Category Archives: Fundraising

DonorCommunity CSO Eric Block on their partnership with Planned Growth

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„Clients inevitably need both software and services. As partners, we can address both requirements.”

The partnership between Donor Community, a developer of a cloud computing platform specifically targeted at nonprofit organizations, and Planned Growth, a fundraising and sales consultancy for nonprofits was announced a few days ago in late November. According to the alliance, Donor Community was named Planned Growth’s exclusive provider of fundraising and CRM platform, while Planned Growth, in turn, became Donor Community’s exclusive content development partner. Both companies hope that  their newly forged parnership may bring both services to whole new levels.

Donor Community CSO Eric Block: Together, we provide the software and services client need for a dynamic and interesting Website

Donor Community CSO Eric Block: Together, we provide the software and services client need for a dynamic and interesting Website

„We first learned about Planned Growth when The Boys and Girls Club of Broward retained them to perform an in-depth technical evaluation of the DonorCommunity platform,” Eric Block, the Chief Strategy Officer of DonorCommunity Inc. tells Fundraisr.org when asked about the background and history of the cooperation between the companies. „The Club had already decided that we offered the most comprehensive and cost-effective solution. But, they wanted to be sure our cloud computing technology had the stability and scalability they would need long-term. After a lengthy evaluation. Planned Growth endorsed our cloud computing technology and recommended that the Club become a DonorCommunity subscriber.”

According to Block, the first steps were made by Planned Growth shorty after this evaluation, back in October, 2011. „Planned Growth was so impressed with our software that they approached us soon afterwards about forming an alliance. We were happy to agree, since they provide the kinds of surround services our clients often request. We’re also glad to have Planned Growth offer DonorCommunity as their exclusive fundraising and CRM solution,” he told us referring to the mutual nature of the agreement.

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Mary J. Blige, O.A.R. perform at Virgin Unite’s 5th annual Rock the Kasbah fundraiser

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Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Unite (the philanthropic branch of the Virgin empire) Rocked the Kasbah for the fifth time in Los Angeles on Wednesday night. Rock the Kasbah is named after a location in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, where the Virgin Group owns property, and where the Eve Branson Foundation focusses its effort. The annual fundraiser of the charity organization took place in the heart of Hollywood, bringing A-listers both on stage and among the audience.

The charity dinner was attended by Branson’s 90 year old mother Eve, will.i.am, Genena Davis, Paris Hilton, Natalie Imbruglia, the Pussycat Dolls and a few members of the Saudi Royal Family, while the performers at the event included Grammy-winning R&B singer Mary J. Blige and indie rock group O.A.R. Mary J Blige’s 4-song set was definitely the highlight and the main performance of the evening, especially as her set included her well-known cover of U2’s „One”, that brought the audience to its feet at the end of the dinner. Australian actress and singer Natalie Imbruglia, who is known to be a long-time supporter of Richard Branson’s charity actions, also took the stage, to dance next to Mary J Blige. While other performers, O.A.R. and Pussycat Dolls also appeared on stage, the main focus of the evening was set at raising money for the children of Morocco, where, not surprisingly, the Branson empire owns property. Continue reading →

Chelsea Clinton wows Big Sister Association audience: „Life is a team sport”

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Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton (31) left the crowd of the Big Sister Association’s charity event speechless with her eloquence, when talking about her late grandmother, Dorothy Rodham, and praising the evening’s honoree, Democratic donor and well-known philanthropist Elain Schuster, The Boston Globe reported.

Chelsea Clinton at the charity event of the Big Sister Association

Chelsea Clinton at the charity event of the Big Sister Association

„[My grandmother] built the home for her children that she had never had but that she had seen and could believe in. My mother is a product of my grandmother’s indominable spirit. (…) She knew deep in her core that she had finally transformed all of the challenges that she had confronted in life into values embedded in my mother, in my uncles, and in their children. And for my grandmother, until truly the last day, what was most fundamental to her was always paying it forward.” Chelsea was quoted as saying, when talking about her late grandmother. Dorothy Rodham died earlier this month, on Nov. 1, 2011.

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Branding boosts donations through emotional appeal Network of Good study finds

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Strong online branding of the charities make users give more and more frequently, by making emotional relationship between the donor and the recipient nonprofit – a new study commissioned by Network for Good and True Sense Marketing concludes. According to the study, the connection that is made between the organization and the donor matters to users at least as much as the connection between the user and the cause the money is granted for.

The study found that, due to the branding efforts these charities make both online and offline, charity websites themselves draw the highest amounts in donations – some $180 as an average initial donation, and a cumulative $257 over the time period between 2007 and 2009.

Giving portals, that feature handy tools for users to find causes (and organizations) aligned with the users’ interests only came second with an initial gift of $120 and $168 as an average cumulative donation over the same time period.

While social networking sites, such as Facebook or Twitter continue to gain significance, were found to be a little less effective, due to their looser connections with charities and users. Average donations were $113 as initial donation and only $127 as cumulative donations, the study observes.

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BP, Buffet, Gates under siege, and why your nonprofit should watch out for tablet computers

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The non-profit, fund-raising and CSR scene of the web this week was largely dominated by two major stories: The proposal of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet to billionaires to give at least half of their wealths to charity, and the continuous smashing of oil giant British Petroleum following the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The company is faced with its previous CSR policies, communication and its possible bankrupcy, while the recovery efforts that take place in the Gulf of Mexico are broadly covered in the media and on the internet as well.

Our weekly coverage of the web’s nonprofit sphere.

Let’s start out with the idea of Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates, that billionaires such as themselves should give at least half their wealths to charity. Both Buffet and the Gates’ have a reputation of being huge philantropists, and Buffet topped the idea by stating that some 99% of his fortune will be given to charities after his death. The Wall Street Journal cared to poll a few billionaires on the idea, while the Chronicle of Philantrophy lingered on the idea whether small or medium-sized charities would be able to profit from the generous-looking idea. John Tanmy on the other hand writes in his Forbes column, that the idea is a bad one altogether.

British Petrol is being kept in the focus of the media with the consequences of the Deepwater Horizon disaster and the oil spill still threatening the Gulf of Mexico area’s wildlife – a social tragedy looming over the scene as well. While the basic attitude remains lashing out on BP wherever possible, Avril David from the CSR Blog asks How far can we really expect companies to go in the name of CSR? Rebeca Sive from One Earth observes how the BP Massacre led to Bp Massacred and suggests: Let’s move!

A bit further away from the media buzz Peter Panepento explains why your nonprofit group should care about tablet computers such as the Apple iPad.

Ingrid Zacharias on Expressions Of Me collects the 4 Components of a Good Professional Development Policy, and writes about the Five Topics to Include in Your NGO’s Human Resources Policy.

Finally, Marta L. Tellado from The Chronicle of Philantrophy investigates How Foundations Can Demystify Their Work.

Oh, and The Ford Foundtaion has a shiny sparking brand new website, too!

If you liked being mentioned in our weekly roundup, please appreciate our work by linking back to Fundraisr.org. If you would like your work to be included in the upcoming weekly roundups, don’t hesitate to contact me at fundraisr(dot)org(at)gmail(dot)com.

Allthis.com – The eBay for charities

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Donating cash or offering your work directly to the charity of your choice does definitely have its limits. If you are a car mechanic, there’s not much the local hospital can do with your work, and vice verse, if you don’t have any cash to give, there’s not much you can give to a charity, that it will find inevitably useful.

Except that now there is, thanks to a recently launched website Allthis.com, the “eBay for charities” or the “marketplace for things money can’t buy,” as its founders put it. The new type of auction site features diverse types of listings on behalf of “vendors”, who offer the income directly to the charities they chose to support. Bidders on the other and will receive te product or service they need, and wire the money directly to the charity. Any type of expertise, passion or product can easily be turned to cash for the good cause this way.

“We created allthis with a vision to leverage an individual’s expertise and network as an alternative method of donation, while giving non-profits a creative way to excite and unite their supporters,” said Paul Weinstein, CEO and co-founder of Allthis.com, when the website was launched in late May, following a year and a half of preparations. “Ranging from access to the influential, engagement with the creative, to the downright silly, what people have to offer is infinitely diverse.”

Among the moms offering Sunday lunch recipes all children will like, and designers with several decades of expertise offering brochure design for any business or good cause,

there are well-connect professionals who offer business lunches for anyone who cares to pay $10,000 for such an opportunity.

And, somewhat surprisingly, only a few weeks into its operations, there are already stars and A-list celebs, including Ashton Kutcher, Rihanna (who will give you one of her concert corsets to help children in need — starting bid, $150), Aisha Tyler (who will let the maker of the winning bid attend a recording session with her – starting bid $2,000) or Ben Stiller (who will record a greeting on your voicemail to help rebuild Haiti — starting bid, $200) offering various memorabilia and services for good cause.

All participants of the auctions support the good cause. Website visitors who create the listings offering whatever they have to offer pick the charity the bidding is to support, while bidders on the other hand will actually donate the charities. The money is directly sent to the charity – with five percent staying at Allthis to cover operational costs -, and whenever the offer is not fulfilled, the money is returned directly to the bidder.

The founders have high hopes and ambitions. They want to be as recognized as eBay, and as successful as the charities of Microsoft-chief Bill Gates. The Allthis team is located in Los Angeles, and the current headcount is 12. The plan is to go nationwide as soon as possible, covering the whole United States.

“Everybody has something to give,” Weinstein, who lives in the Bay Area was quoted as saying by Brand X Daily. “Now you can take whatever you do, whatever you’re good at, and turn it into cash for your favorite charity.”