Guide to Fast Fundraising for Sports Ideas

Guide to Fast Fundraising for Sports Ideas by Mark Neal

 

If you want to have a fundraiser for your child's sports team, then you should know that there are a variety of options that are available to you here. Fast fundraising for sports teams is the best idea, as this is the quickest way that you can get the most money, and so whether you are actually in a rush to get money for the team or not you will definitely want to seriously consider this option.
Reasons to Have a Fast Fundraising for Sports Event
There are many different reasons as to why a fast fundraising for sports event would be held, for instance if the team needed new uniforms or new equipment. School teams are especially usually in need, because schools barely have the funding to get class equipment, let alone sporting goods for their school teams.
Ideas for Your Fast Fundraising for Sports Event
When it comes to getting started on your fast fundraising for sports event, the first and most important thing that you are going to have to decide on is what product you are going to sell with the fundraiser; there are plenty of ideas to choose from. Lollipops are one of the more popular options, as there are tons of different flavors and they are also incredibly inexpensive and so therefore they sell quite well to the general public.
Cookie dough is another infamous fundraising item and again there is a lot of variety to choose from and it is cost effective. There are plenty of other options as well, such as popcorn, candy canes, chocolate, and coffee, for instance.
The best idea is to determine what your major audience is going to be, for instance if you think that you are going to be selling mostly to adults (which is the smartest idea because they will be the ones with the most money), then you are going to want to stick more with things such as coffee and cookie dough, because it is the adults who are more likely to buy these sorts of products.

Hollister to Sponsor Red Cross Blood Drive

Boston Staffing Firm Hollister to Sponsor Red Cross Blood Drive and Haiti Fundraiser by Gillian Seely

 

Feb 17, 2010 - BOSTON, Massachusetts --Boston-based staffing agency Hollister will partner with the American Red Cross to host a blood drive on Thursday, February 18 at 75 State Street, and is holding an ongoing fundraiser for victims of the January 12 earthquake in Haiti.

The majority of blood collected from the drive will be distributed throughout Massachusetts. Some units will be sent to Haiti as emergency circumstances have led to increased demand in the region. Cash donations will be sent to The Haiti Relief & Development Fund, a Red Cross initiative dedicated to aiding the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. Donations will then be put toward relief supplies and financial resources for victims and deploying volunteers.
"We're thrilled to have local companies show such an interest in giving blood, and do their part to help those in need," said Kaity Lawler, a spokeswoman for the Red Cross of Massachusetts. "It really speaks volumes about the generous spirit of our local companies and residents, and hopefully will inspire other companies to look into blood drives and fundraisers as options for corporate volunteerism."
Hollister partnered with the Red Cross for the first time in a blood drive a year ago, and plans to continue in future years. Organized by Hollister's Philanthropy Committee, the drive is one of many initiatives the staffing firm has undertaken in an effort to inspire local corporate social responsibility, and to stay true to the values of the company. In December the staffing firm held a toy-drive and fundraiser for Christopher's Haven, a nonprofit dedicated to housing children who travel long distances to undergo radiation therapy at Massachusetts General Hospital.
"Giving back to the community and to those in need is an integral part of our company's vision," said Hollister. "We saw how enthusiastically people responded when we organized the drive a year ago. Now, particularly with the heartbreaking devastation in Haiti and the continued needs of the Red Cross here in Massachusetts, we are hoping for an even greater turnout, and we are really striving to foster a spirit of giving, and of borderless generosity."
For more information about giving blood or registering as a donor, visit http://www.redcrossblood.org (use sponsor code 75State). To make a donation to the Red Cross, please visit http://www.redcross.org.

What Nonprofits Should Know About Pinterest

March 5, 2012, 12:42 pm

By Cody Switzer

More than 1,700 people joined The Chronicle on Tuesday for a discussion about the social network Pinterest.

Because the network has been such a hot topic in recent weeks, we’re answering some questions that we ran out of time to cover and summarizing a few of the basics.

The following advice comes from the experts who led the discussion: Staci Perkins, director of marketing and communications at the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption; Kyra Stoddart, online marketing manager for Amnesty International USA; and Joe Waters, a nonprofit consultant who blogs at Selfish Giving.

You can also read the complete transcript of our live discussion.

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a “virtual pinboard” that allows you to share photos from your computer or from Web sites. Each account can have several boards, often divided by subject area. Ms. Perkins, for instance, set up a different board for each section of the Dave Thomas Foundation’s Web site.

You can add “pins” either through the site or through a “bookmarklet”—a link you keep in your bookmarks toolbar that helps you pin information that you want to share on Pinterest.

The site is free, but you must be invited to participate. If you’re not yet on Pinterest, you’ll need to ask someone on the site for a membership or sign up to wait for the site to send you a membership offer.

The site is owned by Cold Brew Labs.

How does Pinterest interact with Facebook and Twitter?

Pinterest automatically connects with Twitter accounts and personal Facebook profiles, which makes it easy to share Pinterest posts to your other social networks.

It isn’t as easy to add Pinterest posts to your organization’s Facebook page without using a plug-in that allows you to embed another site on your page. You can find several tutorials about how to do this online.

I read that one of the major “don’ts” in Pinterest is self-promotion. What can I do?

“It’s like any promotion: Put the cause first,” Mr. Waters said during the live discussion. “The best brands lead with a strong emotional message and let the consumer connect the dots back to the nonprofit or company.”

“Pinterest users are more interested in discovery than being bombarded with promotions,” Ms. Stoddart said. “Think of yourself as a content curator who will pin interesting and inspiring things, not always directly relating to or promoting your organization.”

What copyright concerns are at play with Pinterest?

The site’s terms of service spell out how things work. You give Cold Brew Labs rights to reproduce, for any purpose, anything you post. One lawyer who deleted her account says she did so because she was also worried that all legal liability for pinning a copyrighted work is on the person who posts it.

Web-site owners can add a  small piece of code to their sites that blocks users from sharing their content on Pinterest. You can also report copyright violations to the site.

How do you categorize pins if there is no category related to nonprofits or social good on Pinterest?

Mr. Waters adds most of his posts to the “other” category, and Ms. Perkins posts most of her pins in “kids” because of her organization’s focus on adoption. They suggest that you find the category that is closest to your mission and put it there.

Mr. Waters, Ms. Perkins, and Ms. Stoddart all said they expect Pinterest to add a category related to social good sometime soon. As the network grows, it will also evolve.

Is Pinterest something that would require constant upkeep?

“Because it’s so new, I don’t think people expect tons of pins,” Ms. Perkins said. “Just check in daily at the beginning, and as you follow more people and get more followers, it will grow.”

The task that may take the longest is finding the right people to follow, Ms. Stoddart said. Once nonprofits find people interested in their cause to repin, they can be active on the site by spending just a few minutes a day.

How can I quantify the value to my nonprofit of being a part of Pinterest?

The guests in Tuesday’s chat said to look at the number of followers on your account and on each board, as well as traffic the network is driving to your site.

“That’s what is impressive about Pinterest,” Mr. Waters said. “It’s already a big traffic driver. Top ten for my blog.”

Even if you don’t have a Pinterest account, you can easily see what people are pinning from your site. Just visit http://pinterest.com/source/ followed by the URL of your home page.

Send an e-mail to Cody Switzer.

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