Blog Archives
New Irish crowd funding platform is offering €1,000 for innovative fundraising
Community groups and projects across Ireland could get a kick start to their fundraising efforts by signing up for a new free Irish crowd funding platform called PledgUp.com.
The company, which is based in Longford, is offering €1,000 of funding to community groups or projects that sign up for the service with the most innovative fundraising ideas.
PledgUp.com is a free service that helps community groups to get online donations for their projects. Once a group sets up profile on the website they receive a link to a personalised fundraising page that they can email to their contacts or post on social media sites asking for donations. The service allows groups to ask for straight forward donations or to look for financial sponsorship of events they are organising. The groups can also get all their members involved by inviting them to join. Once they do they also receive a personalised page and the amount raised by each person is shown to the entire group.
Commenting cofounder Eoin Kennedy, PledgUp.com said “Smaller community groups have excellent networks and contacts in Ireland and abroad. Where they fall down is with technology skills. We have designed our platform to make it really simple and free for groups to create an online sponsorship page and to process online donations without the need for technical skills. We are receiving lots of interest from community groups trying to fundraise for a variety of things from new playgrounds, memorials right the way through to sports clubs looking for online donations for events like Strictly Come Dancing and Duathlons.”
Once people click on the links they are brought to a personalised page where they get details of the fundraiser and can donate online.
Speaking about the competition Mr Kennedy added “Every community in Ireland has some project that are trying to raise funds for. By signing up before the end of February they will be entered into a competition for a €1,000 donation pool. We are looking for the best fundraising causes and ideas. In addition to the competition they will also be able to use their personalised fundraising pages to immediately reach out to possible donors anywhere in the world.”
Details of the competition winners will be posted on www.PledgUp.com/blog. Three prizes will be awarded – €500 for 1st place, €300 for 2nd place and €200 for third. The competition runs until February 28th 2013.
About PledgUp.com
PledgUp.com is a start up based in Longford and was established by Eoin Kennedy and John Rowan. The company is part of Enterprise Ireland’s High Potential Start programme and aims to make online fundraising accessible to all worthy causes.
Nominate your charity hero
Better Together is a nationwide campaign which aims to build support for hundreds of charities, clubs and associations across the country by encouraging the public to support these good causes and make a difference in their communities.
Earlier this year, they invited charities, community clubs and associations from all over the country to showcase their work by entering an online video competition.
You can browse these videos to see how these organisations are making a difference in their community and vote or donate for your favourite video. Your vote could help a cause win one of three €3,000 cash prizes, and the cause that attracts the largest number of unique donations will win €10,000 cash in the Giving Challenge.
You can also nominate and vote for your Charity Hero - someone who is making an extraordinary difference in your community. Voting opens on 4 October and you will find full details on both competitions at http://www.bettertogether.ie/
Be inspired and make a difference!
Why social media is a key component of not for profit marketing
Social Media is a key component of a charity’s outreach and fundraising programme. Its emergence has opened up a lot of doors for getting messages out there and spread wider than was possible before its advent. It provides charities with greater opportunities to share more information about the important work that they do, and to seek and receive feedback. When you need to raise awareness for an issue you need to be able to communicate it and social media is a powerful way to tell your story to hundreds of thousands of people.
Social media marketing is about leveraging your online presence to maximise the spread of your message and support for that message. The emergence of social media platforms and social networking has been the most exciting thing I have seen happen in the field of marketing and PR since I started working in this area. It has opened up new avenues for everyone, regardless of location and finances. It has levelled the playing field for all and with dedication, commitment and passion, anyone can make it work for them.
Fundraising, volunteer recruitment, educating your market, increasing brand awareness, connecting with other nonprofits, and getting to know your audience better can all be addressed effectively and economically through social networks.
In forthcoming posts, I will show you how to navigate the social media waters, offer practical steps and advice on developing your own social media strategy, illustrated with personal success stories and case histories. So check back in often for regular updated content and please do join in the conversation by asking a question or leaving a comment in the comments box.
Let the learning begin…
