Nonprofit Fundraising Toolbox - Inked to the People

This week, we're going to talk about t-shirts as a way to raise money for your campaign. If you've ever gone through the hassle of having a shirt designed and then printed, you're probably going to want to run away screaming in horror.

However, a new website called Inked to the People just might help change the way you feel about t-shirts for your cause.

Here's how it works. You create a t-shirt design. If you don't have a designer to create the shirt for you, that's okay, Inked for the People can help you with that. You can also use their design tool to create a basic design.

Once you have your design, upload it to the Inked to the People website at http://inktothepeople.com/.

Next, you'll need to set a goal. How many t-shirts do you want to sell? Try setting a small goal at first until you get a feel for how popular your t-shirts will be with your supporters.

Finally, you simple make the sale live and blast out the sale to your community! And the best part is, there is no out of pocket deposit needed. It's free to start a campaign. Once you meet your goal, Ink to the People will print up your shirts and ship them out. And then you'll receive your check about 3 weeks later.

Another option Inked to the People has for nonprofits is a partnership program that lets your supporters do all the work!

This allows your supporters to run their own t-shirt campaigns and contribute 5% of their sales directly to your nonprofit.

To sign up to be a partner, click here. http://inktothepeople.com/page/partnerships

Pretty cool, huh?

You never have to worry about the logistics of t-shirt printing again! And there's absolutely no risk involved for you. If you don't make your goal, all the money will be refunded, and you can either try again with a smaller goal or move on to the next big idea!

Nonprofit Fundraising Toolbox - Fundography

The work of a nonprofit is never easy, and trying to stay ahead of trends, putting together successful fundraising events, and promoting your cause takes never-ending dedication and commitment from you and your staff.

To help fuel your cause and get your creative juices flowing, we've put together a series of articles that will introduce you to new and innovative tools that you can add to your fundraising toolbox whenever you need to make a push for donations.

Fundography

 

Today's nonprofit tool is called Fundography, and it's a pretty amazing and innovative application that's really easy for you to put into play at all of your fundraising events.

The concept is simple. You organize one of your fundraising events as you normally would, something where you can invite potential donors to participate, such as a silent auction or a 5K.

Contact Fundography and let them know about your event. You can email them at [email protected].

On the day of the event, while everyone is having a good time, you and your guests take pictures using either a digital camera or an iPhone.

Then you simply upload those pictures to Fundography and create an Event Album.

Fundography will then allow anyone to purchase those photos for $2.50 a photo. For every photo sold, your nonprofit will receive $2 that will go toward your cause.

Here are a few tips Fundography suggest to help share your photos.

• Get posed smiling faces! 
• Photos of groups of friends are most likely to sell. 
• Always tell people you photograph the photo will be sold at Fundography.com. They won’t buy it if they can’t find it! 

It's that easy!

For more information on how you can use Fundography at your next event, visit their website at http://www.fundography.com.

New Changes to Twitter Every Nonprofit Needs to Know

Twitter is a grand global marketplace filled with people who want to talk about your particular cause, so if you're not on Twitter yet, you really need to be. We'll talk more in a later article about why you're nonprofit needs to enter the twittersphere, but for now, we're going to focus on some new changes to the profile page that will affect those of you who already have Twitter accounts.

Recently, Twitter has rolled out some pretty significant changes to your nonprofits Twitter profile page that you're going to want to address as soon as possible.

1. Your Nonprofit's Profile Picture Can Now Be Larger. 400 x 400 Pixels. Make sure you get the right dimensions for your image, or it could look distorted. If you need help, consult a graphics expert.

2. Your Nonprofit's Header Image Is Larger. 1500 x 500 Pixels. Again, it's best to stick to exact dimensions or your image won't look right.

3. You Can Pin an Important Tweet to the Top. Have an important message that you want everyone to keep in mind when they view your profile? Just pin it to the top and it will stay there until you remove it or pin something else.

4. Your Popular Tweets Are Highlighted in Larger Font. If you have a particularly popular tweet, it will now be highlighted in larger font so it's easier to identify.

Again, if you're not a graphics person or your organization doesn't have a graphics person available, you may want to consider hiring someone who can help you create the correct sizes for your Twitter images.

We recommend Bright Owl Creative, a small creative studio with experience working with nonprofits and who can work with the small budgets of our small to medium nonprofit customers.

How to Harness the Power of Pinterest for Your Nonprofit

If your nonprofit isn't on the social media site Pinterest yet, you're missing a wonderful opportunity to communicate in a unique way with people who share the same passion and desire as you and your organization.

The power and emotion an image can convey transcends a simple written message in ways you can't even imagine, and when it comes to drumming up donations and supporters for your nonprofit, Pinterest can be a powerfully effective tool.

If you're not familiar with how the social media giant works, here's a quick rundown. Pinterest is all about pinning images to create a board of like items. Many people use it for recipes or crafts, laying out all the beautiful images on a board that is easy to view and search through.

However, Pinterest isn't just for crafters and foodies! It's about capturing an idea through images and sharing it with the world, and what better way to capture the very essence of your nonprofit's mission than with images.

Of course, it's helpful if your nonprofit deals with a visual cause. The easiest example is animal rescue. By pinning images of the animals your organization helps, it shows potential donors the good you're doing with heartwarming pictures they can see and share with their friends and family.

There are many nonprofits out there already taking advantage of the creative way Pinterest allows users to communicate. Amnesty International currently has 21 boards ranging from Human Rights Quotes to Human Rights Books to Human Rights Events. You can see their profile here: http://www.pinterest.com/AmnestyOnline/

Creating a Pinterest account for your nonprofit is free and easy and now, Pinterest offers business accounts with a category for nonprofits so you can manage your boards with a team of users.

To create an account for your nonprofit, simply go to http://business.pinterest.com/ and click on "Join as a Business."

Once your account is created, take some time to think about the boards you want to create and how you want to organize your images.

Do you have images from a particular event or is there a topic you want to educate people on? Don't feel like you need to only use your images either! Feel free to pin images from other people's boards if they align themselves well with your own board's message.

Pinterest has become one of the fastest growing social media sites out there and it's easy to see why. With such a visual way to reach your potential supporters, your nonprofit can truly benefit from the tools available on this social site. So create your account today and get pinning!

Amazon Launches New Program, AmazonSmile, to Help Non-Profits

The online retail giant, Amazon.com has recently launched a new program that should bring a smile to any 501(c) non-profit organization.

Aptly named AmazonSmile, this new program allows shoppers to easily donate 0.5% of their purchases from Amazon.com to their favorite non-profit - which could be your nonprofit!!

All shoppers need to do to sign up for this program and start donating a percentage of their purchases to your non-profit is visit the website AmazonSmile.com. From there, they can sign into their Amazon account and then select your nonprofit from the search list.

Now, in order for your non-profit to qualify for this program, you will need to be registered through GuideStar USA. Guidestar receives their data from the information that has been submitted to the IRS, so if you're a 501 (c) nonprofit organization, chances are you're already listed in their database.

You will also need to register through AmazonSmile before you can receive your donated funds. Simply go to the AmazonSmile registration page and follow the instructions to get started.

Then, all you have to do is get the word out to your potential donors about this amazing program!

Almost everyone shops at Amazon.com at some point during the year and with such an easy and pain free way to gain donations, it's worth taking the time to make sure your non-profit is registered and your community knows how easy it is to give all year long!

How to Get Free Publicity for Your Nonprofit Organization

By Amy Detwiler

How do you spread the word about your nonprofit organization? I considered this question recently when I had the pleasure of attending a daylong seminar in which the closing keynote speaker represented an incredibly compelling nonprofit. Listening to this young man speak for an hour on his passion and the beloved father who served as the inspiration for the movement excited me about what he is doing.

This rather stimulating afternoon caused me to think about you and your nonprofit. What are you doing to create awareness? While not every effort of yours will cause the soul stirring excitement of the aforementioned gentleman, there’s no reason that you can’t get more people aware of what you are doing. In the mundane “real business” world this is called publicity.

Publicity is media coverage for your nonprofit for which you don’t pay one red cent. Think about all the paid advertising that for-profit businesses do — print ads, radio spots, television coverage — and the hoped-for sales they expect. Now imagine getting that same attention for free.

Frequent mentions in the newspaper, on TV or online translates into more awareness, donations, volunteers or what have you. However, to obtain publicity (save for the ubiquitous PSAs), your  nonprofit must do something worthy of media coverage, and you have to let editors and reporters know about it.

The process of getting publicity is simple, but it’s not easy. The simplicity of it begins with truly understanding what publicity is. It’s positioning your activities as newsworthy.

That small statement alone stymies about 90 percent of nonprofits. They spin their wheels sending out press releases on things that simply aren’t news. For instance, an animal rights nonprofit working to protect animals is not news, it’s your regular mission. Hiring a volunteer coordinator for your nonprofit is somewhat closer. It may be news, but it isn’t really exciting. Hosting a “Paws in the Park” 5K run… now that’s news.

Think of it this way. Editors and reporters are in the business of writing and publishing interesting articles. If you bring them stories – real stories, not fluff – you’ve just made their jobs a lot easier. Publicity is the classic quid pro quo; you get exposure and they get a story.

To begin the process of getting publicity, think about activities or actually create events that are newsworthy. Start by considering what you are already doing. Is there a way to find an angle that makes it a news story?

When you have your angle, put the information in a compelling news release to your local newspapers and televisions stations. Again, it could be about an event your are running or a feel-good story about how your non-profit is making a difference in the local community. Make it easy for editors and reporters by supplying them with everything they need to know – the who, what, when, where, why and how. Include photos if possible, as well as contact information so they can call for more details.

Sending a very newsworthy release in advance of the actual activity could even get a reporter onsite to cover the goings on!

Could Your Nonprofit Benefit from a Mentor?

I was thinking the other day about the different paths my career has taken based on the involvement of some pretty smart people who cared enough to help me. So many of them served as mentors and had a direct and very selfless interest in me, especially when I was just starting out.

Perhaps you, too, have had mentors in your work life, but what about a mentor for your nonprofit endeavor? Has anyone invested one-on-one time assisting you with your nonprofit growth in such a way that you could look back on specific growth moments for which the mentor was directly responsible?

If not, I encourage you to seek out someone who can assist you, particularly in sales, marketing, accounting or any other areas where you may feel you have weaknesses in the development of your nonprofit. Here are some things to think about as you consider this step.  

What are qualities of a good mentor?

A good mentor should be considered a role model in his position or area; possess knowledge and influence; be committed to mentoring and willing to invest the time necessary; be an encouraging and motivating person; be generous in sharing his or her knowledge; and have excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

How does the mentor benefit?

You are not the only person who benefits from the relationship. Good mentors gain increased respect and recognition from peers as individuals who have the ability to identify, encourage, and promote other people. Mentoring also provides the mentor with opportunities to broaden his or her network; to experience personal growth and renewal through contributing to another person’s skill development; and to enhance their value. Experienced mentors frequently claim that mentoring nonprofits keeps them sharp and creative through the challenging interplay they face with younger people.

What guidance does the mentor provide?

The content of meetings or conversations will likely be highly individualized toward you and your nonprofit's specific needs. Regardless of the particular topic, you’ll receive constructive feedback (and praise if warranted) along with specific suggestions to help improve your nonprofit. Should a significant need be noted, you might receive recommendations of classes or courses you might seek to further your academic or nonprofit development.

One good way a mentor can positively impact your life is with specific advice about prioritizing tasks and activities. People who are just starting out with a nonprofit may find themselves overwhelmed with “work.” Doing things right vs. doing the right things can become a critical stumbling block. A mentor who has "been there" can offer valuable advice about what must get done in your nonprofit and the things to let slide. He or she also may be a good resource on the touchy topic of how to say no (and to whom) to certain demands on your time or talent.

How should the mentor-mentee relationship be structured?

The mentor should know in advance how much time he or she is willing to devote to mentoring and then remain committed to that time investment. If you ask for too little or too much of his or her time, the mentor will be sure to let you know. (Note: If you are considering mentoring someone, but worry about the time investment, you may be interested to know that research shows effective mentoring can be done in as little as two hours a month.)
The mentor should clarify with you the extent of the guidance he or she is prepared to offer concerning personal issues, professional issues, and advice about balance between the two.

Make plans for how the relationship will progress and/or how you intend to make regular contact. You can send emails; do online chats, phone conversations, or personal meetings.
Keep all mentor-mentee sessions or conversations confidential. Both parties should feel free to speak frankly and openly about any issue without fear of repercussions or intentional/unintentional disclosure.

If you are really committed to mentoring or being mentored, but wonder how it will fit into your already busy life, consider these time savers.

Meet during mealtime… you have to eat anyway!

Schedule brief online chats to cover hot topics.

Ask about specific resources and research to assist you in the mentor’s absence.

As a mentee, the best way you can “thank” a mentor is by respecting his or her valuable time. Because mentors truly want to make a difference in your life and your nonprofit, internalize and apply what they teach you. There’s no greater reward than seeing "advice in action."

Also, do your part in maintaining the regular contact and following through on your own promises. Show your appreciation by giving back when you are ready to mentor someone else with their nonprofit.

4 Essential Building Blocks for Successful Nonprofit Organizations

While you probably started your nonprofit organization (NPO) to fulfill a specific passion or purpose, a businesslike approach will serve you well when it comes to the dispassionate activities like balancing books and scheduling volunteers. And, operating as a businessperson will lay the foundation for a vibrant and thriving NPO that allows others to catch your passion.

Successful nonprofits don’t just happen; they are built block by block upon your talents, time, thoughts, and efforts. Let’s look at some simple things you can do to beef up the business aspect of your endeavors.

1. Develop a Nonprofit Success Plan

While this doesn’t need to be the formal type of plan that you would present to other people, it should be written down and contain specific details concerning your vision and mission. Identify your objectives and commit them to paper. What are your goals and what do you hope to accomplish? Do you want to try pursue a grant? Approach five people for funding? Set your goals and then work your plan.

2. Define Your Peak Performance Times.
Are you an early bird or a night owl? Knowing your peak performance times will help you maximize your effectiveness. It is estimated that 60 percent of Americans do their best work in the morning hours. Forty percent burn the midnight oil. Which describes you?

Identify the times of the day when you are at your best and on purpose. Reserve those times for creative endeavors and critical decision making. The remaining hours of the day can be used for paperwork or more mundane tasks.

Using peak performance times correctly can double or triple the amount you achieve in a given day. Remember, it’s “how” you spend your hours, not “how many” hours you spend.

3. Appreciate the 80-20 Rule.
Did you think the 80-20 Rule only applied to Fortune 500 companies? Not hardly. The concept of 80-20 actually can be applied to nearly every aspect of life, both personal and professional. Realize that 20 percent of your daily tasks will produce about 80 percent of the results you want. And, 20 percent of your customers will produce 80 percent of your sales.

To be your most effective, identify that critical 20 percent and focus on that. The activities that fall in the remaining 80 percent can be done as you have time. As the old saying goes, “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” Produce maximum results in minimal time with minimal emotional and physical drain with the 80-20 rule.

4. Control Your Time.
One of the biggest threats to any time management system is interruptions. Don’t live your life from interruption to interruption as most people do. Get interruptions under control to boost your effectiveness and help you develop laser-beam focus toward your work and the activities most important to you and your business.

Use email for correspondence whenever possible. Ignore the doorbell and allow voicemail to take calls. Set two specific times per day (not your peak performance times!) to return calls and handle busy work. You can even announce your callback times on your voicemail message so callers can know when to expect a response. Say, “I check voicemail at 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Calls requiring a response are returned at 4 p.m.”

Passionate nonprofits and business acumen needn’t be a cross purposes. Build your business with these “blocks” and tackle a greater level of success.