The document provides information and guidance for organizations participating in an open challenge fundraising competition on the GlobalGiving platform. It discusses the structure of the challenge, including bonus prizes for top fundraisers. It also offers tips for identifying and expanding donor networks, communicating with donors through emails and reports, and using GlobalGiving tools. Additionally, it acknowledges limitations of only accepting online donations and provides alternatives like fundraising events to address donors without internet or credit cards.

1. Open Challenge Structure:
-Here is a link to the leaderboard from the Challenge. This is where you can see how
everyone else is doing in the challenge and who is winning the bonus grant, which
I’ll talk about in a minute.
-Raise $4,000 from 50 unique donors in one month. As you already know.
-Once you have raised the $4,000 from 50 donors, it will say secure in the progress
bar. However, if someone clicks on your project, it will show them how much money
you need to raise in order to reach YOUR full project goal and encourage them to
help you win the bonus grants.
-The Bonus Grants are going to be the same for this challenge.
-The top fundraiser in terms of money will receive $3,000. The second place
organization will receive $2,000 and the third place organization will receive
$1,000.
-The organization that has the most unique donors will receive $2,000
-Also, there is a small, $300, bonus for each of the five organizations that have the
most facebook shares. In order to be eligible for this prize you must first reach
$2,000 in funds raised. During the last challenge, all five of the grant winners were
the top sharers overall and all five were successful in the challenge
- If you are successful, your project will remain on GlobalGiving and you will be
invited to post more projects to the site. You will also be eligible for additional
benefits including more matching days with matches up to 30%, posting of
volunteer opportunities, more corporate engagement, and monthly trainings with
expert guests. From that point on, your project and any additional ones you post will
remain live on GlobalGiving until they raise the funds requested. This is also
contingent on your providing quarterly project reports and renewing your due
diligence in two years.
Identifying and Expanding your Networks:
- When thinking about expanding your network of supporters, you should first
identify who is in your current network. You family, friends, donors, co-workers and
volunteers all fit into this category. Your expanded network will include their family,
friends, coworkers etc. Research has shown that the most compelling reason for
people to give is that someone they know told them about it and encouraged them
too. You are much more likely to get a response from someone if they hear about
you through someone they know, rather than reaching out to them yourself.
- You will want to identify who your “Fundraising captains” are. These people will be
the ones working closely with you to expand you network and reach out to people
for donations. Volunteers make great fundraising captains. One very valuable lesson
we have learned through our experience with Open Challenges is that it is almost
impossible to do it on your own. Find your fundraising captains and recruit them to
help you out. Using the strategy worksheet can help you assign tasks for each
captain and set goals.
- The more people you are able to reach the more likely you are to reach your goals.
Overall, you will want to be able to reach a minimum of 400 people for donations.

2. The larger networks will be really helpful in future fundraising as well.
How do I reach out to my network?:
-These include: Thank you emails, project reports, personalized outreach.
- Thank you emails can be found on the donation manager and are really simple to
use. We have prepared templates that you can send or we have the option to add
your own template. This shows your donors that you truly appreciate the donation
and helps you start building a long-term relationship with any new donors.
- Project reports are great ways to get in touch with your supporters. They are
required every three months once you become a permanent member, however, they
can be useful during the Challenge and right after as they are sent to all of your
donors, including those that remained anonymous, and they are posted to the
project page for anyone to see later.
- Emails in general are the most common way to reach out to your donors. We have
several template emails online designed for open challenges and the times when
you would send them. Of course you can change them up as much as you like, but
they do a great job of showing what type of tone you want to take and how to
present the idea of the GlobalGiving open challenge.
- You want the emails to be rather informal and to the point. However, we have
found that personalized emails get the most response. Mass, generic emails tend to
get ignored, but something personal with even a question included, will make your
potential donor feel that you are appealing to him and make that person want to
respond.
- Have your captains reach our to the people they know personally, rather than you
reaching out yourself. Again, people are more likely to respond to someone they
know, over someone who got their email address from someone they know. It is also
courteous to ask if someone would like to be added to a mailing list before doing so,
especially in the case of U.S. donors.
-One really important thing to remember is not to BOMBARD your donors and
friends with emails or phone calls. No one wants to be called twice a day and being
asked for money. Timing is key when it comes to fundraising in the challenge. Also,
get to know who you are reaching out to. Younger audiences respond more readily
to social media and emails while the older generations are more inclined to donate
with a personal phone call or in-person visit. You can also offer to help them
navigate the site in order to donate.
What are the GlobalGiving Tools?:
- At GlobalGiving we have spent a lot of time coming up with tools and resources to
help the project leaders that use our site. These tools can be used during the
Challenge, as well as afterwards to refine your complete fundraising strategy.
- The Open Challenge Toolkit, which I hope everyone has already seen and used, is
the most comprehensive collection of these resources we have. We have a strategy
worksheet with goes through the weeks individually and has you plan out smaller
goals. It can be very helpful in coordinating your team and keeping you on track to

3. reach the thresholds.
- The calendar we provide is a type of guide and source of fundraising inspiration. It
is not intended to be followed day-by-day but can give you some useful insight into
some different strategies and frequency of communication.
- Template emails, success stories and the Challenge FAQs are also great tools to
look into for ideas.
- There are several ways in which you can get the word out about your project
simply by visiting the project page. You can share your project on facebook simply
by selecting the blue share button on the right side. You can also tweet instantly
about the project and see who has added you to any fundraisers or registries.
- Fundraisers and registries are great ways to get your supporters involved without
asking them directly for money. Fundraisers can be set up very easily on our site, all
you need is an account, which is free. A fundraiser page can allow your supporters
to direct any of their friends, family, coworkers, to a page that they have created that
is designed to support your project. They can then track the number of donations
made through the fundraiser and host events where people can donate. Registries
are great for anyone that would like to donate a personal event, like a birthday for
example. If your mother would like to donate her birthday to your project, she can
set up a registry and list your project as a gift they would like to receive.
-Finally, the project page is a good place to find your donation manager if you are
logged in of course. This is only visible to project leaders of that specific project and
it lists all of the donors that have given to your project since it was posted. It tells
you the donor name and email address (if they are not anonymous), how they gave
(credit card, check, paypal,) where they came from (facebook, google, fundraiser),
and how much they gave (gross, no including the fee). This tool is great for
organizing your donor communication and keeping track of the donations received.
What about my donors without Internet Access?/ What about my donors without
credit cards?
-These are the two most common issues we face as an online fundraising platform
and by far the most challenging. As we function as an online platform, internet
connection and digital payment options are at the core of our efforts. Without your
donors’ ability to give to your project, GlobalGiving is not as effective in helping your
cause. That said, we do have some suggestions on how to get past this when
reaching out during the Challenge.
- Host a fundraising event! I’ve mentioned this several times before and I think it is a
fantastic option for fundraising where not many people are able or inclined to
donate. At these events we recommend that you have a computer set up somewhere
with access to the internet so that your party guests can donate right there! You can
have your supporters volunteer to help host such an event or just attend and bring
their credit cards. This can also help bridge the gap in cultures where giving is not as
prevalent in society. If people feel as though they are getting something in return for
their donation, like a dinner or an interesting activity, it may seem less like a
donation.
-Another great way to get these donors involved is to have them spread the word.

4. Although they won’t be able to tweet about your organization, they can speak at
school, churches, or just to their neighbors. Every bit helps expand your network
and get you closer to that fundraising goal.
- We know that donors in much of the world do not have easy access to credit cards.
We do have other methods of donation including wire transfers and international
checks but these typically carry high fees and are not ideal for smaller donations.
Also, GlobalGiving is not able to accept cash. In these situations we recommend
reaching out more strongly to those supporters in networks that would have the
means to donate. Reaching supporters in the U.S. or Europe can be a great help, even
after the Challenge. It can start with just one person with a credit card and expand. If
you are interested in reaching these networks, we have a recording from the
diaspora fundraising training that was hosted in June. I can make sure to get that
information to you if you send me an email.
Evaluating a Strategy:
-Now that the Challenge has been active for 10 days, you may see either some great
responses to your fundraising, or some not so great responses. Either way, we
would suggest looking at your strategies in the past few days and see what is
working and what is not. You don’t want to be spending a lot of time on something
that is not producing results. Determine how people are hearing about you, why
they are giving, and decide which methods are working.
-The donation manager is a great place to see how people are hearing about you. It
can show you where people are coming from when they donate. You can use this
information to figure our which methods of approaching donors are working and
which ones are not.
-Decide if you want to make a change. Even if what you are doing seems to be
getting donations, it may be worth thinking about your donors and seeing if they
would respond to different methods. The younger generations tend to gravitate
towards social media and emails, while the older generations may respond better to
a phone call or a personal visit. Remember your audience!
-It is never too late to try something new. Even if you are unsuccessful in this
Challenge, it will help you understand what you need to do to be successful in the
next Challenge.
What to do in the next 3 weeks:
-We will be hosting the Open Challenge Bonus Day on August 16, 2011. There will be
$3,000 of matching funds which will be matched at 15% up to $1,000. Remember,
once the funding runs out, it’s gone! So you may need to tell some of your donors to
get up early (or stay up late) to donate. The Bonus day will begin at midnight.
-Fundraising for Bonus Day: Stress that this is the one day during the Challenge
when their donation can go further. Especially for those donors who are concerned
they can only give $10, remind them that this is an opportunity to give more.
-Emphasize the importance of this deadline. Even during the Challenge, people tend

5. to procrastinate giving until the last possible day. Remind them that they will need
to give NOW if they want the extra cash.
-Try to reach out before the weekend. Most people receive a paycheck on Friday.
Ask them to reserve part of it for your project. Spend the weekend doing serious
outreach, going door-to-door, speaking at your church or town event, asking family
and friends who may have the weekend off, to donate that time to your project. As a
thanks, take them out for drinks or a barbeque.
-Many people wait until the last minute and research has shown most people need
to be told at least 5 times to give before they actually do. Remind your supporters
who have not yet donated that time will run out! Remind them that they have a
chance to radically change how your organization fundraises and possibly get your
organization additional money from GlobalGiving. I wouldn’t recommend reminding
them every day. But keep updating the list of your supporters who have not yet
given and remind them more frequently as the end of the Challenge draws near. Try
not to continue asking for donations from people that have already given to your
project. Finally, be sure to ask people that don’t have the means to give money, to
give their time by spreading the word to their own networks. This can be just as
effective if not more effective than a monetary donation.
-Getting your biggest supporters, which are of course your volunteers and
fundraising captains, to be excited and motivated is an excellent way to drive
donations. It is very difficult to complete a Challenge on your own. Almost everyone
who has done exceptionally well in the Challenge has had a core group of people
that were just as passionate and motivated as the project leader themselves.
Together they were able to pull together large amounts of funding.
Don’t Forget to Join the Facebook Group!
-All new information is posted here. And it is a great place to interact with other
project leaders and ask questions!!
-There has been a lot of interaction already on the Facebook group and we want
everyone in the Challenge to join. We are going to be posting updates about
important dates to remember, as well as having discussions about fundraising
strategies that have proven successful in GlobalGiving Challenges.
-We have already had project leaders sharing their fundraising strategies with the
group. Joanne Felci from World Concern has used Google Ads to promote her project
in Somalia, Jackie Belding from Friends of the Deaf mobilized 5 supporters to help
her with her fundraising and expand her networks, and Katie Allan from Kenya
Rainwater Association suggests a charity raffle to inspire interest.
-You can also ask questions of our staff who are on the group daily, or of other
project leaders.