The document is a summary of a webinar about using online fundraising platforms like Firstgiving to mobilize supporters for winter and spring fundraising events. It introduces Firstgiving and discusses how person-to-person fundraising allows supporters to leverage their social networks. Examples are given of how The Bell Center for Early Intervention Programs successfully used Firstgiving to increase donations. Attendees are encouraged to start person-to-person fundraising now by adding fundraising buttons and mobilizing event teams. Common concerns about online fundraising are addressed.

1. Welcome!
Today’s topic:
Mobilize NOW for your Winter
or Spring fundraising event!
Presenters:
– James Campbell, Firstgiving
– Jeannie Colquett, The Bell Center for Early
Intervention Programs
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
Today’s agenda
• Person-to-Person online fundraising
• How The Bell Center succeeded
• Things you can do to get started today
• Question time (answers, too!)
• Appendix: popular concerns, costs and
details about Firstgiving
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
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2. Housekeeping
• If you have a question for James or
Jeannie, type it in the question box in
go2webinar (usually on the right)
• We will answer as many as we can live
during the presentation, and email
answers to the rest
• We will send the slides and a recording a
day or two after the session
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
Thinking differently
• Forget for a moment that you’re
you’
fundraisers and development officers
• Take a deep breath
• Clear your mind
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
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3. Spending money
• How do you decide what to
do with your money?
• Who is most influential on
your decisions?
– Is it the people selling you stuff?
– Is it the media? Is it Oprah? Advertising?
– Is it your friends, your family, your colleagues
at work whom you trust?
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
Back to fundraising
• Why not give people the tools to help them
recommend your organization to their
friends, families, colleagues?
• Isn’t an ask from a friend better than an
ask from a development officer?
• We call this….
Person-to-Person Fundraising
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
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4. Person-to-Person Fundraising
Your NPO Supporters = fundraisers Friends & families = donors
• Your supporters making personalized appeals to friends
and family for your cause
• Allowing your supporters to leverage their social network
to make a difference
• Giving power to the people who want to do more than
make a simple donation
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
How is this any different than the
“Donate Now” button on my website?
• Online donations – Place a “Donate Now” button
on your website, sit back, wait, and hope for
reactive donations from your immediate donors
only
• Not terribly effective
• Not very engaging
• It’s not enough
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
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5. How is this any different than the
“Donate Now” button on my website?
• Online Fundraising – Now, empower all of your
constituents to reach out to their extended
networks and proactively “Ask” them for
donations
• Net new donations from donors you would not
have received donations from otherwise.
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
Put a personal face on your cause
• Appeals are made on
your behalf at a personal
and emotional level
• Donors feel compelled to
support their friends’
? efforts in a show of
personal support
• Lack of familiarity with
your nonprofit
organization has little
bearing on the decision to
make an online donation
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
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6. Personal Fundraising Pages
Progress thermometer
Personal appeal
Donations and comments
• Put a face to your
nonprofit organization
• Eliminate “fear of asking”
• Convenient, easy and
secure payment
• Donors are more involved
• Automatic donation
receipt, for tax purposes
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
Welcome Guest Speaker:
Jeannie Colquett
Executive Director
The Bell Center for Early Intervention Programs
http://www.thebellcenter.org
http://www.firstgiving.com/npo/2508
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
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7. About The Bell Center for Early Childhood
Intervention
• The Bell Center is dedicated to maximizing the potential of children from birth to three years of
age who are at risk for developmental delay
• For more than 20 years, The Bell Center for Early Intervention Programs has provided
treatment for children with special needs through its therapy programs. The program has
provided dramatic results for the more than 600 children who have participated since its
inception.
• The Bell Center offers treatment as soon as a child is diagnosed, often within a few days or
weeks after birth. Parents often feel a sense of helplessness when they discover their child has
special needs; however, the Bell Center staff and volunteers are able to provide them with
specific information and encouragement allowing parents to move from a sense of confusion, to
a deep pride in their children’s accomplishments and optimism for the future.
• Programs at The Bell Center are designed to promote growth in gross and fine motor skills, as
well as language, cognition, self-help, and play skills. Each child is evaluated annually, and
goals are tailored specifically to the child’s needs. Trained volunteers carry out these
individually prescribed programs under the close supervision of a team of fully qualified
professional staff members including physically and occupational therapists, speech language
pathologists, special educators, and a nutritionist.
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
Partners in Training
• Partners In Training (PIT) provides
support, accountability and
encouragement for runners and
walkers who agree to complete:
Mercedes Marathon, Mercedes
Half Marathon or Enterprise Rent-
a-Car Relay in honor of a past or
present Bell Center child.
• Each PIT is requested to raise a
minimum of $1,310 for The Bell
Center in that child’s name.
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
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8. How has online fundraising helped us?
• How our supporters use it?
– Marathon Team
• Our initial concerns, fears over:
– Costs
– Security
– Ease of use
– Reporting
• What’s our experience been?
– Fundraising results
– Fundraiser / donor feedback
– How much has the event donations grown?
– What’s next?
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
Fundraising Results
$300,000
$250,000
$200,000
$150,000
$100,000
$50,000
$-
2005 2006 2007 Projected 2008
Donations $14,145 $100,706 $144,656 $300,000
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
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9. Thank you Jeannie, and to The Bell
Center for Early Intervention Programs
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
Three things YOU can do NOW
• First thing
– You already have a Donate button on your website, so add a
Fundraising button on your website too. If people can’t give…then
they can raise the money!
• Second thing
– Email all of your Donors now, yes your Donors, except don’t ask them
for another donation. Thank them for their support during this difficult
year, ask them to create a personal fundraising page, and email it to
(10) friends.
• Third thing
– Mobilize Teams, there’s strength in numbers! You may have events this
Winter and Spring, don’t wait, start now, it’s never too soon for Teams to
recruit members, spread the word, and raise funds for your walks, runs,
plunges, rides, and bowlathons over the next (6) months.
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
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10. Question Time
• If you have a question for
James or Jeannie, type it in the
question box in go2webinar
(usually on the right)
• If we don’t get to it now, we will
reply by email soon
• We will send a link to the slides
and a recording a day or two
after the session
Try Firstgiving risk-free.
Join now at www.firstgiving.com
call (617) 591-2121 x1005
or email james@firstgiving.com
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
But we have concerns…
• Costs
– You do not lose money fundraising online, rather you cut down
administrative costs & staff time, grow your donor base, and net
increase overall development revenue
• No fundraising events?
– That’s OK, people can always raise money for your cause
around any personal occasion, anytime they want.
• Our demographic won’t use it
– People of all ages, income, education, geography, race,
religion, and Internet abilities use online fundraising pages to
easily reach their friends & collect donations for cause they
care about.
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
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11. • Staff resources?
– Online fundraising isn’t a large huge undertaking, it should be
quick, painless, simple, fun, and has both short & long term
benefits to your organization
• Loss of content control
– Your fundraisers know best how to speak to their audience, so
empower them with the freedom and ability to do so online, the
way they do offline today.
• Security
– Research studies show the numbers: Identity theft is more
frequently committed offline than online! Online fundraising is
secure, convenient, and private.
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
Firstgiving
Credit
Fee 5%
Card Fee
2.5%
NPO nets
92.5%
Yes, that’s all,
ONLINE no catch, we
promise!
DONATIONS
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
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12. .56
1,329
.org
NPO
Your
Firstgiving
YOUR NPO
Monthly Check
00011101011101000
01010101011010100
Weekly Direct Deposit
(EFT)
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
NPO gets detailed
breakdown of all
payments, donors, and
fundraisers on reports
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
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13. When your organization joins Firstgiving, you have your
own nonprofit site called a Start Page which serves as the
hub of all your online fundraising activity
• Nonprofit Start Page
– Free doorway into online
fundraising for all your
supporters
– Personal pages all linked
together, displays
fundraising history
• Optional premium upgrade
available for:
– Custom branding on site
– Online event registration
– Official event reports
– Fundraising teams
– Only a $300/annual fee
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
Some organizations raising money with Firstgiving
person-to-person online fundraising pages
Case in Point:
Online fundraising and Firstgiving are
tried and true. It’s a trusted & effective
way to raise money today, and people
around the country embrace the concept.
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
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14. Thank you again!
Try Firstgiving risk-free.
Join now at www.firstgiving.com
call (617) 591-2121 x1005
or email james@firstgiving.com
Firstgiving Webinar October 16, 2008
www.firstgiving.com
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