mnetwrks for nonprofits marketplace: opportunities … · and the logical next question—how can...

Mnetwrks / Fundraising on eBay / Holden & Finlayson / 226248-6 / Chapter 1 blind folio 1

Part IMastering the eBay Marketplace: Opportunities for Nonprofits

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Chapter 1Why eBay? A Guide for Nonprofits

Since 2000, more than $45 million has been raised for nonprofit organizations from listings sold on eBay.

—Kristin Cunningham, eBay

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4 Fundraising on eBay

Mnetwrks / Fundraising on eBay / Holden & Finlayson / 226248-6 / Chapter 1

What We’ll Cover in This Chapter: ● Understanding why eBay is a great place for nonprofits

● Following a typical eBay transaction

● Assessing the goals of your fundraising effort

● Joining eBay’s giving community

eBay offers nonprofits of all sizes an innovative and efficient way to reach a huge audience and bring needed funds and support to their cause. Whether you represent a city, museum, library, school, church, scout troop, sports team, or other nonprofit organization, eBay can help you raise money to achieve your fundraising mission. How do we know? Many nonprofits are already using eBay. You may have seen the high-profile charity auctions celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres, Oprah Winfrey, and Jay Leno hold. From the Giving Works page on eBay (http://pages.ebay.com/givingworks/index.html, shown in Figure 1-1) you can check out the ongoing auctions by large nonprofits such as the American Red Cross, UNICEF, and the Points of Light Foundation. What you may have missed are the innovative auctions benefiting small nonprofits such as Ratbone Rescues (which helps find homes for abandoned Rat Terriers), St. Mary’s School (a Catholic parish school), Atkinson, Nebraska (a small, rural town of 1,200 people), and a myriad of other small nonprofit organizations. All these organizations have found eBay a great way to raise the funds they need.

This chapter addresses three questions you likely have on your mind:

● Why fundraise online?

● Why use eBay?

● Why are nonprofits turning to eBay?

And the logical next question—How can your nonprofit fundraise on eBay?—will be answered by this book. Not only will the answers we provide inspire you, but they will also give you the information you need to be able to convince others in your organization to give it a try. It can be challenging to introduce new ways to fundraise, but if you have some good answers it will be easier for you to evangelize or sell the idea to those in your organization who may be less familiar with eBay than you.

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CHAPTER 1: Why eBay? A Guide for Nonprofits 5


Why Online Fundraising?Online giving is the next big thing for nonprofits. Internet donations totaled more than $123 million in 2002, triple the donations from the year before, and this trend continues exponentially as the adoption of the Internet and

FIGURE 1-1 Giving Works is the part of eBay dedicated to helping nonprofit institutions raise funds.

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broadband/high-speed access grows and peoples’ comfort level with online transactions increases. According to The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s 2004 annual survey of online fundraising, “Online giving to the country’s largest charities surged in 2003, as many groups posted double- and triple-digit percentage gains,” and smaller organizations are achieving similar increases through online donation processing sites such as Groundspring.org (which saw 167 percent increase in donations Q1 2004 over Q1 2003), Networkforgood.org (whose number of donors doubled to 80,000 in 2003 from 40,000 in 2002), and Justgive.org (which handled $6.4 million in donations in 2003 up from $893,000 the previous year).

Why eBay?Fundraising events work best when the merchandise being offered appeals to all sections of society. When you’re looking to appeal to all of society, eBay is the place to be. eBay works because it’s a marketplace that appeals to everyone. When Pierre Omidyar launched the site as AuctionWeb in 1995, it quickly gained acceptance because it gave people around the world a central location to purchase and sell items. By using the Internet, sellers get a worldwide audience for their merchandise. That applies whether sellers are hoping to make a few extra dollars, whether they are running a part- or full-time business on eBay, or whether they are raising funds for a cause.

The Growth of Online GivingIn the last presidential campaign, “Small contributions nearly tripled between 2000 and 2004, from $46 million to $123 million. This $77 million increase in small contributions accounts for 33 percent of the total increase in money between 2000 and 2004. Another way of putting this is that the Internet may well have been almost as important this year as the increased contribution limit.”

—National Campaign Finance Institute, May 25, 2004

“The growing amount of money collected through the Internet has forced many nonprofit leaders to reevaluate their attitude toward online fundraising and its importance to their organizations,” says Madeline Stanionis, a fundraising consultant in San Francisco. “People are sitting up and paying attention,” she says. “Organizations, especially large organizations, are now putting online fundraising revenue into their budget. Before it was such a small percentage it was gravy, and now it’s a line item.”

—The Chronicle of Philanthropy, June 10, 2004

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Today, eBay has become part of the current social fabric; for example, it’s featured on David Letterman’s Top Ten lists, and woven into King of the Hill and many other TV show story lines. By offering items for sale on eBay, you can raise substantially more than if you offer the same items up for auction to those who attend your live event in a school gymnasium or other location. eBay has the potential to turn local, personal causes into global events.

The Size and Scope of the eBay MarketplaceWhen you solicit donations and recruit volunteers, it pays to know a few things about the power of adding eBay to your fundraising mix. Passing along some facts about the size of the auction marketplace can help build interest and enthusiasm for your event. The eBay marketplace involves $34 billion dollars in annual transactions and more than 135 million users worldwide. To break that down into numbers that are easier to grasp, you are looking at a marketplace where, on average, more than 16,000 power tools sell each week, 258 cash registers sell every day, 43 Coach handbags sell each hour, 1 sports utility vehicle (SUV) sells every 7 minutes, 1 high- definition TV sells every 5 minutes, 1 pair of basketball sneakers sells every 2 minutes, 1 kitchen small appliance sells every minute, and 1 cell phone sells every 20 seconds. It can be hard to comprehend that a car a minute sells on eBay and that more cars are sold on eBay before 9 A.M. than an average dealership sells in a year. But it’s true.

What you may be less aware of is that more than 500 charitable organizations have already sold items on eBay and, according to Kristin Cunningham, who runs eBay’s Giving Works, “Since 2000, more than $45 million has been raised for nonprofit organizations from listings sold on eBay.” Not only are nonprofits selling on eBay themselves, but also eBay in partnership with MissionFish allows anyone to sell and select a nonprofit to receive part or all of the proceeds from the sale of the item(s). In February 2005, eBay added icing to the cake by deciding to donate the eBay selling fees to charity when a seller donates 100 percent of an item’s final sale price to a certified nonprofit.

Why Being a Nonprofit MattersYou might ask yourself: Why not have people sell things by themselves and then just donate the cash amount of the proceeds to your charity? There are several reasons. First, if they’re like us, they have tons of things that have been sitting in their closets for years but there never seems to be the time to pull them out and either donate or sell them. Having a fundraising event may be just the impetus they need to drag the stuff out. Second, if they do sell the items themselves, they may decide to keep part or all of

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eBay Sets a New Standard for Corporate GivingBefore the company even went public, eBay trail blazed a new standard in corporate philanthropy by donating company stock before going public to create a foundation to give back to the community. The foundation was created to extend eBay’s goal of empowering people to improve their lives and communities. It was also designed from the beginning to foster employee involvement in philanthropic efforts and, indeed, the first eBay Foundation governance committees were staffed by employees. Today, the Foundation also has matching grant programs that foster employee donations and, more important, foster active volunteer participation in nonprofit efforts grants. Its Champion a Charity program enables eBay employees to recommend nonprofit organizations for Foundation funding.

The eBay Foundation has contributed more than $8 million to nonprofit organizations. The types of organizations the Foundation supports have ranged over the years as the Foundation refines its focus. Overall the focus is on funding organizations that give people the tools or knowledge they needed to make a difference in their communities. Early grant recipients were in the areas of Kids (education, mentoring, esteem), Adults (education, job retraining, volunteerism), and Community (economic revitalization, community improvement). The first grant was given to Friends of Farm Drive, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for the residents of a San Jose, California, neighborhood facing drug dealing and gang activity issues. The grant helped them establish a summer program targeting “high-risk” youth, ages 14 through 20, and a computer learning center where volunteers offered technical instruction to adults and youth.

Today the eBay Foundation focuses on funding innovative programs primarily in microenterprise development. Examples include Lenders for Community Development, which provides microloan, training, and savings programs for low-income entrepreneurs; One Economy, which supports entrepreneurs looking to start new businesses or grow an existing one; and the Grameen Foundation, which eBay recognized for best practices in microcredit. The eBay Foundation no longer accepts unsolicited funding requests, but rather seeks out nonprofit partners where the Foundation’s support can make a significant difference.

Images reproduced with the permission of eBay Inc. COPYRIGHT © EBAY INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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the proceeds. It can be hard to part with cash once it’s in your hands. And third, charity auctions often raise more money than “regular” auctions because buyers are willing to pay a bit more for an item if they know it’s for a good cause.

eBay’s Giving Works partner, MissionFish, conducted an informal study that found what you’d probably intuitively guess: charity items receive, on average, more bids and higher final selling prices than comparable items that are not for charity. Cunningham points out that, “Sellers who donate all or a portion of their sales proceeds to a nonprofit are experiencing, on average, 40 percent higher sales prices and 50 percent higher sell-through rates.”And to top it all off, eBay promotes nonprofit auctions listed through MissionFish with a special page on eBay and a charity icon so people can find those items more easily. So let’s get out there and start shaking the proverbial trees to make money for your cause.

How Does eBay Work?If you or your board members have never bought or sold on eBay before, you’ll need to understand, and be able to explain, how eBay works. eBay is the world’s largest virtual marketplace. In some ways it’s like a giant online garage sale. But at this garage sale, people can shop from home and buy new items as well as used things. And the sellers, including individuals, companies, and retailers, can be located anywhere in the world. eBay, once seen only as an online auction site where you had to bid for everything, now allows buyers to purchase items at a fixed price. eBay makes its money by receiving a commission on all sales transactions. This includes a small listing fee when you list the item for sale, optional upgrade and online payment fees, and a final value fee—a small percentage of the final selling price, which you are charged only if the item sells. Generally, these add up to 5–10 percent of the final selling price.

Let’s walk through a typical transaction. Jane Seller lists an Excellent Item for sale on eBay from her computer in her home. Joe Buyer searches eBay from the comfort of his lovely home computer (or office computer

Beyond the employee programs and foundation grants, however, the eBay Foundation has special grant-making initiatives that give eBay users the opportunity to suggest nonprofits important to them for Foundation funding. For example, in December 2003, eBay community members were invited to recommend a nonprofit serving homeless families and children for a Foundation grant as part of a Holiday Grant Program. So watch for future initiatives on the eBay Foundation web site (www.ebay.com/foundation).

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if no one is looking), and finds the Excellent Item using eBay’s keyword search or by browsing categories of items for sale. Upon finding the Excellent Item, Joe Buyer places a bid on the item (or buys the item outright if it’s listed with a fixed price). When the listing closes and Joe Buyer is the winning bidder, he sends the payment to Jane Seller. Jane receives the payment and ships the item to Joe. Joe and Jane leave feedback for each other telling other future buyers how the transaction went. Bam! That’s it in a nutshell. But it is a very powerful concept because it connects buyers and sellers and provides a marketplace where small and large sellers can compete for buyers on an even playing field. The seller with the best price, product, and service will prevail.

Why Is eBay Good for Nonprofits?What makes eBay particularly useful for nonprofits? Beyond the general size of the marketplace, one of the main reasons eBay is such a fantastic tool for nonprofits specifically is that an event on eBay can accomplish more than simply raising dollars. A fundraiser on eBay can, and in fact should, achieve several goals with a single fundraising event.

eBay donates pre-IPO shares to establish the

eBay Foundation.

1998

BMW auctions the first BMW X5 Sports Activity Vehicle that comes off the line,

raising $159,000 for the Komen Foundation.

1999 2000 2001

Rosie O’Donnell raises more than $1.5 million for her charity, For All

Kids, by the end of the year.

Chivas Regal celebrates its 200th birthday, auctioning experiences such as

space adventures and ballooning with

Branson, raising £500,000 for charities.

eBay’s Auction for America campaign to benefit those affected

by 9/11 raises $10 million in just 100 days.

Highlights of Philanthropy on eBay

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The power of the Internet enables individuals and businesses to reach a wide audience and accomplish many goals with a single web site, a communications effort, or a fundraiser. It’s a good idea to draw up all of your organization’s goals before you start selling. You might find that the way you describe your items and communicate with high bidders can affect more than your bottom line. It can improve your public image as well. The following sections look at some of the goals an eBay fundraising program can achieve.

Raise FundsWhether it’s an urgent one-time capital project or an ongoing need for operating expenses, raising funds is one of the biggest issues for many nonprofits. So why add eBay to your traditional fundraising efforts? The eBay community is caring and has a long history of philanthropy. It’s also a powerful and concentrated group of buyers. Selling on eBay allows you to leverage the Internet, in-kind donations, and low start-up costs to go where the people are and where the money is. With the total value of goods and services traded on eBay worldwide reaching more than $34.2 billion in 2004—that’s more than $1,085 changing hands per second on eBay—there is no question that nonprofits should get a piece of this action too!

Mattel celebrates Matchbox’s 50th

anniversary with the auction of a one-of-a-kind gold fire engine,

which sells for $27,450, the most expensive single toy to sell on

eBay, benefitting Ronald McDonald

Houses.

MATCHBOX® is a trademark owned by and used with

permission from Mattel, Inc. ©2005 Mattel, Inc. All Rights

Reserved.

2002

Oprah Winfrey’s first eBay charity auctions raise $83,000 for her

Angel Network.

eBay launches its Giving Works program

to help facilitate and promote charity auctions on eBay.

2003 2004 2005

A Channel Tunnel drill sells for £40,000 and benefits nurses and hospices in the U.K.

Ellen DeGeneres begins holding charity auctions on eBay with a one-of-a-kind Vespa,

selling for $25,100 to benefit Peace

Games; and bedding with Ellen’s likeness, providing $18,500 to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

eBay announces it will donate listing and final value fees for charity

auctions when 100% of auction proceeds go to a

nonprofit.

Jay Leno’s Bartels’ Harley-Davidson

celebrity-autographed motorcycle sells for a record $800,100 and

benefits tsunami relief efforts.

Reproduced with the permission of eBay Inc.

COPYRIGHT © EBAY INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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eBay Sparks a New Fundraising CrazePeople quickly found that they could auction items off and donate the proceeds to charity. Some of the earliest big charity auctions include Bids Help Kids by Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), which auctioned off Hollywood memorabilia to benefit a variety of children’s charities; the first BMW X5 Sports Activity Vehicle off the factory line, which brought in $159,000 for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation; the Millennium Dress charity auction for ovarian cancer; and the New Langton Arts charity auction for emerging artists. In July 2000, eBay UK hosted an auction of handbags owned by personalities, including Jerry Hall and Margaret Thatcher, whose handbag fetched the enormous sum of £100K, for the charity Breast Cancer Care. eBay promoted these auctions by featuring them on the home page or category pages.

When September 11, 2001 occurred, CEO Meg Whitman took the unprecedented step of mobilizing the company and the community to raise donations for those impacted by the tragic event. Auction for America was born and gave the community an outlet for its grief and a venue to demonstrate its compassion and resolve. It required radical changes to the site and the efforts of many employees to make it happen and happen fast. Within weeks of the disaster, sellers could sell items and have part or all of the proceeds go directly to the charity of their choice, including the American Red Cross and eventually many others. eBay solicited and promoted donations from corporations and celebrities. By the end of the event, eBay had facilitated an outpouring of giving by more than 100,000 people totaling $10 million in just 100 days.

When the tsunami hit in December 2004, eBay once again responded by going beyond providing a simple connection to donors for charities. The company provided a giving page aiding buyers wishing to donate or help out where the proceeds from the items they bought would go to charity. This effort was mirrored at eBay’s localized sites around the globe, including eBay Germany, which launched a joint effort with Deutsche Post to collect items to be sold on eBay for the relief effort, and eBay.in, eBay’s site in India, which committed one month of generated fees to the relief efforts. PayPal, eBay’s online payment

According the eBay Fact Sheet (12/31/2004), twelve of eBay’s categories each generate $1 billion or more in worldwide annualized GMV (gross merchandise

value): eBay Motors ($11.1 billion); Consumer Electronics ($3.5 billion); Computers ($3.0 billion); Clothing & Accessories ($2.9 billion); Books/Movies/Music ($2.4 billion); Collectibles ($2.2 billion); Home & Garden ($2.0 billion); Sports ($1.8 billion); Toys ($1.8 billion); Jewelry & Watches ($1.7 billion); Cameras & Photo ($1.3 billion); and Business & Industrial ($1.2 billion).

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Increase AwarenessWith all those millions of eyes cruising eBay, it should come as no surprise that selling on eBay can be a great way to increase awareness for your cause or mission. You might regard each listing as a poster that lets people know who you are and why you are raising money. On your own page on eBay, you can describe your organization, its goals and accomplishments, link to your web site, and even share best practices so others learn and benefit

solution, reported that PayPal users donated more than $775,000 to UNICEF through a link on its site.

eBay has gone on to support and provide a marketplace for charity auctions from the very small to the very large. From 2001, when eBayers had the opportunity to meet Jack of Jack in the Box restaurant fame at a benefit event for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and the chance to bid on celebrity donated “little black dresses” in Avon’s Little Black Dress Against Breast Cancer to 2004, when Jay Leno, Oprah Winfrey, and Ellen DeGeneres held charity auctions, eBay has played host to a variety of unique charity fundraisers. We’ll profile a range of nonprofit fundraisers in this book, but take a look at the “Highlights of Philanthropy on eBay” timeline on the previous page spread to see more of the milestone charity efforts that have occurred on eBay.

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from your programs. Not only that, if your organization has T-shirts, hats, or other merchandise with your name and logo on them, eBay can be a great place to sell those items as well. The result: You have walking billboards in towns across the country. You can even put your nonprofit’s brochure or bumper sticker in the shipping box with your sold auction items so that your buyers can learn about you and spread the word about your cause.

Find New DonorsThe more you sell and the more interesting your items are, the more people will find you on eBay and learn about your cause. Every time someone buys an item from you, you have the chance to invite the buyer to join your mailing list and become a future donor. In addition to selling items on eBay, you can also directly “sell” donations. By offering a $50 donation at a fixed price, people can simply buy a donation and pay online instantly. Or you can be more creative and sell what the donation will provide. For example a nonprofit might give bidders the opportunity to buy “school supplies for 50 needy children” for $35. It’s another great way to spread the word about what you do and find new donors.

Convert In-kind Gifts to CashAny gift or donated item is appreciated, but when you really need cold, hard cash, eBay is the answer. Whether a Cal alumnus bequeaths a large boat to her alma mater, UC Berkeley, in her will or a person in your community walks into your local charity’s office to donate used clothes and toys, only some (not all) of these items may be useful to the nonprofit’s mission. Some items may even cost nonprofit organizations money to maintain or store. eBay allows you to put these items to good use by converting them to cash. It also helps you provide a receipt for the actual value of the donation. Besides, eBay is perhaps the fastest way to sell these unneeded items so you can start putting dollars toward the things you really need because many items sell at auction in just seven days once you list them on eBay.

Achieve Market Value for DonationsIf you auction off items at a black tie ball or other special event, the numbers of bidders and interested buyers is directly limited by the number of people attending the event. By opening your bidding up to a larger community, you’re more likely to achieve market prices or better for your goods.

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On eBay, only two people need to want an item for bidding to be driven up, and finding the only two people in the world who want that item can happen on eBay. For example, an old wooden San Francisco hotel coat hanger sold for more than $75 because there was a San Francisco collector bidding against a hotel memorabilia collector. For rare or hard to find items, collectors recognize the value of these items and are willing to bid the amount they know is appropriate whereas local buyers may bid less, not knowing the item’s true market value. And, remember, just because those squat lamps look ugly to you, it doesn’t mean they wouldn’t be the perfect kitsch finishing touch to a retro apartment in New York City. The old adage “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure” is borne out time and time again on eBay.

Generate Positive PRWhen Chicago wanted to raise money for an art museum, the city took the opportunity to not only raise money but also to showcase Chicago and what a great city it is. From shining a spotlight on local celebrities to touting the unique restaurants and city events, the items the city sold on eBay became a living advertisement for why you should visit Chicago. Even decommissioned city parking meters and manhole covers painted by local artists became unmatched Chicago memorabilia for devotees of the Windy City, including those Chicagoans who had moved away from their beloved city.

Similarly, eBay offers you the chance to show off what is unique in your organization and to demonstrate what your members can accomplish. You may find you are be able to show off the work of individuals your nonprofit helps, such as by selling donated artwork if you’re a modern art museum, or kids’ artwork if your programs mentor children. An eBay fundraiser is also a great reason to send out press releases showing the world how members of your organization came together to make the auction possible and how the money raised will be used to make a difference in people’s lives. An online auction is also the perfect opportunity to announce a new service or facility, or to publicize a report on your organization’s accomplishments.

Involve the Whole CommunitySome people cannot afford to part with cash, but everyone has items in their closets that they haven’t touched in many years. A 2004 ACNielsen study on unused household items showed that most households have a thousand dollars worth of items that they could part with—from handbags and power

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tools, to used cell phones and video games they no longer use. Even those who feel they have nothing to donate can participate by helping collect, list, or ship the items. (Children and teenagers are a great, often computer savvy, resource and they may find themselves working side by side with retired senior citizens.) In this way, you’re not just asking those who are relatively well off for money but rather allowing everyone to share in the accomplishment.

Educate the Community and Provide Job SkillsHave you ever dreamed of starting your own business? Are there small businesses in your town that have been meaning to start selling online? Did you know some high schools offer entrepreneurship classes for their students? And did you know that as many as 430,000 folks in America make a full time or part-time living selling on eBay? By teaching volunteers how to use eBay, you may be opening up a new career door for them. With selling online job skills, people can start their own companies or supplement

eBay’s Giving CommunityMore than being a collection of buyers, eBay is a community of givers. Both the eBay company and community have a long history of philanthropy. From the creation of the eBay Foundation to the ongoing promotion of charity auctions, eBay has showcased and encouraged philanthropic efforts.

Consider the origins of eBay itself. At its core, the company is about empowering people. When he started eBay, Pierre Omidyar envisioned a marketplace that would leverage the Internet to connect people with common interests and allow individuals to run their own businesses and compete on an even playing field against other businesses regardless of their size. It did more than that. From the early days, eBay enabled a variety of people to create their own jobs, flex around child-care demands, stop receiving welfare and disability assistance, and start making their own living selling on eBay.

One of the reasons for eBay’s success is its trust in the community and its belief that people are basically good. The strength and compassion of the community was demonstrated from the start. Did you know that the first customer support representatives were hired from people in the community who were already on the chat boards helping others use the site out of the goodness of their hearts? This personality typified what would become known as being eBaysian. The term suggests both a sense of fair play, equality, and community spirit.

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their income through online selling. This can have a lasting economic impact on both the individuals and their communities, especially in small rural towns or economically challenged areas where job opportunities may be limited. In some small towns, it could be the difference between people staying in their hometowns and people having to leave to find better jobs or bigger locations for their businesses.

Another example of this spirit is one of the earliest chat boards that sprang up on eBay, the Giving Board:

The Giving Works Board was, and still is, a place eBay members use to help others. Whether a child looses a cherished Beanie Baby in a house fire and someone sends a replacement for free, or needy families request specific items during the holidays, this board has a long history of people helping out folks in need. Now you, too, have the chance to tap into this generous like-minded community of eBay users.

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Leverage the Global MarketplaceAnother reality and challenge those in fundraising face is asking the same

people over and over for donations. By selling online, you invite people outside your community or donor base to send dollars to

your town or organization. If you think about bake sales or local offline auctions, it’s really just the same money changing hands, whereas having buyers from around the world truly brings in “new money.” For Atkinson, Nebraska, a rural town of just 1,200 people, this meant bringing in more than $12,000—in a matter of a few short weeks—and the majority of that money came from people who live far from the

townspeople’s front doorsteps.

Liquidate Old Equipment, Clear Unneeded Inventory

Does your organization have furniture or equipment it no longer wants because they’ve been replaced by newer items or are

no longer needed? Do you have logo merchandise that’s gathering dust? What do you need to get rid of? One small town needed to sell a fire truck! The state of California found a warehouse full of boxes that had been untouched for years; Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger realized that not only were these items unneeded, but also that simply maintaining the warehouse was costing the state money. He had the state sell many of the items on eBay, then got rid of the warehouse, too. As you can see, such “found money” is also a great way to get rid of clutter, free up space in crowded offices, and discover a potential source of cost savings.

Further Your MissionWhy not use this fundraising effort to further your organizations primary objectives? If you’re a town, why not work with the Main Street retailers to promote their stores and drive foot traffic to their businesses by making their stores drop off points for donations? Or perhaps you could showcase a few of the high-end items from your auction in their stores? How about promoting their stores by having them donate and auction off some of the exciting new items they carry? If you’re a museum, why not auction off a year membership or private tour? This way you gain new members and promote visiting the museum.

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Have Fun and Be CreativeBooks and written instructions can’t convey the experience of selling something on eBay. The fact is, selling on eBay can be a lot of fun. There is nothing like watching the price zoom up in the final seconds of an auction or receiving questions from a collector across the globe. There is the unexpected surprise when something that you couldn’t make someone buy for $0.50 at a flea market soars past $50.00 dollars on eBay. But perhaps the most fun can come from being creative and coming up with surprising and amusing things to sell. Why just auction off antiques when you can auction off the chance to lead the town parade, cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony for a new library, turn on the holiday tree lights, take a tour of the museum with the curator, go on a special backstage tour at a theater, or hold a birthday party at a zoo? An auction on eBay is still a local event, albeit on a global platform, so part of the fun is coming up with local experiences and items that will get your community buzzing and bidding.

What Are Your Goals?Here’s a handy recap of the previous sections. Check all that apply:

❒ Raise funds

❒ Increase awareness

❒ Find new donors

❒ Convert in-kind gifts to cash

❒ Achieve market value for donations

❒ Generate positive PR

❒ Involve whole community

❒ Educate community and provide job skills

❒ Bring in cash from outside your donor base

❒ Clearance of unused equipment or inventory

❒ Further your nonprofit mission

❒ Have fun and be creative

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This chapter has introduced you to the eBay community and its philanthropic origins. In the next chapter, we will take a closer look at the ways nonprofits have been using eBay. Case studies are often the easiest way to understand what is possible. After that, we’ll show you how your nonprofit can get started. But for now, the key things to remember are

● eBay has a history of giving, and the community is generous and empathetic.

● Nonprofits should tap into the eBay marketplace because it is so very large, and both online giving and buying are increasing exponentially each year.

● Charity auctions bring in as much as 40 percent more, on average, than comparable noncharity items.

● Using eBay for fundraising allows nonprofits to achieve multiple goals. Rather than only raising dollars, nonprofits may, at the same time, be able to increase awareness for their cause, find new donors, and more.

● eBay allows nonprofits to tap a global marketplace and bring in dollars from outside their membership or community.

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mnetwrks for nonprofits marketplace: opportunities … · and the logical next question—how can...

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