As Seth points out people don’t just click and read everything they are sent via email or social media without instinctively judging whether this is a message they would like to read. This is a hurdle that communicator must cross before the recipient even gets to the real message.

Yes, but what if  you are sending something really important – what then? How do you break through the multitude of attention-grabbing messages and have people take notice of your cause. How can you reach them?

According to Seth, there are specific questions people pose themselves when receiving an email / social media message before they decide to do one of two things to: 1) click ahead with interest; or, 2) ignore and/or delete it.

• Do I know this person?
• Did someone I trust send them over?
• Are there typos and is the design sloppy?
• Are they pestering me?
• Do I already follow this person online?
• Does music play when I visit the website?
• Will my boss be pleased when I bring this project up?
• Who else is pointing to/referencing/working with this person?
• Is it too good to be true?

When you prepare your initial fundraising ask message, it’s a good idea to keep these questions in mind if you want your message to pass the “triage” process.

Afterall,

“In a noisy world filled with choices, you can’t blame your prospects for ignoring you. I know that you’re talented and have a lot to offer, but do they?”

As all of you who are engaged in fundraising through the FundScrip gift card program know, regularly keeping in touch with your supporters is a key component in your campaign’s overall success. However, we only have so many hours in the day and often don’t think we have the time to devote to this critical element. So how do we maximize the effectiveness of our efforts while minimizing the time required to accomplish our goals?

Almost everyone has a Facebook page these days, but for the most part, people aren’t interested in having someone bother them with pleas for support while they’re busy looking at photos of cute cats or playing Farmville. In addition, the majority of people aren’t going to visit your group’s Facebook page (you do have one right? If not, check this out) on a regular basis unless they are keen about what you have to offer there – and they know about it.

So what should you do to ensure your contributions in this area are actually worth the effort? First of all, encourage your supporters to ‘Like’ your page. Once they do this, your content will automatically appear in their timeline. In addition, if you get 25, you are allowed a custom URL which may help search engines find your page – potentially attracting more supporters to your group. Put a ‘Like’ button on your website and in all of your email communications – it’s easy to do, and Facebook provides all the code for you.

Next, generate compelling content of value to your audience. No, you don’t have to write this century’s War and Peace; just create material that compels people to do something. Great examples of this are photos, videos, and polls. These are especially powerful if your fundraiser involves children, as parents are always interested in seeing their child’s images and responding to questions regarding their activities. To this end, ensure you take a a camera (preferably one that shoots video too) with you to every group-related event, and ask your supporters to do the same. Encourage them to contribute to your Facebook page, and upload your own content in small doses to maximize its effect over time. Provide links to these images in your email communications as well and do what you can to reinforce the value of their participation in also contributing content. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and on Facebook this is definitely the case. So save your time and concentrate on building an audience for your page the easy way.

So how does this help with fundraising? First of all, it keeps your group’s activities in the foreground; and the more people enjoy their association with it, the more likely they are to contribute in efforts to sustain its success. Additionally, if appropriate, you should mention the role your fundraising played in the event within the comments for the images – reinforcing the connection between participation in the FundScrip program and your group’s value to them.

In terms of textual contributions to your page, you should certainly mention FundScrip; however, do this in a context which provides value to your audience. As mentioned in Beyond Gas & Groceries, a great way to promote the program is to stay on top of monthly promotions and tie these in with upcoming events. If the retailer carries goods associated with your group’s activities, all the better.

To save time, you can link your Facebook page with your Twitter account, so that sending out a tweet will automatically update your page with that content. In order to maximize the effectiveness of this strategy, don’t use the default Twitter/Facebook integration, but check out the Selective Tweets app which will allow you to choose which of your tweets should be included on your page by simply appending the #fb hashtag to your message. After all, if your Facebook page is just a collection of your Twitter messages, why would people bother to subscribe to both? The trick is to have a certain amount of shared content, but enough unique material on each platform to add value for your supporters and provide a reason for multiple subscriptions.

Finally, ensure you have passive branding for the fundraiser on your page. An easy way to do this might be to include a call to action in your profile photo. You could create a small banner overlay which would include the FundScrip logo to remind folks of your participation. Additionally, when mentioning the FundScrip program, be sure to link to the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/fundscrip), the website (http://www.fundscrip.com/ ), or the blog (http://fundrazr.ca/ ) – whichever is more appropriate to your message. This will enable you to automatically display the program logo or icon for the visual tie-in, which helps in mentally anchoring your message with your supporters.

So, if you commit to engaging your group members with compelling content, and not constantly harassing them with requests for support, you’ll find this strategy will automatically assist in driving your fundraising efforts – while avoiding supporter annoyance.

One of the primary principles salespeople are taught is that people don’t buy what they need, they buy what they want… and it’s their job to instill that desire. That’s not to say that folks don’t go through the motions and purchase the things they require to live, but the level of brand engagement and consumer enthusiasm one feels while pumping gas is likely similar to that experienced while eating a piece of toast in the morning.

So, how do you get your supporters excited about the program beyond the essentials? You have to whet their consumer appetites and get them interested in brands that offer more in terms of purchase experience than mere day-to-day survival.

Fortunately, FundScrip has a ton of excellent retailers you may promote to your membership which do exactly that. Here are some helpful tips:

• Maintain regular and concise communication with your group – this is absolutely key. Don’t deluge them with material, but keep in touch on a regular basis with short, well designed emails, newsletters, and the like.
• Stay on top of the monthly promotions and keep your supporters informed about them. Folks often get excited about a deal… and if that ties in with something new and shiny, all the better!
• Make the mental connection for your members between upcoming events and particular brands. Valentine’s Day is coming up – la Vie en Rose?
• In keeping with the last point, help them connect brands with events that you aren’t aware of by mentioning upcoming birthdays, anniversaries and such. You don’t know that uncle Jim’s 60^th is coming up… but they do, and will make the connection.
• Events don’t have to be restricted to those detailed in your calendar. Just had a snowstorm? Why not send out an email mentioning the sale Canadian Tire is having on snowblowers? Hey, they might not need a snowblower, but when they start thinking about Canadian Tire, they might remember they do need jumper cables, a new battery, tires, washer fluid etc. Just because they don’t need the sexy new snowblower (yes, I said sexy), doesn’t mean they’ll stop thinking about Canadian Tire, and what they can purchase there.
• Emphasize the reward in using the gift card to purchase these brands. Using FundScrip to go shopping can be mentally translated to mean there is a sale on every item in the store. After all, shopping with gift cards is putting money towards your favourite cause; and hey, it ultimately all comes out of the same pocket.

By employing these strategies, you can not only improve your group’s fundraising results, but create more engagement and interest in the program – potentially attracting more supporters. So why not start 2012 off on the right foot with a new campaign to help your group get the most out their fundraising efforts!

We, however, do not live in a perfect world, especially if we consider a recent Economic Club of Canada survey where Canadians express their pessimism about the state of the Canadian economy for 2012.

“A mere 25 per cent of poll respondents said they feel optimistic about the economy’s potential in 2012. That’s down from 36 per cent who were optimistic a year earlier, and a steep drop from the 54 per cent who were optimistic about the economy in 2009.”

You can read the complete post here

In fundraising terms, this pessimism means that the scores of groups with specific financial goals will be vying for the attention of a smaller audience. Standing out from the crowd and converting this donor fatigued audience into regular supporters will likely be the biggest challenge for groups and causes looking to fundraise in 2012.

Our advice: Re-energize the fundamentals and refocus your current game plan! Here are a few suggestions:

Realign your goal and make it relevant for your supporters

The chance that your supporters are budget-conscious is higher than ever before so you will need to answer the “What’s in it for me?” question.  Be prepared with a pertinent answer to that question and you’ll have a better chance of recruiting keen supporters.

Branch out and explore new fundraising methods

Being open to new ideas will become more important this year. That means diversifying your fundraising strategy with multiple types of fundraisers at different and appropriate periods of the year.

Make communication your #1 priority

Building meaningful connections with your supporter-base will be extremely important in 2012. If you want to keep your supporters enthusiastic and connected to your cause, you’ll have to speak, email and keep them involved on a regular basis. Make sure they know you and your team!

Amp up your fundraiser through a web page refresh and/or an online promotion strategy

If you don’t have a website, it’s now officially the time to get started on creating one! If you have a website, blog or Facebook page, you’ve got the right idea. Perhaps all you need is an information refresh. There are many ways to achieve this, you can:

• Add new graphics;
• Add a new attention-grabbing message;
• Add more ways to contact your team;
• Add sign up information;
• Add goal updates; and,
• Add anything else necessary for your supporters to get started or get the additional information they require to continue supporting your group or cause.

Host a “Kick-Off / Relaunch” event

This is a terrific way to meet potential supporters and/or reconnect with your current members. It can take many forms, a cocktail, a tabletop at parent-teacher meeting, or even an online web conference like a Google+ Hang-Out.

Create a launch kit and top it up with the particulars surrounding your fundraising goal, such as, dates, schedules, purpose, etc. and of course, explain why this fundraiser is critical to your group.

Whatever your fundraising goals are for 2012, your organizing team should plan for a very busy year.

Happy Fundraising!

Just over half of all Canadian web surfers bought something online in 2010, according to Statistics Canada. But even more – nearly three-quarters – browsed the web for information on products and services.Canadians spent $15.3 billion online, or about $1,362 per person, mainly on hotels, airline tickets, concerts and theatrical events, and other merchandise.

Eight in 10 shopped on Canadian sites and nine out of 10 paid with credit cards, StatsCan also said.

The most popular to purchase online are tablets, smart TVs, eReaders, small appliances, headphones and video games.

Happy to report that according to theses Comscore statistics, the top online shopping sites in Canada include a few of FundScrip’s participating retailers:

Indigo Chapters >> 30 per cent

BestBuy / Future Shop >> 22 per cent

Canadian Tire >> 15 per cent

Sears >> 13 per cent

*figures above represent percentage of Internet users that visited those sites in November, 2011*

Since many of FundScrip’s participating retailers also include gift cards as a method of payment online, we expect that a good number of those online orders were paid with gift cards purchased through FundScrip ;)

How about you? Are you purchasing more online? If yes, what are you buying? Comments welcome!

Source: Comscore

Some folks on our lists are simply difficult to buy for; after all, we’re fortunate enough to live in a society where our needs are in large accommodated, and wants are often beyond the financial scope of an average Christmas present. To that latter point, the holiday season is also a source of stress for many in terms of their overall expenditure, with the ramifications of overspending lasting well into the new year.

Shopping for teens can be even more frustrating. Do you know what’s “cool” right now? I don’t. What about all those people in your life with whom you are only casually acquainted? Your hairdresser, babysitter, paper boy, child’s hockey coach – do you have any real idea what they’d like for Christmas that would be also be appropriate given your relationship? It’s tough.

Fortunately, there’s a solution to all of these problems that’s quick, easy, and even supports your favourite cause: of course, you know we’re talking about FundScrip gift cards!

Gift cards:

• Allow your recipient to select something they’d actually really enjoy
• Permit you to create a holiday budget, and stick within it
• Give you the opportunity to automatically raise funds for whatever cause you are supporting
• Allow you to do all your Christmas shopping from the comfort of your own home
• Are easy to wrap and ship
• Unlike cash, ensure your gift is used for an actual present, instead of just being added to general funds and spent on whatever their next expenditure happens to be.

Now is a great time to check out all the available holiday offers from retailers that you mightn’t regularly purchase gift cards from – after all, gas and groceries aren’t particularly exciting presents. There are tons of interesting shops to choose from; and you’re certain to find something that suits everyone on your list.

So why not let others fight the crowds while you enjoy a happy, festive, and stress-free holiday season.

FundScrip:

Carey: Ok, so we do it for the music department, both at the intermediate and high school level, including students from grade 7 through 12. We’ve taken it on so that our students can pay for their music trip at the end of the year. So basically, what we’ve done is to set up a student account for every music student – mostly those involved in the ensembles – but any student in the program can fundraise; and they can use it to pay for things within the department or if they want, can put it towards larger items like their trip this year to New York. So it’s a fundraising initiative for those students to raise as much money as possible to go towards the trips; and again, not everybody has to participate immediately, they can come in at any time. Some students focus on particular months; for example, I’m expecting more for December than the last two months. However, we have others that do it every month (which really adds up), and they put that towards their end of the year trip deposit.

FundScrip: I see, so how much does each student have to raise to offset the cost of their trip?

Carey: It’s up to them in terms of how much they want to do. So, that’s one of the fundraisers that we offer which is every month, and I really like how it runs because once we have it set up, it pretty much runs itself. We also do Citrus Fruits; we’re selling coffee this year too; and we do a couple of just department based fundraisers, so that we can also try to raise money as a department and bring the cost of it down for everybody. We’ll have people raising $150 to $200 or more towards their trip and it really depends on where we’re going as to how much that’s going to offset their costs.

We’re a new program as well… we’re in our third year. But the former school I was at we would have people that could raise enough money to pay for their whole trip. Now we weren’t doing FundScrip with that school – we were doing Loblaws – and our intention here was to get that set up again; but we heard about FundScrip through other colleagues and thought well maybe we should focus on that. We found that it attracted a lot more people because it wasn’t just [providing gift cards] for just one place. We find that a lot of people buy gas cards, grocery cards, and even restaurants. Certain parents also do focus on the specials offered each month where they’re going to get the largest percentage of profit back.

FundScrip: So you say your school has only been in existence for a few years; how long has it been since you started with FundScrip?

Carey: The school opened September 2009, and our first order went out for December.

FundScrip: Oh! So you started right away…

Carey: Yes. We were trying to get started in September, but there was so much going on at the beginning. So it took us a couple of months to get going. The last two years we have started right at the beginning of school, and I think this year was our best start-up yet. The same students keep participating in it, and in terms of numbers, it’s about 20 students that do it on a regular basis; and then we have those students that jump in at Christmas. We’re hoping as we keep growing that our numbers will jump. It’s mainly the grade 8 and high school band students that do it, and my band has gone from 22 kids in the first year to 88 this year. So again, we’re trying to get the tradition going so the kids know that that fundraising option is there… and I think it’s going to keep growing every year.

FundScrip: Ok, well that’s great! Now you mentioned that you do a lot of different fundraising programs; so, based on your past experiences with other programs, and the ones that you’re currently doing, how does FundScrip measure up?

Carey: I’m really impressed with it. I was a little bit nervous at the beginning – especially when I had to get the all the cheques which totalled over thirty thousand dollars, It was our very first one, and I thought “Oh my gosh, this is a lot of money!”; but, I have to be honest that it’s very straight forward to do. The Loblaws one was much more labour-intensive because that involved tracking all the profits, and bundling the packages together and everything. We find that this is great for us and doesn’t take as much time because once it’s all entered, the profit is accounted for – I can go back in and look at last year’s results if I need to – and it’s very easy to track. The only thing that took a bit of getting used to was the ordering process in terms of dates because in the first year, I wasn’t really sure of how the dates lined up, but now I have a much better understanding. So I ask for orders in on the Friday, we input them, and I send it off on the following Wednesday, and the order is process that Thursday. Knock on wood, there have been no problems. A couple of cards that we did have which weren’t working, we put a call in and things were cleared up. In the last 2 ½ years, there have been only two issues with cards and they were solved right away. So, I’m very happy with the program, and again feedback from parents has been very positive.

FundScrip: Excellent. Now it seems from what you’re saying that you do the ordering yourself and submit a single cheque. So I suppose nobody is using the EFT option or ordering themselves online?

Carey: No. The reason is the first couple of years we were running it, we thought it would be easier to do the paper orders, though I guess that’s something we could possibly turn to in the future. I find that it’s working really well the way we’re doing it …

FundScrip: So if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?

Carey: Exactly! It might be something for us to look into, especially as we get bigger, but right now I am entering everything myself. We have a parents council at the high school level who are interested in taking on a little more; so starting in December, I am going to have another parent enter them all – which will help out a lot.

FundScrip: So you’ve mentioned that the program is not mandatory; so I’m curious as to what strategies you employ to gain supporters.

Carey: Some parents are really looking for fundraising opportunities, while others just find it easier to write a cheque for the full amount. However, we encourage our students to take part in these fundraisers because we offer them for their benefit. I tell them that this fundraiser is a no-brainer, because if you are going to be purchasing at these stores anyway, instead of using Visa or your debit card, you might as well use FundScrip and get some money in return. We also talk about it at our different events, so that the parents are aware of it. I think part of it is getting that message out to people as well. I have all the parents on my email list as well and send them updates every month and reminders that the orders are due. Additionally, we put all the information on our website, so that parents can go on and see what it’s all about.

FundScrip: That sounds great. So do you have any plans on how to improve supporter engagement and raise more funds to offset a larger portion of their trip cost by way of FundScrip?

Carey: I need to get them more aware of the special monthly initiatives. That’s one thing that I should be doing in my emails. I also think it might be an option to offer the program in the summer. We haven’t done that in the past just because of logistics, but if people are interested in it, it’s something we could offer. We can also talk about it at concerts and give examples of people who have raised the most profits to just show the parents that this is something that can be very helpful to raise funds towards trips. I think we have a few parents who aren’t quite sure of how it works or how much it adds up.

FundScrip: So if you were talking to somebody else – maybe at another school or what have you – that was considering FundScrip as a potential fundraiser for them, what would advice would you give?

Carey: I would tell them that it is really a great opportunity for your students to raise money; and once you kind of get a handle on it after doing it a couple of times, it’s very very straight-forward to run. Again, it almost runs itself. It’s something that can be open to everybody because it’s not just one store, it’s tons of places that people might have been going to anyway. So it’s a very open-ended fundraiser. I’ve been really impressed with the program and appreciate how well it’s run in terms of you guys tracking the profits – it helps us out a lot. The tools that you make available online to track everything are set up very well!

FundScrip: Well that’s great! We don’t want to take all your time today in the middle of your work day, so I’ll thank you for participating.

FundScrip: Hi Julie, thanks for agreeing to have this chat with us about your experiences with the FundScrip program. Perhaps you can start us off by telling as a little bit about the nature of your fundraising efforts?

Julie: It’s mostly for raising money for hockey fees. So the families receive the funds in return for the amounts they have raised at different intervals averaging around three months. They then put this towards the fees they’ve incurred for their child. So every family is able to join the program, or they can opt-out and pay the fees out of their own pockets. It’s not a forced fundraiser like many teams do.

FundScrip: I see, so what’s the name of the team and where are you located?

Julie: It’s Minor Atom Rep, and we’re located in Woodstock, Ontario.

FundScrip: Ok, and how many people are involved in your fundraising?

Julie: I actually also have some of my daughter’s team in my group… I kind of blended two teams so I can have a bigger group which allows me to collect more funds. My goal is always to get free shipping [from FundScrip] every time. So I currently have 16.

FundScrip: 16, ok, and how long have you been using FundScrip to raise money for your teams?

Julie: For the teams about two years, but actually I joined 3 years ago and for the first year I did it for the school here.

FundScrip: That’s great – so do you find that the FundScrip program covers your fundraising needs for your team then?

Julie: Yes, actually for myself (I also have my parents in the program too) last year I profited $500, so that paid exactly back what we owed in hockey fees.

FundScrip: So it’s basically 100% funded for you as a result.

Julie: Yep. That was my goal and it happened.

FundScrip: And are your other members experiencing similar results?

Julie: Yes. I have other members that buy cards for their families too and they also raised 100%; while other families use the cards less and have still raised $250.

FundScrip: So that offsets their costs by 50% then, which is still great…

Julie: Yes, they’re very happy!

FundScrip: Well in general, how do you think people have reacted to the program? You’re saying it’s not a mandatory fundraising thing…

Julie: They love it! I had one family that joined right away with my son’s team, and when I found him in the hall and handed him his cards for the first time, he was ecstatic. He said, “This is a great fundraiser!” And I just looked at him, because usually people do it [fundraising], because they feel they kind of have to… but he just thought it was fabulous, because as he said, “It’s just so easy”. He loved the fact that he could independently go on the computer, order, there was no pressure, and the cards showed up in his hand whenever I saw him. There was always a guarantee of delivery within 3 days.

FundScrip: Well that’s great! So, as you were saying earlier, the program isn’t mandatory, so how do you get people involved? What are your strategies?

Julie: Well, all three times I’ve led the fundraisers, I’ve started off with a letter describing how the program runs, and why I’m doing it. Of course the first time I did it, I couldn’t say how successful it was, but the last two times I’ve done it, I always say what I’ve raised myself. Then I put in the FundScrip website address, so they can check it out themselves; and I always provide my own email address, so if they have any questions they can send them to me. Honestly though, people don’t ask questions because the FundScrip website is very informative; so people can really make their own choices just by looking at that. Then I tell them what my expectations are of how the program’s going to run. So when I expect to receive the cards, when I expect to deliver them… I don’t put them in hockey bags. Also they’re welcome to pick them up at my house if they want to. I also tell them what to expect for how the money is going to be collected and distributed, the EFT and so on, so they always know and there’s no surprises.

FundScrip: So you mentioned the EFT [electronic funds transfer], do most of your supporters use that to pay for their cards?

Julie: Every single one. That way I don’t have to provide a cheque to FundScrip, I don’t have to make sure there’s enough money in the bank; it just makes my life easier. It’s an option I chose because when I did it for the school, I did do it the other way and it was actually a couple of extra steps in the whole process which was harder for me.

FundScrip: And does everybody do their own ordering as well?

Julie: Absolutely. They do get a reminder however. I remind them Monday or Tuesday (my batch date is Thursdays) to say “Hey, put in your FundScrip orders”. Then I have on occasion the night before been short a few hundred dollars and have asked for a couple of more people to order so that I could reach the threshold where I get free shipping. I’d say 9 out of 10 times I’ve done that, I’ve gotten people to sign up in time. I think in the past two years, I’ve only paid shipping twice.

FundScrip: Wow, that’s great! So when people talk to you about the program, what do they tell you that their impression of it is?

Julie: They find it easy… that’s what they love. They do wish there were cards for a few retailers like Tim Horton’s and the LCBO, but other than the word “easy”, I don’t hear other commentary.

FundScrip: I see. So no issues, no problems…?

Julie: I’ve never had any problems, no. I’ve never had a glitch yet.

FundScrip: Excellent! And you’ve been running it for three years glitch-free so that’s pretty impressive I think.

Julie: Yep! That’s why I signed back up because it’s easy and there are no problems for me.

FundScrip: Well that’s great. So, I guess if you were to think about starting it all over again, giving advice to a new administrator, would you have done anything differently?

Julie: I don’t think so. However, I did find the school a lot harder because of the distribution of cards; because putting them in back-packs is worrisome. As a result of confidentiality, you can’t find out people’s addresses; so you can’t deliver it to them directly, and you can’t phone them. So email address was the only contact information for me through the school. So they gave me their email and then I was able to communicate effectively. So I found that difficult. But for the hockey teams, it’s been so easy. The thing is, for new people to start this program, I find the more I provide accessibility, the less people have problems, because they know everything… there’s no secrets to anything.

FundScrip: Ok, so have you tried any other fundraisers in the past?

Julie: Yes. For the school, not so much for the hockey teams, oh yeah, we’ve done all kinds of things. We tried phone book distribution, which was very difficult… we all gathered up and said we’d never do that again! We also did candies and things like that which was hard because the participation wasn’t there. Oh, yes – and Elmira Chicken. That was a popular one. That was the only other popular and actually successful fundraiser we did. Profits there were $5.00 a box. So a lot of people bought their own chicken and got their own money back.

FundScrip: So how would you say these other programs compared to FundScrip?

Julie: Well FundScrip is continuous. Elmira Chicken is once or twice a season, and it’s in competition with the school as well because they like to do it too. But there’s always that arrival date… who’s going to distribute, who’s going to count the chicken and so on… and that doesn’t have to happen with FundScrip because it all comes in envelopes ready to distribute. I don’t have to do any managing of that. Plus the chicken of course takes up your whole freezer, so you can’t put a second order in three months later because you still have chicken from three months before!

FundScrip: That’s not very convenient! Ok, so if you were talking to somebody that was considering FundScrip as a fundraising program – a brand new administrator – what would be the advice that you would give them?

Julie: Um, other than trying to be the banker in the program as well, and making sure you are accessible, there’s really nothing else. It’s just so easy. You have to have 10 or 11 families to join – so that’s really the goal when you start for me to have that EFT group going. So that’s the challenge in the beginning. After that it’s smooth sailing…

FundScrip: Did you have any issues with getting people signed up with EFT?

Julie: No. Well… a lot of people don’t have fax machines or scanners, so I offered them that service. So when I saw them, I’d often print out an EFT form for them to fill out and I’d bring it back to my house and would send it in for them.

FundScrip: So basically your goal was to make it as easy as possible for your supporters.

Julie: Absolutely, yes… because people don’t want to be burdened by fundraisers. To me, that’s about 3 weeks of work intermittently; and then once you get going, you’re off to the races.

FundScrip: That’s great. So, any final thoughts that you’d like to share with people who are either thinking about joining the FundScrip program, or existing administrators that might be experiencing challenges?

Julie: Well I don’t know… there’s been no issues for me.

FundScrip: So you’d recommend the program to others?

Julie: Yes, for sure. One further thing I’d say is to make your goal to get free shipping. If you can do that, everything is gravy from there!

FundScrip: Ok, that’s great Julie. Thanks very much for spending time with me today and we’ll be putting the substance of this conversion up on the blog for everyone to benefit from.

I didn’t choose all of them but; of the ones I choose, I adjusted them to best relate to the hard work our Administrators do every day in order to reach their fundraising goals!  Hope they help and as usual, please feel free to add in your own your “tips”.

1. Check your smart phone while cueing – Use this time to check your email, respond to supporters or even visit the FundScrip Facebook Page or go to the FundScrip Login News Page to find out the latest news.
2. Maximize your commute times – Bring a notebook and brainstorm some ideas, read some FundScrip documentation (from the Administrator Treasure Chest), or refresh your to-do list.
3. Learn keyboard shortcuts – Using the mouse can be slow for certain tasks which oftentimes can be done faster by keyboard shortcuts. Learn a couple keyboard shortcuts of your frequently used programs, like your browser, word processor and spreadsheet software.
4. Stick to 3 tasks – Prioritize the administrative workload associated with your FundScrip campaign.  If you only had time for 3 tasks each day to ease your FundScrip campaign workload, what would they be?
5. Call people – Sometimes calling is much faster than sending emails. What can be said in less than a minute usually takes you a couple of minutes drafting an email; proof reading and then sending it.
6. Get an assistant – This is part of our FundScrip Basics i.e., the need to put together a FundScrip Campaign Team to help alleviate and distribute the workload.
7. Batch your activities – Putting tasks that are similar in nature allows you to process them faster and in one batch.
8. Use a calendar – Believe it or not some people still don’t use a calendar. It is also not surprising these people tend to loose track of their campaigns. Avoid this by using a calendar (why not even try an online calendar).
9. Tame your email –  On your group’s non-order days, check your email only twice a day at fixed times and set each session to a limit of 25 minutes.
10. Touch it once – Whenever you get something in front of you, decide right away what to do with it. Don’t let it sit around for you to decide another time what to do. Either plan, do it, delegate or delete.
11. Clean your work area when you are finished with your campaign associated tasks – When you finish working on your campaign, clean your work area. This makes it easy for you to get started the next time you start working.
12. Try a password manager – Forgetinv your FundScrip passwords and recovering them on the telephone with AdminCare can be a waste of time. Why not try a password manager such as 1Password (if you are on a Mac) or Lastpass?  All you need is to memorize one password for all your logins.

There you go! Do you have a tip to share? Please feel free to add it in the comments below!

Does this sound familiar?

We’ve been using this cookie dough fundraiser for years and everybody is used to it, why would we change now?

This great post by marketing genius Seth Godin deals with the subject of change and how we deal with it.  It outlines several of the rationalizations people make when presented with new ideas.

Now, for the purposes of the Fundrazr blog, we’d like to expand on Seth’s idea to how people resist new ideas when they involve their current fundraising strategy.

Seth poses the question:

When confronted with a new idea; do you:

1. Consider the cost of switching before you consider the benefits?
2. Highlight the pain to a few instead of the benefits for the many?
3. Exaggerate how good things are now in order to reduce your fear of change?
4. Undercut the credibility, authority or experience of people behind the change?
5. Grab onto the rare thing that could go wrong instead of amplifying the likely thing that will go right?
6. Focus on short-term costs instead of long-term benefits, because the short-term is more vivid for you?
7. Compare the best of what you have now with the possible worst of what a change might bring?

Are you hanging on to that all-to-familiar fundraiser because it would be too difficult or too stressful to change it?

If so, FundScrip believes it’s time to consider the possibilities.