Friends for Life, an animal shelter in Houston, raised $8,100 through an event that invited participants to stage a zombie walk. Photo by Kim Domerofski/Friends for Life
Zombies often get a bad rap for their ghoulish ways. But it turns out that they also have a penchant for giving.
A growing number of nonprofits are taking advantage of the recent popular fascination with zombies by playing host to “Zombie Walks”—events in which horror fans dress up in their undead best and gather for fund-raising walks that raise money for their favorite causes.
In some cases, they are raising significant money. For example, Friends for Life, a nonprofit animal shelter in Houston, raised $8,100 earlier this month from a horde of ghouls ambling through a suburb in West Houston.
While this week’s “Giving USA” report suggested that donations are starting to recover from the downturn, growing by 2.1 percent last year, many charities are still struggling to increase giving amid the sputtering recovery.
In this video, fund raisers and chief executives share their advice for how charities can overcome the challenges of seeking donations in a stalled economy. You can see another video we posted this week with additional advice.
“Giving USA,” the annual tally of donations, today reported that contributions from private sources increased by 2.1 percent in 2010. That small increase comes on top of a sharp decline in giving during the recent recession.
How are these trends affecting fund raisers? At a recent gathering in New York, fund raisers discussed how their organizations fared in 2010 and what they’re doing to cope with what continues to be a difficult climate for giving.
Watch this video to see how fund raisers at organizations such as the United States Fund for Unicef and the Ronald McDonald House New York are adjusting their strategies in the face of an uneven economy.
While many charities struggled to connect with donors in 2010 due to the sluggish economy, online giving grew for some groups, according to a new Chronicle survey.
The survey found that 137 of the nation’s largest charities raised $808-million online in 2010 ($942-million counting donations made in response to the Haiti earthquake), compared to $523.1-million raised by the same groups in 2009.
How are these groups making such strong gains, especially during a tough time for fund raising overall?
Below is a look at four groups that have built successful online fund-raising efforts:
Texas Children’s Hospital
Texas Children’s Hospital was one of many organizations that found success by using online tools to help supporters play host to fund-raising events on its behalf.
The hospital recently created a feature on its Web site that allowed supporters to set up registration…
How do nonprofit leaders get members of the so-called millennial generation to connect with their causes?
Tucker Branham, a millennial and senior consultant with Corporate DevelopMint, has some simple advice: Ask them.
According to Ms. Branham, millennials—members of the generation that reached adulthood in the 90s and early 2000s—are passionate and knowledgeable about social issues, thanks to their connectedness through online networks. And they want their ideas to be heard.
“They want to network, they really like mentors, but they need free reign on their ideas and creativity,” she says.
To tap into this energy, Ms. Branham says nonprofits don’t have to turn over control of their operations to these young professionals. But they should find ways to listen to their ideas.
For more about how to connect with millennials, see the video above.
Eli Jordfald doesn’t believe in making cold calls.
But as senior major-gifts director for the University of North Carolina’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Mrs. Jordfald says that much of the $3-million that she raised last year came as a result of donors she had engaged over the years through discovery calls—phone calls made to prospects who had a known connection to the center but who had not made large gifts.
Her experience interacting with potential donors, many of whom are former patients of the center, has taught her some unexpected lessons.
Some people, for example, are eager to discuss their illness and treatment plans. All of them appreciate knowing the title of the fund raiser who is calling.
But the biggest lesson has to do with the difference between discovery calling and cold calling. In the video below, she explains the distinction:
Prospecting follows news and trends about fundraising at nonprofits. You’ll find a mix of advice and techniques that have worked for other charitable organizations, as well as updates on new studies and forecasts that will help you do a better job seeking private money.
Holly Hall, who has covered fundraising for more than two decades at The Chronicle, edits the blog. She also writes many of the items, as does reporter Raymund Flandez, who specializes in fundraising innovations, and other Chronicle staff members.
Keep up with Holly Hall on Twitter at @HallHolly and with Raymund Flandez at @Raymundf23.
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