You need to remember that if you have a nonprofit, then you have avenues into funding that are as easy as asking for them. Summer is a time for being outdoors and it does not matter where you are in the world there are summer activities that are just beginning to bloom. With the right strategy you can piggy back on thousands of hours of work that others have done for you getting masses of people together to learn about your nonprofit. Below I will let you in on where to find all these people that are eager to learn about your nonprofit and then help you put together a strategy to capitalize on them.

See below how Ocean Grand can get your image looking its best to grab donors attention with up to 60% off on all of our design and printing.

Festivals, Art Shows, Boat Shows and Concerts
For months all over the country teams of people have been working diligently preparing for festivals and other summer events to bring hundreds of thousands of people to these events. If you grab the opportunity, they have brought all of these people together in one place to learn all about your nonprofit and have the opportunity to support it. If you love to be outdoors, meet people, and share the vision of your nonprofit, then this summer these events are your ticket to doing all three.

You can be raising donations for your non profit by doing just about anything. As a non profit you should take advantage of events that are already planned and organized in your area and make them into fundraisers for your organization as explained below. Just about any activity could raise money for your favorite charity even if the charity is not a charity that is officially recognized for the event. Why not raise money for your favorite charity through events that are already happening all around you.

How to Use Outdoor Festivals, etc for Fund Raising

1. Start by finding all the events around you in a 50 mile radius
2. Contact the organizer and ask if they are giving away or discounting display space to nonprofits
3. Ask the organizer if your nonprofit could be a featured charitable cause for the event
4. Could a portion of the proceeds go to benefit your nonprofit? Ask.
5. Grab tent space or booth space if it is affordable, 1000’s will come by your display during the event.
6. You could simply grab a stack of your professionally design and printed business cards and brochures to hand out as walking through the event.

* See the check list below of the things you need to show up with to be prepared.
** Also see below How to Turn Any Event into One That Sponsors Your Nonprofit

Other Easy Fund Raising Events for the Summer

1. Organize a Car Wash
2. Walk-a-thons, bike-a-thons, running and swimming events
3. Craft Festivals
4. Rummage Sales
5. Golf Tournaments
6. Tennis Events
7. Bingo and Casino Nights
8. Wine Tasting Parties
9. Auctions
10. Summer Concerts
11. Art Shows
12. Boat Shows
13. Vegetable Festivals (strawberry festival, etc)
14. Air Shows
15. Ice Cream Socials
16. Church Summer Events

There is a lot more than this but these will get you started.

List of Things You Will Need for Summer Fund Raising

1. Business Cards and Brochures- At the very least you will need a few thousand professionally designed and printed business cards and tri-fold brochures. Resist the temptation to design them and print them yourself. Everyone knows the when you printed them yourself and nothing says more about your nonprofit than the materials you are willing to hand out. Have some pride and hand out good looking and well designed stuff.
2. Display Booth- If your going to do a booth or tent then you need a well designed banner and trade show display. Again if you are not willing to spend a little money on your nonprofits image then don’t expect others to donate to it. People like to invest and donate to successful programs. It does not have to be elaborate but professionally designed and printed banners and a table top display will make you look like your serious about your program.
3. Web Site or Blog- People that you hand out business cards and brochures to are going to want to visit a web site or blog to see if your legitimate. I suggest a blog (see oceangrand.org/top-10-reasons-nonprofits-should-blog/) and you should have one up even if you are not doing summer fundraising. Now days if an organization does not have at least business cards, a brochure and a web site no one is going to take your nonprofit serious.
4. Spiff- spiff is something to give away that has your organizations name and contact info. For summer fundraising Frisbees, drawstring packs, visors, bottle openers, etc are great inexpensive items that people will want to take home with them and keep. You could even do a drawing or some type of game to get people to sign up for your newsletter and give away more valued items.

Spend some money on your image, a booth if you are going to have one, and great stuff to give away. If you hit several events this summer and talk with thousands of people, you are sure to make back your investment in donations and people involved in your nonprofit.

How to Turn Any Event into One That Sponsors Your Nonprofit

Here in Virginia Beach we have an annual event called the Polar Plunge where everyone raises pledges and then dives in the ocean (some only up to their ankles) to benefit Special Olympics. I have nothing against Special Olympics and really think they are a class act and great cause. Instead, what I am trying to explain here is the only activity you have to be willing to do is get your toes wet and you can raise money to help a great cause.

Now let’s say you want to raise funds and awareness for your own nonprofit. Although there is no special event scheduled (or even if there is) you could create your own very easily. Take a marathon for example. Pick a Saturday, commit to running 10, 15 or more miles and contact everyone you know to pledge money toward the cause you want to support. Use the pledges to benefit your own nonprofit. You can make a great opportunity out of an event of any kind, even the Plunge mentioned above and raise pledges for the Special Olympics and another cause simultaneously.

You can take any event working out, playing softball, snowboarding, bike riding, taking your child for a walk, ironing shirts, or even parachuting, even a walk-a-thon all these and anything else can be turned into even something bigger by having people pledge money toward your nonprofit when you complete them.

Shirt Iron Off

Lets take the example of ironing shirts. Organize a shirt iron-off right at your own house or even better someplace more public. The pledges could be donated per shirt you iron. You could ask all your friends to bring their shirts that need to be ironed or even open it up to anyone that needs their shirts ironed. I believe you get the point, anything, including things you do in your daily routine can be reengineered into an accomplishment you can be proud of because you turned an ordinary event into something extraordinary.

A good article to read more about creative ideas like this is oceangrand.org/what-have-you-done/

How Ocean Grand Can Help You Make This Summer a Success
We at Ocean Grand not only support nonprofits with set up, funding help, and tons of free information to help you be a pro at running a nonprofit. We also give nonprofits up to 60% off professional design and printing of anything your nonprofit might need to look its best. We spend lots of time and energy helping nonprofits look like a million dollars so donors and volunteers have no question that your nonprofit is going someplace.

Nonprofits work¦if you work them.

The First Type
We receive emails and phone calls from nonprofits struggling to find the success they had hoped for. We enjoy working with each of these nonprofits because many times their solution is easy. They just need a good image and need to work the business.  Many times creating a custom story and professional image is all it takes to jump start their nonprofit success.

Nonprofits work if you work them; if you don’t, then they die. Nonprofits rely on others and donors and if you don’t get your message out there, then no one knows about it.

How is your nonprofit coming along? Are you transforming people’s lives and the dreams you had for your nonprofit into reality?
There are two types of groups that we see start nonprofits, and we would like to make sure you are the one that gets results.

Some who start nonprofits through Ocean Grand have great intentions. Once they get their status they tell a few people about the nonprofit, they print out a few sheets about their nonprofit, but no funds come in and they get frustrated. Many try with little success to put it all together themselves.

The Second Type Hit the Road Running
The second type of individuals start their nonprofit and and with the help of professionals get their image polished up and looking like the nonprofit is a success from the beginning. Many allow us to €obrand for them a professional image and story. We provide them with a great looking custom logo, business cards, printed brochures, website, and even letterhead and business cards. They let us help them with some initial fund raising ideas and in a short amount of time they have decent initial funding flowing through their nonprofit. It only takes a little effort along with some great looking materials to make initial your initial fund raising work. They then begin paying themselves a salary and concert more of their time and efforts into their nonprofit.

We at Ocean Grand have a desire that each nonprofit we set up has the success of the second example above. We are even willing to donate up to 50% of our work at creating and printing your image to show you how serious we are about you being a success.

If you are not seeing the success in your nonprofit that you dreamed of, let us help. Get in contact with us and let’s see what we can do to get you on the road to finding the funds and success that you need ,so your nonprofit can help the people you have a passion for.

It does not have to be difficult¦and Ocean Grand is here to make sure it’s not.

Have a great summer and hopefully your pockets will be full at the end of it with a little help from us and some fun in the sun on your part.

Most Popular Posts of February

February has been a big month for great posts that help nonprofits learn to fundraise, brand their image, and use social media to get their messages out. We thought a nice post to round out February would be a link to many of these articles on the same page for easy reference.  Maybe you dream to start a Nonprofit but don’t know how.  There are even links to great articles on how to start a nonprofit.  Whatever your depth of knowledge in the nonprofit arena, there are quick and timely articles for everyone below that are sure to help you increase the success of your nonprofit.  Read on and enjoy the free information, all we ask is that you pass the web site address on to at least one other nonprofit that could benefit from the information also.

Fund Raising

Every Nonprofit wants to know more about how to fund raise successfully.  The 4 articles below will guide you with step-by-step instructions on how to build stable and dependable financial support even in a challenging economic economy.  Great articles for the beginner to the expert.

• Simple and Effective NonProfit Fundraising
• A Simple Fundraising Formula
• Fundraising Ideas
• $2K in 2 Hours

NonProfit Branding and Design

Nothing increases your success in running a successful nonprofit more than its image.  A great looking image and professionally designed marketing materials helps retell a nonprofits story with class.  A professional image is one of the keys to running a successful nonprofit and the articles below can help you step through that process with ease.  Whether you are a church or other type of nonprofit, these articles can help you.

* Is Your Image the Problem?
* The Secret to NonProfit Success

Philanthropy

These are great articles to get to your donors and those interested in your nonprofit, as well as great encouragement to you if you’re involved in a nonprofit. These articles will help your donors and supporters understand the importance and best way to get involved with your nonprofit.  Hopefully we have made your job a little easier just by having your supporters read these articles.  Feel free to direct those involved in your nonprofit back to these articles.

• What Have You Done Lately That You’re Proud Of?
• 6 Steps to Making a Bigger Splash
• The Wonder of a Star
• 401K Alternative

Social Media

Never before has it been so easy to connect with ongoing relationships and build new ones with a couple clicks of the mouse.  The 5 articles below give you step-by-step instructions on how to use the internet and social media to connect better to your supporters and donors while

easily finding 1000’s more who would enjoy being involved in your nonprofit.  Read the 5 articles below and apply them, and you will be on your way to connecting your nonprofit to others in a highly visible way.

• Tweet or Not to Tweet
• Building NonProfit Relationships Equals Success
• Tweet Tweet Nonprofit
• Top 10 Reasons Nonprofits Should Blog
• 14 Advanced Twitter Tips

Start a NonProfit

Have you dreamed of starting a nonprofit but don’t know how to get started?  You might already have a nonprofit but are not seeing the success you had hoped for.  Either way, the articles below will guide you step-by-step through the process of easily starting, funding and running a successful nonprofit. Starting a nonprofit does not have to be expensive, and funding and running it does not have to be hard.  The articles below take the guess work and difficulty out of starting and running a successful nonprofit.

• Rebranding the NonProfit
• The Secret to NonProfit Success
• 3 Most Common NonProfit Hurdles
• 6 Steps to NonProfit Freedom
• NonProfit One Stop Shop
• NonProfit Job Listing
• Start a NonProfit | Medical

Types of NonProfits

There are hundreds of charitable causes that nonprofits address.  In the articles below, we explore 5 charitable causes that you may not have thought of as being a cause to start a nonprofit around.  While reading the articles you may think of friends, family or acquaintances that could enjoy the benefits of having a nonprofit directed toward one of these causes.  We would be glad to help them start, learn to fund and run a successful nonprofit directed toward one of these charitable causes.

• Actors Are People Too!
• Medical Foundation Success
• Start a NonProfit | Medical
• Family Foundations
• NonProfit Adoption
• NonProfit Memorials and Tributes

We Are Committed to NonProfits

As always, Ocean Grand is committed to helping those around the world who dream of starting a nonprofit do so with ease and efficiency.  Likewise, we are committed to those that run nonprofits to better fund and run successful nonprofits. For the last 12 years, we have helped thousands of nonprofits make their dreams a reality and in the next years we will help thousands more.  Join the Ocean Grand Network and let us help your nonprofit connect better, be better funded and see the success you have always hoped for.

If your dream is to start, fund and run a successful nonprofit and want to do it in the least expensive, most efficient and quickest way, while having the most support, get started today by visiting us on the web http://oceangrand.org/start-501c3/

Don’t Forget

Make sure you take a moment and subscribe to our RSS Feed or by email subscription so that you do not miss another article.  Our subscribers get timely articles delivered to them for free plus other information and tips that help them to implement strategies to make their nonprofit as successful as it can be. Subscribe to our blog and get a free bonus copy of my book – “Simple and Easy Fundraising” once it is published.

You realize you need some quick capital for your nonprofit to get your marketing looking professional and polished.

In this quick post, I am going to explain how you can gain some quick nonprofit funding that you can then spend on your image and in turn get started on the “Simple Fundraising” strategy.  There are only a few quick steps to it, read on.

Nonprofit fund raising does not have to be daunting as we learned in “A Simple Formula”. It is simply about telling your story in a quick effective way and then duplicating yourself and that story so that more and more people know your nonprofit exists.  One of the most important elements in retelling your story is to be able to equip others to retell the story once they know it.  However excited you may be about following this simple formula, you are faced with the lack of capital to get your image and story in a form so others can retell it correctly.  We are going to fix that in just a few concentrated hours.

Your First Capital Campaign

The secret to this quick and effective fund raising strategy is that you are not going to be looking for large financial contributions.  Instead, you’re looking for a few smaller contributions, the kind people will easily help you with and not be a challenge for them to donate to you.  Remember, don’t make starting a non profit or fund raising hard. Instead, start simple and make it easy.  Relax, it will all come together, just work the steps.

Step 1- Develop Your Story

You need to develop the “story” of your nonprofit which is: why, how, when, and who you are going to help.  As the founder, you can develop this story the easiest because you have a passion for something to do to help people or things.  For an example, see the “About” tab on the Start a NonProfit | Ocean Grand site.  Your story (product) should be compelling and give a brief background of how the passion for this nonprofit was birthed.  In addition, it should include why the nonprofit was started, who or what the nonprofit is going to help, and how you’re going to help.

For your First Capital Campaign you only need a concise 3 minute version, (“A Simple Formula” gives more specifics). This version is going to briefly tell about the new nonprofit you just started, why you started it, who you are going to help and why.  Hone it down and practice it on a spouse or a friend several times and make sure it “flows” and compels people to want to be a part.

Step 2- Two Hours and $2K

Come up with a list of 20 to 30 of the most generous and willing to help a cause friends you know.  Everyone knows at least that many people whether it is friends, family, co-workers.  Remember to focus first on those that are most likely to help a good cause.  It is also important to remember, you are not asking them for yourself, you are asking them on behalf of an organization that is going to make a huge difference in the community.

Schedule two uninterrupted hours that you can make phone calls in a quite place.  If your using a cell phone, make sure it is a place that has good reception.  There is a brief idea for a script below, but take the wording and make it your own- like you would say it.  Don’t fret, you simply have to go through the script (practice it so it does not sound like you are reading it).  Then ask a quick question at the end and your off the phone.

Script

Here is the script:
You: Hi [person's name].  I was wondering if you had three minutes I could bother you and ask for you input?

{person says yes}
You: I will make it brief and appreciate you taking the time to listen.
or
{person says no}:
You: Ask them when you might call them back that they would have a couple minutes.

You: Tell your three minute story.

You: [Person's name] I am making a few phone calls to those people I believe I can count on that could donate $100  in the next couple days so that we can get our story printed on a brochure and website started.  We have some fund raising scheduled to start in the next couple weeks and need to know we be able to put our best image forward to help [whatever your helping].  $100 is all I need from you and I appreciate our [friendship, relationship, etc] and that I can feel comfortable calling you and asking for your help.  Could I count on you for this help?

{person} yes, how do I get the funds to you?
You: Thank you, I really appreciate it [tell them the name to make the check out to and how to get it to you, you might want to pick it up].
or
{person says no}
You: Hey, [persons name] thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule, can I count on you to help in the future when your able? [wait for response] Again thanks for the time, have a great day, I will keep you updated on our program.

Step 3- That’s it

You simply need to call 20 to 30 people and give them a quick 3 minute phone call asking for some quick help.  Find twenty people that will help, spend 3 minutes on the phone, and you will have your $2k.  Granted, some may not be able to help but now they know your story and you move onto the next person.  Don’t make the phone call complicated or long.  A concentrated 2 hours plus the time you take to develop your story and it is not hard to see you could have your funds.  Make sure you put the funds into polishing your image with a design company that can make that image stand out.

Read “A Simple Formula” to begin getting the next phases of your fund raising efforts underway.

Best of fund raising!  Let us know if we can help.

We receive emails and phone calls from nonprofits struggling to find the success they had hoped for.  We enjoy working with each of these nonprofits because many times their solution is easy.  They just need a good image and need to “work the business.”  Many times creating a custom story and professional image is all it takes to jumpstart their nonprofit success.

Nonprofits work if you work them; if you don’t, then they die.  Nonprofits rely on others and donors and if you don’t get your message out there, then no one knows about it.

How is your nonprofit coming along? Are you transforming people’s lives and the dreams you had for your nonprofit into reality?

There are two types of groups that we see start nonprofits, and we would like to make sure you are the one that gets results.

Some who start nonprofits through Ocean Grand have great intentions.  Once they get their status they tell a few people about the nonprofit, they print out a few sheets about their nonprofit, but no funds come in and they get frustrated.  Many try with little success to put it all together themselves.

The second type of individuals start their nonprofit and and with the help of professionals get their image polished up and looking like the nonprofit is a success from the beginning.  Many allow us to “brand” for them a professional image and “story”.  We provide them with a great looking custom logo, business cards, printed brochures, website, and even letterhead and business cards.  They let us help them with some initial fund raising ideas and in a short amount of time they have decent initial funding flowing through their nonprofit.  It only takes a little effort along with some great looking materials to make initial your initial fund raising work.  They then begin paying themselves a salary and concert more of their time and efforts into their nonprofit.

We at Ocean Grand have a desire that each nonprofit we set up has the success of the second example above.  We are even willing to donate up to 50% of our work at creating and printing your image to show you how serious we are about you being a success.

If you are not seeing the success in your nonprofit that you dreamed of, let us help.  Get in contact with us and let’s see what we can do to get you on the road to finding the funds and success that you need ,so your nonprofit can help the people you have a passion for.

It does not have to be difficult…and Ocean Grand is here to make sure it’s not.