May 14th, 2013 by Nicole_Bettan
As the mother of a 5 year old, I know how easy it is to get children that age excited. I also know how easy it can be to motivate them and get results. As great as it would be to get the very little ones involved, most 5 year olds lack the computer (and spelling, reading and typing) skills needed for actual fundraising either on or offline. They can lend a hand, for sure, but to really make a positive impact on your thermometer the next age group may prove to be an untapped channel for your organization. Tweens and teens spend more time online than any other age demographic and are the earliest adopters at the forefront of new technology especially social media.
Why does it seem as though this group is so often disregarded when it comes to fundraising? Perhaps it is because of their limited personal spending power. Despite this, they do have ability to exert some power over the wallets of their parents and relatives. Having friends and an active social life in and outside of the classroom is the biggest motivator for this group. By mobilizing this new audience you can find yourself a creative way to reach new heights in fundraising and develop new followers for your cause. In order for this approach to work, you need to apply online peer to peer tools, also known as crowdfunding tools, to make it work. Tools like a personal page that each tween, teen and adult can share on behalf of your cause are a great way to start generating more outreach.
Take the lead of the Just Like Me Project. The Just Like Me Project is a joint initiative with the Center for Creative Development and The Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (LICADD). This interactive, peer-to-peer program empowers students to make healthy decisions about drug use and other vital issues. Utilizing art as a compelling tool for self-discovery and self-expression, Just Like Me brings kids together through community art projects to address issues of substance abuse and other social concerns. They have partnered with Chris Gates Tae Kwon Do to host a Kick-A-Thon and are using Karma411’s tools to enable each Tae Kwon Do student to have a sharable page and participate in the fundraising. Don’t forget the kids; they can become the strongest advocates for your cause and start paving the way as your future leaders.
Good Luck to all of the Kick-a-thon participants!
Tags: Campaign, crowdfunding, fundraising strategy, Karma411, Social Fundraising Ideas, Social Media, tips for fundraising
Posted in Fundraising Tips and Ideas, Uncategorized | No Comments »
May 2nd, 2013 by Caroline Monahan
Doesn’t that adorable kitten meme that just popped up on your Facebook newsfeed look awfully familiar? And didn’t I see that same crazy cake recipe retweeted about 8 times last month? Today, it seems as though you can’t log onto any of your networks without seeing at least a dozen things you’ve already seen before. That’s the beauty of social sharing!
It is undeniable that the digital age has completely reworked the landscape of communication as we know it. In just a few short years we’ve shifted from a constant influx of chain emails in our inboxes to receiving event invites to the bridal shower of our middle school sweetheart that we haven’t seen since 1994. We can’t slow it down. But would we want to?
Reddit is the place on the internet where all paths seem to meet. Virtually every photo, every funny video of babies talking to one another that was reblogged 11,567 times on Tumblr, have made their way through Reddit at some point or another in their digital lives. It’s because of peer-to-peer sharing.
Peer-to-peer sharing is the act of virtually sharing the things that entertain you, inspire you, or drive you to create a conversation about with family, friends and even strangers through social networking. Now more than ever before people have the power to let the world know what they love. The ability to share images, videos, literature, and pretty much anything you can think of with a few clicks of a button has given us a voice that most of us never thought possible.
At Karma411, we take this idea and use it to encourage the participation of more individuals in the fundraising efforts of nonprofit organizations. Through peer to peer sharing, nonprofits quickly mobilize new supporters by having existing donors reach out to their friends and family on behalf of their cause. Also called crowdfunding, this idea, when effectively executed, can generate a much broader and greater profit than when using more traditional means of fundraising like direct mail and word of mouth.
So next time you’re perusing Facebook and come across an invitation to a charity run that your friend is participating in, take the time to look it over and help her spread the word. As we know here at Karma411, what you put out to the world is what you get back and a little peer to peer sharing could ultimately help someone out for the better. And who knows? They may even throw a few “likes” on your organization’s Facebook page.
Tags: Fundraising, Karma411, network, Nonprofit, online giving, peer-to-peer, Reddit, Social Media, Social Network, Support
Posted in Social Media News and Tips | No Comments »
April 29th, 2013 by Sarah Frank
The New York Police and Fire Widows’ & Children’s Benefit Fund is hosting a benefit to kick off summer in style at the Maritime Hotel in Manhattan on Thursday, May 16, 2013. The benefit takes pride in “answering the call” as fallen first responders have done to protect New York City.
Thanks to Karma411′s event tools that enable social sharing, the Fund is well on their way to viral success with a solid number of social shares, and has been driving more traffic to their pages which in turn is offering tremendous value to their sponsors.
Visit the event website to learn more about the Fund, purchase tickets, create a fundraising page, donate, and learn how to become a sponsor. The benefit will be held outdoors with cocktails and music, and tickets include a three-hour open bar, hors d’oeuvres, and a gift bag full of great items. A special ticket off is available for active-duty NYPD, FDNY, and PAPD first responders.
Tags: Benefit, Campaign, FDNY, Fundraising, Giving Back, Karma411, Nonprofit, NYPD, Support
Posted in Karma411 Updates | No Comments »
April 25th, 2013 by Sarah Frank
The staff at Pachamana Alliance are doing something different this year. They are using Karma411′s event and crowdfunding tools to take on 5 different challenges to share their passions in the name of creating the world in which we believe.
Pachamama embedded on their website Karma411′s thermometers from each of their fundraising campaigns, which became a huge traffic driver. Each team is also reaching far and wide through social media in an effort to raise $45,000 to stop new oil development in Ecuador’s Amazon and advance their work as global citizens through educational programs.
This campaign is gaining success through consistent communication via videos, and social sharing. This is because posting a video to your homepage is more engaging than text or still pictures from past events. The Pachamama Sailing Adventure has an engaging video, consistent social sharing and is well on their way to reaching their. The more you communicate, the more you raise. The more you and your supporters share, the more aware everyone becomes of your cause.
Tags: Campaign, crowdfunding, Fundraising, Pachamama, Social Media, Spring, Trending
Posted in Karma411 Updates | No Comments »
March 13th, 2013 by Sarah Frank
The Social Media Association of Long Island recently held an event that focused on crowdfunding, which is the collaborative effort of individuals to pool money online in support of various causes. Karma411′s co-founder and CEO John Murcott took the podium to discuss this growing concept.
According to Murcott, crowdfunding is about raising money from the digital crowd. Karma411 in particular enables you to leverage social media to get the word out about an event while promoting a cause that you care about. By creating personal pages to support an organization’s campaign or event and encouraging individuals to share these pages with friends and family, the organization can truly spread the word about its cause.
Murcott also discussed how private companies can leverage crowdfunding for raising capital in order to grow their businesses. He mentioned that the concept of crowdfunding is not necessarily that there is a crowd standing by, but rather that companies now have more options to reach out to for capital.
When asked where the crowdfunding movement is going, Murcott responded that one day soon you could be simultaneously be eating breakfast and investing in the cereal company via a QR code on the cereal box!
Click here for the full article on the event!
Tags: crowdfunding, Fundraising, Karma411, Nonprofit, Social Media, Social Media Association of Long Island, Social Network
Posted in Karma411 Updates | No Comments »
March 5th, 2013 by Sarah Frank
According to a recent Newsday article, Yahoo Inc. has implemented a telecommuting policy, which bans its employees from working remotely. The reasoning behind this new policy is to encourage innovation with “side-by-side” communication and collaboration among employees.
Mark Fasciano, co-founder and chairman of Karma411 and managing director of Canrock Ventures, thinks that Yahoo made the right decision. “For entrepreneurial innovation teams, there is simply no substitute for physically being close to your teammates,” he said. “Ninety percent of the trust and progress a team makes happens in the informal interactions at desks, water coolers, coffee breaks, pizza parties.”
Heads of other Long Island based companies had differing views. Louis Basso, who heads Alcott HR Group, believes that telecommuting is an effective, short-term solution to scheduling problems when employees have to deal with personal matters. Adrienne Giannone, head of Edge Electronics, believes that productivity is better with telecommuters.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 21 percent of employed people did some or all of their work at home in 2011. This number is even higher for college-educated workers. Although Telecommuting continues to be a big part of American worklife, Fasciano believes that the scope of telecommuting has morphed into a one-size-fits-all perk.
“Telecommuting to accommodate workers’ flexibility somehow went from once-in-a-while to the norm, said Fasciano. “And while it may work for some big companies, it definitely doesn’t work for building new products to market.”
Tags: Canrock Ventures, Karma411, Newsday, Nonprofit
Posted in Karma411 Updates | No Comments »
February 17th, 2013 by Jim Estill
Working for Good – Making a Difference While Making a Living is the title of a book by Jeff Klein.
When passion about a cause is coupled with a job, flow can happen. It becomes more than a job. Klein argues that this should be the ultimate goal for everyone. By applying the principles of Working for Good ” we bring out the best in ourselves and others, increasing creativity, productivity and sustainability”.
Working for Good asserts that there are 5 skills for working for good: Awareness, Embodiment, Connection, Collaboration and Integration.
The first step is to know yourself. Know what you are passionate about. Of course, this is obvious, but is it? Klein gives the readers tools to figure out what they truly love and what their “good” in the world can be.
Working for Good has a series of exercises which guide us through the numerous steps. Exercises like Identifying Principles, writing reflection and tuning in to sensations. I did not do all the exercises – I did the ones that resonated most. I do intend to go back and do some of the others though. As with anything, doing the “work” can be challenging.
Karma411 is a “working for good” company. I can see it in the people who work there. They feel good about helping charities and non-profits raise more for their causes by giving them the tools to tap into the power of social media.
I am fortunate to have found my calling as an angel capitalist or venture capitalist(depending on your definition). I believe it suits my background and skill set well. And I am passionate about startup and business growth. It is the start ups and growth businesses that create the jobs and future prosperity. I am also a believer that business is not a zero sum game. New businesses actually create new value.
I recommend the book.
This is a guest post by Jim Estill – a partner in one of our investors – Canrock Ventures. He is an active book reviewer on his CEO blog, reviewing mostly business books like The Spirit of Kaizen and Good to Great to Gone.
Tags: angel investor, awareness, collaborate, connect, Karma411, venture capitalist, Working for good
Posted in Karma411 Best Practices and Support | 2 Comments »
February 12th, 2013 by Sarah Frank
Do you know which of your pins on Pinterest generate the most re-pins? Do you know which encourage the most click throughs? New Pinterest tool, Pinfluencer, can address these questions.
Pinfluencer is a marketing and analytics platform for Pinterest. This tool helps you measure the ROI of your Pinterest activity by enabling you to track and measure the performance of pins. Additionally, this will help you understand the best content to generate re-pins, click traffic and sales conversion. You will have to contact the folks at Pinfluencer for pricing options, but you can try it our for free for 21 days.
Another fun and easy tool is Quozio, which allows you to create an image out of quotes you find online, and format the text in a way that is perfect for pinning on Pinterest! Quozio also allows different filters once you’ve selected your quote.
Have you used either tool? If so, what are your thoughts?
Happy pinning!
Tags: Analytics, Karma411, Marketing, Pinterest, Social Media, Social Network, Social Tools
Posted in Social Media News and Tips | No Comments »
