Fundraising / Charity Ideas Blog

I like travel. Nothing strange there, so do most people. It would be cool if I could find an occupation where I get to blog /fundraise / drum/ be Indiana Jones. It seems like someone has made a job doing this.

It’s a rubber duck though.

I came across One lucky rubber ducky on twitter and was both fascinated and jealous. You see this rubber duck has raised money for charity with all his travels. Here’s how it works:

STEP 1: Get your duck from the bathroom and put him in your handbag , back pack or luggage and take him any where you go…..but when ever you take the duck you MUST put money towards a charity of your choice….the rubber duck is reminding you to choose a charity, so effectively you are sponsoring your duck for that journey. You may just go to the super market but you must donate something to a charity on the way( blind dogs assoc, breast cancer …) you may go on a holiday this is when you must take the duck and spead the good word, be contagious and encourage other ducks to travel and put money towards a charity of your choice.

Step 2: Register your Duck on Face book and upload a photo and become a friend of www.facebook.com/oneluckyrubberducky and state your ducks mission and journey, state the journey, e.g (Sydney-Melbourne) means of transport (motorbike) reason for accepting the mission (a family member effected by dis-ease or I want to assist children in war stricken community’s of…. ) etc. tell us what is happening be passionate and share your knowedge. Get others involved.

Step 3. www.facebook.com/oneluckyrubberducky and share your journey and how much you raised for charity, every cent counts be it 20 cents or $5.

I did a little looking around his site and found a list of countries he’s visited:

Travel stats
Number of countries: 29 (12% of total)
Number of visits: 34
Number of world regions: 12
Number of continents: 5

If we look at my list he blogs, fundraises and has adventures like Indiana Jones. If he starts to drum I’m in real trouble.

The rubber duck is a very simple concept, doesn’t cost anything from a organizational point of view plus builds a fun community. If your thinking of travelling exotically or even to your parents house take a rubber duck along, make a donation to your favourite charity and send pictures of the event.

Maybe justfundraising.com could do the same thing. Maybe we’ll do it with the kid and the apple.

Boy is he gonna be surprised!

If we don’t get permission from the kid’s mom, what do you think we should use? Have fun with that ( points awarded for the most creative response. )

The video says it all

Sixteen-year-old Sarah Phillips has raised more than $75,000 for cervical cancer research in the past 10 days, just by posting a YouTube video.

I think of several things when watching this video. Strong family bonds, and the real reason people donate. Charities can show people all the charts and stats in the world but people donate because of an emotional connection. It’s because of this connection that the video has gone viral and people are passing this along.

Watch the video and if is strikes a cord consider making a donation

How do you prepare for your fundraising this year? Will the tentative recovery lighten the mood with donors? Regardless of what may come organizations and charities still have to raise money. No choice about the matter but what’s the correct route to take?

Take a Little from a Lot of People
I recently saw an ad for a Charity in Detroit (can’t remember the name) that is sending out envelopes and asking you for $1 for children with medical needs. This is a brilliant idea! How many times have you thought you would give to a couldn’t seem to part with the money. Everyone can spare $1 and they even provide the envelope. Brilliant!

Online Giving
You might want to find a way to aline your cause with online giving. Incorporate website donations that are simple to use. In just five days, the Red Cross has raised more than $21 million for the relief effort in Haiti through text messages. Mobile marketing is huge and donors appreciate is simplicity. Might want to get your organization on board with that.

Loyal Followers
You’ve got to reward recurring donors. Those people who are regular and repeat givers. Send out a flyer, give them a call, just make sure they feel appreciated for their help. At the same time make it easy for first time donors to sign up as montly contributors. You want to make sure there’s a stable repeat donor base.

What’s working for your Organization? What does your youth group, sports team, school have planned for fundraising this year?

Comment with ideas you’ve come up that are working for you

The disaster in Haiti has galvanized the world to help out. We’re going to do our part and help you give as well.

We’re giving away Haiti Donation Cards for free. We will supply scratch cards to help you raise money for Haiti. Justfundraising will supply the cards free to approved groups.

If you want to get involved, get active, or help out in any way you can, these Haiti Donation Cards are a great way to raise money quickly.

Check out the page here for more information or call us now at:
1-888-440-4114

* If you agree with what we’re doing please consider posting the to your social media sites. This will work a lot quicker with your help *

It’s been all over the air so we won’t spend too long on the specifics. On January 12, 2010 at 4:53 p.m a 7.0 earthquake and its 33 aftershocks, shook Haiti. The aftermath is devastation and rubble. I think everyone agrees on this.

Immediate aid is necessary. What I’d like to comment on is giving to established agencies and organizations. All over twitter comments are sent about where to send your money and it seems like money is flowing. Please use caution when texting your $5 or $10 donation to organizations who you’ve never heard of before. Some people text to give money because it’s quick and easy to do although it may not be the most effective. The most important thing is that the money gets to the intended.

Among this hustle and bustle of what’s going on, scammers are going to try and take advantage. Here’s a great article on what to watch for.

Here is a press release from the Better Business Bureau on donating to an effetive organization.

If it all seems like a lot of research and you would just like to donate call up the 1-800 numbers or go directly to the webpages of established organizations like:
The American Red Cross – 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish)
Canadian Red Cross – 1-800-418-1111
British Red Cross – 0845 053 5353

One thing I’d like to add here. We really seem to be under seige lately with severe weather all over the globe and devastation from natural disasters. But take a look at how countries are coming together quickly to help Haiti. Maybe we’re learning under the stress and hardships?

There’s hope still.

All right we’ve survived 2009. I’m sure a lot of you are glad to see it over. You’ve had to work three times as hard for the same flatline results for your fundraising. You might have to chaulk that up to a victory this year. Things look better for 2010 though.

Charities have had to work harder to maintain what they’ve got let alone add new services. They’ve had to battle less impulse giving from donors and little movement from ceo’s. Maybe the slow moving ceo’s have a point, maybe you have to watch and wait for the right time to put new ideas on the table. One thing is for certain it builds a lot of frustration from your fundraising team asking more of them and giving them less to do it with.

Maybe it’s me….I think we all need to take some time off and come back in 2010 with renewed enthusiasm!?

What trials and tribulations have you and your team faced this year and how did you get past it?

What are you and your community service club or charitable organization looking forward to in 2010?

Onward and upward I guess….

What are your fund raising or philanthropy goals for next year? What projects are coming up in 2010 that you will be raising money for?

For me…I’d kinda like to find a way to get people who visit this blog to join me fundraising to drilling a well in Africa. Are there a dozen people out there willing to raise $100 for that cause? OR maybe there are a pile of people willing to donate a dollar or two?! Which tactic do you think would be more succesful?

Anyway write us and let us know what you’ve got going on in 2010. Maybe we can give you a hand with your fundraising or making a plan.

The latest estimates provided by the International Red Cross indicate that a possible 100,000 people or more are dead after a devastating typhoon decimated areas like Yagon, a large city in the country of Myanmar/Burma on May 2nd, 2008. Despite ongoing international endeavours to support those dealing with the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, thousands are left with absolutely nothing, not even their families.

We are stepping up to the plate on this and trying to help. We have a plan in place to help those in need but this plan is nothing without you.

We are offering some fundraising products free to pre approved groups.
For more information on what we are doing and how you can help click here.

After speaking with Dale Zak here’s the update to last weekends iPhone application meet up in halifax.

From the thirteen local charities that submitted proposals, three were selected to be receive the proceeds from the applications:

Post Card – Feed Nova Scotia
Meet Me Here – Phoenix Youth Programs
Civic Snitch – Ecology Action Centre

…At the root of everyone’s hard work was the shared belief that their efforts were making a difference…This idea also introduces an intriguing new funding model: sales from the applications created in a weekend have the potential to help fund charities for months to come. Apple gives 70% of sales back to the developer, which means that if we sell an app for $0.99, and it sells 1000 copies, that would generate $700 for the chosen charity.

The iHackHFX teams hope to have all three applications finished and available for sale on the App Store in mid to late August.

What a novel and unique way to fundraise for charities. You may not be in the position to gather a bunch of application developers together but you can donate your skills to charity. It can develop great networking contacts for you, build your resume and skills, plus help charities that are feeling the squeeze now more than ever.

Spread the word…