15 Feb 2011 4 Comments

Six out of the box ideas to attract more donations

At FirstGiving, there is a lot of variety in the ways that fundraisers ask for donations.  Successful fundraisers share their fundraising pages to everyone, and then share them again. However,  personalizing your appeals and adding incentives to your fundraising pages can inspire your donations and push your beyond your fundraising goal. We’re spotlighting fundraisers who “think outside of the box” by offering personalized appeals, creative donation incentives, and even creative pledge opportunities on their FirstGiving fundraising pages.

1. Offer a raffle prize opportunity

Christine van Eyck is running the LA Marathon this March and raising money for US Vets. She’s already more than halfway towards her goal. She states on her fundraising page: “Every donation has the chance to win an Apple Ipod Shuffle and gift cards! Winners will be drawn the day after the marathon.” Consider offering a raffle prize to your donors, or a prize for every donation over a certain amount.

2. Bake a Pie

Bronwyn Bacon is raising money for the American Chronic Pain Association through her own grassroots fundraiser, Pies for Pain. She’s trying to raise $2,800 by May in honor of her husband’s 28th birthday. As an added incentive, she’s baking and giving away pies to anyone who donates at least $28. As she posts on her fundraising page: “Of course, I want YOU to get something out of it too – so if you’re local (Desert area to Los Angeles) and donate $28 or more, I will bake you a FREE PIE in the flavor of your choosing! Below are the options: Lemon meringue, pumpkin, blackberry, cherry, blueberry, apple, strawberry or chocolate meringue, brown sugar, or banana cream.” If you are not local, or want to donate your pie, you can contact her for options. We’re fans of pie at FirstGiving – pie for good! Think about offering a homemade gift as a special incentive for donors. What would you offer?

3. Ask for pledges

Mark Kaiser has diabetes, and a bright shock of orange hair. He created The Incredible Shrinking Orange Man challenge to lose 25 pounds and raise funds for the American Diabetes Association. His donors could choose to become an Orange Man Supporter (one-time gift) or a Shrinking Man Challenger, donating anywhere from $1 to $25 per pound for every pound he lost within four months. To set up pledges, he created a Facebook Page where he asked people to state their pledges ahead of time and sends people to his fundraising page from there. He lost 25 pounds and listed the names of those who pledged, and how much, on his FirstGiving page, just to keep everyone honest. Pledges are a creative way to incentivize both the fundraiser and the donor!

4. Create your own video

Video appeals do the fundraising for you. Video is such a great medium for conveying why you are raising money, and making the appeal very personal. Two FirstGiving fundraisers have used video in very different ways: one uses humor and one tells the fundraiser’s story. Chris Ronan created a “superhero” video for the Special Olympics Kansas Polar Plunge that adds more than a touch of humor, and inspiration. He added it to his fundraising page, setting his page apart from the others. Fundraiser Ken Dooley literally ran the Chicago Marathon 2010 with a flipcam and recorded his thoughts and the crowd during the marathon. He edited it down to two minutes and added it to his personal blog. Ken estimates that the video brought in an additional $500 for the LaSalle II school in Chicago. You can read his guest post and view the video on our FirstGiving for Runners blog here. For ideas about how to tell your own video story, read this guest blog post.

5.Offer regular updates and interviews with the nonprofit

What is better than interviews and real-life stories about the nonprofit’s staff and beneficiaries? Geno Carter, who is raising money for the Carroll Center for the Blind, regularly adds stories and interviews to his fundraising page. A November update stated, “I spoke with the staff of the Carroll Center and they are overwhelmed and touched by your response!” His December update includes interviews: “I recently had the pleasure of interviewing some blind staff members at CCB. Janet and Brian are amazing folks! They are shining examples of why I am raising money for CCB.” Geno links to the interviews from the FirstGiving fundraising page. Your donors want to know more about the nonprofit you are supporting, and about how your fundraising is progressing. Make your fundraising page personal with regular fundraising updates, reactions from the nonprofit, and stories from the nonprofit’s staff or beneficiaries.

5. Suggest donation amounts linked to event milestones

Steve Laferriere is running the Boston Marathon 2011 and raising money for the Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership. He suggests donation amounts on his fundraising page that correspond with the 26.2 miles of the marathon. “Some fun ideas are to donate $1, $5, $10 or more for every mile for 26.2 miles to help families and individuals improve their lives!

  • $1 per mile would be $26.20
  • $2 per mile would be $52.40
  • $3 would be $78.60
  • $5 would be $131
  • $10 would be $262
  • $18 a mile would be $471.6- for extra good luck.”

If you’re plunging into freezing cold water, suggest a donation of a dollar per degree. If you’re turning 50 years old for your birthday fundraiser, suggest a donation of $50.

Do you have other creative FirstGiving fundraising page ideas to share? We’d love to hear them. We’re compiling a list of examples and pages such as the ones listed here to offer as a resource for fundraisers.

by admin in Fundraising Tips Tags: , , , , ,