Tips from the Development Team: Krista Ranker

May 23rd, 2013 by Karma411

We spoke with Krista Ranker to learn what online tools her development team has implemented to help make event communications and planning easier on her team.  Here is what she had to say.

Let’s face it, very few of us have a career that stays within our loosely written job description, and most carry a workload that takes more than eight-hours a day to complete. This is the norm for me as a Development Assistant — a position I’ve only been in for one-year, but one that I’ve quickly had to adapt to. Before I started, I asked the Director if I should bring anything — she said “shoes, because you’ll hit the ground running”– she wasn’t kidding. However busy my day might be, I know that there is an array of online tools designed to help you use your time efficiently.

Social Media: We’re all aware of the change in communications from flyers to status updates and tweets, making it important that your social media presence remains constant. Make your posts short and sweet, and use photos old and new. From there, you can utilize reporting such as Facebook Insights or Google Analytics to determine which of your posts received the most feedback and during what time of day there was the most activity.

Something as simple as an online or paper calendar also helps in keeping ahead of significant dates related to your cause and organization. This will help you and your team schedule in advance as many communications as possible around important dates and events in the calendar year.

Remember that social media is a two-way street; it’s not just for advertising your organization. Make sure to post a video, an article or ask a question. This will add traffic to your social media site and get your audience engaged.

Eblasts: We all use them, make sure you share them to your social networks. I use OpenMoves and take advantage of not only their social sharing but also their support center and training webinars. Don’t be hesitant to ask questions or look for help.

Event Sites: When you get on board with a company such as Karma411, who provides online fundraising and event management solutions for nonprofits, you should feel relieved. Event sites allow you to more easily receive and track donations, sell event tickets and sponsorships and have supporters fundraise on your behalf through peer to peer sharing on their own social media sites. It’s a great way to not only generate more awareness and activity to your cause and event but to easily manage every last detail.

QR Codes: QR codes are scannable codes that you can put in your printed materials (save the date cards, invitations, posters), which connect the user through their smart phone to your digital web content, such as an event site. They’re a quick and interactive way to get your audience more engaged. You can easily search for an online QR code generator to create one. It’s free and it shows that your organization is on top of new technology.

Make sure to also search for local event sites where you can post your upcoming events on community calendars to further extend your audience and outreach.

The access to online tools is right at your fingertips. Take a little time out of your day to familiarize yourself with what some of these tools can do and both you and your organization will be eternally grateful for the results and peace of mind that they will bring.


–Krista Ranker is Development Assistant at a prominent not-for-profit organization on Long Island.

How To: Spread The Word About Your Next Awareness Campaign

May 22nd, 2013 by Sarah Frank

Spreading the word about an awareness campaign can be difficult initially, especially if you work for a small organization. That is why it is important to give your supporters the tools they need to spread the word for you in order to maximize the reach of your awareness campaign.

Here are a few ways that you can incentivize your supporters to spread the word about your next awareness campaign:

1. Create a place where supporters can go to learn more about your campaign, like a Facebook Page. Use this page to provide more detail about the campaign’s purpose, as well as let your supporters on Facebook know what they can do to help your cause.

2. Create a custom hashtag (#) on Twitter for your awareness campaign, and ask your supporters to use the hashtag when they tweet about your organization to spread the word. You can even use new Twitter tool SeeSaw to see real-time conversations around your hashtag.

3. Make sure to monitor conversations around your campaign with social media monitoring tools like Hootsuite. If you see your organization or hashtag mentioned in a Facebook post or tweet, be sure to share, retweet, and express your appreciation for those who are helping spread the word.

4. Crowdfund for your organization by creating a customizable, fully branded website that will enable your existing supporters to reach out to their friends and family on behalf of your cause. Karma411′s awareness campaigns expand your supporter base exponentially and generate buzz about your organization with one click.

Branding, Sponsorship and the Online Thank You

May 21st, 2013 by Nicole_Bettan

You go to great lengths to create events that are fun, creative and have an element of excitement.  You go to great lengths to understand what has worked in the past and what didn’t.  So much of your time is spent crafting and designing ‘save the date’ cards and direct mail invitations. Why not channel those efforts right onto your event site? Creating an event site that captures the look and feel of your direct mail pieces and your organizations’ brand can help shine a light on your team as thought leaders and forward thinkers.  Fundraising event planning is not a new concept, but creating a mini-website about your event is. This is a site that can not only describe your event, but provide a platform to thank the groups and individuals that contributed to the success.

Mercy Haven, located in Islip Terrace, NY, created a fully branded golf event site using our tools and took advantage of the ability to create more than just a page to sell tickets to their golf event.

Committee Page: Highlight and thank your committee who has worked so hard to put your event together.  This is the public thank you that can keep them engaged and on board to help in planning your next event.

Sponsor page: Give your sponsors a web presence.  As your sell each sponsorship, place their logo on a page within the site to highlight their support of your event. You can make their logo clickable and drive additional traffic to their sites.  This could be of tremendous value, especially if you are trying to attract new sponsors.

Other page ideas: A schedule of the day, honoree bios, and, of course, an “About Us” page are all ideas for additional sub pages which you can easily create on your event site, rather than cramming it all onto one page a downloadable PDF.

Take advantage of the tools and support available to you.  Our team will be glad to help you take the steps.

Get the Kids Involved in Fundraising

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!

Reddit? Read It.

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.

Trending Campaign: Kick Off To Summer Benefit

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.

Fundraising Events: EAC’s “Light of Hope” Luncheon

April 26th, 2013 by Sarah Frank

The Education and Assistance Corporation (EAC), held its 13th Annual “Light of Hope” Luncheon on Wednesday, April 10, 2013, at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury, NY.

The EAC leveraged Karma411′s online tools to raise funds and awareness before the luncheon. Prior to the event, supporters could visit EAC’s “Light of Hope” Luncheon site to purchase tickets, buy a sponsorship, fundraise, and spread the word with their networks of friends and family on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Additionally, the EAC debuted its new logo at the event, which was designed by Karma411. The logo reflects the EAC’s mission to respond to human needs, and was featured on the event’s brochures.

The EAC hosted guest speaker Katie Beers, co-author of “Buried Memories: Katie Beers’ Story.” Twenty years ago, Beers was held captive in an underground bunker for 17 days. Her book chronicles the true story of her survival, memory and recovery after her abduction by a family friend in 1992 just before her 10th birthday. Because of Beers’ experience, EAC opened its Suffolk County Child Advocacy Center at the Pat & Mary Bagnato Place for kids, which continues to help hundreds of child abuse victims every year.

EAC’s programs protect at-risk children, support senior citizens, help people with mental health and substance abuse problems, educate people seeking financial independence, assist individuals who are under or unemployed, mediate disputes and work with families in crisis.

Trending Campaign: The Pachamama Spring Challenge

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.

Fundraise Your Way For Autism Speaks: Campaign Success Story

March 25th, 2013 by Sarah Frank

Karma411′s campaign tools enable supporters to manage their campaign pages in order to raise funds and awareness for a cause they care about. By leveraging the power of these online tools, supporters can reach a network of people that may not have heard of the particular cause by sharing the campaign page with friends and social networks.

Campbell and Colin Stewart’s campaign for Autism Speaks is a great example of how individuals can take advantage of online tools to raise money for a cause they care about. Campbell and Colin Stewart climbed Mt Kilimanjaro in order to raise money and awareness for autism, and far surpassed their fundraising goal!

In honor of his daughter, Sophie, Campbell tested his limits by climbing Mt Kilimanjaro in Africa and blogged about it along the way.

Campbell asks you to also show your support for Autism Speaks, an organization that means a lot to him. Support Campbell and Colin by donating to their campaign, inviting your network of friends and family to their page, or by sharing their page on Facebook and Twitter!

Crowdfunding: Leveraging The Digital Crowd

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!