This week on LinkedIn we asked the question,

  "What fundraisers have you discovered to be the most effective or clever?"  

Bert Gray, Executive Director for Macon County CASA shared with us a great idea that we wanted to pass along!  Here's what he told us:

We live in a great era for fundraising!  Technology has made donating to an organization easy, and fun!  We recently read a great blog by Rich Aberman in which he lists the top 9 creative fundraisers.  The 9 campaigns were by: Habitat for Humanity, Bricks, We are the World,     St. Baldrick’s, Trick or Treat for UNICEF, Locks of Love, Livestrong, Save the Ta-Tas, and Girl Scout Cookies.  We encourage you to read the blog for more information on what each group did!

It is important to remember that every organization is unique!  Before deciding on a campaign you should consider Sarah Mackey's advice:

Do you have a great fundraising idea you would be willing to share with the community?  Well, click the LinkedIn button and join the conversation!

This week we are discussing creative new fundraisers that have been proven to be effective in our LinkedIn discussion group.  The rise of social media has provided organizations with a plethora of new ideas on how to generate funds but many don’t know where to start.  One thing that for certain is that donors who give through multiple channels give the most money and by adding an online component you are providing those important channels.

So when considering new avenues, it is vital that the campaign have more than one way to donate.  Each organization is beautifully unique, and knowing your stakeholders helps Before implementing any new strategy, there needs to be a great deal of testing.  Katya Andresen, Mark Rovner & Alia McKee discovered 4 important steps when testing a new fundraiser. 

1.        Be clear in your goals. 

2.       Outline a testable hypothesis

3.       Outline your testing methodology.

4.       Outline the metrics you will measure.

If you have had a great experience with a specific fundraiser and would love to help others achieve similar success, please share your ideas with the community!

Here’s an example of a great fundraiser by Opportunity International:

They needed to raise funds to help support their mission which is providing small loans to poor women overseas.  Mother’s day was coming up, and they decided to let donors create an online quilt honoring mothers. 

Donors purchased a customizable digital square that was then added to the quilt.  Donor's were able then to post their tribute as well on Pinterest.  We thought this was an awesome idea for a great cause!  If you are still little nervous about bringing your fundraiser’s online, consider these findings highlighted in Beth Kanter's blog:

·         Online engagement improves the retention of traditional offline direct response donors

·         Adding digital channels does not materially cannibalize revenue from direct mail.

·         There is no discernable downside to cultivating direct mail donors via email.