Fundraising Tip: Four Fundraising Actions That Have Worked for Me This Year

Each week in June, I’m going to share one.

Hi everyone!

I have thought a lot about what I wanted to write for June and July, typically the slowest months in nonprofit fundraising. For June, I decided to share four stories about fundraising actions that worked for me so far this year, with the intent of sharing one each week.

This year, I did a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign in celebration of my 60th Birthday. It was a fundraiser for Survivor Justice Center, one of my favorite nonprofits. I have done many of these, yet this one brought back to me the power of the peer-to-peer fundraiser. Not just the power, but all it can do for the nonprofit.

I ended up raising just over $2,000 for Survivor Justice Center. Aside from the donations that came in, many of those who donated to my campaign were new donors, and we all know the value of new donors! As with many personal fundraising campaigns, people whom I never thought of as donating to a birthday fundraiser donated. In fact, half of those who donated were people whom I would not have thought of wanting to give to a fundraiser of mine.

Although many friends and family already knew of my love for this org, I was able to talk even more about the mission and why I love their work so much.

I loved spending the month of February talking to so many about why I love Survivor Justice Center. I loved taking a day in March to write personal thank-you cards, a follow-up to the phone call I made to each person as their donation showed up.

I had one of my colleagues set up the fundraiser through our Neon One database. She set it up, and then I added the copy and photos. It was all very simple, as if Neon had really thought this through.

The whole experience made me want to shout from the rooftop about how awesome peer-to-peer fundraising can be. I’ve consistently talked about it since my campaign.

A peer-to-peer campaign can be for your birthday, another special day, a holiday, or just because you want to raise funds for your favorite nonprofit. If you’re in nonprofit fundraising, these types of campaigns can change your budget. Imagine 100+ supporters doing a campaign. Imagine all of the new donors and new potential relationships your nonprofit could have!

I’m going to do another one for my 61st birthday. I’d love to hear about yours!

Thank you for reading.

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Take a risk. Be of service. Support your friends and colleagues. Be kind.