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

1. 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
2. Add a link to your nonprofit page on your website. You can put it on your homepage and in your “ways to help” section, like what the Scleroderma Foundation did.

   Click here to see how the Scleroderma Foundation promotes Firstgiving

   Want to add a badge? Learn how

3. 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.

4. Encourage your fundraisers to promote their fundraising pages. In addition to sending emails to friends and family, they 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.
5. Add your nonprofit page web address to your printed promotional materials. See a great example of a printed piece
6. 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.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

7. 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

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