Tag Archives: Colorado

Old Fashioned 4th of July Celebration in Woodland Park – 2021

Logistics:

$80 = Corporate Booth Space (10 by 10), adjoining space is $60
$60 = Nonprofit Booth Space (10 by 10), adjoining space is $40
$25 = Electricity (first come first serve)

Save Money: Corporations or nonprofits save money by providing five volunteers (save $10) and/or running a scheduled activity for SOAR (save $20)

Partner benefits: Help nonprofits when you become a marketing partner for this event. All proceeds benefit the Nonprofit Cooperative of Teller County.

$500 = Independence Day Partner (2)

Free booth space on the grass (main stage area + the hub for music, large area west of the lake)
Banner space on the main stage
Logo on pre-event advertising
Logo on activity maps designating your location, distributed on July 4^th
Name mentioned in event articles and press releases; from the main stage; and during other activities at the park

$350 = Star-Spangled Partner (3)

Free booth space on the grass (activity area) in a premier location (or near sponsored activity)
Banner space on the activity stage (north side of the lake) or near sponsored activity
Logo on pre-event advertising
Logo on activity maps designating your location, distributed on July 4^th
Name mentioned in event articles and press releases; from the activity stage; and during other activities at the park

$250 = National Anthem Partner (5)

Booth space in/beside the pavilion
Banner space on your sponsored pavilion
Logo on activity maps designating your location, distributed on July 4^th
Name mentioned in event articles and press releases; from the activity stage; and during other activities at the park
Name on pre-event advertising UNLESS you agree to facilitate a planned activity within the pavilion and then you get a logo and the opportunity to set up your display within the pavilion. Activities are “scheduled” at pavilions each hour for 20 minutes (6X for the day of July 4^th) and must be coordinated with SOAR (ideas: watermelon eating contest, a kids parade around the sidewalk circling the park, decorate cookies, have a reading of the Declaration of Independence with a Thomas Jefferson puppet or character actor)

$200 = 4^th of July Partner (unlimited)

Free booth space (10 by 10) or food cart
Logo on activity maps and cards distributed on July 4^th
Name mentioned in event articles and press releases

Email Gayle Gross @ iwantto@soarwithnetworkfundraising.org

Over the TOP Fundraising Team

Leave a reply

Don’t go alone! How long have we been preaching this to our kids. “Partner up!” It’s that simple.

The V-formation develops and runs your fundraiser successfully. What in the world!? A V-formation is a group of birds, flying in a flock, to get to where they want to go. That’s not me!

Are you sure? Wouldn’t you get further if you led a V-formation (Volunteer Formation)? It’s about managing your time effectively. WE ARE ALL TOO BUSY. Of course, we are. We don’t have time to hover over the nest. There are bigger and better things for fund raisers to be doing. Like…meeting new people and developing relationships.

We recommend building your V-formation first: Assigning roles and managing the process. BE THE LEADER!

SOAR helps people develop roles and manage processes.

V-formation is Everyone who…

Shares the cause and tells the story of how they are connected to your mission
Engages donors and sponsors (increases donations and lower costs)
Answers the following question with yes – “will this decision help us raise more money for our cause?” If the answer is no, spending time on that item is avoided

Sample Roles for your team

1. Event Coordinator

2. Marketing Collaborator

3. Hospitality Chief

Building a strong V-formation depends on communication. There are lots of ways we communicate. People do have preferences. Figure them out!

Learn more about SOAR’s Annual Coaching Program by clicking here.

Wondering about the “800?” Schedule a call or send an email to iwantto@soarwithnetworkfundraising.org

Help a Donor Choose your Cause

Details below are given to businesses in order to help them choose a cause for their donation.

Excerpt from blog by Abby Quillen.

With more than 1 million non-profit foundations and charities in the U.S., it may be daunting to decide on a cause to support. Paradoxically, the more choices available, the harder it is to make a decision and act. Use these tips to find a cause that fits your company and gets results.

Find a charity that aligns with your company’s values
What does your business do? What is your mission? If you’re in food service, for instance, maybe you’ll reach out to a non-profit focused on urban food insecurity or recycling. Or if you’re in the financial sector, you could look at one of the many nonprofits devoted to increasing financial literacy. Finding a charity that aligns with your company’s values is a great place to start.
Focus on impact
Do you want to help women start small businesses, communities rebuild after disasters, children learn to read, or needy families have access to nutritious food? Visit a charity evaluator website, such as GiveWell, the Open Philanthropy Project, or the Foundational Research Institute, to compare the costs and effects of different interventions.
Do your research
Before you commit to a cause, make sure it’s legitimate by checking a charity watchdog site such as CharityWatch, Charity Navigator, or BBB Wise Giving Alliance. Ideally, a charity should spend a majority of its funds on programs, not fundraising or administration.
Pay a visit
By partnering with a local non-profit, you can help people in your local community and make it a better place to live. You’ll also have opportunities to sponsor team volunteer work days or local charity events. Before you partner with an organization, visit and observe their work first-hand.
Verify tax-exempt status
Donations that meet certain requirements are tax-deductible. Before you commit to a cause, verify the non-profit group’s tax-exempt status by checking with the group or visiting the IRS website, and talk to your tax expert.

Gayle Gross developed a way for people to SOAR. Very valuable information is shared above, which is an the excerpt from the full article linked here at Zerocater. Aligning a non-profit with a business to create social impact is paramount for today’s cause marketing approach. Gayle knows this and works with organizations to determine the best way to move forward in developing collaborative networking. There’s a program she helps organizations implement. It is the Nonprofit Cooperative. Schedule a call or send an email to iwantto@soarwithnetworkfundraising.org

Coordinating a Process to Recognize Donors

Claire Windsor volunteers with the Heart Start Foundation (“HSF”) and has helped them retain 69% of their donors because of a donor-recognition program they now implement.

21% of donors say they never receive a thank you note. It’s the first step. A thank you lets a person know their donation was received. A simple thank you card, sent within 48 hours, is a good rule of thumb.

Don’t always ask for money. Invite your donors to events that are free and include the people you support. People really enjoy these because they see your work in action and they know you’re not going to ask for money. An example is the popular talent shows we have at HSF. Donors come because the voting is people’s choice. They get to be involved!

Keeping things organized and manageable. We keep an excel spreadsheet of the year’s activities, which includes the activity, date, cost, sponsor, and Volunteer Champion. There’s one Champion per activity. We use online calendars to create tasks. We just started using Trello. It’s an online project management tool. There’s a free version, which allows Champions to share progress with the foundation’s director.

These simple tools are provided “Cause We Care” and value the success of others. Write an article for us too!

Schedule a call or send an email to iwantto@soarwithnetworkfundraising.org

Fundraising Community

Join “Team SOAR” where people:

Increase fundraising
Get feedback and new ideas
Earn privileges related to marketing
Develop lasting partnerships
Learn a simple system to guarantee positive fundraising results

See more…

Gayle Gross is the Founder and CEO of SOAR. She’s an experienced presenter for the Center of Non-profit Excellence in combination with the Association of Fundraising Professionals of Southern Colorado. She implements collaborative networking events to increase market share and raise money for businesses and non-profits collectively. People she has worked with continue to see their markets and services increase even after she’s done coaching them. Peer to peer fundraising and productive social impact within communities are her specialties.

Why people choose to SOAR & develop a fundraising community.

Increase fundraising because you increase market share. (i.e. 126% in four months and 371% within sixteen months)

“Like” the Facebook Group (free) – check in here

Schedule a call or send an email to iwantto@soarwithnetworkfundraising.org

Corporations call fundraising “increasing market share.” Non-profits call it creating sustainability.

Leave a reply

Keeping a development professional longer than the average 18 months is important to a successful run at growing community and raising money. The Founder of SOAR stood in the shoes of a development professional for a corporation and also a non-profit for many years. Corporations call fundraising “increasing market share.” Non-profits call it creating sustainability.

UNTIL SOAR developed there was stress, loss of sleep, and she was driven to work long hours UNTIL a successful system was put into place. She discovered following four simple steps created results and kept her focused. Other people in the organizations where she worked were not worrying about how the money was raised. They just wanted the results.

The development professional – SOAR’s founder – was in a very unhealthy situation UNTIL the successful system (SOAR) created astounding results – WINNING results – quickly and efficiently within four months. STRESS & LOSS OF SLEEP ended immediately and the role of the development professional became a job of managing relationships instead of begging for money. There were people helping to raise money! Dollars continued to increase as community began to GROW.

The truth is, people liked the process so much it increased the market share 126% in four months. SOAR’s program was published and a membership program built. Now, development professionals come to SOAR for support. They pay $34 a month for the privilege of having a fundraising professional in their corner.

Support with SOAR membership looks like this (three highlights):

Group contact with other fundraising professionals to get ideas AND see what really works prior to investing too much time and energy
Trainings and meetings for development professionals are organized – you just show up
SOAR is available for your call – you can share what you’ve having trouble with and SOAR offers advice on the best steps to proceed

Ready to spend $34 on your future success with fundraising – click here!

Unsure of how SOAR fits into your current fundraising program? Schedule a brief strategy call – click here!

1 in 7 seniors live in poverty – See dramatic ads used to create awareness

Leave a reply

#SOARwithnetworkfundraising joins the cause to help our seniors in poverty and reposts this article from link here.

“Today, 1 in 7 seniors live in poverty,” said AARP Foundation President Lisa Marsh Ryerson. “Senior poverty is a widespread and deeply disturbing problem in the U.S. — but it’s often hidden from sight.”

She continued, “These ads are a call to bring senior poverty out of the shadows and into the mainstream American narrative. They’re a rallying cry for action that fosters resilience, strengthens communities and restores hope.”

The two spots dramatize the challenges faced by older adults who struggle to meet their basic needs.

In “Garage Sale,” an older man tags his possessions in preparation for a garage sale. He then sits in a lawn chair, watching apprehensively as people look over his possessions. Rather than prices, however, each tag displays what the purchase will enable him to afford: “dinner tonight” … “bus fare” … “heart medicine.”

In the second spot, “Table,” the camera focuses on a plain table topped with photo frames and mail. The voiceover tells us that after 30 years of the table being an anchor, a mailroom, a community board, a memorial … these days, it’s a very different story. The camera zooms in on a final eviction notice as movers sweep the items off the table and into boxes, and follows them as they haul the table out of the house.

Both spots end with the message, “Even when you prepare, life doesn’t always go as planned. Today, 1 in 7 seniors live in poverty. To learn how you can help, visit aarpfoundation.org.”

See the spots:

Garage Sale: https://youtu.be/o-6HR4cwgzM

Table: https://youtu.be/JSDL3u-IsTk

The print effort features the faces of seniors living at or near the poverty level. With a headline that reads simply, “The face of poverty isn’t who you think,” they capture their subjects’ dignity and resilience. The portrait-style images were shot by world-renowned photographer, Platon, whose work has graced over 20 Time magazine covers.

Screen shot 2018-08-27 at 12.25.52 PM

AARP Foundation worked with Grey New York, AARP’s agency of record, to create an integrated campaign that includes online video, social media, digital, public relations and special events. It will appear across AARP’s communications channels, including aarpfoundation.org, with over 1 million unique visitors; AARP The Magazine, which with 38.3 million readers is America’s most-read magazine; and AARP Bulletin, which reaches more than 30 million readers with 10 print editions annually.

About AARP Foundation

AARP Foundation works to end senior poverty by helping vulnerable older adults build economic opportunity and social connectedness. As AARP’s charitable affiliate, we serve AARP members and nonmembers alike. Bolstered by vigorous legal advocacy, we spark bold, innovative solutions that foster resilience, strengthen communities and restore hope.

AARP Foundation. For a future without senior poverty.

About Grey

Grey is the advertising network of Grey Group, which ranks among the largest global communications companies. Its parent company is WPP (NYSE : WPP ). Under the banner of “Grey Famously Effective Since 1917,” the agency serves a blue-chip roster of many of the world’s best known companies: Procter & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline, Kellogg’s, Pfizer, Canon, NFL, Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Nestlé, Walgreens, Applebee’s and T.J. Maxx.

Contact: Owen J. Dougherty

212-546-2551

owen.dougherty@grey.com

Relationships with Grantors – Four Tips

Leave a reply

We love this statement by Amy Clinton, “The overall success of a grant writer should ultimately be measured by whether or not the organization for which that person is writing grants is building relationships and program credibility with funders and achieving incremental increases in grant funding revenues.”

Recently, an organization in our community saw the deletion of a grant they depended on. It was something they had received for years and at the end, the $125,000 they received last year, just went away without warning. That destroys programs and, it did! The program it funded was shut down.

Relationships and program credibility – how are you building them?

Tip #1: Share your message as often as you can with as many people as you can in the most-effective way.

Tip #2: Offer opportunities for people to be involved in your program and even invite the people within the organization/foundation granting money. They are not likely to attend but will appreciate the thought of inclusion to see how their money is being used.

Tip #3: Accept the way people participate in your program. This helps you to keep momentum going and maintains a positive perspective. A happy person says good things and can provide a testimonial for you later on. This looks good on applications.

Tip#4: Respect and appreciate everyone within your community. By this, we mean anyone associated with your mission and your organization. The same is true with those organizations offering similar services. Maintain the feeling of abundance. There’s enough to go around. Be thankful. SOAR (acronym for relationship development, which is outlined above).

Consider the following data, also provided by Amy Clinton (see her full article):

1. If an organization is submitting applications to already-established funders who know them well, they can expect:

a. For existing programs, high success rates, up to 90 percent
b. For expanding existing programs, good success rates, up to 80 percent
c. For new programs, lower success rates, generally 30 to 40 percent

2. If submitting applications to NEW funders, an excellent success rate would be 30 to 40 percent

3. If submitting applications to a combination of existing and new funders, an organization should expect a success rate of between 50 and 60 percent.

#soarwithnetworkfundraising assists organizations and individuals when they are determining the best way to GROW Community among their constituents. Increasing market share and raising money goes hand in hand. It’s easy when you choose to SOAR.

Fundraising Goals – In the Bag!

Leave a reply

Basically, “in the bag” means your fundraising is secured! You know it’s true because you’ve already accomplished the goal. Whew – a sigh of relief.

Last quarter of the year…is it really in the bag or are you kidding yourself?

As a nonprofit, it can be hard to focus on year-end goals when it’s only August. You undoubtably wear many hats in the organization. It can be even harder to decide what you need to do to achieve success when you’re still trying to meet Q2 or Q3 financial goals. Q4 builds powerful momentum for 2019. Speaking of ways to do this:

1. HAVE A CONSISTENT STORY TO SHARE

A story builds trust in your mission. It has the potential to increase donations when the story is one people repeat to others. The same story has time to build momentum, and you’ll also save resources when you avoid creating something new. ALL. THE. TIME.

2. CUSTOMIZE HOW YOU COMMUNICATE

A donor is different than someone new learning about your program. Look at your connections and specifically at your monthly donation amounts. Align the way you communicate with different donor segments. Check your social media accounts to see which posts get the most engagement, and build articles for newsletters and subsequent posts based upon those topics. Share with people donating to your organization (time, money, resources).

Customizing communication increases trust in your organization.

3. APPRECIATE DONORS AND VOLUNTEERS

Connect with highly engaged donors and volunteers, who frequently support your mission. They are your advocates. They share your mission with others in a GOOD way when they feel respected. Now is the time to make sure there’s a program of appreciation in place, which is well-developed within your organization.

4. CONNECT WITH BUSINESSES AND SPONSORS

Increase awareness and revenue for your nonprofit when you grow the awareness of your organization within your community. Meet with people and share your mission. This is not asking people for donations unless they are ready to give.

Get to the top of your market because people have confidence and trust in you. Take the test! Prove it. Here’s a quick way to decipher your trustworthiness:

Do you serve the best interests of others?
(Not your own interests)
Do you communicate all the information people need to be successful?
(Don’t make assumptions about what you think “they can handle”. Leaders who underestimate the intelligence of their teams generally overestimate their own.)
Do you keep your commitments?
(Leaders must watch their words because even a casual comment can be interpreted as a commitment.)

Keeping commitments is very important to establish trust.

SOAR is dedicated to helping businesses, non-profits and donors build community. Email us at iwantto@soarwithnetworkfundraising.com with questions.