Fundraising

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It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas for #GivingTuesday Participants

According to the latest news, charities really benefited from #GivingTuesday. The latest total being reported is close to $50 million raised on this important day for philanthropy worldwide.

MountainNon-Profit Times reports close to $47 million as of last Tuesday, this is up from $32 million Non-Profit Times reported one year ago. This number is a tally from various companies including Blackbaud, DonorPerfect, Network for Good, Razoo, and Click & Pledge. Imagine the total if every supplier accepting online donations participated and numbers were reported for all suppliers worldwide! The report suggests the number also does not include any number from PayPal, which reported some $4 million last year on #GivingTuesday.

Why is this important to those of us in Australia? While there are no totals reported for #GivingTuesday Australia, it proves collective movements work. When we work together we all gain. Some people suggest there is a lot of competition for the charitable dollar. While I do not doubt that fact, there also is much to be learned about movements like #GivingTuesday, which show when we approach philanthropic giving through a mass marketing effort and encourage people to give everyone wins.

Learn how you can become involved through the Australian GivingTuesday website. Sign up today and start to plan for 2015.

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How was your day? Your #GivingTuesday, that is.

Snip20141108_1Just one week ago today, our sector experienced #GivingTuesday. It appeared some Australian charities took advantage of this vast worldwide marketing campaign while others are still unaware of the campaign or have not yet jumped in.

Organisations like Blackbaud report worldwide giving on this #GivingTuesday was up 36% compared to #GivingTuesday 2013. Here are some other statistics reported:

  • Since the inaugural #GivingTuesday in 2012, overall online giving is up 159%.
  • Blackbaud processed more than $26.1 million in online donations on #GivingTuesday 2014, up from the $19.2 million processed on #GivingTuesday in 2013.
  • Online transaction volume grew 50% compared to 2013.
  • The average online donation on #GivingTuesday 2014 was $128.30, slightly down on last year.
  • 17% of online donation form views came from a mobile device.

RIDBC---TattoosRoyal Institute of Deaf and Blind Children (RIDBC) is the only Australian charity to have solicited me directly and mentioned #GivingTuesday in the solicitation. In fact, RIDBC sent me an SMS and asked me to give by responding with the word “Joy”. I complied and I was sent to a giving page where I was offered the chance to make a gift. After I made the donation, I received a thank you via SMS and I was offered the chance to give again. I gave it a “test” and retyped the word “Joy”, which automatically converted to an additional $5 contribution because my credit details had been tokenised when I made the original contribution.

GiveeasyAfter tweeting about this terrific experience, I learned RIDBC is using GiveEasy SMS as a new channel to offer supporters a fast, innovative, and effective way to give a donation.

If your charity did not participate in #GivingTuesday this year, why not start planning for next year’s #GivingTuesday and determine a means to wrap it in your organisation’s Christmas Appeal? Also, I suggest organisations give GiveEasy a review and see if SMS giving should be in your future. Perhaps you might implement SMS giving in the New Year!

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On #GivingTuesday Teach Your Children to Give

HandsHoldingGiftToday, December 2, 2014 is #GivingTuesday, which is “a movement to celebrate and provide incentives to give.” According to the GivingTuesday Australia website, “This effort harnesses the collective power of a unique blend of partners – charities, families, businesses and individuals – to transform how people think about, talk about and participate in the giving season.”

I would like to take a moment to concentrate on one word mentioned in their purpose statement – families. Especially how they talk about and participate in the giving season.

Here, in Australia, families and individuals are very charitable, especially when it comes to “emergency” situations like natural disasters. Individuals have historically given more than governments when it comes to philanthropy.

As citizens of the world, we embrace the idea that helping others helps our community and ourselves. As people, we enjoy raising money to help support the mission and goals of an organization. We feel we can “end this disease”; provide education or clean water; and save animals. It’s the idea we can work together for the betterment of all.

Those who participate in giving of their ‘treasure’ understand the importance of living in a safe, secure and strong society. One where we feel an obligation to give back to society in order to provide the ‘essentials’ of a community – A Home, Food/Water, Healthcare, Education and Economic Opportunity.

During this giving season it is very important for parents to pass this message to their children.

HandsHoldingCoinsA good lesson would be to speak with our children about SMALL DONORS making a difference.  Discuss participating in a ‘gold coin donation’ program and use one of the following examples to illustrate small donations can make a great impact.

In 1938, Polio victim US President Franklin D. Roosevelt started the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (NFIP). The newly formed organisation turned to media stars to give the message about how a donation of a single dime (10 cents) could add up to an amount that would be big enough to fund research to find a vaccine for polio. The idea that One dime could help in the fight to end polio led to a well chosen campaign name – The March of Dimes. In the first year over US$238,000 arrived at the White House – all in dimes! By 1959, a total of $622 million had been raised. By 1979, polio was eradicated in the United States.

It’s likely your children have never even heard of Polio because of these efforts from small donors. Ask them to imagine speaking to their children about diseases that no longer exist because of their future efforts. Or maybe speak with them about the Tsunami Relief efforts in 2005 or the Bushfire efforts in 2009.

Or talk about causes that affect your family or friends. Here is a list of causes to consider:

  • AIDS Education/Awareness
  • Animal Protection
  • Environment and Conservation
  • Health
  • Hunger and Homelessness
  • Human Rights
  • Literacy and Education

The goal in these discussions is to have your children think about what their lives would be like without access to basic needs. And once you have talked about the idea of “giving back” and (I’m hopeful) chosen a cause to support with your children, put those gold coins into action.

HandsHoldingHeartFrom today, December 2, 2014 through to Christmas, have everyone in the family take their coins or money they would have spent on “treats” and collect it all in a jar. Place it where everyone can watch the pile get higher. Before the end of the year, donate the money to your charity of choice. You and your children will have participated in the giving season.

Happy Thanksgiving

thanksgivingIt is Thanksgiving Day in the United States. On behalf of FundraisingForce, I want to wish everyone stateside and around the world a very Happy Thanksgiving!

FundraisingForce has much to be thankful for – especially our customers. To those of you celebrating, have a safe and wonderful holiday. To all of you – thank you!

Tuesday is the best Tuesday of the year – it’s GivingTuesday!

Snip20141108_1Several weeks ago, I wrote about an important day of the year – #GivingTuesday. In fact, I would say it is my favourite day of the year because this campaign brings a boost in charitable giving worldwide. We see a boost in giving of volunteer time and of donor financial support all across the nation.

This weekend, in the United States, is a weekend of indulgence. Thursday is Thanksgiving Day in the US, a day when people indulge in amazing food prepared by love ones. Thanksgiving is followed by the biggest retail-shopping weekend of the year. Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. Next Tuesday, better known as #GivingTuesday, is a terrific campaign to promote the opportunity for people to give back to their communities and support the charities they love.

Mark your calendars for 2 December – #GivingTuesday. Give your time next Tuesday to a charity of your choice. Give a little extra gift to a few of your top charities. Make a major gift to charity you have been pondering for a while. I plan to act on my own suggestion and give a financial contribution to each customer @FundraisingForce has worked with in 2014. I challenge every supplier in the non-profit space to do the same. Additionally, I am planning to donate hundreds of toiletries to a Brisbane homeless organisation in hopes those toiletries will help a lot of homeless people in need.

There are dozens of ways in which you and your organisation may be involved in #GivingTuesday. It is not too late to get involved in this campaign and movement. Together, let’s make 2 December the biggest #GivingTuesday ever.

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35 Days until Christmas – Time to get your Charity Holiday Cards

charity christmas cardsIt’s mid-November and we are already starting to see the countdown of the number of days until Christmas. As part of my personal tasks of things to do now is start organising my holiday card list, so I can get my “best wishes” sent to friends and family.

But first, I need to find the cards I plan to send. This week, as I started looking, I noticed quite a few charities are selling holiday cards with their branding, including their name and logo. Being the in the philanthropy sector, I always gravitate to purchasing these kind of cards. There is an extra feeling of goodness when I know some percentage of the sale of the cards is going back to a deserving charity. Additionally, I get to spread the word of the good works of these charities to all whom I send the cards.

charity christmas cardsThis year, you will find a few organisations have their cards available though newsagents (Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and Multiple Sclerosis), while others are found at Australia Post (Starlight Children’s Foundation, Lifeline and Careflight). I encourage all of you who are sending cards this year to consider choosing cards associated with a charity. It could be one you already support with donations or take this opportunity to choose a card from an organisation that is new to you as a supporter. Buying holiday cards might just be the small thing that pushes you off the fence to become a financial supporter for the charity.

In addition to buying and sending these affiliated holiday cards, consider supporting organisations that produce fundraising calendars. Many organisations produce a calendar for their cause. I found a firefighter calendar that benefits the Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Children’s Hospital at Westmead Burns unit Firefighters calendar.charity calendar

It’s also important to consider this as a moment where you can learn a bit more about the mission and projects of the charity for whom you sending the cards and maybe make a cash donation as well.

And since Christmas and New Year’s come EVERY year, if you currently work for a non-profit organisation, you might consider producing one of these items next year. It could be a new way for you to connect to the community and bring more donors and dollars to your charity.

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Charities leaving money on the table

leavingmoneyontable-2I received a newsletter in the mail from a Melbourne charity this last week. The newsletter is a beautiful full colour piece; full of images and stories about the good work the charity is doing around the world. The stories are motivating and might even influence someone to get involved. The charity included a blank envelope in the mail piece. There is no call to action. The blank envelope does not offer recipients a clue about the course of action the charity wants the recipient to take. Is the assumption the recipient will send a cheque in the mail? In fact, the blank envelope only confuses the recipient.

Make an ask in every treatment you mail or email your supporters. You do not have to make a hard ask in the piece. The Melbourne charity should have, at the least, included a giving envelope in the piece I received.

I might suggest this charity create a test – test a letter with a direct ask against a giving envelope to see which performs best. The letter/direct ask might contain an ask ladder tailored to the segment.

I am putting my money on the fact both of the approaches in the test will outperform a blank envelope hands down!

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Giving Tuesday – 2 December – a day for FundraisingForce to give back

Snip20141108_1Giving Tuesday – a single day where each of us in Australia come together, along with the rest of the world, to give back to charities deserving of our support.

This year, on 2 December, Australian businesses, not-for-profits, charities, community groups, families and individuals are being encouraged to join a global movement and celebrate a day of giving to kick off the giving season. It’s called #GivingTuesday.

#GivingTuesday was started in 2012 by New York’s 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation. The concept was, and still is, simple. The US has a day for giving thanks – it is the fourth Thursday of every November and one of the biggest public holidays of the year – Thanksgiving Day. The following day (and often times late night on Thanksgiving evening, is the largest retails tore shopping day of the year – called Black Friday. The following Monday is the largest shopping day of the year on the internet – Cyber Monday. So, the concept was born to create Giving Tuesday as a means to drive giving back to charity!  Together, different sectors were rallied together to ‘give back’ and support local not-for-profits, causes and communities. The inaugural #GivingTuesday saw over 2500 not-for-profit and business partners participate in different ways that not only resulted in awareness being raised of key issues but also a significant increase in giving on that day.

How can you get involved? #Giving Tuesday already offers you the basis for a marketing campaign and encourages your organisation (charity or supplier) to do the following:

Activate your community of supporters for #GivingTuesday and give them a fresh way to give. Or maybe you’d like to give back to them and find a way to say thanks or highlight the work that your volunteers do.

To get involved:

  • Sign up as a #GivingTuesday Australia partner
  • Register your initiative
  • Spread the word and get your community involved
  • If you’re partnering with a corporate partner, ask them to register as well!

FundraisingForce is a #Giving Tuesday partner. How is our company involved? We have been promoting #Giving Tuesday throughout the year on Twitter, Facebook and our blog and we will continue to promote #Giving Tuesday up to and including the day of this important event. Additionally, on #Giving Tuesday we will give a donation to each and every customer we have worked with this year since our company launched. It’s our way of saying “thanks” this holiday season and our way of ensuring we give back to organisations who have entrusted us as a leading fundraising consulting firm in Australia.

Whether you represent a charity, community organisation, or a supplier to the NFP sector, get involved in #Giving Tuesday now!

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Get that Fundraising Trifecta – 3 ideas to help you win, place and show

It’s called “the race that stops the nation”. In Australia, today is the Melbourne Cup. And many of us will pause this afternoon to watch this horse race with friends and colleagues. For some, it’s a public holiday; for others, we simply might not return to working in the afternoon.

If our role is fundraising for a charity, we are also in a race today – one to hit our goal or target by 31 December. So, the first Tuesday in November is when we are coming down the stretch to the end of our calendar year – and, for most of us, halfway through our financial year. Whether we are in the back stretch or home stretch, we want to come in first and take home the cup!

Since many of us will put a wager on the race today, I thought I’d play ‘punter’ and give some tips for being the winning jockey in your race to raise dollars for your non-profit.

  1. Perform data hygiene on your data set before you drop the year-end appeal to acquire changes of addresses prior to dropping the mail out; ensuring less return to sender (RTS) mail
  2. As part of your stewardship, call donors who give over $100 to your appeal and thank him or her for their gift. Gain new information from these donors on the call and record this information in your database
  3. Add a seasonal message to your acknowledgement letter/receipt, such as “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year”.

Bonus tip: don’t forget a special message and effort to your LYBUNT and SYBUNT groups.

Finish LineDoing any of these things today may ensure you a win, place, or show. But I’m hopeful you will go for the trifecta and do all three. Only by taking some chances and being aggressive down the stretch will you get over that line ahead of the others. And within your organisation – everybody wins – you and your charity!

 

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It’s Christmastime – at least for QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute (QIMR)

QIMR Christmas AppealThe stores are already filled with Christmas items. I walked by a large office building in Melbourne last week and it was decked out for the holiday season complete with very large Christmas trees, lights, and the works. Each year I wonder which charity will be first to send their Christmas appeal. It is highly probable the charity to win this “contest”, to be first in my letterbox, will be The Salvation Army (the winner the last several years). But, hold on. Not this year. This year’s winner is QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute (QIMR).

The pack, which was received on 30 October 2014, contains a message on the carrier to ensure everyone knows this is their Christmas appeal. The packet also contains: A two-page letter, a note from a woman named Stacey Edwards about her mother’s journey with breast cancer, a fact sheet about breast cancer, and a terrific response device. The response asks me to update my contact details and offers me a host of ways to give a gift including BPay, phone, URL, and FAX. Note the photo of Stacey and her children with Santa on the response device.QIMR Christmas Appeal Response

Congratulations to QIMR. The winner of this year’s first of the lot!

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