Give Forward

1.  Personalize your fundraising page as much as possible with a heartfelt description and lots of photos.  The fundraisers who do the best are the ones who really make an effort to tell their stories.  Explain to your donors what you are raising money for and why it is so important to you.  If your friends and family see that you are passionate about your fundraising efforts, they are more likely to give and give generously.  More tips on how to personalize.

2.  Promote Promote Promote! The more you promote your fundraising page the better it will do. Here are the best ways to promote

• Email everyone you know! Even if you haven’t spoken to them in years, you’ll be surprised at how many people will decide to donate when you ask.
• When you email your friends and family ask them to share your page with their friends and co-workers using the “Tell-a-friend” button on your page.
• Set up a Facebook group that includes a link to your GiveForward fundraising page.  If you have a Facebook account definitely set up a group.  This has been far and away one of the most successful strategies for our users.
• Add the URL from your fundraising page to your email signature
• Add the URL to your AIM, Gchat or Facebook status message

3.  Send email or facebook updates to your friends and family. One of the single most important tips to online fundraising is to be persistent.  While some people will donate the first time you ask them, the reality is that it will take at least 2-3 friendly reminders before the majority of your friends and family open up their wallets for you. Fundraisers who keep their donor base engaged with frequent updates tend to be the most successful. Read more here about how and when to send out email/Facebook updates.
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On Saturday August 22nd, GiveForward sponsored our first ChasePoint challenge in City Chase Chicago!  Stationed at the Blues Jean Bar on N. Halstead, our challenge asked contestants to trade either a GiveForward pen or a sticker for a non-perishable food item to be donated to the Chicago Food Depository.  There were two rules: 1. The item had to be bigger than the size of your fist, and 2. There had to be photo documentation of the transaction.

Runners hit the streets, asking passerby, visiting restaurants, and even knocking on people’s doors to make the trade–and they came back with some pretty strange stuff!  As if pork rinds, beef sticks, and gigantic tins of baby corn weren’t enough, donations also included pigeon peas, canned escargot, and my personal favorite: pickled cactus.

Overall the event was a big success, and we were able to collect about 100 lbs of food to be donated to the food depository.  We’re looking forward to continuing our partnership with City Chase next summer and keeping our event focused on charity.  But don’t worry–the challenge changes every year, so we’ll be sure to have a surprise in store for next year’s participants.

In the September issue of Mindful Metropolis (a monthly magazine connecting Chicago’s conscious community), GiveForward was highlighted as one of five social entrepreneurs making a difference in Chicago. The article, written by freelance writer and editor Christina Galoozis, focused on bringing transformational change to the city–one donation at a time. We are so thrilled to be a part of it! Check out our section of the article:

Where $5 Funds a Kidney Transplant

Desiree Vargas, 27 & Ethan Austin, 28

I told a friend about my idea for GiveForward, a website that connects worthy causes with everyday donors, at a Super Bowl party last year, and she surprisingly knew someone with the same idea. Ethan and I immediately hit it off on the phone, and he moved from California to Chicago a few months later to launch the business with me.

As an intern at a non-profit during Hurricane Katrina, I recognized the desire of average Americans to donate directly to afflicted families, and not through large organizations like The Red Cross. At the same time, Ethan had reached $6,000 through a personal fundraising Web page for his first marathon sponsored by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. With these personal experiences in mind, we wanted to give everyone with a credible cause–from transplant surgeries to mission trips–a place to collect small donations, even as little as $1, and reach their goal.

To start, Ethan and I were able to pool $50,000 in capital, which we spent entirely on site development, and GiveForward.org first went live on Aug. 14, 2008. We now generate revenue through the 3 percent fee charged to every fundraiser once they reached their goal, as well as Google Ads. People are generally honest, but we police the site for fraudulent behavior.

So far the site has done amazing things. The largest contribution has been $5,000 to help fund a local woman’s kidney transplant, which we’re happy to say was recently granted by the hospital for a reduced rate. Her sister raised a total of $32,000 on our site. We also sponsor “Run for a Reason,” where runners can raise money through GiveForward for any cause and run the Chicago Half Marathon and 5K together on Sept. 13.

Like our donations, we started out small. Our ultimate goal is to become bigger–like the eBay for giving.

Here at GiveForward we’re all about making philanthropy fun. So on September 10, we’re giving the community another reason to party. Get a sneak peak of Old Town Social before its grand opening at GiveForward’s “Party for a Reason.” As an awesome pre-race shindig, we will be celebrating the runners and charities involved in “Run for a Reason.” (our fundraising competition and effort to connect with local charities by bringing together runners to participate in the upcoming Chicago Half Marathon & 5k.)

See what Party for a Reason has to offer with two hours of open bar including specialty cocktails, vodka drinks, beer, and appetizers while mingling with young professionals who know how to have a good time.  Doors open at 7pm, and Party for a Reason tickets keep you enjoying the club sans cover for the rest of the night, with a raffle and prizes you won’t want to miss. (Yes, we are offering more than free shirts! Although our shirts ARE pretty cool.) And the best part: ticket proceeds go to various charity partners of GiveForward, including organizations like Chicago Children’s Charities, Chicago Inner City Outings, and Midwest Young Artists. Now who would want to give up the chance to drink and feel guilt free? Party for a Reason promises to be a hangover you can be proud of.

Details of the event:

Where: Old Town Social 455 W. North Ave (on the El: just West of the Sedgwick Brown Line stop)

When: September 10, 2009, 7PM-10PM

Price: $25 for 2 hours of open bar (remember, it’s for charity!)

Purchase your tickets online at Party4aReason.com!

What happens when “Fear Factor” meets the “Amazing Race?” You get a taste of City Chase Chicago, a scavenger hunt style sporting-event taking place this Saturday, August 22. As City Chase describes, it’s time once again “to turn the windy city into an urban playground.” And they mean that quite literally. For most of the afternoon, teams of two attempt to complete ten challenges. They will run, walk and use public transit to navigate their way throughout the city, while calling family and friends for help, accessing the Internet and even employing assistance of total strangers. Last year, you could find teams milking a cow in the middle of the city, completing a boot camp, racing horses in Grant Park, and even stuffing a snake down their shirts. (SNAKES? That’s where I draw the line.) It may sound ridiculous, but hundreds of teams have registered to participate in what’s now “The World’s Largest Urban Adventure Series,” and the chance to advance to the North American Championships, taking place from September 3 to September 5 in Quebec City, Canada.

And the best part? GiveForward is going to be a part of all the City Chase madness! We’re partnering with City Chase and sponsoring one of the event chase points. (Chase Points are the challenges scattered in unknown locations throughout the city. The challenges are supposed to “test mind, body and spirit.”) We’ve designed our own challenge, but since it’s top secret, we can’t exactly tell you what the GiveForward chase point entails. Let’s just say in the spirit of charity, it involves obtaining non-perishable food for the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

If you’re a brave soul that’s feeling up to the challenge, it’s not too late to register! For more information go to City Chase and check it out.

City Chase may not be a Chicago marathon (we do those too), but it’s a whole new game of endurance that we’re so excited to be a part of!

One fundraising strategy that many of our users have found really successful is offering prizes to their donors to create a little extra incentive to donate.   Often times, this can be great way to reel in potential donors who are sitting on the fence about donating. (i.e. those people who may have overlooked your emails in the past or may not have donated otherwise).

Although you many think this tactic too closely teeters on the border of bribing, the reality is that in most successful fundraisers, people donate for a number of different reasons. Sometimes people donate because they feel really connected to your cause. Sometimes they donate just because they want to support you as a friend. And then other times, people donate because they want to win a prize.

If it helps, think about it this way: you are fundraising for a great cause, your friends want to help you reach your goal, and someone along the way gets an iPod, gift card, etc.  I’d say it’s a win-win-win situation all around!

So, here’s how to create your promotion:

• Inform your contact list: Send out an initial email/Facebook message to your contact list informing them that anyone who donates over a certain amount will be entered into a raffle for an ipod or any cool thing you have lying around the house (autographed tissue, extra pair of moon-shoes, just a couple examples).  Make sure to follow up with subsequent reminders as the promotion moves along to keep people interested.

• Create a sense of urgency. People are more likely to donate when there is a sense of urgency, so to help get donations coming in you should structure your promotion within a short time frame or on a first come first serve basis.
• Time period: Anyone who donates within a certain time period (e.g. two weeks) is entered into a raffle to win the prize
• First come, first serve: The first X amount of people that donate (e.g. first 25 or first 50) will be entered to win the prize.

Timing of the campaign

• As far as when to begin such a campaign, it’s probably best to wait until your first or second round of donors have made donations- this being your closest friends and family first, then all your other circles of friends, co-workers, former dog-walkers, etc.  When the donations start to slow down and you think you have received all the donations you will get from these people (like when you know its time to take the bag of popcorn out of the microwave because there are 5 seconds between each POP), it’s a great time to start this little campaign.

Remember to have fun with it.

• The strategy above is just one example. But there are many ways to go about implementing a prize promotion and you will have to find a way for it to fit your fundraiser and personalize it.  If you’re real hard up for an idea or the funds to back up a good prize, simply offer your services.  If you’re a great photographer, offer to do a family photo shoot for free; maybe an oil change if you’re mechanically inclined, or something as simple as an extra hand around the house.  Be creative and make it work for your fundraiser and your friends.  You never know who will turn around and surprise you.

My favorite status quo that Gen-Y is challenging is in the fatter pocket department. While bottom lines, quarterly reports and profits are important to Gen-Y startups and entrepreneurs, there is something brewing that is gaining more popularity in Gen-Y companies: changing the world. From proceeds based on profits to community involvement and helping each other grow, Gen-Y is fundamentally under the impression that the world will be a better place if we grow together. Helping our friends, neighbors and those in less fortunate situations create jobs and stimulate their economies can impact the world and help everyone grow their bottom line.

Companies like Kiva (on the cusp on Gen-Y) are using crowdsourcing technology to connect investors with business entrepreneurs (yes, young and old) in developing countries to get off and running. Kiva now finances loans in 48 countries and in June 2009 supplied over $4.6 million in loans.

Others, like GiveForward, a privately held social venture (i.e., not a non-profit) are focused on helping existing non-profits and organizations find funding and make donating a better experience. Co-founder Desiree Vargas says, “Generation Y has the opportunity to live their entire career spans expecting to work for companies that treat their employees well, give back to their communities, and create a product or service that brings value to the world.”

New Gen-Y business values are helping to make the entire world a better place to live and do business.

Gen-Y has a long way to go to reach the heights of the mega-conglomerates that occupy the current Fortune 500. But changes in technologies and communication have allowed young people to find needs and niches and provide solutions for the problems they face in ways that are very exciting for the growth of global business. Gen-Y is learning first hand that climbing existing corporate ladders does not mean building a better company and that technology will allow them to stay small yet powerful, informed, and in touch.

What status quo can we shatter next?

When doctors told Jessica Cowin she needed to raise $100,000 for a life saving kidney transplant, her younger sister, Amy used GiveForward to raise the money.  Amy started a fundraising page on GiveForward, sent it out to friends and family through email and Facebook and asked them to send it along to their contacts as well.  Within a week Amy had raised an amazing $21,000 with hundreds of donations from people all around the country ranging from $5 to as large as $5000.

During her fundraiser, Amy would give updates on her fundraising page about Jessica’s health and email friends and family encouraging them to continue donating. GiveForward worked for Amy because the platform was both easy to set up and easy for friends and family to donate safely and securely.

Ultimately, Amy’s amazing efforts helped raise over $32,000 on GiveForward in addition to tens of thousands of dollars donated offline.  Her efforts were covered by the Chicago Sun Times, CBS radio, and the Chicago Tribune, which went so far as to call GiveForward the “future of medical fundraising in the Internet Age.”
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This summer, GiveForward has a dynamic new team of interns. Let’s get to know this awesome group of people who have been working their butts off to make GiveForward a success.

Guenter Stoeffelbauer- “Koenig of Communications” (Koenig means King in German.)

Guenter is our newest addition to the GiveForward team! From Vienna, Austria, Guenter has joined us in Chicago to be our miracle marketing and communications strategist. He is a volunteer paramedic for the Red Cross Austria, and his hobbies include music, music, and more music. He’s even turned his hobby into a profession. Guenter specializes in music event marketing, management, and consulting.  While also working for radio stations and other businesses, he works on various marketing strategies that will work best for them. Guenter is currently writing his master thesis in communication. At GiveForward,  he will mainly be working on developing our communication/marketing strategy, and helping to organize GiveForward events. (i.e. Run for a Reason!)

Sheila Barden- “President’s Right Hand, Vice President’s Left Hand”

From preparing meetings to returning phone calls, Sheila does a little bit of everything for GiveForward. As a  senior at Loyola-Chicago, she is studying Public relations and Advertising. She grew up in Gaylord, Michigan, where she says being raised in the family business developed her work ethic. She’s obsessed with Michigan State sports, and would definitely go to a sporting event over a concert. Her current favorites are the color pink, chicken gyros, the Food Network, and Uncle Fatty’s Bar. She finds her free time consumed by her new puppy, Roo, who has her running from training classes to walks to the doggy beach. After Roo, her next love is her husband. These high school sweethearts will be celebrating their one-year anniversary this September. (Congrats!) When she “grows up” she aspires to be a special events coordinator for large-scale events and corporations. But that’s nothing compared to her goal for this summer: to buy a two-pound burrito from Chipotle and consume it in one sitting.

“Working for GiveForward has been amazing thus far. I learn about new charities everyday and have fun working in the office. It is heartwarming and makes me look at the world a little differently everyday,” said Sheila.

Erin Sherwood- “Social Media Maven”

Ever notice the GiveForward Twitter or Facebook accounts? That’s all Erin. Among other things, Erin is responsible for everything social media related with GiveForward, so you can thank her for the great Tweets and Facebook messages sent out. She was born in Florida and moved to Buffalo, NY, where she attended the State University of New York in Buffalo for her B.A in Communications. She then moved to Chicago to attend graduate school at Roosevelt University, and is on her way to obtaining her M.S in Integrated Marketing Communications. She hopes to one day move to Miami to work in a Sports & Entertainment Public Relations firm. Erin is a huge fan of shopping, spur of the moment vacations, and feasting on crab legs. (Mmm…)

“The experience thus far has been nothing short of exciting, between scavenger hunts through the city to setting up lemonade stands by the bike path. I enjoy getting to have hands on experience in helping to create a buzz around the organization while experimenting with new ideas to gain new fundraisers and donors. I enjoy the idea that everything we are doing here can easily be applied to any position I may hold in the future,” said Erin.

Erica Trzeciak- “Fundraising Guru”

Most GiveForward users know Erica. (or at least know she’s the girl who sends them all those nice emails) As our fundraising coach, Erica works to make sure users get the most out of their fundraising experience and guides them on the road to a successful project. Holding down as the only true Chicagolander currently on the GiveForward team, Erica grew up in La Grange, IL. She graduated this year from the University of Massachusetts with a B.A. in Psychology. Her current obsessions are the color green, her nine-month old nephew Lucas, football (Bear down!), gummi worms, gummi bears, and gummi peaches. (basically anything in gummi form) She watches travel shows religiously with hopes of one day visiting every continent, and maybe even every country, if her future finances allow it. She has an adorable pet bunny named Pancakes, who gets along well with her 14-year old black Labrador retriever, Trixie.

“I chose GiveForward because I wanted new perspective on giving back to the community.  I’ve done so much work with philanthropy, community service and fundraising on my own, that it’s nice to be helping on a large scale now.  Helping other people help the causes they care about so much is more rewarding than I could have ever imagined, ” said Erica.

Maya Walker- “Lord of the Fiesta”

From creating fliers to choosing table decorations, Maya is kept busy at GiveForward with our huge upcoming fundraising event, Run for a Reason. She’s planning the event, along with an awesome pre-race party. She grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina (home of Krispy Kreme and Ben Folds!) and is a junior at Northwestern University in the Creative Writing program. She loves to spend her time sailing, cooking, and dancing, and she is currently in the process of learning how to parallel park. Some favorites include the movie “The Graduate” and Ben and Jerry’s Half-Baked Ice Cream. (clearly, we GiveForward interns have great taste in food.)

“So far, my experience with GiveForward has been an absolute blast! It’s been great working with the other interns and Ethan and Desiree, and I’m looking forward to connecting with some of the smaller non-profits around the city,” said Maya.

Ranjani- “PR/Marketing Extraordinaire”

That’s me! Well, if you’re reading this, you can see that my job entails anything Public Relations related…i.e. things like writing blogs and newsletters and preparing marketing strategies for GiveForward. I grew up in a huge family just outside of Houston, Texas (yes, I say y’all) and am now a sophomore at Northwestern University studying Broadcast Journalism, Political Science, and Religion. I hope to one day become an international news correspondent or documentarian. (i think that’s a word?) I’m a fan of random dance moves, quoting movies, the colors hot pink and bright green, mint chocolate chip ice cream, shoes (what girl doesn’t love shoes?), drawing and painting, theatre, and anything chocolate. Buy me a Three Musketeers bar and I will be your best friend.

My time at GiveForward has been amazing. I’m so glad I can put my skills to use and work for a company that’s redefining the idea of fundraising and giving. It’s been a great learning experience, and as you can see, the intern team, along with Ethan and Desiree, are absolutely wonderful to work with.

Now you know a little bit more about the people who have been working this summer to make GiveForward YOUR fundraising site.

Chuck Pappas is unlike most people you’ll ever meet. He’s created a miniature sanctuary of his own adopted turkeys, goats and chickens. He’s rescued pigs out of the flooding banks of Oakville, Iowa. He’s got the ability to craft anything out of salvaged lumber and hardware and turn it into a work of art…i.e. his coffee table. His friends describe his talent, strength and incredible compassion. But last March, Chuck Pappas was diagnosed with “Grade IV Glioblastoma Multiforme,” a form of brain cancer.

To help out with his medical expenses, Chuck’s friends have decided to walk (or bike) from the Taking Action For Animals Conference in DC to the Farm Sanctuary Hoe Down in Watkins Glen, NY this July. They set up the “300 Miles for Chuck” project through GiveForward, and are doing great with fundraising! So far, friends and family from all over have raised close to 34% of the $25,000 goal.

We’re so happy that GiveForward is enabling fundraising for causes like Chuck’s, and hope everyone in the community can be inspired by stories like his. With a supportive community, Chuck Pappas is on his way to enduring the expensive road to recovery. Our thoughts go out to Chuck and his family, and good luck to all participating in his 300-mile walk.