Service Is Sexy again...and a F*ree E-Book

According to the Associated Press, volunteer agencies have seem a jump in applications to serve. Why? The 2 major factors seem to be President Obamas call for Americans to volunteer , and the effects of our economy, which has left some folks with more time and less money.

Related to volunteers serving, check out this great read from Seth Godwin: Giving your Fans a Chance to speak up- short, free e-book offers great steps your group can take to get your supporters to be ambassadors.

Many foundations have publicly announced plans for how they will respond to the economic crisis. The Foundation Center has compiled an overview of these announcements. Many major foundations have clearly stated their funding intentions, and some have not. The foundation center is updating the chart as additional information becomes available. Stay updated on your foundations forecast.

10 Ways to Energize your fundraising efforts

Some of these tips are simple and small but if deployed they will breathe new energy into your organizations fundraising efforts

1. Evaluate how you can best diversify the ways you raise money. Focus on efforts in: Individual Giving, Foundations and Grants, Corporate Giving. Special Events and Earned Income.

2. Write personal notes on your donor letters.

3. Add a meaningful P.S. to your donor letter---the P.S. is often the first thing read on a letter.

4. Create win-win proposals for prospective corporate partners. Carefully measure the benefits and financial return a company will receive by partnering with your non profit.

5. Ask your well connected supporters to host a house party to raise money and visibility.

6. Highlight your success stories; show how your organization is changing the lives of those you serve.

7. Collect personal information from your special event attendees—especially home addresses as people are more likely to make a job transition during tough times.

8. Ask your vendors to donate.

9. Update your prospect lists.

10. Share your grant prospecting list with your board and staff. See if anyone has connections that you can leverage to land the grant.

Recession Ready Fundraising

Recommendations for surviving hard times.

By Anisha Robinson Keeys

Sales guru Zig Ziglar said, "If you have enough push, you don't have to worry about the pull.". In our economic climate, cutbacks on the part of grantmakers and donors will likely affect your ability to raise funds, requiring you to push that much harder to maintain financial stability. Here are ways to do so:

Diversify income streams

Many nonprofit organizations weather tough times by adding more sources of income. Given today’s environment, all nonprofits, even those that have historically raised money from just one source, should consider expanding the ways they generate revenue.

Create a fundraising plan with a broad reach. Such a plan should target income from a variety of places, including individual donors, corporations, and foundations, as well as earned income from special events and the sale of products and services.

Honor your volunteers

Tough times require subtle changes in the tone of the “ask” and the relationship between donor and recipient. An often-overlooked source of support for nonprofits, the volunteer, can be a key barometer for how successful a fundraising plan might be.

During an economic downturn, volunteers may be scarce, choosing to give their time and effort to personal or professional commitments. In response, consider demonstrating to volunteers just how and why their altruism is worth it.

Think of ways to make volunteering pleasurable and beneficial. For instance, use and promote the organization’s events, friendraisers, or fundraising initiatives as opportunities for volunteers to network with potential business contacts.

Also, minimize obstacles associated with serving. Respect volunteers by starting and ending meetings and events on time. Demonstrating appreciation goes a long way in fostering loyalty.

Keep in touch

Another important, no-cost strategy is to retain funder interest. Now is a great time to keep in touch with your supporters. Their investment shows that they care about the work your organization does; show that you care by keeping them informed of your initiatives.

During your calls, share success stories that can re-energize their commitment. Use anecdotes and case studies to reveal how their time, money, and talent are making a transformative difference in your organization.

Collect statistical data, but don’t overwhelm your supporters with the stats. Remember that donors are as emotion-driven as anyone else. The relationship between donor and recipient is based on people helping people.

Donors give more when they read the story of how their contributions affected on specific individual, as opposed to a report on many anonymous people. They also tend to donate more

to an organization if they also volunteer for it, so encourage donors to become active volunteers.

Be a part of your own solution

Openly confront the issue of how an uncertain economy could affect your organization’s stability and viability. Donors know that no matter where the economy is headed, raising money is never easy. So they’ll have concerns about how your organization will prevent, mitigate, or recover from loss of funding.

Many nonprofits operate under the constant threat of financial uncertainty. Therefore, they must be creative, proactive, and enterprising, constantly seeking opportunities, without forsaking their mission, to ensure sustainability.

There’s an earned income option for just about every nonprofit seeking to supplement fluctuating donations. Coming up with the right fit may just be a matter of brainstorming.

A good example is the Girl Scouts. Noted for being enterprising, the Girl Scouts netted over 700 million dollars from cookie sales last year.

Baking cookies isn’t the answer for most nonprofits, but it helps to have an earned income plan. For example: An organization that provides specialized training or has a talented management team may provide fee-based consulting services to emerging organizations in the same field.

Never stop asking

The best way to ensure that your organization loses revenue and goodwill is to stop asking for money and support. In good times and bad, stay positive and creative. Keep pushing hard to ensure survival and fulfill your promise to serve your community.

Ten Ways To Raise $ 500 for your favorite cause

1. Ask Your Friends: Make a list of friends that are likely to support your fundraising and just ask. Some people will need 10 friends to give $50, and some people need 50 friends to give $10. Most people will need a combination such as: 2-3 @ $50; 4-5 @ $25; 15 @ $10.

2. Spark A Match: Give a portion of the $500. Then ask your friends to join you in giving $25, $50, or whatever your gift is. Check with your employer to see if they will match your gift (be sure to ask friends if their gifts can be matched too).

3. Spring Cleaning: Clear the clutter and have a Yard Sale Donate the proceeds from your yard sale.

4. Cook them Dinner: Invite 20 friends over for an all you can eat spaghetti dinner. Charge $ 25.00 per person—you have met your goal.

5. Have Dinner on the Run: Gather a few families and have a progressive dinner. Start at one person’s home for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, progress to the next person’s house for soup or salad, the next person’s for the main course, and the last person for dessert. Either charge by course, or for the whole package.

6. Wine and Cheese: Host a wine and cheese party. Do not charge admission and invite as many people as you can. During the party, give a short talk about your cause, and ask everyone to consider a gift of $25, $50, $100 or more (depending on the crowd).

7. Raffle: Create baskets of items or get donations from local vendors to create a raffle. Sell 100 tickets at $ 5.00 each.

8. Make Small Change: Small change can make big changes in the lives of those in need. Ask a group of friends or co-workers to donate their stash of small change to your cause. Take all collected change to a bank or coin counting receptacle to create one donation.

9. Make Digital Dollars: List unwanted books, electronics etc for sale on Amazon, EBAY or Craigslist. Encourage your friends and family to do the same.

10. Tag a friend: On Facebook, Myspace or your other favorite social networking website and ask them to support your fundraising efforts.