Reaching your fundraising goals is always a challenge. Whether you’re planning a big event or something small, running a successful campaign requires organization, dedication, and clear definitions of your goal. These four simple steps will help optimize your donations to reach your goal and then some. 1. Encourage peer-to-peer fundraising Your campaign will spread like wildfire with the help of your supporters. Help donors help you by motivating them to share your campaign with their friends and family. Peer-to-peer fundraising opens your donation campaign to everyone in your educational foundation’s circle and beyond: Your supporters’ supporters will in turn become your supporters! Post content online for your donors to share on social media. Your audience is more likely to donate to your page when they see that others, especially people they know, have already donated. 2. Adopt a social media strategy One third of online donations comes from peer-to-peer fundraising, making it a vital market to access. Social media is part of a larger multi-channel communication strategy, which is to communicate with donors using the channels (email, phone, social media, etc.) they prefer. If you’re still not using social media to fundraise, you’re missing out on a great tool for spreading the word about your campaign. Find out which social media platforms your target demographics are using and start by engaging them on those platforms. 3. Stay in touch After receiving funds from your donors, send thank-you emails to go out immediately to encourage them to spread the word about your campaign. Go the extra mile and share the impact of your campaign with donors, staff, and volunteers. Leave them feeling a genuine sense of gratitude from you. This encourages them to participate in upcoming events and fundraisers from your organization. You can easily send an email to all your members and participants, but it’s better to tailor messages to target specific recipients, such as generous donors and key players of your team. 4. Track your progress Set weekly and monthly goals to monitor your success. By setting timely goals, you can create a call to action for your supporters to stay on target and overcome smaller hurdles. Now that you have some excellent tips, get out there and crush your fundraising goals. memberplanet was created to help you build a great campaign and maximize donations. Get started on our platform today.
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For most K-12 booster clubs, fundraising isn’t a piece of cake. Coordinating time and resources to stay atop the minds of your supporters shouldn’t take over your life (or the lives of your volunteers). Here are some tips to save time so you can skip the frustration and double up on the fun. 1. Repurpose content With each new year and transition in booster club leaders, the records (Excel sheets) from previous fundraisers can get lost in the process. Wouldn’t it be so much easier to reuse a pre-populated template? By building upon past successes and the work that was already done, you will take the headache out of organizing the campaign and have more time to focus on member engagement. memberplanet allows you to repurpose templates for incoming officers to use. Learning a new position takes time; we’re here to make it easy. 2. Take advantage of social media Promoting your event doesn’t have to be stressful, especially with the help of social media. Post your campaign URL in as many places as you can, including your website, email, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Through social media, you can get people talking about your event with just a few shares. The more people who share, the broader your reach gets. More awareness for your campaign and way less time spent making promotion calls or passing out flyers! 3. Save time with automation To be successful, all booster club leaders should engage with their donors and volunteers. But there are only so many hours in a day, and as a leader, there is only so much time you can dedicate to booster club admin tasks. That’s what inspired us to build in automated features in our platform. For example, handwriting thank-you cards take forever! To save time, admins can add a thank-you message to the automated confirmation email that is sent once someone donates online. Set it and forget it! Whether you’re a seasoned booster club fundraising pro or just getting started, you can’t go wrong with these three time-saving steps. memberplanet is here to help you focus on what’s important: engaging with your supporters and making a difference in your community.
Create a free account and see for yourself! How Northern California Contest Club Boosts Paid Membership by 57% for an ‘Old Timey’ Hobby1/25/2018 Northern California Contest Club (NCCC) is a group of radio operator enthusiasts and is an affiliate of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the national association for amateur radio operators in the United States. In the world of ham radio, amateur refers to operators who must pass an exam to communicate non-commercially over the radio frequency spectrum. The contest-oriented club relied on manual processes to record and track membership, which was time consuming and resulted in inaccurate record-keeping. With members demanding transparency and online payment options and access to information, NCCC needed a system that members could use to view their own membership status and payments. Since teaming with memberplanet, NCCC has maintained accurate records (in less time) and provided a dedicated, online membership portal for its members to view payment history and stay updated with club activities. As a result, NCCC has enjoyed a 57% increase in paid membership and 37% boost in dues collected in just one year. Small Club, Big Challenges
For a club whose members are mostly over 50 and involved in a hobby that includes a fondness of Morse code, attracting younger demographics and recruiting new members in order to thrive may seem like a unique struggle. There are many small social clubs, however, that have fallen behind on meeting the demands of a new generation of members, including providing access to information online, offering convenient payment methods, and effectively communicating updates. Clubs that still heavily rely on paper filing systems and manual processes face the time-consuming challenge of keeping accurate financial records and managing members. It became clear to NCCC that it needed to upgrade its manual processes and combat its dwindling membership – or face radio silence. Manual Processes – Over In 2016, NCCC began using memberplanet to keep its database organized and up to date. “We really didn't know how many members we had prior to memberplanet. It's sad, but true,” Ian Parker, NCCC’s Secretary, explained. The club’s manual reporting processes included interactions between the secretary and treasurer, a lot of paperwork, and time. Sometimes members who missed payments went undetected. “We now have a good grasp on the number of real members. With memberplanet our data is kept accurate – and timely.” Club admins have enjoyed the platform’s turnkey features, such as automated membership reminders and convenient payment options. “We also have more up-to-date member information and auto renewals. These were the primary reasons for moving to memberplanet, which has been one hundred percent successful,” Parker said. The membership insights available in the support site and the time freed up from admin tasks are now directed to engaging members. A Closer Look at NCCC’s Online Results Admins have used the platform’s event sites and RSVPs to manage and track attendance. Parker believes that memberplanet’s payment reporting, event invite templates, and email campaign features have dramatically improved their efficiency. Members can log in to a dedicated portal, view club announcements, connect with other members using the interactive directory, and update their own profile. “We have received many positive comments,” Parker continued. “Overall, it has been a huge plus and now folks can also see when they last paid!” When NCCC started using memberplanet in 2016, it had 100 paid memberships. That number rose to 157 by the end of 2017 – a 57% boost. The club also saw a 37% increase in membership dues. Parker noted how more members are engaging with the club, converting to paid membership status, and how the hassle-free process of joining the club is contributing to an increase in membership overall. As of January 2018, NCCC had 350 members total. Broadcasting a Bright Future Parker reveals NCCC has recently obtained 501(c)(3) status for nonprofits, and plans to fundraise and open an online NCCC store are in the works. Growing paid membership and engaging members remains a focus for the club, which was founded in 1970. Now that NCCC personnel find it much easier to manage and interpret data, communicate with members, and increase engagement, they expect that their club for radio aficionados will remain on the air for much, much longer. Contact memberplanet today to learn how the platform can help your organization simplify membership. Fundraising is the act of raising funds for a cause or a mission. And although that sounds straightforward and simple, the act itself can be, well, anything but. If you’ve run a fundraiser, you know what we’re talkin’ about. But the key to success remains pretty simple: You must create a strategic plan and stick to it. No matter what goal you’re working toward as a group leader, follow these fail-safe tips and with research, a dab of creativity, and (possibly) a bit more elbow grease, you’ll be surprised at how much you can accomplish! 1. Set your goals Before getting into the nitty-gritty details, you need to take a hard look at the big picture – and that begins with figuring out your purpose. Defining a clear, measurable goal is the foundation of a successful plan. Here are a few things to think about when setting that bar:
It’s okay to be ambitious with your goals, but it’s also important to determine what’s realistic. Shoot too high and you could end up spreading resources too thin. Now it’s time to write the fine print of your plan. 2. Give your donors the option to donate online Offline (check and cash) donations are still essential for any fundraising effort, but online is quickly gaining ground when it comes to raising money. It’s all about convenience. Every additional step it takes to give – like writing a check, finding an envelope, and rummaging through a desk for stamps – creates the potential for donors to get distracted: Where did I put my checkbook? Oh look – here’s my coffee mug! I’ll find my checkbook later. It’s time for another cup. See my point? Check out how much funds Wittmann Elementary School raised in its third year of offering an online payment option: Total PTA Membership Fundraising for 2016-2017: $35,655 Offline Fundraising via Checks and Cash: $8,120 Online Fundraising via memberplanet: $27,535! (Read the full Wittmann case study.) 77 percent of funds were raised online with memberplanet’s platform. And that’s just one example. The Chronicle of Philanthropy conducted a survey of 100 leading nonprofits and found that internet fundraising grew by about 13 percent year over year in 2014. Bottom line: If you’re not using online giving features, you’re missing out on a big chunk of cash today, and even more tomorrow. 3. Delegate responsibilities Shared responsibility is crucial to holding a successful fundraiser, because one person (you) cannot manage everything. Delegate most of the effort so that the event itself can go off without a hitch while you oversee the big picture.
If you are planning an event, designate an event committee to book vendors and locations, and make sure you’ve paid any fees or permits if it is being held in a public place. If possible, research backup vendors and another location in case your first location doesn’t work out. Plan a dry run (especially helpful if you expect a large amount of attendees). 4. Get the word out In order to conduct a truly successful fundraiser, you will want to make sure that people actually know about it. Create a campaign schedule:
Note to memberplanet users: You can also encourage your members to create their own supporter pages for the cause, which makes their campaign efforts more personal and effective.
5. Execute the plan With so much preparation, planning a fundraiser can seem overwhelming. But the pay-off is worth it. You’ve worked hard to design a great event, so try to sit back and enjoy the magic. Once the fundraising is underway, make sure that each of your delegated tasks is being tended to. Part of your plan should include periodic check-ins with those overseeing key tasks. The engagement, tracking, and logistical back-work does not end when the effort begins. If you see that your fundraiser is falling short of your goals, re-allocate resources or make adjustments to your goals. 6. Analyze the aftermath Whether your fundraiser exceeded your wildest expectations – or it wasn’t quite what you expected – it’s important to meet with your team to determine what went well, what didn’t, and what you can do next time to improve. Detailed tracking is essential for the post-game debrief. 7. Say thank you Thank your team, donors, partners, sponsors, and other benefactors. It’s super easy to use Smart Lists on memberplanet’s Pro and Premium plans to send a targeted email (templates included!) to all your donors to express gratitude. If you held an event, be sure to include a sharable photo album (show the impact!) to strengthen that connection with supporters. Holding the ultimate fundraiser isn’t magic – it’s a combination of hard work, team effort, strategic planning, testing, and creativity. Whether you’re an organization with 20 volunteers or a 10,000-member medical society, following these rules will put you on the path to success. Log in to get started on your next fundraising campaign.
Don’t abandon your traditional fundraising methods just yet, but keep in mind that your old techniques might need some updating. As the world shifts towards an increasingly digital landscape, taking your fundraising efforts online will prove to be a beneficial strategy to help you surpass your monetary goals. Here's why: 1. Convenience Not many parents and donors carry cash or a checkbook anymore. Accepting electronic payments makes raising money faster and easier than ever. By offering your supporters the choice of donating online or offline, you can reach a larger network. This way, you’ll raise more money! 2. Security Tasking someone with collecting cash and check payments puts your booster club at risk of accounting errors, bad checks, and fraud. On the plus side, credit card payments are SSL compliant, ensuring secure online payments and donations. By accepting electronic payments through a reputable payment processor, you also boost your own credibility. 3. Prevalence One of the main benefits of launching an online fundraising campaign is its potential to go viral. This opens your campaign up to supporters you wouldn’t typically reach with traditional methods. This can help you reach your monetary goals faster and even surpass them. Share your donation page directly to your social sites to maximize exposure. 4. Popularity Crowdfunding has gained momentum over the past few years and is only becoming more popular. It offers convenient payment methods for donors, makes tracking donations easier for admins, and is easily shareable across social media. It’s an effective and efficient way of framing a fundraising campaign. 5. Value If your booster club is hesitant about taking your fundraising online because of processing fees, it is important to research various sites to see how they structure their costs. For example, PayPal charges 2.9% for payment processing and $0.30 per donation. memberplanet offers significantly lower site fees based on monthly subscription, and 3% plus $0.30 per transaction. What you pay in fees is easily offset by the increased donations received by offering online payment options. How much of an increase? Some studies say by 30 -100% or more (Visa International). In addition to payments processing, memberplanet provides a robust toolset for communicating (a custom-branded mobile app, email and tracking, group texts), managing members (option to set member levels, auto membership renewals, recurring donations), and more, all on a single platform. It’s more bang for your buck. Paying a small fee shouldn’t be a deterrent when deciding to bring your fundraising efforts online. Streamlined payment methods, larger reach, and customizable templates are just some of the features that will help you orchestrate a better campaign and grow donations.
Getting donations shouldn’t just be about asking for cash. That’s intimidating and off-putting. The more effective, less painful way to collect donations is by asking for contributions indirectly. The goal of fundraising is to help others connect a passion or memory with a cause. It’s about making your goals theirs. Here’s how you can relate to your donors: 1. Use social media Engage with your supporters on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to share your story rather than your fundraising goal. Social media is a crucial resource when it comes to raising awareness; use relevant stories as well as personal testimonials from your foundation to show people where the donations go such as to new laptops, computer labs, programs, or school improvements. Thank those who have donated in the past to entice them to donate again. Utilize your internal network to share these posts with your team to extend your reach even further. If you can raise awareness, you can raise donations without having to even ask. 2. Share your story What’s your “why”? Most people can relate to personal stories and experiences. Use an emotional hook to pull people into sharing your passion for the cause and showcase your educational foundation’s purpose to connect with potential donors on a deeper level. 3. Make it personal Make sure your donors connect with your educational foundation’s message. Giving is a personal act and you want your supporters to feel the need to make an impact. Rather than adding a blunt “donate” button on an email, ask recipients to visit your donation page to learn more. That way, they’ll be lead through the donation path all on their own. 4. Ask for feedback from donors and parents When you make someone feel valued and heard, you open the door for them to speak more comfortably. Ask potential donors for their thoughts on where donated funds should be allocated. Seek out a passion or pain point that connects them with your educational foundation. You may even bring them to the conclusion to donate all on their own.
Asking for donations can seem a lot less overwhelming when you view contributing as inviting people to participate and support the school district. You’re selling significance and purpose. Lead them through constant communications to tell your story. Lead them with memberplanet! We have all the tools your educational foundation needs to expand reach and manage your donations in one spot. See what our other educational foundations are saying about how memberplanet helps increase donations and improves donor engagement. Whether you’re a pro at fundraising or a just getting started with the #GivingTuesday movement, you can get your organization all geared up to participate by following our four-step process. Click on the infographic below for a high-res view.
For the vast majority, fundraising for a philanthropic cause isn’t a piece of cake. Whether you’re campaigning for summer, back-to-school season, Giving Tuesday or the next holiday around the corner, coordinating time and resources to stay atop the minds of your supporters shouldn’t take over your life (or the lives of your volunteers). While you have the option to raise funds whichever way you want, we know you’re reading this because you’re looking for the most effective way -- for the least amount of blood, sweat, and tears. So without further ado, we’ve put together a three-step recipe to get the most out of your donation campaign. Because you deserve time to bake your cake and eat it, too. 1. Don’t Start From Scratch Chances are, you’ve already chosen the charity you want to fundraise for. Perfect. Before you begin building a donation site from scratch, search our platform for the charity you have in mind. We’ve partnered with GuideStar, a powerful search engine, to give you the option to search more than 1.7 million 501(c)(3) charities and raise funds on their behalf. Any individual or group can raise funds to benefit the charity selected through this feature, and the funds will go directly to them – no accounting or transfers required. Donors will automatically receive email receipts, and donations made directly to qualifying 501(c)(3) charities may be tax deductible. (Check with your accountant.) 1. On the left navigation sidebar, hover over Donation Sites 2. In the submenu, select Create Donation Site 3. Select the Find a Cause module 4. Follow the rest of the prompts to create a donation campaign Once you’ve selected the charity through this feature, you’ll notice that you won’t have to set up your bank account to receive funds. 2. Offer Electronic Payment Methods We created our platform to be as convenient as possible for you and your donors. Making the most of digital fundraising techniques can help you reach a larger pool of donors, not just the ones who are willing to pay by check or cash. Offering electronic payment methods gives members the option to donate by their preferred payment method, use their phone, and sign up for automatic, recurring donations. Need proof that offering electronic payment methods will boost funds? Read this: 5 Ways Accepting Electronic Payments Benefits Your Group. By default, recurring donation options are enabled on our donation sites: To customize, select Manage Recurring Payment Options from the campaign features list. On the Frequency section, click Custom. 3. Say Thank You One of the really awesome things (there are a lot, but this one is really the cherry on top) about setting up a donation campaign on our platform is that so much is automated – including the thank-you email. Admins don’t have to do anything to set this up. Once someone makes a donation, a thank-you message is included within the automatic payment confirmation email. If you followed Step 1: Don’t start from scratch, this email will include the organization’s EIN (Employer Identification Number) assigned by the IRS. Donors can take this to their accountants for tax reporting purposes. Even though admins don’t need to do a thing to say thank you, we highly recommend customizing the email to encourage donors to spread the word about the campaign. Here’s an example: Thank you so much for your donation. It would help us even further if you could spend just a couple more seconds to help spread the word about our campaign by emailing your friends and family and posting to Facebook/Twitter. (Include the link of your donation site.) To customize your thank-you message, follow these steps:
4. Click into the body of the email to customize your thank-you message. Pro Tip: To go the extra mile, create a separate thank-you email and use Smart Lists to target your messages to specific recipients. Here’s how:
4. Select the Donation Campaign associated with your thank-you email.
5. Follow the rest of the prompts to complete your email. Because this is a separate email to specific recipients, it is considered a best practice to tailor your message. Share how a specific donation amount directly impacts the cause. Include a link to a photo album of pictures that convey the success of your campaign. Emphasize how they’ve made a difference. Those are just a couple suggestions. Whatever you include in your email, leave your donors feeling a genuine sense of gratitude from you. This encourages them to participate in upcoming events and fundraisers from your organization. This final step in your donation campaign is crucial to your campaign’s success. Signing off an email with ‘Thanks’ delivers higher response rates. Think of how sending an email of thanks affects your organization in its entirety. Whether you’re a seasoned donation campaign manager or just getting started, you can’t go wrong with these three steps – they’re fail proof, and most importantly, they’ll save you time. (So you can bake your cake.) Log in and see for yourself. Wittmann Elementary School has 570 ethnically-diverse students, and the school is part of the ABC Unified School District in Southern California, which serves more than 20,000 K-12 students. For years, Wittmann PTA and Education Foundation found it difficult to raise the funds necessary to increase the number of student programs while maintaining 16 enrichment and career pathways for its K-6 students. Wittmann turned to memberplanet, and PTA membership funds increased by 75% between 2014 and 2016. More than 77% of funds in 2016 was raised online, and staff membership has now reached 100%. The Common Funding Challenges Faced by Schools Insufficient school funding is unfortunately a sign of the times. A 2016 review by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities revealed that 31 states had lower funding than before the recession of 2008, and total local funding across the nation declined between 2008 and 2014. Parents, teachers, and administrators have found themselves in the position of having to financially supplement programs that were once included in the curriculum. In a survey of more than 1,000 principals across the nation, the National Association of Elementary Principals found that 94 percent of schools relied on fundraisers to supplement money from district, state, and federal sources. Wittmann’s Fundraising Struggle The Wittmann Organized Warriors, or WOW, is responsible for fundraising and supporting the school’s wide range of career and technical enrichment programs, including Music, Video Game Programming, Math Olympiad, Robotics, STEM, Art 4 Kids, Ecology, Performing Arts, and Business Finance. Three years ago, Wittmann realized there was a problem with WOW’s fundraising efforts. Although the group was raising money, it couldn’t provide enough revenue to maintain existing programs, add programs, and upgrade the technology necessary for the school to remain competitive. Furthermore, volunteers no longer felt comfortable handling cash, nor did they like contacting parents about bounced checks or corrections. Boosting Parent Engagement and Transparency When Wittmann’s administrators decided to improve their fundraising efforts, they explored various online options, such as GoFundMe and Kickstarter. These platforms “lacked the parent connection and outreach and publicity needed to properly communicate,” according to Principal Miguel Marco. The school approached memberplanet about providing a system to meet its needs, and quickly started using the platform’s features. These included newsletter templates, an interactive directory for members, a free group mobile app, Smart Lists to develop targeted distribution, and group text – all to connect with members and bolster engagement. "We wanted to show our parents the fundraising progress and donation totals," Marco said. "memberplanet offered a graph of total funding for all parents to see. And membership funding reports and the communications features allowed us to target groups of parents who have donated in the past, target funding goals, and do cost analysis for future events." The platform's easy-to-use member portal also allowed donors to print documents and receipts for tax purposes. A Closer Look at Wittmann’s Online Results In 2014, Wittmann had raised $20,395 in membership dues. By the end of 2016, total membership funds had risen to $35,655 – a 75% increase over the span of three years. The $27,535 raised online through memberplanet represented 77.2% of 2016’s total – an impressive leap from 2013’s $550 online membership funds. Although funds are still coming in via mail and checks, Marco has noticed the effect of increased online giving. “Not only has the frequency [of donations] increased, but the total dollar amount is higher online compared to offline contributions,” Marco said. This increase in donations has been earmarked for a number of programs, including the Dance-a-thon, Jump-a-thon, Language Program, and Math Olympiad. Marco attests the use of online event management and donation campaign features were key in broadening fundraising reach. Furthermore, the memberplanet solution helped Wittmann achieve:
An All-in-one Fundraising and Membership Solution When Wittmann made the decision to work with memberplanet, the school was approaching a crisis. A lack of financial resources made it increasingly difficult to provide students with the enrichment programs necessary in today’s competitive world. What began as a means to raise funds and increase parent involvement in the process has had a ripple effect within the school. Not only have programs been saved and upgraded, but fundraising has become more efficient and staff members have been freed up to work with children rather than on administrative and financial tasks. In all likelihood, school budgets will remain a contentious issue, and enrichment programs are often the first to go when it’s essential to save core programs. In addition, fundraising fatigue and the limited financial resources of families can make raising money difficult. memberplanet’s streamlined, all-in-one online membership solution makes it convenient for parents to join WOW and donate money, while making it easier for staff and volunteers to manage the process, communicate with members, and solicit funds. Marco remains convinced that the software, coupled with memberplanet’s best-practice approach to member engagement, is critical for future growth and success. “We were able to boost membership and increase funds enough to save at-risk programs. It’s given us the luxury to focus on adding new ones and upgrade technology resources.” -Miguel Marco Principal of Wittmann Elementary School Contact memberplanet today if you would like to see how your school can put
this powerful platform to work. Life can be a bit ruff! This holiday season, we want to spread a bit of cheer (with cute animal pics!). We are collaborating with Pawsitive Friendships for a very special cause -- animal-assisted therapy. The purpose of this type of therapy is for children with special needs to reach their personal therapeutic goals by establishing animal-human friendships. Founded in 2014, Pawsitive Friendships was the brain child of Tosha Tharp. After her son was diagnosed with autism at the age of 4, she was having trouble getting him to complete his at-home therapy exercises. One day he asked if their dog Zoe could join him on the swing, and she saw a complete change in his behavior. A light went on in her head. Tosha began incorporating Zoe into the other exercises, and the results were amazing. Zoe became trained as a therapy dog and Pawsitive Friendships was formed. To spread some holiday cheer, we would like to introduce you to a few of the paw-sitively amazing animals who are helping to make an impact on countless children’s lives. Zoe is the French bulldog who helped inspire Pawsitive Friendships. She puts her best paw forward and breaks the ice with the children. Zoe loves to play with kids and always patiently waits her turn for dog treats. Clancy’s hobbies include long trots, horsing around, and telling tails of his adventures as a mini horse. Children love to ask him questions like, “Why are you so small?” The kids learn to properly approach him along with how to groom and feed him. For kids with autism, this helps with their self-regulation, self-awareness, social skills, and speech. For Penelope, every day is a chance to pig out. In her spare time, she likes bakin’ (not with bacon!), and is currently learning to fly. The children love to feed Penelope, brush her hair, and of course give her kisses. She’s a bit of an attention hog. Penelope helps the children with sensory issues, motivation (for kisses!), and social skills. This may seem a bit farfetched, but Filbert really is a catch. He's a golden Lab mix who plays flyball and is also part of a crisis-response team. Filbert keeps the kids on their toes by always playing ball, running through obstacle courses, and doing tricks. No day is a dog day with this playful pup. Check out our social media pages each day for a new animal picture, and feel free to send us some of your own adorable animal photos. If you are feeling a bit generous this holiday season, be sure to visit the Pawsitive Friendships donation page. They are gearing up for its second annual “Rev’d Up for Autism Car & Bike Show.” All of the proceeds from the event will go to Pawsitive Friendships.
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