vivanista webinar: kick start your grassroots fundraising

Training: Grassroots Fundraising with FirstGiving

About Vivanista High quality Training & Tools to help you and your organization raise more money.

Laura ReinoSr. Sales Consultant

FirstGivinglaura@firstgiving.com

Guest Expert

About FirstGiving

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Pagesand Event Registrations

Fundraising Training, Event Calendar and Promotion Tools!

Working Together for Nonprofits

Kick Start Your Grassroots

Fundraising Today!

•What Is Grassroots Fundraising

•How It Works

•Why It’s So Powerful

•Analyzing Donor Behavior

•How To Get Started

•Next Steps

•How To Incorporate It Into Your Existing Plan

•Success Story Examples

•About FirstGiving Tools

•Questions and Answers

What We’ll Go Over

What Is Grassroots Fundraising?

• Kim Klein, an internationally known fundraising trainer, consultant and author – Community Level http://content.opportunityknocks.org/2008/09/22/a-definition-of-grassroots-fundraising/

• Urban Dictionary – Local, person to person http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=grassroots

• Grant Space, a service of the Foundation center – Money raised by people who benefit http://grantspace.org/Tools/Knowledge-Base/Funding-Research/Definitions-and-Clarification/Glossaries

Grassroots Fundraising Defined

How Does It Work?

•Who: Groups or individuals that are compelled to help

• Have a deep-rooted passion for a cause

• Recipient of the services, or know someone

•What: They take on the responsibilities of coming up with, planning and promoting the efforts

• Personal goal or special occasion

• Community-based effort

How It Works (who, what, when, where, and why)

•When: When they experience a trigger event or when they are celebrating a personal occasion or milestone

•Where: Anywhere they choose!

•Why: Something has compelled them to take action and they want to dedicate their efforts

How It Works (cont.) (who, what, when, where, and why)

Why Is It A Powerful Tool?

Grassroots Efforts are Powerful!

•Driven by people, NOT the organization

• Much more personally invested

•Motivation and effort is much higher than than other more common “event-based” fundraising – donors recognize that

•Effort can generate more buzz through traditional or social media outlets

Grassroots Events Receive Larger Average Donations

Largest Average Donations Go To Grassroots Events

Why Is It So Often Ignored?

•Self-defeatist attitude – “It’s too hard”

•NPOs: My supporters won’t do that

•Constituents: I’m only one person. What can I do?

•Its effectiveness is underestimated

•May not have the proper support tools in place

•Nonprofits: Must release some control

Why it is often Ignored

•Fundraisers may not always consider adding fundraising to their activity/occasion

•Fundraisers may need help with some simple best practices to make the effort more effective

•Fundraisers may need an efficient way to collect funds

Why it is often Ignored (cont.)

Where Do You Begin?

•Nonprofits:

• Provide suggestions and tools

•Make it fun – competition often increases engagement with community efforts

•Reach out to people doing things anyway

•Fundraisers:

•Focus on the story

•How funds will be used

•Use social media to promote effort

•Get other media attention

How To Get Started

•Fundraiser Recognition

•Make it genuine and unique

•Utilize social media

•Nurture New Donors

•Attracting new donors is expensive

•Now that you have these donors, don’t lose them!

•Close The Loop

•Share with your fundraisers how their efforts made a difference

OK, we’ve started…Now what?

•Arm your Supporters

•Add information to your website

•Identify a point person

•Put necessary resources in place

•Provide information that donors want to know

Incorporate it into your Existing Plan

Example Success Stories

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/12/community_group_raising_money.html

What Does FirstGiving Do?

The FirstGiving Fundraising Solutions

Online DonationsPeer-to-Peer Fundraising Pages

and Event Registrations

Personal Support for your Nonprofit, Donors, and Fundraisers.Easy, Tested, and Secure Transaction Processes for the Donor.

Success by the Numbers• 8,000+ nonprofits have utilized FirstGiving• 13 million+ online donors• 10+ years in business• 21 employees in the US

• Offices in Boston and San Francisco• 100+ employees worldwide

In Summary

•Don’t leave fundraising dollars on the table!

• Grassroots fundraising can and should be an integral part of your overall fundraising plan

• The more support you can offer your fundraisers, the better

• Be creative! Grassroots fundraising does not have to follow a certain formula

Important Takeaways

Questions?

Laura Reino, Sr. Sales Consultant

laura@firstgiving.com

415.243.0757

Sales inquiries: sales@firstgiving.com

Contact Guest Expert

Thank you for Attending!

For more information about Vivanista’s training, please visit

www.vivanista.com

or contact annie@vivanista.com