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.
How to generate action and deliver change
Check out this presentation on social and behavioural change from Jon Howard, Planning Director at Quiet Storm, a UK-based advertising agency. He addresses the question of how to engage your audience and mobilise them for action.
Key points include:
- less guilt tripping, more positive reinforcement
- harnessing the power of “everyone else”
- having a clear simple vision
- empowering your supporters
- making it easy for people to become involved with your cause
View the presentation on SlideShare
How to recruit fundraising volunteers
Volunteers are important members of many fundraising teams, and often play a critical role in the overall success of your fundraiser. The following are a few tips to help you recruit volunteers to your fundraising team.
1. Invite, Don’t Push
You are working hard to support a meaningful and rewarding cause. You feel good about the work you’re doing and you want to share the joy of giving back with others. Remember that when you approach volunteers. Remember that you are inviting them to be a part of something great. Share your feelings with them and ask them to join you.
You’ll have more success recruiting volunteers by inviting them rather than pushing them into helping out, and the ones that you are able to recruit will likely share your passion for the cause.
2. Plan Your Tasks Before You Ask
People are more likely to volunteer if they have a clear idea of what you’re asking them to do. Divide your fundraiser into tasks and make a note of all tasks that require volunteer help. Take the list when you go recruiting and refer to it when asking volunteers. Say things like, “We need a few people to work on setup, and a few to supervise the event. Could you help out with one of those tasks?”
When you give people a clear understanding of the work involved, they’ll be more likely to sign on. Also, you’ll be assured that those who sign on will be up to the tasks at hand.
3. Be a Team Leader
Once you’ve recruited your volunteers, you want to keep them on board and keep them motivated. The best way to do this is to be an effective, well organized, energetic team leader. Let your enthusiasm show at all times, and be there to answer questions or offer support. You are who they will look to for guidance, so be prepared with a smile!
4. Get the Word Out There
There are several online resources on which you can post free adverts for volunteers, where you can expect your advert to be read by thousands of like-minded people interested in the work that community and voluntary groups do.
Source: efundraising.com
