Event Fundraising Blog

As you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and I'm sure you've seen some great awareness and fundraising campaigns related to the eradication of breast cancer. Everyone knows about the pink ribbon. In fact, 96 percent of people in a recent USA-Today/Gallup poll say Breast Cancer Awareness Month increases the visibility of the cause, and 84 percent of all Americans now “shop for a cure,” buying products associated with breast cancer organizations and research.

However, we’ve also seen some criticism from the media on how the money raised by breast cancer charities is spent, whether or not “awareness” is still an issue, that it draws attention away from other forms of cancer. Many critiques stem from the idea that simply going “pink” doesn’t mean that people are actually advocating for the cause at all.

Any kind of research dollars that come from these kinds of marketing efforts, however, do matter. This money raised continues to fuel new drug developments, studies and treatments that could save the lives of hundreds of men and women. Bridget Spence, an event fundraiser here at Event 360 who has been diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer, has a strong opinion on the matter.

In our series on event fundraising check lists, we first covered Event Logistics and Participant Support. In this post, we’ll map out the activities associated with Donations Management and Fundraising. These two categories are vitally important and closely related. After all, the entire point of holding a fundraising walk or other type of special events fundraiser is to secure donations for your nonprofit organization.

At this point, just about everyone in the world has heard about the Zuckerberg contribution. Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, has pledged $100 million to Newark, New Jersey schools. This is the first time that Zuckerberg has made a philanthropic donation of this size, what does that say about him and how he wants to shape his impact on the world around him? What does a contribution of this size mean for the Newark school district? And how will they face the challenges of distributing a contribution of this size?

In this day and age of “social media” this and “social media” that, it can be easy to forget sometimes the best way to connect with people is to do it the old-fashion way: personally send your prospective donor a donation request.

A hundred years from now, Millennials will be known as a generation of giving and engaged indivduals.  They are sharp, they are active, and they want to know that they are making an impact, not only in the workplace but also in the world as a whole.  The key then, for your nonprofit organization, is to find effective ways to leverage these individuals and encourage them to take part in your event fundraising.

When you are compiling a target donor list, what factors do you consider? Age?  Income Bracket?  Education Level?  These are just a few of the key demographics that might top your list.  And, while they are important, a new study released at the Direct Marketing Association New York Nonprofit Conference has introduced a surprising new element into the mix.

I recently started volunteering in the local office of a national nonprofit organization.  I believe in their mission and have a personal connection to their cause. Though I have volunteered a couple of times, I have been struck by the fact that nobody has asked me why I was there.

Do you know who participates in your events-where they live, their household income, what magazines they read, etc. What about the the people that participate and fundraise? More importantly, do you know why they fundraise?

What's the number one reason people stop donating their time or money?

In 2009, I made online donations to 13 different nonprofits: three organizations I've donated to before and 10 nonprofits I was supporting for the first time.  How many of these 10 new nonprofits will I support again in 2010?  One.