FirstGiving is the no-risk, easy way for you to leverage the internet. Here are some helpful tips to get the most out of our service.  

Talk about FirstGiving at your board meetings

Encourage your staff and board members to make their own fundraising pages and email them to all their contacts. Support them by following up with fundraising tips. Use our most successful fundraising tips.  

Add a link to your nonprofit page on your website

You can put it on your home page and in your "ways to help" section, as the Scleroderma Foundation did (see below). You can also add a badge.

Click here to see how the Scleroderma Foundation promotes FirstGiving

Send an email or newsletter introducing FirstGiving

Announce to your supporters that you're working with FirstGiving to make raising money and donating easy. Here's an example you can use and modify:

Help us make a difference by raising money and awareness for [NONPROFIT NAME]. We've partnered with FirstGiving to make raising money and donating easy.  

How it works

• Make your own fundraising page: You can personalize it with your own story, photos, and more.
• Email your page to friends, family, and colleagues: They can donate by credit card in an easy, secure online transaction.
• FirstGiving transfers the money to us and helps reduce our administrative work.

You don't have to send out letters in the mail or collect checks. To start fundraising, visit: www.firstgiving.com/[YOURURL], click Get Started, and follow the steps to making your page.  

Good luck with your fundraising, and remember, you can visit our help and resource area, read our blog, or contact us for more ideas.

Encourage your fundraisers to promote their fundraising pages

In addition to sending emails to friends and family, your fundraisers can also add their fundraising page links or widgets to their websites, blogs, or MySpace page. If they're on Facebook, they can download our Fundraising application, too.  

Promote your nonprofit page web address

Add your nonprofit page URL to your printed promotional materials. See a great example of a printed piece.

Keep in touch with your supporters

Once you've asked your supporters to set up fundraising pages, make sure you find out how they're doing and send them encouragement.

• Sign in to your FirstGiving nonprofit account and check your reports.
• Send thank you emails to people who have set up pages or donated.
• Send gentle reminders to supporters who haven't created pages.
• Check in with fundraisers to offer them support or fundraising tips. Share our most successful tips.

Add your nonprofit page web address to your email signature

You can subtly raise awareness about your nonprofit's fundraising efforts to everyone you email by adding it to your signature file. Here's an example you can copy:

Pat Lee, Executive Director

The Example Foundation

(800) 555-1212

pat.lee@example.org

Join us for the 12th annual walk on Nov 31. Our goal is $50,000. Sign up or donate today at http://www.firstgiving.com/example