Featured Fundraiser: Bike Clark County

Bike Clark County is a nonprofit consisting strictly of volunteers helping the children of their community learn proper bicycle riding etiquette, safety being the main priority. In the little more than a year the organization has been operating, it has been able to help numerous students at various schools the essentials of safe bike riding, while promoting self sufficiency, eco friendliness, not to mention fun.

Fundraise.com spoke with Eric, President of Bike Clark County, via email to find out more about the organization and what it has in store for the future.

1. How did Bike Clark County get its start?

Bike Clark County was born out of necessity. There were several people teaching a bicycle safety course at two schools for close to a decade. They were starting to struggle with the program because it was run mostly as a hobby. Bike Clark County was formed to save this valuable safety course but it’s grown based on a huge community demand. Since the actual formation of Bike Clark County, we’ve added one more middle school for a total of three and our first ever elementary school bicycle education course. Multiple schools have contacted the organization in order to have programs run in their schools. So, in our five year plan, we add seven schools to this line up. That’s over 1,000 kids in Clark County who will be taught how to ride safely and responsibly, deal with right of way issues, approach and pass through an intersection, hand and arm signals, and avoid hazards.

2. What motivates you in your fundraising efforts?

Letting people know about the great work we are doing to help the community and promote cycling; but especially keeping kids safe and educating them how to be responsible cyclists; and finally, seeing the progress of the students in the course. It’s not uncommon to meet a kid in the beginning of the course who can barely ride a bike, but with a little bit of practice and some mentoring, that kid graduates the program as a confident bicyclists. Now, instead of waiting around for their mom or dad to drive them to their friends house, can hop on their bike and ride over. It really gives our students a sense of confidence and independence. Not to mention, it’s good for their health and good for the environment.

3. What is your favorite part about working with the organization?

My favorite part of working with Bike Clark County is seeing kids learn to enjoy riding and understand that they can use a bicycle as an affordable, healthy, and eco friend form of transportation. Also, for kids, it’s a confidence builder and gives them a sense of freedom to be able to travel and explore their neighborhood or ride to park or a friend’s house. It also eliminates their need for a parent to drive them some place. Our goal is to fill up bike racks at school and see kids ride to their neighborhood park.

4. Who benefits from your fundraising efforts?

The community we are serving. No one in this organization gets a paycheck, everyone is a volunteer. Prior to this fundraiser, the entire budget of Bike Clark County came from volunteers making donations to keep the programs running. It has started and continued as a grass roots community effort to promote cycling in our town. And now its growing.

5. What advice do you have for aspiring fundraisers?

Use any method you can think of to spread the word. There are a lot of people out there who would donate to a cause or effort they can get behind. You just have to find them and use all the social media outlets and emails and newsletters; you can reach out to people who you never could connect with before.

6. What goals are you trying to reach by fundraising?

We’re trying to raise $3,000 in 30 days in order to buy equipment that support programs and make them sustainable to continue year after year. We donate about 1,500-2,000 helmets every year and right now we desperately need some funds to set up a small community shop where kids can come in and get a tire changed or get their bike repaired. We also have some community connections to collect dozens of donated bicycles, but we do not have a way to get them repaired and sent back out into the community. This money will allow Bike Clark County to buy the equipment necessary to get these bikes back out to the people who could really benefit from them — at no charge. It also allows the organization to keep our fleet of training bicycles running for next year’s school programs.

For more on Bike Clark County, please visit: Online Community Fundraising

Also, Bike Clark County had the distinct pleasure of being featured in The Columbian. Head over there to learn even more about this great organization: http://www.columbian.com/news/2012/jul/08/pedal-pusher-founder-of-bike-clark-county-wants-to/

Success with Email Fundraising Campaigns: 5 areas to focus your attention

Short of the long is that email isn’t going anywhere. And since it statistically takes 5 emails to get 1 donation, we feel you should put some renewed focus on your email fundraising tactics.

1. Getting your email opened. What matters?

The Sender: People open email from folks they know. Write from a person; not a company.

You want the email to come from a person or brand your targeted reader knows and hopefully likes.

The Subject Line: People respond to a compelling/attention-grabbing subject line; the more useful and specific it is, the better.

Shoot for 40 characters and be careful of exclamation points and all caps to keep out of spam folders.

The Contents: Send quality content and your recipient will both enjoy your email and open your future emails.

The first sentence or two is often especially important as many people use a preview pane. Keep these sentences consistent with the subject line and make sure they reinforce your message. If your email is action oriented, include a link to your Fundraise.com page or such that will allow readers to actually take the requested action.

2. Spam filters. How do you stay out of them?

Develop a content strategy: Good content trumps everything else. But if you get a reputation for spamming with junk, then you’ll be treated as spam (in other words, you need a content strategy for all your communications).

Know your recipient:(Or at least know they’ve asked to hear from you). Your readers will add you to their address book if they want you; that will keep you out of spam all together.

3. Email lists. How do you build them?

Website Prominence: Make the sign-up box for your email list prominent, obvious, and inviting.

Give reason: Use social proof or an engaging tease to entice users to join email list. Why should they want to hear from you?

4. Format & Design. What works best?

Device:Consider how your reader will likely be accessing the email - desktop vs. mobile, etc – and choose your format accordingly.

Function: Test the email across multiple email clients and devices to assure it displays as intended.

Contents: Use images that support your copy. You know what they say, pictures are worth 1,000 words. It’s also usually a good idea to avoid attachments as they may trigger spam filters.

5. Integration. How should email connect to marketing?

Keep it Consist: Keep your message consistent across channels. Sure, twitter may require a slightly different format than Facebook, and email may need a bit more content than Facebook, but keep the messaging the same.

Share: Share your internal messages across all the channels that you’re using. Also be sure to include share buttons so your supporters can share your message from one channel to another, too.

5 Tips for Successful Nonprofit Fundraising

As the quarter winds down and the planning turns up during summer, here are 5 tips to consider for successful nonprofit fundraising.

Communicate Regularly: Communicating with your supporters through regular newsletters that highlight your organizations’ accomplishments, updates, new & ongoing campaigns and fiscal transparency will help bond supporters to your mission and build loyalty while keeping your cause at the forefront of their minds. Ask supporters for their newsletter frequency preference, but generally speaking, one to two carefully timed issues every 4-6 weeks is acceptable. While every newsletter can feature a “donate” button, not every newsletter should be a formal ask. Think about it, would you be excited to hear from a friend or colleague who asked you for something every time they wrote you an email? Probably not.

Focus on Strengthening Your Community: The community you build around your organization is both the backbone and communal face of your nonprofit. It includes donors, volunteers, members, regular patrons, etc. They have become part of your community because your organization interests them. They have given of their time or their money because they want to see your organization prosper; it is crucial to genuinely engage with these people not only because of the strength in numbers they can bring to your organization, but also because they are great advocates for your cause in the community and can reach out to potential volunteers and donors to grow both bases. Take care of this important group and encourage & listen to the valuable feedback they amass.

Say Thank You: “Thank you” – two very simple words that go a very long way. Most all organizations associate a “thank you” with a donation or a tax-deductible receipt, but think about other ways to thank your tribe of supporters. Formal get-togethers like breakfasts and cocktail hours are great ideas, but thanks to technology today there are also plenty of inexpensive ways to show your appreciation – Facebook and Twitter are a great way to thank both groups and individuals for their time and energy. Post photos with volunteers tagged for their friends to see or tweet at individuals who went the extra mile. Showing appreciation for even the smallest acts furthers your mission and leaves a lasting, positive online impression.

Clean-up Your Website: Your website is the face of your organization online and many times, it will the first impressions your organization makes on a savvy potential donor. A nonprofit website can make or break a supporter’s perception of the organization and can impact whether or not they chose to support you. Review your existing site and ensure that the following vital components are integrated: 1) Your ‘Donate’ button is easy to find, functions properly and is on the first page; 2) Make the purpose, mission, and urgency of your organization obvious on the first page, with links to additional experiences and stories; 3) Make sure your website is clean, easy to navigate, and provides a positive user experience while telling your story; 4) Optimize your website for viewing on mobile devices. In 2011, more people spent time on their mobile device than on their PC and it is expected that by 2013, more consumers will access the web from a mobile device than a PC or laptop. (If you need help going mobile, Fundraise.com can be of assistance – our website is completely responsive for optimal mobile experience. Give us a call); 5) Allow supporters to sign up to receive regular newsletters about your organization – put the burden on yourselves to contact potential donors and keep them in the loop on happenings rather than hoping they’ll return to your site on their own.

Move the Strategy Online: Obviously at Fundraise.com, many of our past blog posts have focused on the importance of Online Giving and Social Media due to the tremendous growth seen in these platforms and our involvement in the space. According to the latest Blackbaud Index, from July to November of 2011 online giving saw double-digit growth in percentages over 2010. Yet despite these results, there are still many nonprofits that are intimidated and overwhelmed by moving the strategy online. Completely understandable, and we are here to help. Feel free to contact us directly via email at info@fundraise.com or on the phone at 857.445.4165.

4 in 10 Charities Claim No Fundraising Costs on Tax Forms

According to Scripps Howard News Service, thousands of charities do not accurately report to the Internal Revenue Service how they raise money.

Of the nearly 38,000 nonprofits that brought in at least $1 million in gifts, 41 percent reported to the IRS that they spent no money doing so. In total, those groups raised $116.7 billion.

Robert Ottenhoff, head of GuideStar, was quoted in on Philanthropy.com as saying, “It is ridiculous to think an organization could raise significant amounts of money without spending money to do it.” GuideStar provided data for the investigation.

Many charity leaders say they are under pressure from donors to minimize overhead costs, which include fundraising. However, several organizations said they will re-evaluate how they report those costs in the wake of the study, which examined charities’ most recently available informational tax returns.

Nonprofit organizations often find themselves in challenging situations much different than for-profit businesses; yet many times their end goal is extremely similar – earn money in an effective and efficient manner.

At Fundraise.com our goal is to help both small and large organizations raise more money while spending less money to achieve success. Yes, there are definitely costs associated with fundraising, but Fundraise.com aims to keep both human and technology costs to a minimum by including design, emails, analytics, reporting, event tools, CRM/donor management, processing and tech support into our fee.

If your organization is looking to revamp the way you raise funds, we would love to chat with you about how we can help. Email info@fundraise.com or call us at 857.445.4165.