Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Fundraising Tip: How To Bring More Donors To Your Cause

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is convinced that our cause is a worthy one. After all, if our nation is to win the future then STEM-based programs like we have in 45 cities around the nation are a key component. As such, our challenge is getting IT professionals and other African Americans to see what we're all about. How can we attract more eyeballs to our online message?

I think that the following fundraising tip provides some excellent ideas for getting more donors to check out your nonprofit organization (or local BDPA chapter).

Apply for a Google Grant

Getting new potential supporters into your pipeline is a key concern for any nonprofit — cutting through the clutter and marketing yourself is a key component of bringing new donors to your organization. Google provides many free tools and opportunities to help nonprofits spread the word about their good work: Google Grants for online advertising, expanded YouTube channels, Google Apps software, and premium Google Earth features. And now U.S.-based nonprofits can fill out a simple application to access all of these free services at www.google.com/nonprofits as well as access tips on how to make the most of Google's software, and their new nonprofit marketplace, which lists companies that offer free or discounted services to nonprofits.

At the very least, definitely sign up for a Google Grant (www.google.com/grants). A Google Grant will get you $10,000 per month in free "AdWords" advertising, so people see your link above the other results when they search Google. It's an easy way for you to get more exposure for your cause, which is key to raising more money.

BETF recently signed up for some of these services -- http://tinyurl.com/BDPA-Google -- and we've asked a volunteer, Diane Hampton (Chicago), to do some research on how we can best leverage these services.  We probably need to take a closer look at the Google Grant opportunity as well.   This is an idea that our CIO, Rudy Duke, may be able to examine after the current transformation of the BETF website is completed later this fall.   

This tip is inspired by Darian Heyman's new book, 'Nonprofit Management 101: A Complete and Practical Guide for Leaders and Professionals'.

Does this tip seem like one that you might use for your local chapter or nonprofit? If not, do you have a fundraising tip that you would like to share with us?

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