Online Stores

During the previous recession, 25% of income to charities came from product sales. With merchandise, nonprofits can provide supporters with a tangible product, building an ongoing relationship and making the most of opportunities to spread the word about a cause.

Fundraising success depends on two things: Innovation and one-of-a-kind human connection. By maintaining a balance of these two things, you will continue to engage the donor, have a great relationship with the donor and will keep the donor interested in your organization (which means they will keep coming back)...

In the June 2009 cover story, "Safety Line," former FS Associate Editor Abny Santicola explained how for-profit ventures help nonprofits shore up the funding they need to maintain and expand their programs — even in stormy economic times.

Year-end online fundraising doesn't just happen in December. Here are nine practical steps fundraisers can take now to raise more money online in December.

April 27, 2010, Press Release — Retail thrift pioneer Savers Inc. today announced the launch of a new "Nonprofit Locator Tool" on its websites, making it easier than ever to donate gently used items that benefit the company's more than 128 nonprofit partners.

There are more than 240 Savers, Value Village, and Village des Valeurs stores across the U.S., Canada and Australia, and every location has a unique nonprofit partner in its community, such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, The Arc, The Epilepsy Foundation, HOPE Services or the Canadian Diabetes Association.  Each store pays its nonprofit partner for every used item donated, which include clothing, housewares, furniture and more. Partners are paid for donations collected directly by the nonprofit or at the Community Donation Center, located on-site at the Savers, Inc. stores. These partnerships turn otherwise unused goods into sustainable funding that supports the nonprofits' programs and services right in the local community.

The new Nonprofit Locator Tool will help match potential donors with nearby nonprofit partners and Community Donation Centers, thus encouraging increased donations for nonprofit partners. Last year, Savers paid $127 million to its partners for donations, and it has paid more than one billion dollars since 1954.

September 15, 2009, DMNews — Online purchases grew again in 2008, but retail sales were flat and call center sales declined, according to Epsilon Targeting, a recently formed data division of Epsilon. These were among the findings in its Annual Multichannel Trend Report, which is based on aggregated merchandise purchase data from the Abacus Cooperative database.

September 4, 2009, The Wall Street Journal — Most people see the Tate Modern and the British Museum as bastions of fine art. Peter Tullin, however, thinks of them as powerful brands.

After getting laid off by Enron during its financial-document falsification scandal and eventual collapse, Brian Cruver authored a book, Anatomy of Greed, which gives an insider’s view of the debacle. The book became a CBS television movie, The Crooked E. With the money earned from the book and movie deals, Cruver wanted to start a company that would benefit society.