Springfield, MA (PRWEB) January 5, 2011
Fundraising troubles continue to plague the non-profit sector as many organizations report widespread declines in their contributions from fundraising events and other funding sources. Further complicating the situation is that most of these same non-profits are experiencing increased demand for their services.
A November 2010 study on fundraising prepared by GuideStar and their partners at The Non-Profit Research Collaborative, stated that decreases in charitable contributions proved to be the norm for charities in the Health, Public-Society Benefit, and Religion sectors. The study went on to say that these affected organizations were coping with the situation by implementing cut-backs in program services, operating hours, salaries, and personnel.
Joe DiDonato, author of "The Almanac of Fundraising Ideas," recounted similar woes at two of the charities where he has served as a board member. "The initial reaction for a Board is to cut-back sharply on programs and people. But that mindset assumes a limited number of venues to raise money for an organization." He believes that there are many ways to compensate for declining contributions by making simple changes to current fundraising events and strategies.
Mr. DiDonato recounted a similar budget crisis at one of the charities where he served as a board member. "They asked me to facilitate a budget shortfall subcommittee with representatives from our Fundraising Committee and the board. As preparation for the meeting, we reviewed a list of several hundred fundraising ideas and strategies that I had collected over the years." He summarized the results by saying, "It turned into one of the best planning sessions we ever had. We ended up developing 8 new ideas and strategies that could raise money in the next two quarters - and without overloading our staff and volunteers."
Mr. DiDonato hopes other fundraising committees will see similar results when using his book for brainstorming. "In addition to seeing ideas for re-structuring their current fundraising events, I'm also hoping that more non-profits will consider some of the other fundraising strategies detailed in the book, like Planned Giving venues or Cause-Related Marketing campaigns."
When asked why more organizations weren't considering these alternatives, he said, "I think the common misconceptions are that these strategies are too complicated, or that they're only for large non-profits." He pointed to several Planned Giving venues in the book that he said any non-profit or church could easily implement, as well as a sample Letter of Inquiry that worked for his organizations in Cause Marketing campaigns.
Mr. DiDonato said that in addition to describing how to do the events and providing new fundraising ideas to consider, he also wanted to show examples of successful events being run by other organizations. In order to accomplish that goal, the book was published in eBook format to take advantage of the internet. The eBook includes 100 video links to fundraising examples, which covers a majority of the fundraising ideas. Most of the videos are 5-minute snippets, but one video on Mobile Fundraising is an hour in length, and explains Text2Donate and Text2Pledge fundraising in depth. Also included are active links to website examples, suppliers, and several turnkey providers.
Three of the book excerpts on the eBook's website include a Bowl-A-Thon that raised over $90,000; a Golf Ball Drop fundraiser from a helicopter; and one mom's efforts to raise money for her daughter's Autism treatments by getting 99 women to help her put together a naked 'cheesecake' calendar.
One organization that will benefit directly by Mr. DiDonato's efforts is The Orphan Foundation. That non-profit will receive a $1 donation for every eBook sold. For more video examples and information about this eBook, visit FundraisingAlmanac.com.
Link to GuideStar Study: November 2010 Report on Fundraising
Author Biography: Joe DiDonato
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Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/01/prweb4939934.htm
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