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Looking for Nonprofit Fundraising Advice

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AmazingLarry

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Have any of you guys been involved with fundraising for a nonprofit?

My wife and I started a nonprofit organization that will be active next year, and we're starting the process of fundraising now.
I've never done this before, and it's also fairly small in scope, so I don't necessarily want to assume that I should treat this the same way I would market a business.

The organization is centered around helping students at an orphanage in South Korea, so some of our fundraising strategy is based on reaching out to the Korean community in America (churches, restaurants, etc.). We're also sending our website to friends & family and have already received some donations that way.

If anyone has experience with fundraising, I would love to hear any general wisdom, strategies, or advice you have. Obviously the specifics of the organization affect the ideal way of going about fundraising, but honestly I think any type of information related to this area would be very helpful.
 
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AmazingLarry

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Bump. Anyone got some wise words?
 

Roli

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Have any of you guys been involved with fundraising for a nonprofit?

My wife and I started a nonprofit organization that will be active next year, and we're starting the process of fundraising now.
I've never done this before, and it's also fairly small in scope, so I don't necessarily want to assume that I should treat this the same way I would market a business.

The organization is centered around helping students at an orphanage in South Korea, so some of our fundraising strategy is based on reaching out to the Korean community in America (churches, restaurants, etc.). We're also sending our website to friends & family and have already received some donations that way.

If anyone has experience with fundraising, I would love to hear any general wisdom, strategies, or advice you have. Obviously the specifics of the organization affect the ideal way of going about fundraising, but honestly I think any type of information related to this area would be very helpful.

I worked as a fundraiser for an HIV charity about eight years ago and here are a few things we did to raise money.

Specific Programming.

This is whereby you come up with a specific program to fund. So for instance, you might want to set up a music studio so the kids can learn about music production and how to play musical instruments.

You then go and look for companies who specifically want their CSR in this area. And/Or you approach companies who sell this type of equipment.

Remember that companies want visibility, they want to be able to shout about how charitable they are, so think of ways you can make that happen for them. For instance you might hold a concert by the kids, using the new equipment, on company premises, or sponsored venue.

General Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Most large organisations have a CSR department and from them you can get a good handle as to what that company likes to support. Try and get friendly with the gate-keeper there as they will let you know when stuff is coming up and most importantly, what language to use in your written proposals. Sometimes they will give you copies of old, successful pitches by other companies, sometimes not.

Fundraising Events

These can be good fun and good ways to get the money in. Companies love getting involved in these things full stop, but especially when they have some kind of anniversary or special occasion coming up. So for instance it might be a cake company's 100th anniversary, so you get together with them and try and bake the world's largest cake or something.

Try and make the events fun and make sure the company's involvement is as integrated as you can manage, they'll usually want something more than just logos, banners, etc.

CSR Through Volunteering.

A lot of big companies have a number of hours per year that they'll give to employees to volunteer, whilst this doesn't raise cash directly, it does allow you to get some free labour. Which of course is handy if you need to build that playground or fix up a building as it will save a lot of money.

CSR Causes:

Causes are great because you can attach a strapline to them. For instance, A well for every village, A desk for every student, etc. (You'll come up with something catchier).

They are also good because they don't have a defined time limit and can be an ongoing multi-corporation effort.

Summary:

A lot of companies are looking for ways to diversify their CSR, so try and come up with innovative fundraising ideas.

Company anniversaries are a big opportunity to get them involved in fundraising efforts and especially events. Look to relevant companies, toy companies, kids' clothing, etc.

Companies want some kind of feedback, give them pictures, letters written by students, videos, sponsored trips, something that they can shout about.

Remember first and foremost, the vast majority of companies are doing this because they want people to think they're great, so you have to show them that getting involved with you, will make everyone believe they're the most lovely company on Earth.

Remember everyone's favourite radio station WIFM (What's In It For Me?"

If I remember anything else I'll drop another post, otherwise good luck!
 
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AmazingLarry

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I’d say, do first, then ask for donations. People will donate when they see you’ve been making a difference.
Thanks for advice. This is simple but makes sense. Our nonprofit is essentially a 2 week long annual program, so we may need to just mostly fund it ourselves this first year so we have some "results" to show when we fundraise.
 

AmazingLarry

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I worked as a fundraiser for an HIV charity about eight years ago and here are a few things we did to raise money.

Specific Programming.

This is whereby you come up with a specific program to fund. So for instance, you might want to set up a music studio so the kids can learn about music production and how to play musical instruments.

You then go and look for companies who specifically want their CSR in this area. And/Or you approach companies who sell this type of equipment.

Remember that companies want visibility, they want to be able to shout about how charitable they are, so think of ways you can make that happen for them. For instance you might hold a concert by the kids, using the new equipment, on company premises, or sponsored venue.

General Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Most large organisations have a CSR department and from them you can get a good handle as to what that company likes to support. Try and get friendly with the gate-keeper there as they will let you know when stuff is coming up and most importantly, what language to use in your written proposals. Sometimes they will give you copies of old, successful pitches by other companies, sometimes not.

Fundraising Events

These can be good fun and good ways to get the money in. Companies love getting involved in these things full stop, but especially when they have some kind of anniversary or special occasion coming up. So for instance it might be a cake company's 100th anniversary, so you get together with them and try and bake the world's largest cake or something.

Try and make the events fun and make sure the company's involvement is as integrated as you can manage, they'll usually want something more than just logos, banners, etc.

CSR Through Volunteering.

A lot of big companies have a number of hours per year that they'll give to employees to volunteer, whilst this doesn't raise cash directly, it does allow you to get some free labour. Which of course is handy if you need to build that playground or fix up a building as it will save a lot of money.

CSR Causes:

Causes are great because you can attach a strapline to them. For instance, A well for every village, A desk for every student, etc. (You'll come up with something catchier).

They are also good because they don't have a defined time limit and can be an ongoing multi-corporation effort.

Summary:

A lot of companies are looking for ways to diversify their CSR, so try and come up with innovative fundraising ideas.

Company anniversaries are a big opportunity to get them involved in fundraising efforts and especially events. Look to relevant companies, toy companies, kids' clothing, etc.

Companies want some kind of feedback, give them pictures, letters written by students, videos, sponsored trips, something that they can shout about.

Remember first and foremost, the vast majority of companies are doing this because they want people to think they're great, so you have to show them that getting involved with you, will make everyone believe they're the most lovely company on Earth.

Remember everyone's favourite radio station WIFM (What's In It For Me?"

If I remember anything else I'll drop another post, otherwise good luck!
This is awesome, thank you so much for the great advice!

I'm definitely going to be thoroughly thinking through what you said and implementing these strategies.

This will be super helpful as we plan to reach out to companies and other organizations.
 

Andy Black

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Have a look at Google Grants. Maybe you're eligible to get some free Google Ads?

Maybe it's the same for Facebook and other platforms.
 
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AmazingLarry

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Have a look at Google Grants. Maybe you're eligible to get some free Google Ads?

Maybe it's the same for Facebook and other platforms.
Sweet, I'll definitely look into this!
 

AmazingLarry

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Have a look at Google Grants. Maybe you're eligible to get some free Google Ads?

Maybe it's the same for Facebook and other platforms.
Hey Andy, thank you so much for this advice!

I went through the Google Grant process over the past few weeks and just got approved for $10,000 / month in free ad grants. This is a gamechanger for us. Honestly, thank you very very much.
 

Andy Black

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ijack

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So here are the steps to take:
1. Make contacts and relationships .
2. Research what sponsers have supported before.
3. Understand a potential sponser's goal.
4. Choose a target that fit and find a person to contact.
5. Create a pitch, the ask.
6. Follow up after the ask.
7. Learn and improve from rejections.
8. Follow through on the promises made.
9. Say Thank you and keep building relationships throught the year.
10. Use platforms like BetterWorld - Online Fundraising Platform & Donation Software to raise the funds with less effort
 
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