get to bike for it!

How did you choose to fundraise for Hope for New York and why?
I saw an ad in my church bulletin about the bike-a-thon team that was forming to raise money for Hope for New York, and since I love biking, and have given much of my own money in the past to Hope for New York, I knew I had to get on the team.

What are your fundraising goals?
At first my fundraising target was $1,000, but I quickly raised $500 in one week and then was supported by an anonymous donation to match the $500 I had already raised so I reached my target in just one week! I attribute the speed at which I reached my goal to the ease and friendliness of Firstgiving’s online fundraising page.

What are some of the things you have done that have helped you raise money?
Firstgiving’s site definitely made it easy for my friends and family to see what it was I was fundraising for, why I was fundraising, and how to donate. I also like to think that my funny picture helped.

Sarah’s fundraising page is still accepting donations! And 22 other people have raised over $17,000 for Hope for New York with Firstgiving.

I heard an anecdote this week about responding to adversity.  ”When you run into a problem,” someone said to a friend of mine, “you don’t see an obstruction.  Instead you see a path.”    It’s true, my friend does think this way.  And this strikes me as a very powerful lens through which to experience the world.

Flickr image courtesy of Andy Gosling

We’ve been hearing a lot of buzz (mostly dismal) about the effects of an economic downturn (or financial crisis) on NPO fundraising.  A lot of people are inclined to think that less disposable income inevitably results in less money donated to NPOs.  However, sometimes these things can be counterintuitive.

We were curious about whether this assumption was actually true, so we asked you, our blog readers, whether your giving patterns are changing as a result of changes in the economy.  The results of our survey?  70% of respondents are giving as much or more than they did last year.

You may be surprised to discover that it’s actually difficult to discover why people give.  At Firstgiving, we’ve definitely discovered some of the reasons, and posted them under “Tips and Tricks” to help you raise more money for charity.  We’ve also found that with the way people are communicating virtually, online giving makes giving easier.  It might even prompt people to give habitually.

Another reason charities may not have as much to fear right now is the fact that people like Andy Lee are fundraising for them.  Andy is running the Kansas City Half-Marathon next month, and here’s a quote from his blog:

In the face of adversity, Andy Lee sees a way out.  Best wishes, Andy, for a great race and for fundraising success!

If you’re not already an outdoor enthusiast, the elk bugling phenomenon could quite possibly call you into the forest this month.  That’s what our friends at the Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation are hoping, anyway.

For the next two weeks, Pennsylvania residents and outdoor enthusiasts will bike, hike, kayak, canoe, stroll, and generally gallavant through the state’s 117 state parks and 2.1 million acres of forests, taking in the autumn scenery and participating in The Great Pennsylvania Outdoor Challenge.  Participants can create and register their own individual or team challenge and then create a Firstgiving.com fundraising page in support of the PA Parks and Forests Foundation.  And yes, it’s elk mating season, so elk bugling is on the list of attractions.

 

Flickr photo courtesy of GreerAz

 

 

The Foundation’s president, Marci Mowery, developed the event because she wanted the Challenge to be “something anyone could participate in, regardless of age or outdoor interests.”  So between September 12 and 30, the Challenge will take place in any park, on any date, at any time, with anybody.

We’d like to point out that the Foundation has really tapped into the power of online fundraising with the Great Pennsylvania Outdoor Challenge.  Here’s how:  

1)  The Challenge is a virtual event–virtually anyone can participate!  Participants choose the date, time, location and type of activity, allowing more people to participate.

2)  Registration for the Challenge is fast and easy.  Details and instructions are listed on the Foundation’s website and the Firstgiving landing page.  Registrants also receive a t-shirt and are entered to win prize drawings.

3) When participants create fundraising pages, they can connect their network of friends and family to the event by asking for donations for a great cause.  Fundraising pages provide a secure and easy way to donate.

4) The Foundation provides additional support for the event through their website.  A downloadable brochure is available as well as contact info. for the Challenge’s organizer. 

5) The Challenge invests in the Pennsylvania community by inviting it to take advantage of the great Pennsylvania outdoors and to honor the late Dr. Maurice K. Goddard, whose “visionary leadership set the goal of a park within 25 miles of every Pennsylvania resident.”   

 

Intrigued by the idea of a virtual event?  Are you a runner, Pennsylvanian or otherwise?  World Run Day is coming up on November 9th!  Anyone, anywhere, can run any distance and raise money for any charity on this worldwide day of running and charity giving.

Not a runner?  Create your own virtual event with Firstgiving.