Social Media Really Makes a Difference for Nonprofits – Moms for a Cure!

(Reposted from the Loudoun Times Blog, Kelly McLaughlan’s “Gateway to Loudoun County“)

Congratulations are most definitely in order for the “Moms For a Cure” Team, headed by Ari Jones, named Saturday as the 2009 Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Woman of the Year for the National Capitol Area! Ari and her team managed to raise more contributions ($139,000) over the past few months than all other local competitors in this very highly visible and important annual event. Beyond Ari’s incredible energy and leadership, her team’s countless volunteer hours, and of course the direct generosity of donors large and small – what may have made the difference was the synergy of online and offline activities, communication and marketing.

The Moms For A Cure online presence not only made ample use of their website, but also many social media tools and forums; from Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter, to Blogs, Discussions, Emails, Online News and Magazine Outlets and Internet Marketing techniques. It’s fast becoming standard and required practice for nonprofit organizations and charities, for maximum online fundraising outcomes, to orchestrate and coordinate offline efforts with smart, extensive social-media driven online campaigns.

Very unique and creative fundraising tactics are easier and cheaper to implement with Web 2.0 technology and social media forums, from online raffles (like those run by our local paws4people foundation) to online pledging campaigns. Additionally, it’s far less expensive and time-consuming to manage donors and contacts using such tools. Corporate sponsors and donors also find it easier to promote their involvement and harness their own online marketing machines to supplement the direct cash value of donations, attracting even more donors. What’s most important for success with social media fundraising campaigns appears to be the motivation and energy of the promoters, and the consistent, orchestrated strategy of smart social media use.

Ready to leverage social media for your nonprofit fundraising activities? KME Internet Marketing can help.

Charities Reap Benefits of Internet Contests – Especially Online Raffles

As Vice President of NPOFunding$olution$, which conducts multiple charitable raffles online to benefit non-profit organizations, I have been asked to comment on the May 10th New York Times article: “Charities Reap Benefits of Contests on Internet.”

While, as quoted in that New York Times article, “the opportunity for non-profit groups to win money through online contests are proliferating, adding yet another weapon to charities fund-raising arsenal”, there is a major difference between the online contests mechanism and the NPOFunding$olution$ CharityRaffles.org program. Because CharityRaffles.org provides individuals with the added incentive of chances to win up to $1 million in exchange for their donations, the non-profits in the CharityRaffles.org consortium can thereby “attract” donations from individuals who don’t care about the missions and programs of the non-profits, i.e. there are a lot of people, particularly in the current financial environment, who just want great odds to win from $20 up to $1 million. Via CharityRaffles.org these individuals become “unwitting” or “unintentional” supporters for the missions we are all dedicated to. We call these people “indirect donors.” And, the bottom line is – we all need more donors and it doesn’t matter if they are “direct” or “indirect” donors.

Contact me or NPOFunding$olution$ directly to learn more – not only is the Charity Raffles program a truly revolutionary opportunity to raise money online during very trying economic times, but its a very progressive program with respect to utilization of Internet Marketing and Social Media techniques, both for the nonprofit and supporting corporate sponsors. It’s a great way for businesses to get FREE Internet Marketing help coordinated with very necessary philanthropic efforts.

-Diana

For Parents and Dog Lovers Everywhere…

Something for dog lovers everywhere, parents, and those who care for our children…

For more information about the Paws4People Foundation out of Loudoun County, VA, visit http://www.paws4people.org, or visit CharityRaffles.org to donate.

Migration of Charities from United Way – a Loudoun Perspective

Diana Kingsbury-Smith Keesee, VP for Fundraising & Public Relations of the paws4people(TM) Inc. Foundation of Round Hill, VA, provides some perspective to a prominent Northern Virginia Blog regarding the recent news reported in the Washington Post, concerning 21 major charities leaving the United Way for “America’s Charities”, a Chantilly-based Federation heading the new alliance called “Community1st”.

Northern Virginia Moms Rock On for a Cure – 2009 Leukemia&Lymphoma Society Woman of the Year!

Calling all Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia Moms!

Check out this great nonprofit fundraising “Rock for a Cure” event being put on by the “Moms for a Cure” Team coming up May 2nd in Reston, VA, 7-11pm, with live entertainment, limited open bar, and Mother’s Day charity gift boutique & silent auction – in support of our local Northern Virginia candidate for the national 2009 Leukemia&Lymphoma Society Woman of the Year.

The Perfect Storm – Fundraising Dries Up

Excerpt From The Nation…

“Not everyone believes the fallout will be quite so cataclysmic–historically, the nonprofit sector has proved surprisingly resilient, even growing during some recent recessions–but the scale and scope of the current downturn is clearly different. And its reverberations will likely extend far beyond the world of high-profile advocacy organizations like the ACLU. From the arts to education, soup kitchens to housing organizations, nonprofits perform an array of functions that shape the texture of daily life in communities across the country, often by helping people whose situations were precarious even before the economy crashed. Now, with foundations watching their endowments shrivel, many individual donors maxed out and states across the country staring at massive budget deficits, nonprofits are scaling back their services at the very moment when the need for them is escalating. ”

Read more at The Nation

Add I-raffles.org today to your fundraising initiatives.

Nonprofit Charity Stimulus Plan for 2009 – New Hope

Plain and simple – your donors are disappearing, it’s much more difficult and expensive to find and retain new donors, much harder to pay and retain staff, and the competition for limited philanthropic spending is getting intense. Nonprofit funding sources are simply drying up in the face of absolute, increasing demand – a “Quiet Crisis“.

Obama’s stimulus package benefits commercial entities, and may in time benefit charities through “trickle-down” means. But your nonprofit organization, church, charity or other 501(c)(3) group’s needs can’t wait.

Here’s an answer, a very good answer – the Nonprofit Organization Funding Solutions (NPOFS) 2009 International Charity Stimulus Plan.

Raise money now, keep your staff, and help others to do the same – bringing fresh hope and new resources to bear in a very difficult economic time.

1. Sign up with NPOFS as a “Referral Organization” – no cost, little effort. You can sign up online here for more information.
2. Offer your donors and contacts a chance to win great prizes, including a $1 Million jackpot, by buying an Online Raffle Ticket – NPOFS will help you advertise your Raffle Sales using the Internet. This is what’s called a “targeted incentive”.
3. Your nonprofit gets 30% of every ticket sold plus other benefits, paid monthly.

That’s it.

Every NPOFS Raffle Ticket sold benefits you, benefits the other participating charities, and gives your donors a very real chance to win one of many cash prizes. Every raffle ticket also supports the host organization, paws4people^TM, in its efforts to support veterans, children, the handicapped and others through training and provision of very stimulating and certified assistance/service dogs.

The 2009 NPOFS Nonprofit Charity Stimulus Plan – Real hope in an easy, effective and exciting package.

Of course, if you’d simply like to Win one of Thousands of Cash Prizes – while supporting many causes at once – buy an Online Raffle Ticket today!

New #Loudoun County-Sterling Community Initiative – Enrich NOVA

Here’s a very interesting new community-based initiative unfolding in the Sterling area of Loudoun County, at EnrichNova.wordpress.com.

“Enrich NOVA is a new community based organization in Sterling, Virginia that is committed to helping unleash generosity in collaboration with residents and non-profit, business, and government leaders while empowering people to serve people.”

Read more at Gateway to Loudoun County…

Philanthropic giving for #nonprofit charities headed for the cliff…

According to CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo, the unintended consequence of Obama’s fiscal restraint in reducing the charitable giving deduction from 35% to 28% (for households making more than $250,000 per year) is that donations could “go off a cliff”.

This is obviously further bad news in an already very difficult fundraising climate for nonprofits relying exclusively on consistent donor generosity for supporting their operations and social service efforts.

Here’s an even stronger message and call to nonprofits to double-down their efforts to attract and sustain donorship online, leveraging Nonprofit fundraising Internet marketing and social media techniques, and banding together to collectively help themselves and each other to take advantage of extremely helpful and rapidly growing online raffle consortiums as managed at i-raffles.org.

Email Newsletter Coming Soon!

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