Two weeks ago, Matt Jenkins began running barefoot up the coast of North Carolina to raise awareness about nonprofit organizations hit hard by state budget cuts. He plans to run a total of 760 miles by the end of his journey.
Jenkins works for the Western Youth Network, which has lost $200,000 worth of funding from the state government this year. His goal is to raise $20,000.
So with all these great, new outreach and engagement tools at its disposal, how can your organization harness this still-new medium to empower constituents on your behalf? There are many strategies and initiatives already playing out all over the fundraising sector — with plenty more new and unforeseen ideas still to come. Here, FundRaising Success highlights some creative and successful ways organizations are using social media to raise awareness and funds.
Blackbaud announced the launch of BlackbaudTV, a new resource for the nonprofit community, with videos featuring nonprofit news, technology tools and tips, philanthropy in action, Blackbaud customers, partners, and events.
Blackbaud is holding the BlackbaudTV Inspire Contest to encourage nonprofit professionals to submit videos in response to the question, “How do you inspire supporters to take action?” The two winners receive free registrations to the 2010 Blackbaud’s Conference for Nonprofits – North America.
The Robin Hood Foundation annual gala in May showed that aggressive fundraising could trump the recession, as the poverty-fighting nonprofit raised more than $88 million at a dinner attended by 3,400 people at the Javits Center. This year’s galas have seen the return of filet of beef and lobster on menus after those pricey items were virtually banned by many nonprofits in 2009. Deep-pocket bidders also are returning to silent and live auctions after a dearth of bids of over $50,000 for celebrity experiences and luxury items.
Fundraising events can be extremely valuable sources of revenue and awareness for any nonprofit organization. However, there is a lot more to successfully pulling one off than mobilizing a few volunteers and getting participants to encourage pledge donations to walk (or run or swim or bike, etc.). In a webinar presented by nonprofit technology solutions provider Convio, 5 Best Practices for Event Fundraising: Proven Success Strategies of the Top Run-Walk-Ride Events, James Young, senior open strategy manager of Convio, and Jeff Shuck, president and CEO of event fundraising consultants Event 360, discussed the important aspects of executing successful fundraising events.
You might be able to get rich quick if you can fix the BP oil spill. The X Prize Foundation wants to make fixing the BP oil spill a multimillion dollar competition. It has done the same for space, fuel efficient cars and gene-mapping.
Foundation Vice President Francis Beland (BE'-land) says his group is kicking around the idea. They've already received 35,000 unsolicited ideas for fixing the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
WASHINGTON, May 28, 2010—Hundreds of children's literacy supporters attended Reading Is Fundamental's Gift of Reading Gala on May 26th at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington. For more than 43 years, RIF has helped children discover the joy of reading by bringing books to life. This year's event raised more than $410,000 to benefit children's literacy programs nationwide.
The gala brought together distinguished policymakers, as well as corporate and community leaders who share RIF's vision of a literate America. Award-winning host of NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday, Liane Hansen, was master of ceremonies at the gala. During the ceremony, stories from RIF alumni demonstrated the power that being able to choose a new book can have on children.
The popularity of social media websites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube has given rise to promising new ways for event participants to raise money online for nonprofits. While some industry observers doubt the fundraising potential of these platforms, participants in special events continue to be an exception and have shown strong success by tapping in to the power of social networking.
April 20, 2010, Press Release — Social giving tournament website www.HumanityCalls.org will be launching its initial event, the eBay Fundraising Tournament for the Environment, on April 22. Environment focused nonprofits are invited to sign up. Dozens of organizations, including Amazon Watch, The Nature Conservancy, Light Up Malawi, Water.org and the World Wildlife Fund, have joined.
This first HumanityCalls.org tournament has been seeded with $50,000 from eBay in support of the environment, including challenges such as climate change, conservation, recycling, renewable energy and pollution. Individuals will drive-up the tournament cash pool through their own contributions, vote on the most deserving nonprofits and help engage others through Facebook and Twitter.
Back in 2008, many Americans got their first taste of social networking for good through the Web site mybarack obama.com (or "MyBO" as it came to be known). The site engaged Barack Obama supporters online with a goal of inspiring action offline — attending events, canvassing, phone banking and, of course, donating.
