Firstgiving Blog

Olympic Fundraising

We moved!  For Tori's full article on Olympic Fundraising, please visit http://www.onlinefundraisingblog.com/.

With the Beijing Olympic games only a month away from tomorrow, athletes across the globe are training restlessly for the monumental opening day. While some may be focusing on their flexibility, others are looking to expand their endurance. Such is the case with one dedicated competitor, by the name of Gabe Kagan.

Twelve-year-old Gabe will be competing in his second Tansplant Games to celebrate the eleventh year of surviving his liver transplant. “I want to train to get to the Olympics to show people that I have survived a liver transplant, and all these other people there have too,” Gabe says.

Not only does Gabe compete to celebrate the transplant success of himself and others, he does it to honor his donor… his mother.  Together they have set up a Firstgiving page to raise money for the National Kidney Association, who are putting on the Transplant Games. The page is only a little over a thousand dollars away from accomplishing it’s goal of $5,000!

While Gabe hopes to reach his fundraising goal, he is also aiming to raise awareness about the importance of organ donors. Just one person can save up to sixty lives. Gabe proudly sports a t-shirt that reads, “don’t take your organs to heaven because heaven knows we need them here.”

While a month away in Beijing, athletes from all different origins will be racing, playing, and performing for the glory of their homeland, Gabe is competing to show his gratitude for his eleven years of survival, his mother, and for all donors and transplant patients. Besides, a gold metal must taste so much better when it’s won for a good cause!

Good luck, Gabe!

The Firstgiving Monthly Newsletter

This post has moved: http://www.onlinefundraisingblog.com/2008/07/the-firstgiving-monthly-newsletter/

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After a brief absense, the Firstgiving online fundraising newsletter has been officially reinstated!  At the end of each month, we'll send out a newsletter with the latest updates from fundraisers, nonprofits, and fundraising technology. If you would like to be spotlighted in the newsletter, or you have any suggestions for content, feel free to send them our way.

Want to get on our mailing list?  Sign up here!

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Fundraising Without Borders

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It was in my 7th grade French class that I first learned about Doctors Without Borders, or Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) as they phrased it. My second interaction with the name came from the popular television show Will & Grace, in which Grace’s hubby Leo spends months in Africa working with the famous organization. But this third time I am meeting MSF face-to-face… because they have heard about us!
            That’s right, Firstgiving has been recommended by Doctors Without Borders as a great way to fundraise for their cause. The TUT’s Adventurer’s Club has recently created a project entitled “Gifts from the Universe” in which they chose a specific non-profit, set a goal, and then fundraise like crazy. For their May NPO of choice, OneSmile, the Adventurers managed to raise $25, 069, giving new smiles to one-hundred children. As a response to the terrible natural catastrophes in China and Myanmar, the “Gifts from the Universe Project” took on Global Giving for June and has raised around $15,000 thus far.
            Now as the humid month of July wafts its way closer and closer, TUT’s Adventurers’ Club’s Crystal Floyd has been preparing for another whole month of generous giving. She contacted Charlie Kunzer of MSF and asked him for his advice on the best way to raise money for the organization.
“Go to www.firstgiving.com and make a fundraising page,” he told her…and that is exactly what she did. 
            We are thrilled that this four-star charity recognizes the advantages that a fundraising page will bring to their efforts. Not only will the page reach those that TUT targets, but it can also reach anyone if the fundraising community, looking for a great cause. Now that’s fundraising without borders!

Donate to July's "Gift from the Universe" Here!

Firstgiving'er Publishes a Book!

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In addition to raising money online for charity, Dan Murdoch and his fellow Trabant Trekkers have had quite an adventure.  Dan was a guest blogger for us back in January and we've had fun following his progress since then.  Not content with the typical backpacking experience, Dan and his friends decided to drive 15,000 miles in what he calls the worst car in the world, the Trabant.  While driving, blogging and traveling, Dan has raised thousands of dollars for two Cambodian charities and raised awareness of the global issue of street children.  Upon completion of his mission, Dan has published a book of his adventures and 10% of profits will go to the charities.

Dan's online fundraising page has been collecting donations for almost a year, and for all you UK'ers, Dan and his crew also have a very successful fundraising page through our sister company, Justgiving.  Congratulations, Mr. Murdoch!

• Dan's guest spot: http://www.onlinefundraisingblog.com/2008/01/i-cant-believe.html
• Travel website: http://www.trabanttrek.org/
• US fundraising page: http://www.firstgiving.com/trabanttrek
• UK fundraising page: http://www.justgiving.com/trabanttrek
• Travel blog: http://danmurdoch.blogspot.com/
• The crew on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/trabanttrek

72 Year Old Raises Funds for Charity Online!

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Generosity is contagious. Just ask Don Stevenson who has generously offered his feet to help raise funds for research on multiple diseases. He has walked for causes such as Alzheimer’s, Hutchinson’s Disease, Sclerosis, among others. Stevenson has trekked nearly 13,000 miles and raised over $100,000 participating in various charity walks. What’s even more impressive is that he is 72 years old! For the past 10 years he has committed himself to walk so that a cure will be found to these various diseases. He said, “I believe if we find a cure for one, like dominoes, they will all go down.” So with that mentality he has walked from Alaska to Tijuana; Seattle, Washington to Portland, Maine; to all the lighthouses in the state of Washington; blind-folded across the Cascade Range; and currently he is currently walking from the Space Needle in Seattle, WA to the Empire State Building in New York City, NY and is expected to arrive September 15^th 2008. This is his final charity walk and has set a goal to raise $20,000; he has raised $11,184.44 thus far.

It is nice to recognize the extraordinary things people are doing out there but the fact is it’s impossible to expect anyone to devote that kind of time and dedication. But don’t fret because you can help. People from all around the nation are doing small yet noble things to make this world a better place. And every bit helps. Stevenson has been offered free accommodation at motels every night since he left Washington State. Others have donated simple things like a pair of shoes, food or filling up his wife’s gas tank (who is following him along the way). Check out where Stevenson currently is, how you can help, or to make a donation. What litle thing could you contribute to help change the world today?

Firstgiving's Fifteen Minutes

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We are thrilled to have been featured this month in Pet Age Magazine, the pet industry's most popular B2B magazine.  Our very own CEO, Mark Sutton, wrote a great article about the power of online fundraising and how the internet is changing how people raise money.  Check it out!

Download pet_age_june_2008.pdf

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

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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. 

Helping Cyclone Victims Abroad

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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!

Guest Blogger: Protecting with Pedals

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Please welcome guest blogger, Pepy Ride President, Daniela Papi

   

Successfully Giving

When we first started raising money for PEPY www.pepyride.org and our educational programs in Cambodia, we were looking for an online way to raise funds.  One of our heroes, Alastair Humphreys, told us about Justgiving (Firstgiving's UK based partner) www.justgiving.com/alsmarathons where he had been raising funds to support 'Hope and Homes for Children' during his five year bike ride around the world.  Talk about inspirational!  We trusted Al's advice and that was how we found Firstgiving.

PEPY has successfully raised nearly $100,000 on Firstgiving alone in the last three years.  One of the keys to our success has been getting our partners and supporters to create their own Firstgiving pages in support of PEPY.  Those who join our cycling and volunteer tours of Cambodia www.pepytours.com are encouraged to start their own page to reach their fundraising minimums for the trip.

When it comes to fundraising, the lesson we have learned is to not be intimidated!  Fundraising is not that hard, especially with tools like Firstgiving to help.  The key, though, is researching the organization you are fundraising for so that you really know that they are sustainable and trustworthy.  With this knowledge, you can then easily articulate the organization's merits while you are fundraising.  Once people know more about the great projects you are supporting, they will be enticed to learn more and to give.  We have found at PEPY, that by keeping people informed about our work through our monthly newsletters and updates, many donors continue to support our projects year after year.

Thanks to Firstgiving, we have found an easy way for our supporters and tour participants to fundraise for our projects, and this funding has been able to really make a difference in the success of educational programs in Cambodia. 

Your Weekly Dose of Sellecky Goodness

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It's almost May and you know what that means?  Time for the third consecutive Mustache May, also known as Fund-a-Stache.  If you've ever wondered what you'd look like with some facial hair (or just don't feel like shaving for a while) here's your chance to shine.  All you have to do is set up an online fundraising page for your favorite nonprofit organization and commit to grow a mustache during the month of May. 

My personal favorite technique is to allow people to vote for a 'stache style by donating.  In other words, if someone donates to your page, they have a say in what shape your mustache takes, and which ever style receives the most votes or donations, commit to going with it.  Check out a great example here: the infamous "put your money where the hair above my mouth is" fundraising page.  And when someone asks why you haven't shaved lately, go ahead and tell them you're doing it for charity!

disclaimer: Firstgiving should not be held responsible for angry wives, girlfriends, mothers, bosses, significant others, etc.

 

According to The Phoenix, all the cool kids are doing it!