What to Do After You Have Incorporated Your Non-Profit

After filing your articles of incorporation (read about Non-profit Incorporation) there are a number of important steps to take: 1. Build a Board of Directors First, you will need to identify who you would like to have on your Board of Directors in addition to ...

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Use a Media Alert to Announce your Event – Template

With all the focus on social media these days, maybe the good old fashioned media alert has become a neglected part of your marketing efforts. Following are a few tips and a media alert template to get you started. It can be a very effective ...

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How to Build Media Relations For Your Group

Your organization’s email list can only take your message so far. To continue to grow the reach of your organization, you’ll have to get the word out to new people and places and build media relations for your group. Traditional media outlets can be an ...

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Fundraising Idea: Peace Sign Fundraiser

For this fundraiser you’ll need hula hoops, string lights, and volunteers to help assemble your peace signs – or any other signs you think are appropriate and supporters would love to buy. We chose the peace sign because of its popularity, but, as with any ...

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Nonprofit Incorporation

Many fundraising organizations ask whether there is any benefit to becoming a non-profit corporation. In reality, this is two questions: first, whether to incorporate at all and second, after incorporation, whether to seek non-profit status. There are many benefits to non-profit incorporation and, once incorporated, ...

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9 Tips for Running a Marathon Fundraiser

Holding a marathon fundraiser is a fun and healthy way to bring community and family together to raise money for a good cause. Considering the estimated number of runners, spectators, volunteers and sponsors you’ll have, as well as road closures, health care and security concerns, ...

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How to Prepare When Asking for Donations and Support

When tasked with obtaining sponsorship money or in-kind donations, simple prior preparation will make the entire process easier. Before asking anyone for anything, ask yourself these basic questions: What is our goal? Does my group need monetary sponsorship or in-kind donations, or both? There are ...

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Guaranteed Fun – Hold a Karaoke Fundraiser!

Maybe you’ve had a stressful fundraising season but you’re still on the hook for one more event, or you’re looking for a simple and quick add-on fundraiser to another event. Why not plan for a karaoke fundraiser? This event costs little to put on and ...

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How to Promote Your Fundraising Event

Regardless if you’re holding one or several fundraisers each year, properly promoting each and every event will help you get the most out of your time and money invested in them. Even just a little bit of extra effort can result in much better results. ...

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Thank You For Donation Letter – To a Company

Following is a sample ‘thank you’ for donation letter to be sent to a company. Feel free to customize this thank you for donations letter with your group’s specific information as needed. (More fundraising letters.)       Dear ______ Thank you. You may remember ...

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New Options for Mobile Donations

You can already collect mobile donations via an SMS text donation campaign through companies like mGive or MobileCause. However, these services are relatively expensive and aren’t suitable for smaller fundraising campaigns, or drives that need to be organized and executed quickly. It’s also hard to ...

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How to Ask for Donations from a Large Company

Large companies support charities on a large scale, providing financial support through fundraising events and donations, in addition to providing publicity of their sponsored non-profits among their employees. But even large companies may have to lower their cash donations during tough economic times and will ...

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Fundraising Idea: Food Truck Fundraiser

Maybe you’ve already seen them in your neighborhood, or heard about them in the news: a new generation of food trucks that serves everything from tri-tip and crepes to cupcakes or any ethnic cuisine you can imagine. Unlike a traditional ice cream truck, or the ...

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Fundraising Idea: Make Money With a Valentine’s Day Fundraiser

Valentine’s Day is one of the best times of year to hold a fundraiser! A Valentine’s Day fundraiser offers the advantages of • Decreased competition from other fundraisers – as opposed to the busy times of year for fundraising like Christmas and Fall, when many ...

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Volunteers – Unpaid but Priceless

There is no doubt that without a volunteer force, local, nationwide and worldwide charitable groups wouldn’t be able to do most of their good work. Volunteers are priceless and it would be hard to imagine a world without them! If you’re running a fundraiser, or ...

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