Featured Fundraising Project Danielle

Danielle Suffers From Lymes Disease — Danielle, a wonderful, 23-year old, young woman who just found out that she has been suffering for the last two years with Lymes disease. At first, Danielle didn’t know what was wrong, and went to several doctors who told her she just had flu symptoms, but her symptoms kept getting worse — persistent fatigue; loss of concentration; numbness, tingling, and other odd sensations in her hands, arms, feet and legs, headaches, sleep disturbances and joint pains. She was once a thriving, intelligent and athletic young woman who has been so ill the last two years that she has hardly left her bed. She found a doctor who specializes in the treatment of Lymes Disease. Unfortunately, Danielle doesn’t have health insurance. Lymes disease, if treated quickly, can be cured with simple antibiotics. Unfortunately, Danielle is at stage 2 or 3 of the disease, and the drug treatment plan will consist of antibiotics and IV drips for several months. It is crucial that she start her treatments immediately. Not treating this disease will cause a lifetime of recurring symptoms. All donations will go toward payment of the doctor’s fees and medicines to cure her of this terrible disease. I was so happy to have found MicroGiving.com. It is a resource that reaches out to family and friends. MicroGiving.com is an avenue to hope. To read more about Danielle please visit: http://www.microgiving.com/profile/ldasaraf

How to Raise Money for any Need

Finding ways to raise money can be extremely challenging. Shortages of funds are not rare in this difficult economy, although at times, finding ways to raise money can be a daunting, if not seemingly impossible, task. Use MicroGiving to Raise Money for Special Projects There are many online sources that can help people raise money for a wide variety of causes.  The causes may include charity work, community, school or church events or projects; additional financial needs for transportation, school or home expenses; medical issues; utilities; hardship expenses; or personal projects including anything and everything from creating a giant wall mural to writing a book or recording a CD or taping a TV show.  Some may want to raise money to take vacations or find a new place to live.  With online resources such as MicroGiving, raising money does not have to be a pipe dream.  Using online tools can make those dreams a reality and have needs met that might otherwise be ignored. Raising money online does not necessarily mean that one is asking for a handout.  There are ways in which one can get money for a type of service or a prize.  For example, a page could present a raffle or tickets to a specific event, while others may want to offer artistic services or consultancy.

Discussing Ways to Raise Money

Discussing possible new and different ways to raise money can be frustrating for groups when trying to come up with unique ideas.  It is additionally difficult if left to one’s own devices.  Any group that is trying to raise money would be wise to consult someone – whether it is a volunteer, website or fundraising specialist – that has experience in this area.  There are always fellow volunteers or fundraisers, charitable organizations, public relations organizations, fundraising firms and/or other entities that have been involved in this process and may be able to offer valuable advise related to the smartest and best ways to organize an event or fundraiser, and to give information on the easiest ways to raise money for any given condition. Developing Ideas on Ways to Raise Money Creating new fundraising ideas can be daunting.  This is especially true if the organization has a history of holding annual or bi-annual fundraisers.  Although sometimes repeat fundraisers can be successful an organization should not operate the same kind of fundraiser that is underway or being planned by a similar organization. In order to develop and execute a successful fundraiser, then consult MicroGiving.  The site has many interesting and practical ways to raise money for a charity, project or cause.  Supporters of the fundraising effort may donate directly to the organization.  It is also easy for supporters to participate in various fundraising activities.

How to Raise Money for Individual Projects

There are many different options on how to raise money for charity groups but there are not as many for those that seek to raise funds on an individual basis.  Raising money is not always an easy task.  However, there are some ideas that are useful for individuals as well as groups.  Listed below are ways in which an individual can raise money to support a specific cause.  Some involve standard fundraising efforts while others are related to work. How to Raise Money if You are not a Charity Here are four simple money raising ideas: 1.    Hold a garage sale.  While this old standby may seem simple, garage sales can be very profitable, particularly if friends and neighbors pitch in with donated items.
2.    Sell items on eBay.  There are many people on eBay that seem willing to buy almost anything at a good price.  Sellers may be surprised at how easy it is to sell off unused items that may be collecting dust around the house.
3.    Hold a craft or bake sale.  As with a community garage sale, family, friends and neighbors are often willing to lend a hand by donating baked goods or crafts.
4.    Organize a benefit dinner.  Benefit dinners are often highly profitable and successful particularly if the food that will be served has been donated by a local business such as a restaurant.

Online Fundraising Tools

Online fundraising tools have become increasing popular with organizations seeking to raise funds for their charities, churches, schools, and personal projects and/or needs. Online fundraising has become a simple way to raise money as opposed to a traditional event because it takes less effort overall, involves fewer volunteers, and reaches many more people.  Supporters of the cause or project can simply log onto a website and donate without having to get into their cars, fight traffic, brave inclement weather or interrupt busy work days or valuable days off. Online Fundraising Applications Simplify Events In addition to fundraising websites, there are other sources to help organize fundraising projects.  There are separate companies that are designed to help create and promote campaigns.  While this may be a good idea or even necessary for large organizations or events, for the majority of the population, it is not necessary.  In fact, many of these companies might not be non-profit and could end up charging a significant percentage or a large overall amount to provide services that are available on MicroGiving for free.  Fundraisers can follow the simple steps provided by the website to get started.  Designing a campaign for a worthy project is easy.  Help and FAQ may be received through the help function or by speaking with a customer service representative.  Following this process can save a great deal of the hard earned donations and financial support.

Simple Fundraiser Ideas

It is not always easy to brainstorm and develop new fundraiser ideas – ones that will raise the most money with the least amount of stress and effort on behalf of the volunteers and/or organizers. If looking for simple and effective fundraiser ideas, the best way to do this is to ask around and observe what other local charities have done when planning their fundraisers.  Most fundraisers are eager to help others by exchanging ideas and advice on what steps to take to make the most of a fundraiser. Easy and Fun Ideas for a Fundraiser A highly effective fundraiser for small groups and charities is a charity dinner.  Spaghetti is often the food of choice because it is very inexpensive and there are many cases in which grocery stores or restaurant food supply companies or distributors will agree to donate the products necessary to make the fundraiser a success.  Even if donations are sparse, the margin of profit with this type of fundraiser is often quite high. As with any fundraiser, advertising is the key.  Exposure is an important aspect to holding a successful fundraiser and word of mouth and social media are still the best ways to advertise a fundraiser.  However, organizations may offer additional resources to spread the word about a charity dinner or other fundraiser, resources that a small community charity or organization may not have.  Organizations should also make use of online contacts.

Most Profitable Fundraisers

High-end profits are the main purpose of holding fundraisers as they are the most effective way to raise money and garner support for any community organization, school, charity or church group.  Fundraisers fall into one of four categories: non-profit/charity, school, sports and church/community. Non-Profit/Charity Fundraisers Non-Profit/ charity organizations are by far the most diverse group.  Non-profit/charity groups may range from animal rescue to children’s programs to community clean up and beyond.  Therefore, the choices for this type of fundraiser must also be diverse.  Potential fundraisers may include selling candy or magazines, selling advertising in a specific publication, offering community discount cards or benefit concerts. School Fundraisers School fundraisers are the biggest part of the fundraising industry.  The issue raised by school fundraisers is that the ages of the participating children tend to vary widely; therefore, the fundraiser must be organized in such as way that all of them can participate. Sports Fundraisers Sports fundraisers are held for many different reasons, including raising money to cover  uniforms, expenses of buying programs, maintaining a sports field or sending the team to away games. Church Group/Community Fundraisers When it comes to meeting operational expenses, churches are often forced to depend on fundraisers.  Communities often face many of the same challenges as churches when no public funds are available.  Both groups may have difficulty with repeat fundraisers, which is why creativity is so important.

Hardship Fundraiser Ideas

Finding and developing innovative fundraiser ideas is not an easy task.  Many people are the victims of hardships these days from financial issues to loss of loved ones.  Expenses can add up quickly when a loss of income is experienced and at times, it may seem that there is no solution.  Previously, people would rely on family and social services to raise money and much needed funds but now MicroGiving gives an additional opportunity to help those in need. Fundraiser Ideas for Hardship Needs There are many fundraiser ideas that can help people in this type of situation by raising a substantial amount of money.  People seeking ideas may consider holding a charity event such as a carnival, marathon or a raffle.  A raffle can easily raise a great deal of money – even thousands of dollars – just by getting people together to give donations in exchange for prizes.  The prizes may be donated by businesses, community groups or volunteers.  The bigger the prize, the more money one can charge for a ticket.  Some popular items chosen for a raffle may include baked goods, artwork, vehicles, experience days, celebrity autographs or handmade items such as crafts, including jewelry, pottery, quilts and Afghan rugs.  Of course, the better the item, the more money will be brought in.  Advertising the event or raffle on MicroGiving will help to pass the word around.

The Purpose of Fundraising

When considering why some organizations or charities resort to fundraising efforts, one might ask why so many agencies rely on fundraisers to support their work and/or causes.  Many may assume that there are private and public organizations that support non-profits or special causes.  While that may be true, the economy has caused a deficit in some of the programs that previously supported many non-profit organizations.  Therefore, the funds are not available for certain organizations to continue planned activities, or in some cases, continue to operate because operational costs are too high. While most projects are targeted toward a specific project such as raising funds for new school uniforms, bleachers for the high school football stadium or for a specific event such as a building fund for a new church or community center, there are some that focus more on operational costs. Extra Expenses Involved in Fundraising Most brick and mortar organizations have to pay overheads just like any other business.  There is typically rent or a mortgage to be paid, utility bills including gas, electric, water and phone.  There must be funds for office supplies and, of course, if there are any employees for the organization, they too must be paid.  Fundraising campaigns can serve all types of purposes depending on the group or individual, and those additional expenses should not be overlooked when creating a fundraising plan.

Tried and True Fundraising Ideas

In the days before the advent of the internet, traditional fundraising ideas might include pancake suppers, bake sales, raffles, auctions, carnivals or just straight donations.  Many companies relied on these fundraisers to support their charities, events or organizations.  In today’s society it is often difficult to get busy people to attend charity events and therefore, it may be harder to raise necessary funds.  Using the internet to put a new twist on traditional fundraising as an innovative way to support those events, projects and agencies – often with much less effort. Using Online Programs to Support Traditional Fundraising Ideas One might wonder how this could be done.  The use of online programs to perfect traditional fundraising ideas for your charity is not that difficult.  However, there are some fundraisers that will not work online, such as a bake sale or carnival.  However, a charity or organization can sell tickets to specific events, hold raffles, craft sales, art auctions and arrange other events with the same amount of success.  In fact, the level of success will undoubtedly be higher since the online access allows more people to support the charity, cause or project from any location and at any time that is convenient to them. The most important thing is deciding which type of fundraising ideas are most suited to your needs and adapt it to an online format.