Nonprofit organizations typically set fundraising goals for each of their special events, even before the planning committees are formed. These goals are needed so that budgets and plans for the future can be set. A significant amount of research and predictions can go into setting these goals to ensure they are challenging but achievable.

But I don’t believe these goals should be used to manage the charity walk event. I believe there are problems with giving the charity walk committee the fundraising goals.

You want the committee members to own the goals. They will be more motivated to achieve the goals. The best way to do this is for the committee to discuss and determine their own goals.

Also, the goals of the organization may not take into account the enthusiasm of the volunteers who lead the event. By allowing the committee to set their own goals, even higher goals might be set that will exceed all expectations. The walk committee could be held back from their potential if goals are imposed on them.

Empower your charity walk committee to set their destiny and be their best. The ultimate results may surprise you.

Thanks,

Photo credit: Bob Smith

Post from: Charity Walks Blog

Who Sets Your Charity Walk Goals?

Technorati Tags: charity walk, charity walks, fundraising goals, planning committees, walk event

Have you ever been to a meeting that you didn’t know anyone in attendance? It can be very scary and awkward. For some, it can seem just as scary as going to the dentist!

The first charity walk committee meeting can be just as scary for new members.  It is important that there is a way for each member to quickly participate, have fun, and start building relationships with the other team members.

There are many ice breakers that can be used to get everyone having a great time and to encourage talking with each other.  One simple one is to have each member tell why he or she chose to be involved in this special event.  There are many possible reasons to participate. Here are just a few:

• Personal connection with the cause
• Wants to make a difference
• Asked by a friend
• Earn credits for school
• Learn and practice a new skill

As each person describes why they are involved, write it down. It is likely to provide important clues about the best role the person can contribute and how to best motivate and recognize the person.

Start the planning for your next charity walk off right. Find ways to help your committee members to work together as a team and be excited about their contributions. Make your next charity walk the best event ever!

Thanks,

Post from: Charity Walks Blog

Ice Breaker for Your First Charity Walk Planning Meeting

Technorati Tags: building relationships, charity walk, ice breakers

Submit grant proposals for charity walks

Non profits across the country send out grant proposals everyday seeking funding for their program services.  They compete with thousands of other organizations for the scarce grant dollars that are available. Development offices are always looking for tools to make their proposals stand far and above their competition.

Sadly, there are no special tricks. There are no magic attachments that you can submit with your proposal that will magically reward your organization with those coveted grant dollars.

The sad reality is that a perfectly written application can go unfunded. There are, however, several things you can do that will help your grant proposal and, ultimately, your organization noticed. Noticed and funded.

Appearance

Follow the rules. Most of the time the funding source tells you exactly what they want. Read the application instructions. If they say double spaced, single sided with one inch margins and no more than 10 pages; do not submit a 25 single spaced two sided document thinking they will like what you have to say so much that they will overlook your transgression. When it comes to grants you have only one opportunity to make a good first impression, it is imperative that you proofread and edit using a high quality grammar checker and the help of another set of eyes.

They won’t.

No matter how perfect your program is: if the funder doesn’t read your application it wont be funded.

Content

Once again, read the instructions. The funder will tell you what they want to know. If you are applying for state or federal funding, you will refer to the Request For Proposals (RFP).  The RFP will tell you everything they want to know. The RFP will tell you what format they want it in.  Use the RFP as a checklist to provide them with exactly what want.

The person who reads your budget and budget justification will not have access to the program narrative that was attached. Therefore, you, as the proposal writer, need to make sure that each section tells your story. Looking at a page of numbers and no context will not reveal very much about your organization. Let each section be part of a whole piece. Use the budget narrative to fully explain what the funds will be used for thereby giving the reader a full idea of what he or she did not see in the program narrative.

Quality

The non profit should be operating in a climate of measurement. It is not enough just to do something; you have to be able to prove you do something. More importantly, you have to prove what it means. Organizations that concentrate on performance objectives and outcome measurements will find the responses to funders questions easier to answer.

Your application responses should answer the questions the funder asks. You want to use this opportunity to share your story. You want your application to strike a chord in the reader. People give to people. It is that simple.

Extras

Do not add flourishes where none are asked for. Does your organization have a video presentation that you use at local civic events? Do not send it with your application unless it is specifically requested. Many smaller foundations have very few staff and do not have the time to review the material. Don’t count on that video to tell your story because, sadly, it won’t be seen.

Don’t use fancy bindings for your applications. 99% of the time the funder will tell you exactly how they are to be bound because 99% of the time the applications are separated and various people read various parts.

It takes practice. Not every application will be funded. And not every funder will tell you why it was not funded. When you can, ask for the critique and use it. Compare what they were looking for with what you provided and that will also give you a good road map to use with other applications. There are grant dollars out there and your job as the proposal writer will be to make sure that your application is the best it can be.

If you are tasked with fundraising and grant creation explore the features provided by Grammarly and bookmark English Grammar Rules.

Post from: Charity Walks Blog

How To Make Your Grant Proposal Stand Out

Technorati Tags: charity walks, Fundraising, grammar checker, grant proposal, grant proposals

Below are slideshows containing a few photos I captured at the charity walks. If you haven’t participated in a charity walk, consider getting involved soon. There are several national/international charity walk events listed at http://www.charitywalksblog.com/charity-walk-events/ for your convenience.

Thanks,

Post from: Charity Walks Blog

2011 Arthritis Walk Photos

Technorati Tags: amusement park, Arthritis, arthritis foundation, arthritis walk, arthritis walks, charity events, charity walk, charity walks, kings dominion, Kings Dominion Amusement Park, National Mall, Photos, Richmond, walk event, walk events, Washington Dc

Before I announce the winner, I thought you might be interested in how I determined the raffle winner. I could have made up a ticket for each donor and drew one from a hat or box. However, I decided to use technology to ensure a fair contest.

1. I created a numbered list of the donors (two for those who donated before April 20) in the order the donations were made.
2. I then used the True Random Number Generator at http://www.random.org to generate a random number for the list I created.
3. The resulting number was matched to the donor list to identify the winner.

Who is the raffle winner? It is…

Corey Pudhorodsky

Congratulations Corey! I hope you enjoy the tote on your next trip.

Thanks,

Photo credit: Kevin Abbott

Post from: Charity Walks Blog

And the Winner Is…

Technorati Tags: Arthritis, arthritis walk, Donations, Donors, Fundraising, kings dominion, Raffle

Your volunteers and staff members need to be readily identified. There are a number of reasons why this is important. Here are just a few:

• Someone has a question about the charity walk
• A person is hurt and needs immediate attention
• A participant wants to become a volunteer for future events

Make sure your volunteers can be easily found. How can you make this happen? Here are a couple of ways:

• Have your volunteers wear unique hats, shirts, armbands or buttons that help distinguish them from other participants
• Establish a volunteer station that is staffed throughout the charity event and marked with large signs

Doing this at your next charity walk will help improve the experience of your walkers and let your volunteers know they are valued. This is a terrific combination.

Thanks,

Post from: Charity Walks Blog

Do Your Charity Walk Volunteers Stand Out In a Crowd?

Technorati Tags: arthritis walk, Charity Event, charity walk, charity walks, Volunteers, Walkers

Statistics show there is significant traffic and that those visitors spend significant time on this website. These are great indicators that the website is useful. However, most visitors are not engaged with this blog through comments and sharing blog posts with colleagues and friends. There is definitely room for improvement and I want you to help me discover the best ways I can make improvements.

Here is all that you need to do: Imagine you will be planning a walk in the next year and then fill out the short survey below. No experience necessary!

Thanks,

Post from: Charity Walks Blog

What Charity Walk Information Do You Want To See?

Technorati Tags: Blog, charity walk, charity walks, questionnaire, short survey

This year is no exception. I have submitted online content in several ways demonstrating the importance of the Arthritis Foundation and giving an opportunity to support the organization. However, when I sent personal messages over the past week to some of my friends, they responded!

Who are some of these generous people supporting my personal fundraising efforts for the Arthritis Walk at Kings Dominion?

• Darren Barnes – Photographer, Dwood Photography
• Scott Couchenour – Life Coach, Serving Strong
• Annie Magnant – Executive Director, Science Museum of Virginia Foundation
• David Perdew – Founder, Niche Affiliate Marketing System
• Marc Pitman – Fundraising Coach, The Fundraising Coach
• Traci Pryor – Executive Director, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Richmond & Tri-Cities
• Corey Pudhorodsky – DoGooder, Corey on Twitter

I am a fortunate and blessed person to have the friends I have. I am extremely grateful for their support and friendship. Check out what each one is doing on the links I provided above. If you have an opportunity to meet or learn from any of them, don’t hesitate to do it. Your life will be better for it.

If you want to join me in supporting the Arthritis Foundation in their fight against arthritis, learn how at http://www.charitywalksblog.com/1545/free-links-and-chance-to-win-for-the-next-two-weeks.

Thanks,

Photo credit: Mattox

Post from: Charity Walks Blog

Personal Fundraising Is All About Relationships

Technorati Tags: Arthritis, arthritis foundation, arthritis walk, charity walk, Fundraising, kings dominion, niche affiliate marketing, science museum of virginia

Did you then go back to the original email or website and send a notice to the author that there was a problem? Probably not.

Earlier this week I submitted a post at the Everyday Giving Blog that was originally posted on this blog. This post encouraged readers to donate at my personal fundraising page and promote my fundraising effort in support of the Arthritis Walk at Kings Dominion.

Several days have passed and I was contacted today letting me know that clicking on the links in the blog post gave errors. She was right. I made a mistake when copying the post over to the new blog. It is now fixed, but not before paying a price to relearn an important lesson.

My error can be a warning to you. When you write copy for your charity walk, be sure to check it before it goes out. This applies to both online and offline communication.

I don’t know how many donations for the Arthritis Foundation didn’t happen because I failed to check the links in my blog post. Hopefully they will be back to donate soon.

Thanks,

Photo credit: pop catalin

Post from: Charity Walks Blog

Mistakes Can Be Costly

Technorati Tags: Arthritis, arthritis foundation, Blog, Charity, Donations, Fundraising Effort, kings dominion

Sarah Kirwan is the Junior Hero of the 2011 Arthritis Walk at Kings Dominion. She was diagnosed with arthritis since she was 4 years old. Watch this video of her television interview with CBS 6 Anchors Greg McQuade and Antoinette Essa.

Post from: Charity Walks Blog

Junior Hero on Television In Support of 2011 Arthritis Walk at Kings Dominion

Technorati Tags: Anchors, Arthritis, Cbs, Charity, Hero, Interviewing, kings dominion, Kirwan, Mcquade, Old Watch, Television, Television Interview, Watch Television