Charity Walks Blog

The Nonprofit 2.0 Unconference was held in Washington DC on June 25, 2010. I had the privilege of leading a session on the topic of how volunteers can support nonprofit organizations online. Below are the viewgraphs used during the session (with a couple of tweaks).

All of the methods identified can be used to raise funds and promote charity walks. Consider how your volunteers can support your charity walk events in some or all of these ways.

Are you aware of other methods that volunteers have used the web to support a cause or nonprofit organization? Please leave me a comment below.

Thanks,

Cheering From The Sidelines: How volunteers can support nonprofits online and how nonprofits can help

View more presentations from Roger Carr.

Technorati Tags: charity walks, nonprofit 2.0, Nonprofit Organizations, np20, nptech, unconference, Volunteers, Washington Dc

I have recently read several blog posts and newsletters from fundraising consultants who encourage nonprofits to run away from charity walks when they should be embracing special events.

Many of these consultants are friends of mine. I have a significant amount of respect for them and their abilities. So why am I concerned with this particular advice?

Get Rid of Charity Walks

There is some basis for these fundraising consultants to recommend that nonprofits stay away from special events, including charity walks. Planning, organizing and executing a successful charity walk takes a significant amount of time and effort from staff and volunteers. There are other much more efficient methods to raise money to support an important cause. There is also some level of risk being accepted when holding a special event.

Horror stories of failed attempts at raising funds have been used to reinforce the risks being taken when embarking on special events. Some of these stories were first-hand experiences of the fundraising consultant.

If the only need of the nonprofit organization is to raise money, the advice being given is right on target. Finding ways to be more effective and efficient at rising funds is why the fundraising consultant was hired, right?

The Flaw

Most nonprofit organizations don’t have a purpose and mission to raise money. Typically, an organization needs to do things like institute programs and lead advocacy efforts to fulfill their purpose. The funds raised are just one of the important tools needed to allow the organization to make a positive difference. There are other important tools that the organization needs in addition to money.

When decisions about special events are made from the limited perspective of fundraising alone, it can cause problems in the organization. I was intrigued by the blog post Fundraisers and Program Professionals: Can’t Everyone Just Get Along?. It discusses the friction that can occur between program professionals and fundraisers when each are not working together from a “corporate” perspective.

Consider Charity Walks for All They Can Provide

Charity walks can be powerful. There are many benefits this type of special event can provide to the nonprofit organization. Some of these benefits include:

• Raising money
• Recruiting and developing volunteers
• Raising awareness for the cause and the organization
• Identifying and engaging company partnerships in the community
• Supporting advocacy efforts

These are all positive things from the program professional perspective. But unless the fundraisers and program professionals start viewing their efforts from an organization perspective, there will be unhealthy conflict and the nonprofit will not be as effective as it could be.

Before eliminating charity walks, the total return on investment needs to be considered and compared to the overall needs of the organization. Only then can an informed decision be made. Who knows, maybe a bonus benefit will be the program professionals and fundraisers will start getting along.

By the way, most of the special event horror stories I read had little or no volunteer involvement. In my opinion, this is not advised and would put the event at significant risk. If you are considering a charity walk in the future, take advantage of others who have successfully put on these charity events. Get your personal  copy of The Walkathon Guide at http://www.TheWalkathonGuide.com.

Thanks,

Photo credit: Thiago Felipe Festa

Technorati Tags: Advocacy Efforts, charity fundraising, charity walk, charity walks, Fundraising, Fundraising Consultant, Fundraising Consultants, Nonprofit Organization, Nonprofit Organizations, Volunteers

There have been several articles and blog posts written lately suggesting that there are too many charity runs and walks. One of these posts is at http://rwdaily.runnersworld.com/2010/05/running-toward-an-awareness-overload.html.

I decided to examine the online community calendar of my local newspaper in Fredericksburg, Virginia. For today, the events listed include:

• 17 music events
• 4 art exhibits
• 3 theater events
• 2 book signings

Is it likely that people will complain about the promotion of too many music events? Art exhibits? I doubt it.

It is recognized that people have different tastes in types of music and art so multiple events on a given day are expected. So why isn’t it recognized that people have different passions regarding causes? Why isn’t it recognized that these charity events help provide nonprofit organizations with money, volunteers, public awareness, advocacy and partnerships with community businesses that are needed to make a difference?

What isn’t discussed is how many people are participating in these events. What isn’t discussed is how successful they are.

If there was true awareness overload, participation would dwindle, donations would evaporate, and sponsors would disappear. But that isn’t the case for most of these events. These events require hard work by many nonprofit staff and volunteers. They would be canceled if there wasn’t a good return on investment.

What do you think? Leave a comment below.

Thanks,

Photo credit: ramzi hashisho

Technorati Tags: Advocacy, charity events, charity walks, Community Calendar, Fredericksburg Virginia, Music Events, Nonprofit Organizations, Nonprofit Staff, Partnerships, Passions, Public Awareness, Return On Investment, Volunteers

Charity walks can benefit tremendously from the support of businesses. They can potentially provide money, required products, and volunteer time.

Businesses all around you need new ways to promote their products and services to the community. They also need to continually find new ways to improve employee satisfaction. Supporting charity walks is one great way to do this.

Contact businesses in your area for support. Let them know the impact your nonprofit organization is making, the benefit your charity walk and organization will receive from their business donation, and what benefits they can receive through their generosity.

Make sure you are offering many of the following ways to benefit your charity walk sponsors:

• Mention sponsors on all event promotion material. Let everyone you promote your charity walk to, know who your sponsors are. This is great advertising for your sponsors. Make sure
• Print the logo of each sponsor on charity walk shirts. Participants turn into moving billboards for the charity and sponsors every time they wear the shirt.
• Provide a table for each sponsor on the day of the event. Walkers will be able to visit each sponsor’s display and be able to get their questions answered immediately by the company representatives covering the event. It also provides an opportunity for the sponsor to provide promotion material to the walk participants.
• Provide an opportunity for the sponsors to give samples of their products to the walk participants. They can do this at their sponsor tables. It can also happen by putting together a gift bag for all of your walkers or by using sponsor products as prizes.
• Present thank you plaques or certificates to all of your charity walk sponsors. Many shops and restaurants will display these at their place of business in a location where customers and employees can view them. This can improve the image of the business while also continuing to raise awareness of your organization.

Be creative in finding additional ways for companies to benefit from their sponsorship of your charity walks. The next time you discuss opportunities with a local business, you will be able to share several benefits they will receive for their contribution. It will be a win-win proposal that will help you secure more sponsorships for a more successful charity walk.

Thanks,

Technorati Tags: Charity Organization, charity walks, Employee Satisfaction, Generosity, Incentives, Nonprofit Organization, Nonprofit Organizations, Participants, Plaques, Prizes, Promotion Material, Sponsor Products, Sponsor Tables, sponsors, Volunteer Time, Walkers

If you were not able to attend the Fredericksburg Arthritis Walk this year, check out the below slideshow. Walking events can be fun and provide support to your favorite cause.

If you are not involved in a charity walk, go to http://www.LetsMoveTogether.org to find an Arthritis Walk in your area or contact your favorite nonprofit organizations to discover if they host charity walks you can join.

Thanks,

Technorati Tags: Arthritis, charity walks, Fredericksburg, Nonprofit Organizations, walk events, Walkathon