On Tuesday, November 8th GlobalGiving hosted a training on holiday fundraising. You can listen to the recording here. Read through the slides here.
The following blog posts provide an excellent summary of the information covered in the training:
Archive for the ‘Fundraising Tips’ Category
GlobalGiving Holiday Promotions
Posted by Alexis Nadin on November 2nd, 2011Competition for your donors’ attention and dollars is fierce at this time of the year. We want to help your organization stand out with some exciting holiday promotions.
Tribute Card Campaign – $10,000 in bonus awards!
Did you know that donors can make donations to your project as gifts to friends and family? GlobalGiving will send the gift recipient an email, print-at-home, or physical tribute card. See an example of an email card here. It’s the third giving option under the orange “donate” button on every project page.
This holiday season, we’re giving away $10,000 in bonus awards to the top 15 projects with the most donors who make donations as gifts. This campaign gives your donors an extra incentive to give to your organization during the holiday season. The campaign launches at 12:01 am EST Wednesday, November 23rd and lasts through 11:59 pm EST December 31st.
Terms and Conditions:
- $10,000 will be awarded in a total of 17 prizes
- $1,500 will be awarded to the project will the most tribute card dollars
- $500 will be awarded to 15 projects with the most unique donors giving tribute cards
- An additional $1,000 will be awarded to the project with the most unique donors giving tribute cards
- A project must have at least 10 unique tribute card donors to be eligible for bonus awards.
- The campaign will begin on Wednesday, Nov 23 at 12:01 am EST and will end on Saturday, Dec 31, 2011 at 11:59 pm EST (GMT-4);
- Paper cards, print-at-home cards, and e-cards are all eligible to be included in the campaign;
- Donations made on www.globalgiving.co.uk or any GlobalGiving corporate sites (including Nike, Global Action Atlas, etc) are NOT eligible for this campaign.
- Only permanent GlobalGiving partners (not those participating in an Open Challenge) are eligible for this campaign.
- Projects must be live on the GlobalGiving site by 5 pm EST on Tuesday, Nov. 22 to be included in this campaign.
PSST…As part of this exciting campaign, GlobalGiving will be launching e-cards that are branded for your project. Donors will be able to choose an email tribute card customized with your project’s main photo to send to family and friends.
Gifts for Good
Attract new donors to your project through our Gifts for Good campaign! Give away a gift—jewelry, scarves, and more—in exchange for donations of a certain amount ($25, $50, $75). Your gift will be visible in GlobalGiving’s Gifts for Good “store,” which will be featured in our holiday outreach. Use this opportunity to get your project in front of GlobalGiving’s 100,000 newsletter subscribers, 30,000 Twitter followers, and 28,000 Facebook fans.
Participating organizations are responsible for the gift fulfillment (including shipping and handling) of the gifts. GlobalGiving will provide you with the mailing addresses of participating donors. In exchange, you are required to mail (at your organization’s expense) the gifts to the donors. Only organizations based in the U.S or with volunteers in the U.S are eligible to participate.
Submit the Gifts for Good form by November 10th to participate. Email Alexis Nadin at anadin@globalgiving.org for more information.
Mobile Giving
Are you planning a holiday fundraising event? Use GlobalGiving’s text-to-give option to raise money for your GlobalGiving projects at the event! Your projects has its own specific keyword that people can text to donate $10 to your project. The $10-per-text donation is charged to the donor’s phone bill and the donation shows up immediately in our project entry system where you manage your donations.
Your text-to-give call-to action is: “Text GIVE <space> [PROJ. ID] to 80088 to give $10 to [PROJECT NAME] on GlobalGiving.” Wherever you include this call-to-action—brochures, slide show presentation, etc.—you MUST include the carrier compliance disclaimer verbatim visibly on the same page (see examples below).
Remember that text donations aren’t disbursed for about 3 months after they are made. You also do not receive names or contact information for your text-to-give donors. So think carefully about when mobile giving is the best donation option. Read more about mobile giving.
For messaging in print:
$10.00 donation to [PROJECT NAME] on GlobalGiving. Charges will appear on your wireless bill, or be deducted from your prepaid balance. All purchases must be authorized by account holder. Message and Data Rates May Apply. Text STOP to 80088 to STOP. Text HELP to 80088 for HELP. Full Terms: mGive.org/T. Privacy policy: goto.gg/privacy
- This disclaimer must be in at least 12 pt font and not blend in with the background. IT must be viewable on the same page without scrolling.
- “Help” and “Stop” language must be in bold
- The Privacy policy and mGive.org/T hyperlinks must be active for web promotions
For announcements at events:
Strive to have a visual call-to-action with the full disclaimer visible during the event, but if it’s verbal only, please include: “Message and data rates may apply. Full terms at mGive.org/T”
Find the correct disclaimers for Facebook, Twitter, and other mediums here.
Want help developing your holiday fundraising strategy?
Join us on Tuesday, November 8th for our Holiday Fundraising Training or sign up for a one-on-one call with GlobalGiving to help plan your holiday fundraising strategy.
Date: Tuesday, November 8th
Times: 9 am EST (This time in your city) and 3 pm EST (This time in your city)
Webinar link: anymeeting.com/globalgiving1 *
*Audio will be available via the webinar link.
Sign up for a reminder.
Planning for success this holiday season
Posted by Alexis Nadin on November 2nd, 2011Did you know that 33% of online giving happens in December?!
Why the flurry of online giving?
In the U.S., all tax deductible donations to non-profits must be made before the end of the year (Dec. 31st) to be eligible for deduction from that year’s taxes. December is also the month of popular American holidays, such as Christmas and Hanukkah. Last year, US retail e-commerce spending for the entire November – December 2010 holiday season reached a record $32.6 billion.
In the U.S, year-end fundraising traditionally begins the Monday after Thanksgiving (Nov. 28), otherwise known as Cyber Monday (which was the largest online spending day of 2010!) but it starts to ramp up for several weeks before. The fundraising seasons lasts until the end of the day on December 31st.
What should you do to get ready?
Make a strategy! Fundraising doesn’t just happen. You have to plan for it. Here are some basic tips for creating a holiday fundraising plan:
1) Set goals. Take a look at your holiday fundraising volume from last year. How much did you raise? How much do you need to raise this year? How much would you like to raise this year? How much do you think you can raise online? In checks? Via text-to-give? Give yourself a specific monetary and donor goal. You may even consider sharing your goals with your donors in your messaging.
2) Mobilize through a campaign. You won’t be the only organization fundraising this holiday season. You will be competing with other organizations for donations from your donors. Use a campaign to galvanize support. Looking for ideas? GlobalGiving has great holiday promotions going on this year. Read more here.
3) Create a communications calendar. Determine how you are going to communicate with your donors—email, Facebook, Twitter, etc.—and when. Think strategically about important dates in November and December:
- November 25th (Black Friday),
- November 28th (Cyber Monday),
- December 20-28 (Hanukkah),
- December 25th (Christmas), and
- December 31st (New Year’s Eve and the last giving day of the year!).
Remember that you want to be present in your donors’ minds as they’re making giving decisions throughout the holiday season but without being annoying!
4) Develop your messaging. What are you going to say to stand out this holiday season? What photos are you going to show to introduce your donors to the people that they’re helping? What stories are you going to tell to help your donors understand the impact of your organization’s work?
Remember to keep your emails, project reports, and Facebook posts short and sweet. Make your messages about your beneficiaries—what they need and how your donors can help—not about you and your organization. Include a clear call to action and a link to your project page in each of your messages.
5) Evaluate your progress and prepare to be flexible. Why do you set goals? So that you can set benchmarks and evaluate your success. Set some time aside each week during the holiday season to evaluate your fundraising progress. Determine if you’re on track towards meeting your goals and, if not, what you need to do to meet your fundraising goals. Be prepared to be creative and to make last minute changes to your plan.
Want help developing your holiday fundraising strategy?
Join us on Tuesday, November 8th for our Holiday Fundraising Training or sign up for a one-on-one call with GlobalGiving to help plan your holiday fundraising strategy.
Date: Tuesday, November 8th
Times: 9 am EST (This time in your city) and 3 pm EST (This time in your city)
Webinar link: anymeeting.com/globalgiving1 *
*Audio will be available via the webinar link.
Sign up for a reminder.
Additional resources:
Mobile GlobalGiving
Posted by acarlman on October 20th, 2011
One of our core values is to never settle, so we’re constantly finding new ways to add value to your experience as a nonprofit partner of GlobalGiving. Today we’re excited to announce the soft-launch of mobile giving options for each of your projects on our site! This means that each of your projects has its own specific keyword that people can text to donate $10 to your project. The $10-per-text is charged to the donor’s phone bill and the donation shows up immediately in our project entry system where you manage your donations. (Please feel free to try it out now, and we’ll be doing a full-fledged launch to donors on Oct. 25.)
Why is mobile giving such a big deal?
In the last 3 years, more than 4.4 million Americans have made mobile donations through our partner mGive, resulting in over $50 million for nonprofits. Starting today, we’re making it possible for any project on GlobalGiving to receive text message donations from US donors.
Please read through this entire post to find out more about mobile giving through GlobalGiving! Here are the three main points we’ll cover:
- You now have mobile giving capabilities for each of your projects (at no extra cost)!
- Your text-to-give call-to action is: “Text GIVE <space> [PROJ. ID] to 80088 to give $10 to [PROJECT NAME] on GlobalGiving”
- You must include the carrier compliance terms anytime you invite people to text-to-give.
_______________The GlobalGiving Mobile Giving Manual________________
What’s the mobile giving call-to-action for my projects?
Every GlobalGiving project has its own project ID number. You can find it on your project page above the project title. You’ll use that Project ID number to create you own text-to-give code.
Find your project ID just above the title of your project.
Once you’ve found the Project ID, you can enter it into the the magic formula for your mobile giving call-to-action:
“Text GIVE <space> [PROJ. ID] to 80088 to give $10 to [PROJECT NAME] on GlobalGiving. [DISCLAIMER.]”
or, for example:
“Text GIVE 7481 to 80088 to give $10 to The Underdog Fund on GlobalGiving. [DISCLAIMER]”
Some key points here:
- [PROJ.ID] is your unique project ID number
- There is a space between the word GIVE and your PROJ.ID.
- You must include “GlobalGiving” as a part of the call-to-action because the charge will be listed on their phone bill as a donation to GlobalGiving. (It’s the law!)
- [DISCLAIMER] indicates the required carrier compliance language. You must include carrier compliance disclaimers whenever you talk about mobile giving. (It’s the law!) Look below to find out what the proper disclaimer is for your communication medium.
DID YOU CATCH THAT? You must include the [DISCLAIMER] – the proper carrier compliance language whenever you talk about mobile giving.
What is Carrier Compliance?
GlobalGiving, mGive, and the U.S. wireless carriers are committed to ensuring the future of the mobile fundraising platform. To that end, the carriers have implemented rules and regulations to address privacy and transparency to all wireless subscribers regarding mobile donations. These mandatory notices are required in all mobile calls-to-action across all marketing mediums in the form of disclaimers and terms and conditions. mGive provides the required terms and conditions, but it is GlobalGiving’s responsibility to disclose the required information within the disclaimer with all mobile calls-to-action in market.
Therefore, EVERY TIME you make a “call-to-action” (inviting people to text-to-give) YOU MUST include the correct legal disclaimers verbatim visibly on the same page. Find the type of medium you’ll be using to broadcast your call-to-action below, and then find the proper disclaimer to include:
For posts on Facebook or Twitter:
Terms: mGive.org/t
i.e. “Text GIVE 7481 to 80088 to give $10 to The Underdog Fund on GlobalGiving. Terms: mgive.org/t”
For other online messaging:
$10.00 donation to [PROJECT NAME] on GlobalGiving. Charges will appear on your wireless bill, or be deducted from your prepaid balance. All purchases must be authorized by account holder. Must be 18 years of age or have parental permission to participate. Message and Data Rates May Apply. Text STOP to 80088 to STOP. Text HELP to 80088 for HELP. Full Terms: mGive.org/T. Privacy policy: goto.gg/privacy
- This disclaimer must be in at least 12 pt font and not blend in with the background. It must be viewable on the same page without scrolling.
- “Help” and “Stop” language must be in bold
- The Privacy policy and mGive.org/T hyperlinks must be active for web promotions
For messaging in print:
$10.00 donation to [PROJECT NAME] on GlobalGiving. Charges will appear on your wireless bill, or be deducted from your prepaid balance. All purchases must be authorized by account holder. Must be 18 years of age or have parental permission to participate. Message and Data Rates May Apply. Text STOP to 80088 to STOP. Text HELP to 80088 for HELP. Full Terms: mGive.org/T. Privacy policy: goto.gg/privacy
- This disclaimer must be in at least 12 pt font and not blend in with the background. IT must be viewable on the same page without scrolling.
- “Help” and “Stop” language must be in bold
- The Privacy policy and mGive.org/T hyperlinks must be active for web promotions
For messaging at events:
Strive to have a visual call-to-action with the full disclaimer visible during the event, but if it’s verbal only, please include: “Message and data rates may apply. Full terms at mGive.org/T”
Got that? Ok. Now that we’re clear with the carrier compliance issue, we’ll move on to some other frequently asked questions.
What happens when a donor sends a text?
The best way for you to figure out how mobile giving works is to try it out yourself! If you’re in the United States, test it on your own project. If you’re not, please read the steps below to see how it works.
Step 1:
Donor texts: GIVE 7481 to 80088
Auto Response: To confirm your $10 donation to GlobalGiving reply with the word YES. Info? Visit: mGive.org/T or txt HELP. Msg & Data Rates May Apply
Step 1: Text “Give Proj.ID” to 80088 and get response
Step 2:
Donor must respond with: Yes
Auto Response: Thanks! $10 charged to your phone bill. Txt GIVE up to 3x for GG donations. Info? Visit mGive.org/T or txt HELP.STOP to end. Msg & Data Rates May Apply
Auto Response: Reply with YES for GlobalGiving Alerts to find out how your donation is used! Up to 4 msg/mo. Info? Txt HELP, to end txt STOP. Msg & data rates may apply.
Step 2: Reply with “Yes” and recieve “thank-you” message. After that, donors receive an invitation to sign up for mobile updates. (They must reply “Yes” to confirm.)
There are two VERY IMPORTANT things to note here:
- Donors must first text the keyword to 80088, and then they must reply with YES to confirm their donation. Both steps must happen for the donation to go through.
- The final auto-response message invites donors to sign up for future messaging. (They can also reply YES to this if they choose to do so.) This will be helpful if we want to send them to the GlobalGiving website to see project updates, for example.
How do we get the word out about our new mobile giving option?
We recommend spending some time thinking about how text-to-give will work best for your audiences. Here are two ideas:
- At Events: Inviting supporters to make mobile donations during a live event could give you the opportunity to instantly engage or give in the moment. Potential donors may not have their laptops nearby but they will certainly have their cell phones handy.
- In combination with other media: If you’re creating a video on YouTube, for example, you could easily add the text-to-give details at the end of the video so viewers can react quickly and easily without going to a different website.
You can tell your donors about mobile giving the same way you’d spread the word about your GlobalGiving project page(s). HOWEVER—and this is important, as we discussed earlier: whenever you spread the word about text-to-give options, you must abide by mobile giving carrier compliance laws. (See above explanation.)
Can we change the donation amount?
Donation amounts are set at $10, but most people can give up to three times to the same keyword/code, giving up to $30 to your project per billing cycle. (The number of maximum mobile donations per wireless subscriber billing cycle varies carrier.)
Are there any fees for mobile donations?
GlobalGiving will cover all the costs associated with maintaining a mobile giving account (through mGive) and distributing the money. Therefore, mobile donations are only subject to GlobalGiving’s standard 15% fee.
Normally, it would cost a nonprofit somewhere between $800 and $2000 per year to maintain a basic mobile giving account with mobile giving service providers, and then an additional fee (approximately $1.25) would be charged to each $10 donation. GlobalGiving is managing the account and covering all these expenses for our projects. The fees associated with each transaction are covered by (and not charged on top of) GlobalGiving’s fee. We’re truly working hard to bring you more value in this partnership!
Will I see the money in my donation manager?
Yes, we’ve integrated mobile giving into your donation manager (GlobalGiving’s Project Entry System, also called PE), so you can see your mobile donations right after they happen! The donation will simply show up as a mobile donation, but you won’t have access to the donors’ phone numbers or email addresses.
It is important to note that the mobile donations in PE are donation pledges. These pledges do not become actual, received donations until the wireless subscriber pays their phone bill in full. Common discrepancies between pledges and donations received include a bill not paid, a late payment, or the account holder disputes the charge (or donation added to the phone bill.) These situations happen at a very low rate, but it is important to note for reporting purposes.
How long does it take to receive money from mobile donations?
The distribution of funds is based upon the donor’s mobile carrier billing and payout schedule, and is then subject to GlobalGiving’s disbursement cycle. The mobile carriers require time to reconcile funds, so it could take 60-120 days, depending on the wireless carrier, to receive mobile giving funds in your account. We know that’s a lot of time. Unfortunately, we’re subject to mobile carriers’ conditions. (See the answer to the question above.)
Can I send Thank You’s or project reports to mobile donors?
Mobile donors will be automatically thanked via text message immediately after their donation. You won’t be able to send them personalized thank you emails from the Project Entry system (PE) like you could for an online donor. Unfortunately, mobile donors may not receive project reports, either (they may simply be sent to the GlobalGiving site to view project reports but we can’t guarantee that they’ll receive specific notifications yet.) That’s why it’s important to consider when mobile giving might be the best strategy and when it might not be.
What about receipts?
Donations through our mobile giving platform are actually donations to the mGive Foundation, and not GlobalGiving. The mobile phone bill can act as a receipt, or a full mobile donation report can be viewed and printed at mGive.org/receipt (or mGive.org/r)
Are there customization options?
In the future it may be possible for us to set up “vanity” keywords for projects. It may also be possible to arrange for more sophisticated back-and-forth messaging campaigns for our project leaders, but there will be additional work and fees involved. Try out the mobile giving platform as it is for now, and stay tuned for more information about customized mobile campaigns.
Phew. That was a lot of info.
We know. It’s a lot to take in. You deserve a coffee break. Fortunately, we’re having a webinar about mobile giving to help explain the details on October 25, 2011. Please attend the webinar at 9am or 3pm ET on that day, or look for the recap recording here on the Tools and Trainings Blog later.
In the meantime, just try to remember these three points:
- You now have free mobile giving capabilities for each of your projects!
- Your text-to-give call-to action is: “Text GIVE <space> [PROJ.ID] to 80088 to give $10 to [PROJECT NAME] on GlobalGiving”
- You must include the verbatim carrier compliance disclaimer anytime you invite people to text-to-give.
I have feedback!
Do you love it? Do you hate it? We definitely want your feedback on how mobile giving works (or doesn’t work) for you! We’ll be listening to project leaders and to donors to find out how we can improve the mobile giving experience. Please tell us how it’s going and how we can help you! We’d especially love to hear any feedback that you have prior to our public launch on October 25. Please ask questions or leave feedback below (that helps everyone learn!) or you ca email Britt at blake@globalgiving.org with your thoughts.
Mobilize your donors on October 19th Bonus Day!
Posted by Alexis Nadin on October 11th, 2011GlobalGiving’s LAST Bonus Day of the year is October 19th! Starting at 12:01 am EDT, GlobalGiving will be matching all donations (up to $1,000 per donor, per project) at 30%. We have $100,000 available in matching funds. Matching will last until funds run out (or until 11:59 pm EDT). See complete terms and conditions below.
Our partners have raised more than $600,000 through GlobalGiving’s Bonus Days this year alone! Why? Because donors love having their donations matched; it means that they’re really stretching their donation dollar. Donors are also more likely to give when there is a time limit (in this case, one day!). The sense of urgency reduces procrastination and compels action. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to mobilize your donors.
Here are our top six tips for rallying your donors on Bonus Day:
1. Identify advocates. Who are your organization’s biggest cheerleaders? Ask them to help you spread the word about Bonus Day. Consider giving them a specific goal—e.g. to raise $1,000 or to recruit 10 donors. Offer an incentive—a small gift, website recognition, etc.—to your supporters for fundraising on your behalf.
2. Post a project report. Did you know that your project reports are emailed directly to all of your project’s donors? This is a great way to notify your supporters about this matching opportunity (and it counts as your quarterly project report!). Project reports are emailed the day after they’re approved, so be sure to submit your report by October 17th. See an example of a great Bonus Day project report. (more…)
How to keep your volunteers engaged – part 3
Posted by Alexis Nadin on April 6th, 2011On Wednesday, March 23rd, GlobalGiving hosted a training on volunteer recruitment, management and retention. Listen to the training recording. Visit the training slides. We are blogging about the topics that we discussed in this training. Last week, we talked about recruiting volunteers that are right for your organization and creating a memorable volunteer experience. Today, I want to discuss the importance of and strategies for keeping volunteer engaged after they’ve left your organization.
Volunteers are different from your other donors because they have met the communities that you serve and contributed to your organization’s mission with their time, energy, and skills. They know your organization’s story and have experienced it in a very personal way. This means that volunteers are often the best people to communicate your organization’s importance, accomplishments, and needs. Take advantage of this deep appreciation for your organization to ask volunteers to consider setting up a fundraiser.
Asking your volunteers to set up a fundraiser (more…)
How to Attract the Right Volunteers – Part 1
Posted by Alexis Nadin on March 28th, 2011On Wednesday, March 23rd, GlobalGiving hosted a training on volunteer recruitment, management and retention. Over the next several days, GlobalGiving will post blog posts about: 1) attracting volunteers, 2) managing volunteers, and 3) converting volunteers into long-term supporters. Listen to the training recording. Visit the training slides.
- Project FOCUS: Art for Development in Uganda
Why should your organization love volunteers?
It is important not to develop a narrow view of volunteers. So often, we think of volunteers as individuals who do our office grunt work—stapling, stuffing envelopes, etc. But volunteers can be so much more! They can provide your organization with:
- Professional and technical skills (marketing, business planning, web design, medical, etc.)
- New perspectives (from a different country or educational background)
- Long-term support and advocacy
How to Plan for an Exceptional Year of Fundraising on GlobalGiving & Important Dates in 2011
Posted by Alexis Nadin on January 26th, 2011Do you want your organization to be successful in fundraising online? Of course! It’s every organization’s dream (well, almost every organization’s dream). So you need to plan for success. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to build a beautiful website and start a Facebook page. You need to be proactive about recruiting new donors and maintaining relationships with existing donors. You have to give your supporters a reason to get out there and spread the word about your cause!
GlobalGiving already has fundraising tools and campaigns intended to help your organization mobilize your existing network of donors. See below for dates of matching days and fundraising campaigns in 2011. But we also want to assist you in developing a strategy that will help your organization raise more money online in 2011. (more…)
Support your 501c3 with every purchase you make!
Posted by Alexis Nadin on January 6th, 2011Phew, end of the year fundraising madness is over. And as you begin to recover, you’re probably wondering, what now? How can you keep your supporters engaged after nagging them tirelessly for those last few December donations? We have an idea!
Capital One’s Card Lab program makes it easy for your U.S.-registered 501c3 to create customized credit cards for your organization. This free program helps your supporters raise money for your non-profit with every purchase they make! Here are some of the perks of using this card: (more…)
Thanking your donors, the first step in building a long-term relationship
Posted by Alexis Nadin on December 16th, 2010Hopefully by now the holiday donations are pouring in and you’re busy implementing your carefully crafted holiday fundraising plan. But, among all the chaos it is crucial that you don’t forget to thank your donors! Learn how to craft a compelling thank you email.