Firstgiving Blog

Every little bit helps for a good cause, doesn't it?

A buddy sent me this screenshot the other day, and it made me sad.  Today, looking at it again, it made me mad.  She went to make a donation to a friend's fundraising page (not a Firstgiving page, but it's all good if it's for a good cause) and the page would not accept her donation because it was less than $25.  What's up with that?

Why would you refuse to accept donations under $25?  (In the interest of disclosure, Firstgiving's system has a $1 minimum, which I think has to do with the minimum fees)  Sure, we all know that there are processing fees, but they're a lot more for checks than for online transactions.  And processing fees are usually a percentage of the donation - like Firstgiving's are - so why would it matter if somebody wanted to give even just one dollar online?

I understand wanting to encourage higher donations.  It's for a good cause, right?  But doesn't every little bit help?  Doesn't getting smaller donors involved and making them feel valued eventually lead to more donations as they tell friends or larger donations as they get wealthier? 

I grabbed one of the top Firstgiving fundraising pages to check my assumptions.  This is an amazing page that's raised over $30,000 so far.  Of the most recent 100 donations (totalling $2,210), 50 of them are under $25.  In fact, there are 23 donations under $10 and four donations of the minimum $1 each.

How would those 50 donors under $25 feel if we told them that they weren't giving enough?  I suppose some would come back and give more, but I bet a lot of them would go away and give nothing.  That's not what this is all about. 

You Know You've Made it When...

There are few things that make the Firstgiving office happier than getting great feedback from a happy and satisfied user.  You know what's even better than people telling us how much they like us?  People telling other people!  Account holder, Cherubs, The Association of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Research, has started a forum on their website specifically about Firstgiving and how easy it is to raise money online for their cause.   The best part?  Supporters, like Stephanie, can make an online fundraising page for their upcoming ride, while others, like Amy, can make an online fundraising page simply to spread the word and give back to the organization that supported her family during a difficult time.

Check out their online fundraising forum!

Fundraising Tip: link giving to getting

Most of the time here on the online fundraising blog, we feature fundraisers who are very successful and well on the way to their goals.  Today, I want to show off somebody who's just set up a page, but is doing some really interesting fundraising already.

Check out how Jonathan's Bikes Not Bombs page...

• has a simple and personal appeal
• is offering to match donations
• ups his goal from last year
• bases his appeal on the coming economic stimulus payments
• offers membership in the organization for donors

...no wonder he's almost 10% of the way there in just two days of fundraising! If you like Jonathan's page, be sure to give it a Digg, too.

Helping Cyclone Victims Abroad

According to a recent article on cnn.com, the death toll estimate from last week's cyclone in Mynamar has increased to between 63,000-100,000.  Their ambassador finally stated, "We are ready to speed up and strengthen our relief effort. We will accept aid from any corner."  Firstgiving account holder, Heart Touch Project, is using their Thai partner organization, The Sangha Metta Project, to send supplies and aid directly to Burma.  Check out how they're raising money for charity.

The American Joint Jewish Distribution Committee sent staff directly to Mynamar to provide immediate relief.  Help their cause.

There are many ways you can help these victims, and one way is through an online fundraising page.  Thousands of nonprofit organizations are lending a hand to relief efforts overseas.  Raise money online with Team World Vision!

Fundraising ideas: Moustache May, Lupus Awareness and Tony LaRussa's ARF

A quick run-down of recent and upcoming interesting fundraising ideas that have crossed our desks...

First up, as you may know, we're slightly obsessed with Fund-a-Stache's Moustache May.  The 'stachers have raised over $5,000 so far for a range of charitable causes.  Check out one of Firstgiving's year-round 'staches.  Can you identify it?  Hint: it's not Susannah.

Next up, May is Lupus Awareness Month.  All sorts of people are coming up with all sorts of creative fundraising ideas to help fight Lupus.  Here is a sample of Firstgiving fundraising pages for Lupus.  Naturally my favorite is that of FG's own Beth S.  That's her on the right.

Thirdly, we always like to see a famous person using his or her fame to advance a charitable cause, especially when they invoke the power of peer to peer fundraising to do it.  Have a look at two-time world series winner Tony LaRussa's Animal Rescue Foundation page.  Animal Rescue Foundation = ARF, get it?

We're always looking for more fundraising ideas to share, the more creative, the better. So share! If we like an idea, we might feature it here, maybe even make a donation.

Virtual Mother's Day

Scrambling around for a last-minute Mother's Day gift?  Looking for a way to celebrate the life of your mom?  The answer, as it so often is on the Firstgiving blog, is to raise money online with a fundraising page.  Check out what Scott is doing to honor the memory of his mother: http://www.firstgiving.com/teamgwen

We're hiring!

One of the things we like about working here at Firstgiving is that we have great customers.  So it seemed like a no-brainer that we should remind those customers that we're hiring, and maybe one or two of you could become the next one or two of us. 

Please check out our jobs page.  There are three opportunities right now, and we expect to add more soon.  Tell your friends.  Especially if they're committed professionals who want to work someplace with great people, great customers, and a great culture.

• Director of Consumer Experience
• Telesales Representative
• Web Designer/ Web Developer

Make sure you note in your cover letter that you read about the job on this blog, and ask to join the fun committee.  Yes, we have a fun committee. 

Webinar Recording: How to use Teams, Competition and Prizes to Raise More Money

Missed last week's webinar on how to use competition, teams and prizes to raise more money for your cause?  Don't worry, we've got you covered!  Special thanks to Andrea Farwell from Junior Achievement of Eastern Massachusetts. 

Feel free to pass the video on to friends and colleagues.

Download 20080430_14.31 Best Practice in Online Fundraising_ How to Use Teams_ Competition and Prizes to Raise More Money.wmv

Firstgiving Volunteer Day: The Welcome Project

At Firstgiving, it's important that we practice what we preach.  Each employee has made on online fundraising page to raise money for his or her favorite cause, and we all have volunteer time available apart from vacation days.  After we were introduced to and wrote about Somerville's The Welcome Project, it seemed logical that we take the next step and lend a physical hand.  Executive Director, Warren Goldstein-Gelb, was happy to host us and the gardeners benefiting from the help were all smiles.

We were graced with a beautiful day and had a great time transporting materials from their temporary garden (aka a nearby parking lot) to their newly constructed plots.  Also interesting was to hear that Warren decided to use Firstgiving for this project because it was an unexpected cost, one that wasn't in the original annual budget.  Hesitant to send charity fundraising letters to their usual supporters, Warren set up an online fundraising page and started to spread the word.  Keep spreadin', Welcome Project!

A special thanks to my colleagues, Chief Operating Officer, Frank, Senior Developer, Mark, and Account Manager, Hannah.

Webinar Slides Available: How to use Teams, Competition and Prizes to Raise More Money

Thank you to everyone who was able to join us for Wednesday's webinar on Best Practice: How to Use Teams, Competition and Prizes to Raise More Money.  I'd also like to thank Andrea Farwell from Junior Achievement of Eastern Massachusetts for being our guest speaker and doing an excellent job.

If you were unable to attend or would like to pass along the slides to a friend or another member of your nonprofit, you may view them here.  Please stay tuned for the video recording, which will be posted early next week.

Download webinar_presentation_4.30.ppt