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Why Your Giving Tuesday Dashboard Isn't Just Another Spreadsheet (And Why That Matters)

Mon, 02 Dec 2024 05:00:00 GMT

Giving Tuesday can sometimes feel like organized chaos masquerading as a strategic fundraising campaign. At any given moment, you're simultaneously tracking donations, updating social media, rallying volunteers, and trying to figure out if you're actually winning or just moving very fast.

The difference between these two states? A well-designed fundraising dashboard.

But before we dive into why this matters, let's acknowledge something: In an era where we can track our pizza delivery in real-time and get instant updates about our Amazon packages, donors are expecting the same from you. They want to see their impact unfold in real-time. And on day like Giving Tuesday, doing so is about more than just about satisfying donor curiosity, it's about transforming data into momentum.

Real-time signals

Picture this: It's 2 PM, you're 75% to goal, and you notice a sudden surge in first-time donors coming through your board’s social fundraising campaign. Without a dashboard, you might file this away as an interesting bit of trivia. With one, it's actionable intelligence. You can immediately shift resources, amplify the successful strategies being employed by your board members, and create the kind of urgent excitement that turns a good giving day into a great one.

Think of all of your teams working 'round the clock on Giving Tuesday: When your volunteers can see real-time progress, they're telling a story that's unfolding right now. When your social media team knows exactly how close you are to the next milestone, they're able to create anticipation. And when your stewardship team sees these first-time contributors, they know who to put extra effort into nurturing next.

A few metrics that matter

Amidst the rush of Giving Tuesday action, your dashboard needs to focus on the numbers that also drive action. Here's what matters:

Total amount of giving: At the end of the day, total's matter for you, your supporters and your team. Track them as close to real-time as you can.
Donor count: Ditto.
Velocity of giving: Tells you whether your campaign has momentum or needs a shot of adrenaline.
The average gift size, segmented by campaign or channel: Where to focus your high-touch engagement
Major donors: You might not have time to steward them on Giving Tuesday, but sending personal thanks to your most generous supporters can put you back on their wishlist next season.

More time means more opportunity

The power of a dashboard isn't just in what it shows (which, when crafted using raisin Analytics, is hopefully a lot!), it's in what it reveals. Visualizing your progress means that you spend less time running the numbers, and more reading into what's beneath them.

Consider, for example, the hidden patterns in timing. Those early-morning donation spikes? They reveal your most passionate supporters in action – a dedicated group who paid attention to your pre-campaign email, marked their calendars, and set their reminders to give first thing. These folks are the gems who could be leading the charge as ambassadors for your social fundraising campaigns next year.

The day after tomorrow

Here's where some organizations can miss the point: Your Giving Tuesday dashboard is more than a Giving Tuesday tool. It's the foundation of your donor engagement strategy for the next 364 days. Those patterns of giving, those moments of surge and decline, those channels that overperformed or underdelivered – they're all telling you something about your donors that you need to hear.

Use these new learnings to:

Personalize your future engagement strategies
Likewise, to enhance your stewardship programs
Locate opportunities and channels for growth
Enrich with data and insights from your CRM
Develop future campaigns and appeals – including Giving Tuesday (even if it's a year away!)

🎥 Webinar: Join us January 16th for tips on how you can wrap-up the giving season and plan for next year. Secure your spot!

The bottom line (actually, several bottom lines)

A great dashboard simultaneously tracks and catalyzes progress. Even if you’re “not a data person”, your dashboard can prove out the hunch you've had in a visible and evidence-based way. These raw data points then morph into decision points, and in turn, into momentum.

But perhaps most importantly, it changes how you and your team think about data. When the connection between action and impact becomes visible, when strategy and results align clearly before your eyes, your entire fundraising operation evolves. Your team grows more responsive, more strategic, more effective.

This transformation extends beyond the whirlwind of Giving Tuesday - it can start to become your everyday approach.

Because ultimately, the most powerful dashboard doesn't win by tracking the most metrics - it wins by helping you tell the most compelling story of your impact. And isn't that why we're all here in the first place?

raisin Analytics is the first step towards a new supporter experience on raisin. Find out more >>

Introducing raisin Analytics

Thu, 19 Sep 2024 04:00:00 GMT

Intuitive insights, flexible reporting and supporter intelligence – directly in raisin

Fundraising in 2024 is both art and science.

On one hand, the reasons that people donate are deeply personal and intuitive. As a fundraiser, you bring real-world meaning to your supporters' gifts - through stewardship that brings a smile, events that crystalize community or a real-world action that saves a life.

These generous acts can’t necessarily be quantified (not to mention, they're the reason we do what we do!), but the value of “data and numbers” in understanding your supporters and their motivations is hard to overlook – especially now. Consumers expect greater personalization, giving patterns are shifting, and there's a whole generation of young donors seeking more diverse ways to get involved with your cause.

Responding to these trends relies on meaningful data. And as an industry, truthfully, we haven’t done a great job in getting this data to causes like yours.

Throughout the course of developing Analytics, we heard from so many organizations – learning not only about the metrics that drive their success – but also the often-complex processes that get them to these key results: Old-school daily progress reports, generating the same report multiple times a day, complex third-party BI tools, personal alchemies of formulas and macros, “head in hands” moments waiting for aging data to percolate into another siloed system, and of course, lots of spreadsheets.

All of this takes time, takes effort and takes you away from the fundraising work you’re doing on the ground.

Analytics, our new reporting and supporting intelligence platform, gives you greater insight in less time, so that you can be a more effective fundraiser.

Here's how:

Spot-on insights available on the spot

Analytics brings all of your campaigns together in one powerful place. Dynamic, pre-built dashboards visualize the most meaningful fundraising metrics, making it easy for you to monitor progress, celebrate wins, and spot opportunities as they happen.

Yes, gone are the days of juggling campaign spreadsheets and waiting for information to make its way into a siloed, third-party tool.

Interact with your data in-app and in real-time

There are so many ways to engage with your data – explore chart drill-downs, apply filters on almost any dimension, re-order and re-label columns, and much more. Find answers to the fundraising questions keeping you up at night... without spending all night combing through spreadsheets.
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Personalized to your unique reporting needs

It was clear from our research and discovery that no one cause, business group or fundraiser handles data the same way. It makes sense: responding to the unique needs of your supporters requires equally unique reporting regimes.
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In Analytics, no matter if you're dropping in new insights from our library of charts, rearranging them for a better flow, or choosing different visuals to better illustrate your achievements, it will always work the way you do.

Action your analysis

Broadcast your newly-discovered insights up, down and even outside of your organization. With eyes on the right metrics, presented in the right way, your team is empowered to make informed decisions quickly and confidently.
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Reporting shouldn't have to be a mad science. Meaningful data informs and enrichs the connections you build, giving you the freedom to explore the art of fundraising.

Analytics is the first step towards a new supporter experience on raisin. Let us know what you think!

Streamline Supporter Management with New Recurring Donor Portal

Tue, 11 Apr 2023 04:00:00 GMT

Nurturing your sustaining donors and retaining their support over time is equally as important as acquiring their first recurring gift.

Our new Recurring Donor Portal streamlines management of these key supporters by making it quick and easy for them to directly update their profile without having to contact your staff. Accessible to recurring donors through a unique payment update link that's sent in an automated email, the portal is fully secure for donors to make the necessary changes to keep their gift processing and to keep you up-to-date with their latest contact details.

Update credit card information

Unexpected changes to your supporters' card details can interrupt their recurring donation schedules. Upon accessing the portal via their unique link, your donors are able to quickly enter their new card information and submit for automatic re-processing.

Address details to reflect a new location

The Portal also allows donors to keep you in the loop on changes to their address. If a donor's address is modified, it will update their user profile and be reflected in your downstream systems to keep your records up-to-date.

Modify their recurring donation amount

Donors have the flexibility to change their recurring donation amount, either to increase their committment to the cause or reduce their recurring gift, but still maintain their support of your cause.

Customizable to your brand and campaign

The Donor Portal is customizable within the specific campaign to ensure brand recognition, consistency in look and feel and stewardship of your sustaining donors. Using the vast drag-and-drop content library at your fingertips, get creative with content and imagery that acknowledges their commmittment to the organization, provides updates on your work, and communicates a shared passion for furthering your mission together. When donors feel appreciated and informed, they are more likely to continue supporting the organization and may even increase their level of giving.

Mobile responsive

As is standard to all raisin features and functionality, the Recurring Donor Portal is designed mobile-first so that donors can make update their details and continue their support of your cause from any device.

The Recurring Donor Portal not only helps ensure continuity of vital recurring giving, but frees up valuable administrative time that will allow you to expand your recurring program and foster even deeper relationships with your donors. By cultivating relationships with new and existing donors, your organization can continue to build a foundation of support that will make a meaningful impact in the world. Contact us to see how raisin can help.

Creative ways to use the Peer-to-Peer module

Thu, 30 Mar 2023 04:00:00 GMT

Modern Peer-to-Peer fundraising campaigns use a lot of creative ways to engage with fundraisers and potential donors. Peer-to-Peer campaigns create an ideal setting for fundraisers to showcase their talents all while connecting with your organization’s mission and purpose in a fun way.

Combined with the possibilities that virtual fundraising offers, not-for-profits have constantly found new ways to keep engaging with their communities in today’s world.

Here are some of the most innovative campaigns that have recently been hosted on raisin’s Peer-to-Peer module:

Dance off tournament

By partnering with celebrities in a fun dance-off tournament, Pacekids Society for Children with Special Needs managed to exceed their fundraising goal for their first campaign on the platform. In this unique campaign, each dancer had their own individual fundraising page. It was a great way for the dancers to share the reason why Pacekids Society’s cause was dear to them and advocate for children in Calgary at the same time.
Why not do the same with your partners and allow them to showcase their talents for a good cause?

Sports tournament

Sports are always a great way to bring people together and setting up a friendly competition can further boost your fundraising efforts. Bring in former NBA Players like Metta Sandiford-Artest, Jerome Williams, and Matt Bonner into the mix, and you have a cocktail for success.
In March of 2023, West Park Foundation hosts its annual Tournament of Stars. This unique event allows participants to draft a former NBA player into their team. Each team is encouraged to fundraise, with the team having the greatest contribution getting the first draft.

eSports

An eSports tournament can also be an exciting way to engage with your fundraisers without requiring them to leave the comfort of their couch. raisin’s Peer-to-Peer to module is ideal to allow participants to register and engage in friendly competition with the game of your choice.
The Douglas Foundation made the best of our raisin’s Peer-to-Peer module’s features to allow gamers of the general public to compete against each other on NHL 21 and get the unique chance to meet and play with former NHL players, such as Maxime Talbot and local celebrities like Étienne Boulay in their Building Hope Tournament.

Hike & Bike

With spring and warmer days right around the corner, outdoor activities are especially appealing. This is a great opportunity to host an event and encourage hikers and bikers to fundraise at the same time.
Additionally, campaigns centered around a physical activity including the Hike & Bike or similar events can be used in combination with Strava – which raisin integrates with – allowing fundraisers to showcase their activity directly on their fundraising page.

Looking for other great ways to engage with your community? Feel free to get in touch with your Account Manager.

NBA Alumni team up with West Park Foundation community members for the Tournament of Stars!

Thu, 09 Mar 2023 05:00:00 GMT

On March 24 and 25, West Park Foundation hosts their 4^th annual Tournament of Stars bringing their community together for an incredible day shooting hoops with NBA alumni players including Metta Sandiford-Artest, Jerome Williams, Matt Bonner, and many others.

West Park Foundation is the official fundraising organization for West Park Healthcare Centre, a hospital and rehabilitation centre in West Toronto, Ontario. Funds raised through West Park Foundation help fund research and rehabilitative care for patients with serious illnesses or injuries, helping them overcome challenges and live full lives.

The Tournament of Stars is a unique fundraising event that sees participants team up to raise a minimum of $20,000 to qualify for the opportunity to draft an NBA celebrity team member. Teams are encouraged to raise the most with the top-raising team getting the first draft pick and the remaining teams following in order of funds raised. Next, teams will hit the court to show off their skills and compete alongside their celebrity teammates to win the Tournament of Stars!

For this event, West Park leveraged raisin’s powerful Peer-to-Peer fundraising platform to build a compelling website where visitors can learn about the event and West Park’s mission, keep up with the fundraiser’s progress, register to participate as a member of a team, and search for participants and teams to sponsor with a donation.

raisin’s comprehensive suite of Participant Centre tools sets participants and teams up for success. Email and social sharing tools help them spread the word, customizable fundraising pages make collecting donations a breeze, and analytic tools help keep track of fundraising progress.

Meanwhile, administrative tools give organizers the power to manage all aspects of the event from start to end. Email tools keep event administrators in contact with participants throughout the event, and robust reports provide data on participants, teams, and donations.

West Park’s Tournament of Stars has found success on the raisin platform for 4 years running bringing in hundreds of thousands in revenue to support their mission. The event helps foster community engagement and support while also raising awareness for the mission and work of West Park Healthcare Centre. This event is a great example of the unique and exciting events any organization can build and manage on raisin’s fundraising platform.

Photo by Samson Photography

Enhance your fundraiser’s involvement with your Event through journey marketing

Mon, 13 Feb 2023 05:00:00 GMT

Peer-to-Peer fundraising Events are a great way to fundraise and engage with your community at the same time! What better way to get your fundraisers to feel even more passionate about your cause than having them be the advocates of your organization and promote your fundraising Event within their network among their close friends and relatives.

As fundraisers register to participate in your Event, raisin’s in-built emailing tools allow reach out to your fundraisers with personalized communications tailored to each stage of a fundraiser’s personal journey within your Event.

raisin’s scheduled emailed feature allows you to send email to your participants at different stages of their journey within your Event and represent a great opportunity to further promote how much their effort means to you.

The timing at which these emails are sent to participants can be personalized – the number of days after an email is sent is entirely customizable – while you are building your Event and letting the automated email feature send it out to participants to further engage with them and kickstart their fundraising.

By scheduling an email to be sent at a more appropriate time – for example a couple of days after registration as part of a welcome package – you can drive value and engage with fundraisers throughout the duration of your Event. and further:

Promote registration referrals
Share unique details about the Event
Share information about what fundraising amounts represent for the cause – for example, why not let them what $50 raised represents for your cause

Be sure to also brand the email and to keep your communication material consistent by inserting the Event logo in the header or footer of the email within the message templates.

Kick Starting your DIY Campaign

Thu, 09 Feb 2023 05:00:00 GMT

DIY fundraising is a wonderful way to engage with your community and provide supporters with a meaningful and helpful way to get involved with your organization. Not only does DIY fundraising allow you to take some of the fundraising efforts off your team, but it also helps spread the word about your organization and mission throughout your community as participants reach out to their social circles and advertise their fundraiser on their social media pages.

For a successful DIY campaign with loads of participants raising funds and telling their friends and family, an important first step is to kick-start the campaign with an email blast letting your community members know about what you’re doing and how they can get involved. Once you’ve taken care of this initial push, and gotten some participants signed up, word of your DIY campaign can spread organically amongst the social circles of our participants.

The Invite Participants tool on your peer-to-peer DIY fundraising event record lets you quickly and easily upload a .CSV file of your existing contacts and send an email blast about your DIY campaign. raisin’s email tool allows you to schedule multiple ‘Invite Participants’ emails and tailor invitations for specific groups of contacts. You may choose to use different language and messaging for students, seniors, professionals, parents’ groups, or religious and cultural groups.

Another good practice to kick-start your DIY campaign is to help your community members with ideas for fundraisers. When you invite folks to fundraise for you, inspire them with a list of ideas than can include:

Birthday fundraisers in lieu of gifts
Fundraisers to celebrate a wedding, graduation, retirement, or other life Event
Fundraisers to celebrate recovery from an illness or remission from a cancer diagnosis
Baby shower fundraisers in lieu of gifts
Fundraising in memory of a loved one
Fundraising in order to meet community service requirements for students
Holiday fundraisers
Bake sales, garage sales, craft sales
Gaming, crafting, running, playing a sport

Think of ideas that you feel would be of interest to your community and inspire members to support your mission with their own fundraiser.
Once you have a list of suggestions, you can optimize your DIY campaign site using the ‘Group’ feature of the Multi-Pledge module to let your supporters select their fundraiser type when they register.

Setting each suggested fundraiser type up as a multi-pledge group allows you to provide your participants with a list to inspire them when they register.

By reaching out directly to your existing community contacts, tailoring your message for specific groups, and inspiring participants with ideas for fundraisers, you can get your DIY campaign off to a great start and keep the momentum going with the support of your community.

Maximizing Impact and Raising More Funds: Tips for Gala Planning

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 05:00:00 GMT

Gala fundraisers and other ticketed events are a great fundraising option around the holiday season, as supporters and community members are often in a festive and generous mood. These types of events represent an opportunity to connect with and get to know your donors, as well as an opportunity for supporters to meet your team and learn more intimately about the work you've been doing.

If you're planning a ticketed event this holiday season, check out our best practices to make use of all the tools available in the Ticketing module for a successful event:

Create a compelling event website

First impressions, as they say, are lasting impressions! Your gala’s online presence is the first experience many will have with the event, and should reflect the spirit of the event. Even before your attendees have purchased a ticket, you can set the visual mood of the event. Decisions around banners, style, colour palette and font collectively inform visitors expectations, and can be used to give visitors a taste of what they can expect at the event, build excitement for the coming affair, and of course, entice them to purchase tickets.

Your website should also include key details about the event. At minimum, consider including these content elements on your event site:

Videos and pictures from previous events to let visitors know what to expect
A page dedicated to your speakers or performers
A page describing event logistics, such as the event schedule, directions and parking, seating charts, and any other information that will help attendees on event day
Recognize sponsors and event partners with a dedicated page or area in the footer of your site

Give ticket purchasers options

In addition to celebrating your organization, galas are an opportunity for your attendees socialize and network with others. Giving ticket purchasers options, such as group or table packages tickets, that are priced strategically provide different ways for attendees to sign up that meet their or their group’s needs. Ticket options are especially relevant in galas, in which corporate participation skews higher and attendees may be looking for a more personal or VIP touch.

Depending on your gala, you might even consider making some items exclusive by setting a limited inventory of available tickets to generate demand; or other the hand, offer discount codes for time-based promotions to help spur participation among broader audiences.

Another great option for folks who can't make the event, but would still like to support the organization is to allow them to purchase tickets that will be donated to deserving community members. If your event will present a good professional networking opportunity, tickets could be donated to students. Event tickets may also be a nice way to give back to your volunteers or other supporters. This can also be a great option for purchasers requesting refunds on tickets they can't use after all.

Use the store to sell non-ticket items

Galas aren’t just about a sit-down, they’re also about all of the accoutrements that accompany it. In advance of the event, set up a store to sell complementary items, such as after-party tickets, valet parking, meet-and-greet opportunities, event bypasses, books, branded merchandise, or items created by your community members.

Not only do these items help enhance the event experience, they help boost your revenue and give attendees an additional way to support the event.

Use the volunteer form for so much more

Volunteers can be a big help leading up to the event for planning and set up, as well as on event day for check-in and attendee relations. Indeed, without volunteers, many events simply would not be possible!

raisin's Ticketing module includes tools to recruit volunteers through an application form. The volunteer form can also be used to recruit help for other areas, such as to ask for in-kind support from vendors and local businesses who can provide food, drink, décor, gift bag items, etc. You can also use the form to recruit sponsors, silent auction donors, or event ambassadors.

Use the event reports to help manage your event

Tracking and reporting on the progress of ticket sales and attendance are critical, so that you can optimize your event’s success. Ensure you have accurate, real-time reports are available for ticket sales, attendee information, and volunteers. Use the reports to track ticket sales and see which items are selling the most, who is attending, and how much money has been raised so far. The reports can also help you see which volunteers have signed up and what tasks they are assigned to.

Don't forget to follow up with attendees after the event

After the event, be sure to follow up with attendees to thank them for their support and to let them know the impact of their contributions. This can be done through email, social media, or other means. You can also use the Ticketing module's reports to track who attended the event and reach out to them directly.

By following these best practices, you can to plan, promote, and manage a successful gala fundraiser or other ticketed event this holiday season, and beyond. The raisin platform's Ticketing module has all the tools you need to promote, sell tickets for, and manage a successful gala event. The module lets you create an event site, connect with your supporters and attendees, create and sell tickets, and pull reports to track the event. Contact us to learn more about how the Ticketing module can help make your next gala a memorable one!

Thinking Outside the Donations Box

Wed, 30 Nov 2022 05:00:00 GMT

When folks think of fundraising campaigns, often the first thing that comes to mind is a webpage soliciting donations, with a marketing campaign to let their community know about a fundraising need. While this is a good way to reach donors and collect donations (and raisin’s mobile-responive Donations module tools provides you the with power to create engaging and compelling sites), fundraising can be so much more than a donation form.

Looking to get creative and short on time? Here's three easy-to-implement ways to take your fundraising outside of the "donations box":

Incorporate cards on your donation module campaign

Incorporating eCards or physical trubute cards is a wonderful way to add value to your basic donations page, allowing donors to turn their donation into a meaningful ‘gift’ to honour a loved one. Offering to sending personal cards also allows you to get your brand and message out to more people, and help build community as your constituents begin to make it a tradition to mark special occasions and honour moments by sending a meaningful donation card from your organization, instead of a basic commercial greeting card.

eCards are a great option with little to no overhead cost for your organization and while physical cards involve higher costs, they are a nice touch, especially around the end of year holidays. The costs of offering physical cards can also be offset by setting a minimum donation amount that covers the costs and provides worthwhile revenue for your organization.

Let your supporters fundraise for you

Allowing members of your community to do some fundraising for you is a great way to reach new people and increase your donations. Folks are much more likely to donate, and donate more, if someone they know personally is asking and especially if the ask is tied to a special event such as a birthday, mitzvah, or wedding.

The raisin platform has a bunch of tools that allow your supporters to take the initiative and fundraise on your behalf:

With the Donations module, you can create a separate campaign for a supporter with a link they can share with their social circle. This gives you control of the look and messaging of the campaign site while providing your supporter with a unique link they can use for their special event.

The Donations module also allows you to create an unlimited number of funds which can be named for specific community members and their special events. This allows donors to come to your main donation campaign site and select the fund of the person they would like their donation to support. As mentioned above, people are often more inclined to give, and give more when they feel like they’re supporting someone they know personally. Combine a specially named fund with the option to include a card, and you’ve got a valuable combination for your organization and your donors.

The Peer-to-Peer Fundraising module is a powerful tool to let your community members get involved by creating and hosting their own DIY (Do-It-Yourself) fundraisers and takes much of the work off your organization admins.

A DIY fundraising site is easy to set up and once in place, allows visitor to register themselves as a fundraiser, set up an even page using a template created by your organization, and gives them access to the participant centre tools. The Participant Centre is easy to use and sets your fundraisers up for success with access to email tools, social media sharing, and reporting where fundraisers can measure their success. Best of all, funds from online donations go directly to your organization, so fundraisers never have to worry about how to get the donations to you, and donors feel confident that their money is going directly to the organization.

While this option takes much of the admin work off your plate by allowing participants to take on most of the responsibility for creating the event ad soliciting donations, you always have control. Participant accounts can be disabled, and fundraising pages taken down at any time and you can also edit a participant’s event page yourself from the administrative back end.

DIY fundraising pages are a fun and personal option for your community members to create their own campaigns, as well as celebrate special events and life milestones in lieu of gifts or to honour and remember loved ones in a meaningful way.

Symbolic Giving

The Peer-to-Peer module contains Store functionality to allow you to ‘sell’ symbolic gifts. If your organization’s mission involves providing goods or services to your community, allowing donors to ‘purchase’ those items for people in need is a creative and compelling way to solicit donations, especially around the holidays. Using the store functionality allows you to include images and descriptions that include impact statements. This additional information is a powerful way to compel visitors to give by allowing them to see first-hand, the impact of their donation. For donors, ‘purchasing’ a specific ‘gift’ that a real person will receive, can feel more personal and meaningful than a cash donation and they may be inspired to give more by ‘purchasing’ multiple of an item or ‘purchasing’ a more expensive item. Funds collected through the store flow into the same payment account and funds as regular donations and donors can still receive a tax receipt.

Providing fun ways for supporters to help you fundraise and compelling donation options for donors can increase your revenue and help you do more, raise more, and help more.

Get in touch with us to learn more about how the raisin platform can help you get creative with the way you fundraise.

10 Tips to Make Your Website Accessible

Mon, 28 Nov 2022 05:00:00 GMT

No one intentionally sets out to create an inaccessible product or digital experience.

Yet in 2022 many websites are still inaccessible, creating barriers for users. As requirements and best practises evolve, companies are constantly adapting to create more accessible experiences. In 2015, Twitter pulled two advertisements from their platform Vine that had 6 seconds of flashing video, which triggered epilepsy episodes from some users. Up until just last year, Netflix used auto-play to show trailers, which can trigger negative physical responses from those with disabilities.

So how do we keep up with best practises and avoid creating inaccessible experiences? Within the world of web design, we make our digital experiences accessible by following Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). It doesn’t just feel good to make inclusive products, it’s part of the law. Under the Accessible Canada Act (Bill C-81), Governments, businesses, and organizations are required to provide equal access to users with disabilities. Creating products that are accessible allows businesses and organizations to expand their market potential, protect themselves from legal backlash and maintain a positive brand image. We’ve compiled a list of tips and examples to help ensure your business or organization’s website is fully accessible.

1. Be Mindful of Colour Contrast

Color blindness affects approximately 1 in 12 men (8%) and 1 in 200 women in the world. Having inadequate colour contrast between text and background colours can make your website difficult to read, especially for users with low vision. Avoid colors that have too much intensity or brightness as this can decrease readability and can be harmful for those with high photosensitivity. Use an online tool like SiteImprove’s colour contrast checker to assess the right contrast ratio. To check if your website is visible for those with color blindness, you can also use the Chrome extension from Siteimprove.

A comparison of K idney.ca and what the website looks like through a blue-yellow colorblind filter from the Siteimprove Chrome extension.

2. Create an Accessible Navigation

It’s important to make sure all content can be accessed using a keyboard in a logical way. Users with visual impairment may be using screen readers. It's important to allow these users to skip navigation links so they can navigate through the sections they want to find what they’re looking for.

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A screen reader demonstration from BeThere.org, a website designed by AKA New Media.

3. Make Text Accessible

Uneven spacing in text can occur if text is right or left justified, which can make it hard for those with cognitive disabilities to read the text. Make sure text is a readable font, and at least 16px for the body text on webpages. Put careful thought into text choices and treatment. For example, Italics can be hard for users with disabilities to read and underlining text can be mistaken for a link.

4. Describe Your Links

All hyperlinks on a website should include descriptive text to let users know where the link goes. Never name a link “Click Here.” This makes for bad usability and diminishes the user experience. Instead, use a verb that’s related to the task that describe what the user is clicking into.

Links from B eThere.org, a website designed by AKA New Media.

5. Include Alt Text

A common accessibility mistake is missing or inaccurate alt text on websites. Alt text is embedded into the code of an image and is used to describe the image. Alt text should always be included so that the text can be read out loud for those with screen readers. Keep alt text concise as screen reader users may want to navigate through them quickly.

6. Use proper Headings

Screen reader users often use headings to navigate through content-heavy pages, so it’s important to follow best practises when using headings. Headings are ranked

through
based on hierarchy. All pages should have at least a
for the title of a page. Use them to add structure to your content and describe what each section of content is about. Using headings also allows Google to understand your content for SEO purposes.

7. Make Accessible Forms

Use Clear labeling above the form field rather than in it. Avoid empty form labels. Ensure you add a element in your code for each form field or screen readers will have trouble navigating through it. All forms on the raisin platform are labelled out-of-the-box. If using a Captcha, there should be audio or another accessible option for those with visual impairment.

Lakeridge Health Foundation, built using raisin's Donations module.

8. Use Captioning for Videos

41% of videos are incomprehensible without the sound. Captions are a simple solution that can fix this. Besides users with hearing impairment, captions benefit a wide variety of users, such as those who are expanding their vocabulary with a second language.

BeThere .org (and initiative of Jack.org), designed by AKA New Media, shows closed captioning option from an embedded Youtube video.

9. Dynamic Content

For dynamic content, ARIA roles and alerts can also be used so that screen readers become aware when overlays, lightboxes, popups and modal dialogs update dynamically. Otherwise, users with screen readers may not be aware of content updating.

10. Avoid Auto-play

Apart from triggering seizures, auto-play can create confusion or be distracting especially to those with cognitive disabilities, and can frustrate those using text-to-speech software. Auto-play has little benefits and many drawbacks. Even to fully-abled people, it’s considered annoying by most users and many will immediately turn off the sound when a video starts auto-playing.

There are many considerations we need to account for when designing AODA compliant websites. Contact us to learn more about how our digital experts can help make your fundraising website fully accessible.

Creating Value and Obtaining Brand Sponsorships

Fri, 25 Nov 2022 05:00:00 GMT

Corporate sponsorships can have a real impact on the success of your event or campaign by providing increased awareness, brand association, and monetary support to help cover overhead costs of running the event, allowing you to put more of your donations towards your mission.

Sponsorships are also a great way for companies to gain brand exposure, goodwill, and awareness from your supporters. Corporate sponsorships are a win-win for both non-profits and brands. The raisin platform subscription includes a number of tools to help you create value for businesses and make it easy for them to support your campaign through the purchase of a sponsorship.

Selling Sponsorship Packages

raisin's Ticketing module allows you to sell sponsorship items right on your event site, allowing for online credit card and invoice payment options, making it quick and easy for brands to sponsor the event.

The set up tools allow you to set a maximum quantity and deadline for purchase and allow you to include a number of event tickets as part of the sponsorship package.

Creating Value for Sponsors

Sponsor logos can be included right on your event tickets, offering an opportunity to create value. The footer section of an event website, for instance, is an ideal region to include your sponsors’ logos that will show on every page that visitors browse. Simple drag-and-drop content blocks in raisin's Website Builder make this process easy.

For additional exposure, you might also consider creating a separate page that highlights your sponsors with a logo grid featuring links to sponsors’ own websites, and their contribution to the event. For example, for title sponsors, you may choose to further highlight their contributions with a short impact or gratitude statement and an image or a video. With the easy-to-use CMS website builder tools, there are endless possibilities to highlight your sponsors.

Email message templates are another great place to include your sponsors logos. Every attendee will receive automatic emails for the event and each one of these is an opportunity to create value for your sponsors.
The best way to attract and retain sponsors for your organization is to create value for them and make it easy to purchase sponsorship packages.

The raisin platform lets you get creative in selling sponsorship packages and creating the kind of value that makes brands want to partner with your organization.

The Art of Thanking Donors

Wed, 23 Nov 2022 05:00:00 GMT

A solid strategy to reach more donors and increase the average donation is key to increasing your revenue, but a stewardship strategy for after you've received support from a donor is just as important.

A stewardship strategy outlining how you’ll thank your donors makes a good impression for your organization, helps to build relationships with donors, and increases the likelihood that they’ll continue to support you going forward. In fact, research shows that a genuine, personal thank you note, received within 2 days of making a donation, increases the likelihood that a first-time donor will support you again in the future and they may even give more the next time.

A specific and personalized thank you can also be the first step in building a relationship with your donor which helps with retention. It's well-known that its easier and more cost-effective to retain an existing donor than to find a new one.

The raisin platform has a whole host of tools that make it easy to craft compelling and personal thank you messages to ensure that every donor is thanked, as well as tools to allow you to pin-point your biggest donors and recognize them more directly.

Automated and personalized Messages

raisin’s email template tools allow you to automate thanking your donors while also allowing you to craft personalized and specific messages of gratitude. While the default message included on the platform contains the donor’s name, amount, and a brief message of thanks, admins are encouraged to customize these messages to make them more specific to the organization and more personal for donors.

Merge fields allow you to include personalized information about your donor and their donation easily and automatically in the thank you message. Be sure to check out the list of available merge fields and make use of these.

Additionally, the message template offer a toolbar with all kinds of tools to allow you to craft a rich and compelling message with links, images, videos, and document files.

Engage with your major donors

Knowing who your major donors are and reaching out more personally to build a rapport or nurture a relationship can be a great way to retain these donors and build on donor lifetime value by making sure they know they’re important and valued. The Bcc email tool within email templates provides an opportunity to pinpoint your large donors for special outreach like a personal phone call or a hand-written note.

Public recognition

The raisin platform's scoreboards and widgets are also a great way to automatically acknowledge your top donors and top fundraisers in a campaign or event. The Scoreboard page can be renamed to something that expresses gratitude for donors and you may also choose to include a thank you message on this page above the table of top donors.

Customize your Success Page

Besides these tools to automate donor thanks and recognition, the CMS website builder allows you to create pages specifically to recognize and thank your donors. Consider filming and posting a thank you video message from leadership on your site or creating a page to share stories from your supporters, folks who have made large contributions, or who have supported your organization over many years.

Of course, of all these options, the most important is a sincere, specific, and personalized thank you letter for each and every donor. Make sure your message is specific and personal by using merge fields to include your donor’s name and the amount they contributed.

Express impact and gratitude

Another best practice is to make sure the donor understands how their donation will be used and the impact it will have on your mission. Include your mission statement and consider also including an impact statement or quotes from leadership and others about the impact of donations and the importance of donors. Let donors know their money is valued and put to good use with an impact statement and make a human connection by including quotes from real people.

You can also use your thank you letter to let a person who obviously connects with your mission and wants to support your organization know about other ways they can help, be that through volunteering, purchasing tickets for an event, or sharing your campaign to their social network. Particularly for first time donors, this is an opportunity to welcome them and begin building a relationship with your organization that will go beyond a one-time donation.

Effectively thanking your donors presents opportunities to express gratitude, lets donors know about your mission and impact, and build long-term relationships and having a gratitude strategy puts you in the best position to make the most of these opportunities.

Make the Most of Giving Tuesday with Matching Gifts

Tue, 22 Nov 2022 05:00:00 GMT

By: Double the Donation

This year, Giving Tuesday is taking place on November 29th. And it’s quickly approaching!

Is your organization prepped and ready for this massive worldwide day of giving? If you don’t have an existing strategy in place to make the most of matching gifts, you might end up missing out on a key potential revenue source.

Luckily, we’re here to provide insights into corporate matching gift programs on and beyond Giving Tuesday 2022. This will include the following:

How do matching gifts impact Giving Tuesday success?
Best practices for optimizing Giving Tuesday with matching gifts

Ready to dive in and bring your upcoming Giving Tuesday efforts to the next level? Let’s begin.

How do matching gifts impact Giving Tuesday success?

According to nonprofit fundraising statistics, more charitable giving takes place within the last few months and weeks of the year than at any other time. That’s because during what is known as the year-end giving season, philanthropic-minded individuals tend to feel increasingly generous toward the organizations they support⁠—and much of it begins on Giving Tuesday.

At a time when fundraising groups are expecting significantly elevated engagement levels among their supporters, having the tips and tools in place to highlight matching gift opportunities is essential. Otherwise, it’s like running a “buy one, get one free” sale⁠—during a season of increased spending⁠—without communicating the bargain to your audience⁠; you’re likely to miss out on a ton of engagement potential.

Best practices for optimizing Giving Tuesday with matching gifts

We’ve covered the benefits of matching gifts, and you likely see that they’re a win-win situation for the companies, donors, and nonprofits that participate. But how can you integrate these offerings into your organization’s fundraising strategy this Giving Tuesday?

It’s easy! Here’s what we recommend doing:

1. Mention matching opportunities in Giving Tuesday appeals.

Did you know that donors are more likely to give charitably if matching gift opportunities are being promoted alongside the fundraising appeal? Or that many individuals will even give more when a matching gift is being offered? This leads to findings that mentioning matching gifts tends to result in a 71% increase in response rate and a 51% increase in average donation amount.

At a time like Giving Tuesday, when thousands of organizations are vying for limited donor support, using matching gift appeals to stand out can be a particularly effective strategy!

2. Collect employment information within the giving process.

Over 26 million individuals work for companies with matching gift programs, although more than 78% of them have never been informed of the opportunity put in place by their employer. As a result, billions of dollars in matching gift revenue go unclaimed each year⁠. The best thing your team can do to help close the funding gap is to drive awareness for eligible donors⁠—and there’s no better time to get started than Giving Tuesday!

But how can your organization determine who qualifies for the programs? We recommend collecting donor employment information directly within the donation experience. And it’s easier than ever with the right technology⁠—such as the seamless integration between Double the Donation’s 360MatchPro and raisin’s online giving forms. This partnership enables Double the Donation and raisin clients to add an autocomplete search tool on their donation pages, encouraging donors to search for their companies and uncover matching eligibility.

3. Drive donors to complete matching gifts post-donation.

Immediately after donors hit “submit” on their initial donations is one of the most impactful opportunities for marketing matching gift programs. At this point, they’re likely still riding the high of their Giving Tuesday donation momentum, and you’ll want to leverage that to your best advantage. That’s why we suggest making the most of your organization’s confirmation or thank-you screens. This should utilize the information collected in the previous step⁠—on the donation page⁠—in order to share company-specific guidelines and next steps.

For example, a donor who entered their employer’s name as Matching Gift Company A should be automatically provided with direct links to the business’s online matching gift forms, in addition to minimum and maximum donation amounts, types of qualifying nonprofits and employees, and submission deadlines. The less research an individual has to conduct on their own, the more likely they are to complete the action you’re requesting of them⁠—to submit their match!

4. Follow up with match-eligible donations.

Despite your promotional efforts during the donation experience, a donor may ultimately leave your giving page without having requested their corporate match⁠. And that’s okay⁠—especially when you have follow-up strategies in place.

Our #1 recommended tactic for following up with donors regarding matching gifts after they’ve contributed? Automated matching gift emails. Ideally, this outreach should be sent within the first 24 hours after the initial gift is made and should contain targeted information about their employer's matching gift programming. Remind donors of the potential for doubled donation impact by requesting a matching gift, and you can see your organization’s Giving Tuesday success continues to grow.

Matching gifts can make a big difference come Giving Tuesday. But they’re not a strategy that’s exclusive to Giving Tuesday or even other year-end giving. In fact, most companies offer these programs all year round, and, as a result, nonprofits can leverage the opportunity from January 1st to December 31st.

So get your organization’s matching gift plan in gear for Giving Tuesday, but don’t forget to keep up with your efforts long into the new year and beyond. Good luck, and happy matching!

About Double the Donation:
Double the Donation is the leading provider of matching gift and volunteer grant solutions to nonprofits and educational institutions. The 360MatchPro platform provides nonprofits with tools to identify match-eligible donors, drive matches to completion, and gain actionable insights. 360MatchPro integrates directly into donation forms, CRMs, social fundraising software, and other nonprofit technology solutions to capture employment information and follow up appropriately with donors about matching gifts.

Gamification for Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

Mon, 21 Nov 2022 05:00:00 GMT

What is "gamification"?

Gamification sounds complicated, but it's not! Let’s start with a quick definition: Simply put, gamification is the use of game-like design in non-game events. It can help in making a fundraising campaign more engaging, fun and interactive. Plus, encouraging healthy competition between fundraisers can go a long way in incentivizing participants to meet their fundraising goals.

But how? With technology also being easily accessible to the non-profit world, it has never been easier to include gamification tactics in your fundraising campaigns. While some campaigns can be built around a game or friendly competition, gamification tactics can also be built into your campaign by using raisin in-built features readily available in the Peer-to-Peer module:

Leaderboard

raisin’s in-built leaderboard can be a great tool to encourage friendly competition and publicly recognize top-performing constituents’ efforts in supporting your cause. Why not reward your top donors and fundraisers?

Fundraising thermometers

In raisin, participants and teams are required to set a fundraising goal when registering to a Peer-to-Peer Event. The objective they set automatically appears on their pages’ thermometer. Tracking fundraiser’s progress from their thermometer and offering rewards when certain milestones are reached are an amazing tool to encourage participants to meet their fundraising objectives, therefore raising more for your organization.

Fundraising badges

Badges are a great way for players to showcase their achievements in a game. In raisin, fundraising badges automatically appear on the participant’s and team fundraising pages when the following actions are completed: returning participant, goal reached, team captain and self-donation. Encouraging participants to collect badges and earn prizes can be a great way to further engage your constituents.

Social sharing

Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool that is free for organizations. Encouraging participants to share their fundraising page on social media and rewarding those who go the extra mile can extend the reach of your campaign and raise awareness around your cause.

By combining these features with simple rewards, for example, branded holiday-themed goodies, leveraging gamification tactics can help in boosting the reach and engagement of your event.

Engagement and challenges

If you want to take it a step further, you can also use our direct integration Strava – a fitness app that allows fundraisers to showcase a personal fitness challenge on their challenge – to build an Event centered around meeting a fitness goal and rewards who either reach their or are the first to reach a goal for the Event.

Looking for inspiration on how to gamify your fundraising campaigns? Give us a shout!

10 Essential Design Elements to Convert Donors from your Website's Homepage

Fri, 18 Nov 2022 05:00:00 GMT

The homepage of your website is prime virtual space for your charitable organization.

The homepage receives the most amount of page views on a website, and most folks will visit a homepage at least once in their user journey to becoming a supporter. Consider that potential donors, volunteers and fundraisers will look to your website not just information about your mission, but also for credibility and to gain trust in what you do. To ensure you make the best impression with your donors, here are some guideline of elements to include on your website’s homepage.

1. Relevant content that gives an overview of the organization

Visitors will often visit the homepage to learn more about the organization and cause. It’s important to have a clearly written copy so users can quickly orient themselves, learn about who the organization is and what the organization does. For example, you may want to incorporate parts of the brand message, value proposition or mission statement in the header area. Overall the content should successfully tell a high level story of the organization to its users.

Kofflerarts.org, a site designed by AKA New media, states what the organization does and showcases the work they do in the sections of their homepage.

2. Logo and branding elements

A logo is a crucial element of your brand identity that should be included on your website, as well as other marketing materials. Other branding elements can include everything from visuals to language, tone and voice. Branding is all about communicating the right message to your audience. Your branding should be consistently used across different mediums in order to appear professional, inspire confidence and let the user know they are at the right site.

3. Clear navigation

To decrease bounce rate, users should have a clear path throughout the site in order to accomplish their goals. A clear navigation should show users their options and have user-centric sections and naming. 3-6 sections is ideal to avoid cognitive overload. You should also think about priorities for your users and priorities of the organization or business when designing the navigation. For example, you can hide links or pages that are less important to user goals in a hamburger menu, and only show a select few important links in the navigation bar. Think about the hierarchical structure and how items can be placed to help users find what they’re looking for.

An example of a responsive website navigation on Kidney.ca, designed by AKA New Media.

4. Relevant call to action buttons

A primary goal of your homepage should be to influence users to further engage with your site and move them into the funnel to make a donation. Include relevant and clear call-to-action buttons that are easy to find on the page and action-oriented to convert visitors into supporters. The most obvious, of course, is to clear call-to-action to donate on a mobile-responsive and user-friendly form, but call-to-actions to sign up to fundraise, subscription to your newsletter and/or more temporal buttons to register for upcoming events are all ways to drive visitors to become more involved with your cause.

Mobile-responsive donation form accepting one-time, recurring and tribute gifts to Lakeridge Health Foundation, built using raisin's Donations module.

5. Use a search bar to guide traffic

If users can’t find what they’re looking for from scanning the homepage, they’re likely to use the search bar to aid them. Ensure your search bar is at least 25 characters wide so that they can type multiple words and are still able to see parts of their search inquiry. A search bar can especially useful for deeper sites to guide traffic off of your homepage.

A large search bar on the homepage of Baycrest.org, a website designed by AKA New Media.

6. Meaningful graphics

Avoid showing models or stock photography, which doesn’t do a great job at conveying human connection. Imagery should feel genuine and be relevant to the content on the site.

Powerful imagery from Hotdocs.ca, a website designed by AKA New Media.

7. Readable typography

It’s important to ensure the web fonts chosen for your site are legible. Consider choosing classic web-safe fonts that are available on Google fonts, as you can’t go wrong with these. The size of the font also impacts legibility so make fonts at least 16px. Online tools like fontjoy.com can help you choose type combinations that pair well with one another.

8. Social proof elements

Social proof is the psychological phenomenon where people reference the behaviour of others to guide their own behaviour. Social proof can help new visitors gain trust about where their donation is going and the good their gift will have in the world. This includes elements like stories, testimonials, or reviews. Social proof can also help users feel a sense of human connection with your cause and who they are supporting -- now and on repeat visits to your site.

Social proof in the form of community stories on the homepage of Kidney.ca, a website designed by AKA New Media.

9. Link names that begin with the most important keyword

Users will be scanning the page to find the area that will help them reach their goal. The name of links should be a relevant keyword to make it easy for users to find them while scanning the page. This can also help the SEO of your site.

10. Footer

A user may end up scanning the footer of a site if they are looking for important information they couldn’t find higher up on the page. This can include important links like contact information, address/map, email sign-ups and social media links.

A footer with useful links on the homepage of Baycrest.org, a website designed by AKA New Media.

By including these elements on the homepage, we want to help visitors learn more about the person or organization behind the site and help them accomplish their goals. Users have a certain set of expectations from what they’re used to from using other websites. There may be new trends every year, but the same crucial elements exist in order to ensure a great overall user experience and to meet user expectations. Other optional elements you can include may depend on the type of organization the website is representing. This can include resources, links to new content or a news section to show the organization is active and involved in their industry.

Contact us if you’d like to learn more about how raisin and A.K.A. New Media's award-winning digital services can take your homepage design to the next level. We seek opportunities of social impact and maintain immense pride in all of the solutions and services we provide.

Building a Winning Strategy to Get the Most Out of Giving Tuesday

Thu, 17 Nov 2022 05:00:00 GMT

Giving Tuesday, which takes place each year after the well-known pre-holiday shopping days of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, is a global event that encourages consumers to give back after a weekend of personal consumption through fundraising, gift giving, and volunteering.

Since its beginnings in 2012, the event has come to represent the kick-off to the holiday giving season and a huge opportunity for charities and non-profits. Each year hundreds of millions of dollars are raised as part of the Giving Tuesday event and with a well-planned strategy, your organization can leverage this opportunity to build awareness, engage with your constituents, increase donations, and get set up for success going forward into the new year.

Your Giving Tuesday strategy is your roadmap to success where you set out and plan where you want to go and what you want to achieve by creating  a list of specific, measurable goals. 

You can set goals for anything you'd like and your list may include some of the following:

Increasing the number of donors who support your organization
Increasing the average donation amount
Raising a specific amount of money
Selling a specific number of event tickets
Generating a specific amount of sponsorship revenue
Getting a specific number of participant registrations for an event
Reaching a specific number of new constituents

Once you've established your goals, its time to add action items to your strategy using the tools available on your raisin platform.

Email marketing tools

An integration with MailChimp allows you to collect contact information from donors on the raisin platform and send it directly to a MailChimp list. This allows you to send an email blast to previous donors, ticket purchasers, or participants letting them know about your current event and inviting them to share the link to their friends and family which can help with increasing the number of people visiting your event site and making donations.

Sending cards for added value

Card functionality on the donations module allows donors to send an e-card to a friend or family member when they make a donation. Not only does this add value for the donor, it brings your campaign to the attention of more people who may also become donors helping to reach new constituents and increase your donations.

Well-placed content and messaging to increase giving

Tools within the Donations Options functionality can help you increase your average donation and overall revenue by  prompting donors to donate set amounts and suggesting a specific amount as the default.  You also have options within the CMS website builder to create a compelling donations page by including additional information about your mission and impact.

Embrace "social" fundraising as an alternative

raisin's Peer-to-Peer module allows you to let your constituents sign up to fundraise on your behalf, and help to put out the word about your organization to a wider social network, telling friends and family about the campaign. Utilizing model of "social fundraising" can help increase your donations, raise more money, and reach new constituents in lead up to #GivingTuesday.

To spur participation, consider inviting board members, influencers, past fundraisers, and volunteers to create a page and get in on the giving spirit. Along with Participant Centre tools that encourage fundraisers to invite their friends and families to join them in fundraising,  there are many ways to increase the number of participants registered for your social fundraising campaign.

Having a strategy with clear and specific goals is key to success and your raisin platform gives you the tools to put your strategy into action, helping you to do more, raise more, and help more. Need some inspiration?

Find us in-person at AFP Congress on November 7-8

Wed, 02 Nov 2022 04:00:00 GMT

After a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, we are thrilled to, once again, be exhibiting in-person at the annual AFP Greater Toronto Chapter’s Congress.

AFP Congress is one of our favourite events on the calendar, and our full team, including our CEO and Director of Business Development will be in attendance and on the exhibit floor. If you'll be there, drop by Booth #290 for a friendly chat. We'd love to learn more about your fundraising efforts, and how raisin can help you #WorkYourPurpose!

Oh, and did we mention, we'll also be giving away a 6-month subscription?

We hope to see you there!

Seek, Share and Walk so Kids Can Talk on May 1

Wed, 27 Apr 2022 04:00:00 GMT

This spring, Kids Help Phone invites you to Seek, Share and Walk to support young people in their moments of crisis or need.

Walk so Kids Can Talk presented by BMO is Kids Help Phone's annual 5K walk, raising funds for Kids Help Phone's innovative e-mental health services that save and change lives across Canada. This year's Walk brings a return to "in-person" fundraising, with 17 locations hosting a physical event, in addition to virtual events in all 13 provinces/terriorties and in the United States. With more than 7,000 people involved, Walk so Kids Can Talk connects communities with purpose at each walk site and online.

A.K.A. New Media and raisin are thrilled to support this year's edition of Walk so Kids Can Talk presented by BMO, powering the event with a newly-designed website and raisin best-in-class Peer-to-Peer fundraising tools.

Leveraging the purposeful design and development of A.K.A. New Media and the efficiencies of raisin's unique multi-city Multi-Pledge module, the new site inspires fundraisers for Kids Help Phone's signature event make a difference in the lives of young people across Canada:

Re-design of Walk so Kids Can Talk site by A.K.A New Media, inspiring participation for this year's hybrid in-person and virtual event
Event website powering multiple locations and Walk dates, with single participant login across cities and flexible giving options to donate to participants teams, cities or the event
Technology to activate and enhance the event day experience through engaging activities for participants
Concise registration process that captures key details from corporate sponsors
Real-time leaderboards showcasing top fundraisers and top teams across the event and for key corporate teams that use raisin's Open API
Effective, easy-to-use online fundraising and communications tools for fundraisers

"The team at A.K.A. New Media and raisin have been incredible partners. The website meets the complex needs of our event, while still ensuring donors and participants have a smooth experience from start to finish. We’re looking forward to furthering our work with A.K.A. New Media and raisin."
- Megan Philpot, Development Officer, Kids Help Phone

This year’s Walk takes place on May 1, and aims to raise $3,000,000.

Be part of the Walk in-person or virtually, so that Kids Help Phone can always be there for young people in their moments of crisis or need. Register, fundraise or donate today.

Host a Hybrid Event in 2022 to keep Virtual and In-Person Participants Engaged!

Tue, 05 Apr 2022 04:00:00 GMT

While we are increasingly seeing a return of in-person events in 2022, there are still plenty of reasons participants may opt to join your event virtually this year.

Hosting a hybrid event is also a great way to broaden your organization’s reach: encouraging supporters to come together with friends and family in another location to fundraise for a cause. If your in-person event happens in Ontario, for example, creating a virtual registration option will allow a family member in Alberta to join the team and fundraise together, while far apart!

While we’ve gone over how to set up your hybrid event in raisin, here are some tips to set your virtual participants up for success using built-in tools in raisin:

Create virtual Multi-Pledge groups (or virtual teams) to broaden your organization’s reach, and encourage a sense of teamwork and community among participants that will not be attending the event in-person, no matter the reason.
Utilize raisin’s email messaging tools to communicate with your virtual participants and keep this group just as engaged as the in-person registrants! Use message templates and scheduled messages to keep all participants in-the-loop about event updates, fundraising milestones, the impact of their support, and how much you appreciate your supporters, no matter where they are.
Give supporters fundraising tips, tools, incentives and encourage social media sharing of your cause to spread the word even further! Some ideas to get you started: a how-to guide of the participant centre, incentives for uploading and emailing contacts, offering social media templates and sample posts for your participants to share to their own network.
Offer ways to measure and celebrate success among all participants, whether it’s fitness activity tracking via the Strava integration, or celebrating fundraising milestones using raisin’s participant badges. For active events, encourage your participants to connect their Strava account through their raisin profile, as their activity totals will contribute to their team activity goal! Ensure participants are aware of raisin badges and are striving to show off their hard work on their participant page!

Additionally, raisin’s new cross-location registration feature makes it simpler for participants to stay engaged and connect with their friends and family in different event locations or groups.

More resources to power your next hybrid event:

Webinar: Hosting a hybrid P2P event on raisin
Download: Guide to virtual fundraising
Download: 75 DIY Fundraising Ideas for Participants

Go Live with Livestreaming for Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

Mon, 04 Apr 2022 04:00:00 GMT

Take your fundraising to the next level with Livestreaming on Twitch, Facebook Live and YouTube, available in raisin's next-generation Peer-to-Peer Participant Centre.

Platforms such as Twitch, Facebook and YouTube offer the ability for users to broadcast or stream an activity that they're up to from a stream-enabled console, computer, webcam or even mobile phone. While especially popular in the gaming space, live streaming has proliferated in recent years to broader audiences, with streams for "IRL" (or in real-life) activities, music broadcasts, sports, chats/talk shows, and other creative content, allowing creators to broadcast to their community and fans, and interact with viewers in the Chat or verbally on their stream.

As a way to give back to important causes, #Charitystreams have become common place for creators. Charity livestreams raised over $85 million in 2020, and continues to increase heading into 2022.

With raisin's new Livestreaming feature, your charitable organization can jump into this growing space by offering livestreaming capabiltiies to your Peer-to-Peer fundraisers. The integration empowers charity streamers to sign up, broadcast, and collect donations for your cause:

Connect their stream from Twitch, Facebook Live or YouTube
Creators can quickly livestream from their platform of choice, be it Twitch, Facebook Live or YouTube. All that's required is their account, and starting a broadcast!

Broadcast simultaneously from their Peer-to-Peer fundraising campaign page
As soon as the stream starts, a video player will instantly appear on their personal page that simulcasts their stream to their page. The video player is placed strategically between the top banner and participant story regions to encourage donations to the fundraiser through your Peer-to-Peer campaign site. Payments are received to your organization directly, and receipts issued through your existing tools on raisin for maximum efficiency.

Highlight success with thermometer overlays, tickers and donate button -- branded to your cause or event
One of the appeals of live streaming is the interactivity between the creator and their community/viewers. To encourage this type of sharing and engagement, real-time fundraising thermometer overlays, and links are offered within the Participant Centre for streaming participants to drive traffic to you and receive donations.

Curious about how you, too, can get into the game with Livestreaming? Message us for a demo. Let's team up!

Activate the Ability for Participants to Enter Offline Gifts

Sun, 01 Aug 2021 04:00:00 GMT

With regions of North America opening up to more in-person gatherings, we are pleased to announce that the ability to enter and pay for Offline Donations is now accessible to your fundraisers from the Participant Centre!

The new Offline Donations section empowers fundraisers to:

Enter donations received by cash, cheque, debit or from special events, or just offline dolalrs they've received.
Offline dollars are reflected on their page and counted towards their fundraising total and honour roll of dollars for immediate donor recognition
What's more, after being added, pledges can be consolidated by the participant, paid for using their card, and receipted at once!

Save time by empowering your participants to enter offline gifts while logged in.

Enabling the ability for participants is easy, and requires the quick of a button by an administrator. With the ability for participants to enter offline gifts, not only is money received to cause faster, but think of the all time and resources saved that might otherwise be spent collecting cash on event day, sending tax receipts, and data entry!

Get in touch with our team to learn more about our powerful Participant Centre and Peer-to-Peer Fundraising offerings.

Integrate Google Address AutoComplete on Forms for Faster Giving

Wed, 21 Jul 2021 04:00:00 GMT

Address Autocomplete is a feature powered by Google that makes for faster donations, and reduces administrative work otherwise spent cleaning incorrect donor address data.

How does it work?

Using the Google Places API, your forms on raisin’s Donations and Peer-to-Peer (Pledge/Multi-Pledge) modules are now designed to allow a type-ahead-search for addresses. When a donor starts to enter the first few characters of their address, will instantly provide suggestions of matching addresses as they type, and once an address is selected, pre-populate and pre-format the rest of their address fields.

The integration is simple and free to add on in raisin with a Google Cloud account, but has dramatic effects:

Reduced form friction

Donor address information is required for most charitable organizations to issue a compliant charitable tax receipt. Even on the most well-design forms, entering this information address data increases the time it takes for a donor to give, and in turn, the potenital to abandon their donation. By predicting the address after the donor types a few characters, the AddressComplete integration reduces friction on the form, and increases conversions.

Data accuracy and integrity

All addresses are delivered directly from Google Maps, ensuring accuracy of the location and formatting. With correct address data, you save time by no longer dealing with invalid street locations, typos, reissuing tax receipts and the resulting problems when donors are exported to your CRM.

Affordable for non-profits

Best of all, there is no cost for raisin to configure your forms with Google Autocomplete! Google does charge monthly based on lookups, but nonprofits are eligible for discounted rates via Google for Nonprofit.

Contact us to find out more about how to integrate AddressComplete to your forms, and other time-saving integrations we offer!

The Building Hope Tournament: Rallying NHL Fans in Support of Mental Health

Fri, 06 Nov 2020 05:00:00 GMT

The fundraising market has become very competitive throughout these years -- and even more so recently due to COVID-19’s impact on face-to-face gatherings. The more unique your event, the more you can stand out and engage with your supporters.

What’s a better way to rally donors in a unique way than an e-sports tournament with former NHL players?
The Douglas Foundation - whose mission is to build resources to improve the mental health of all - has capitalized on hockey to organize a truly one-of-a-kind e-sport tournament called “The Building Hope Tournament” on raisin's Peer-to-Peer module. This initiative's objective is not only to support mental health but also to help fund research, clinical care, and education at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute.

How does it work?

In October 2020, gamers from the general public competed online against each other through NHL 21 in qualifying rounds. The best players were then selected to participate in the final tournament on the 7th of November 2020.

In addition to the cash prizes being offered, players selected will also be given a chance to meet with former NHL players, such as Maxime Talbot and local celebrities like Étienne Boulay, and play against them in the final tournament. Who has never dreamed of playing one-on-one with their sports idol?

Why an e-sports event?

While gaming for charitable causes is now popular in the United States, e-sports and gaming have yet to be adopted by not-for-profit organisations in Canada. In the wake of COVID-19 and the psychological stress caused that might last years for some, Douglas Foundation aimed to engage with an audience who is not necessarily aware of mental health issues.

Hockey being a popular sport in Canada, NHL 21 was used to connect gamers and members of the general public. This virtual event also means that social distancing etiquette was respected.

The gaming tournament will be streamed on social media on social on the 7th of November 2020 with content to raise awareness around mental health all while being a fun tournament. Viewers will also get the opportunity to learn more about the research and clinical care for mental health available at Douglas Hospital through discussions with several specialists during the broadcast.

Interested in this one-of-a-kind gaming tournament all while learning more about mental health? Feel free to check out the action on the social media channels of the famous, featured guests on the 7^th of November:

Youtube
Twitch
RDS Jeux Vidéo
Facebook
Instagram

A.K.A. Wins Big at W3 Awards

Mon, 12 Oct 2020 04:00:00 GMT

The W3 Awards celebrate digital excellence by honouring outstanding Websites, Marketing, Video, Mobile Sites & Apps, Social and Podcasts created by some of the best interactive agencies, designers, and creators worldwide.

The W3 is sanctioned and judged by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts, an invitation-only body consisting of top-tier professionals from a “Who’s Who” of acclaimed media, interactive, advertising, and marketing firms, including the Creative Director of Spotify, the Founder & CEO of StudioLabs (NYC), among others. This year the W3 had over 3,000 entries from countries across the globe and A.K.A. has been awarded in 4 separate categories.

Building on the success of this years Webby Award and Webby People's Choice Award for BeThere.org, it is an honour for the work that A.K.A. New Media does to be recognized by other leaders in our industry. The hard work, talent and care, contributed by the whole A.K.A. team, not only contributes to the success of projects such as these, but in turn, also helps to support and raise awareness about A.K.A.’s clients and their important missions.

And the winners are...

BeThere.org
Gold - Health Website

Kidney Foundation of Canada
Gold - Non-Profit Website

Koffler
Gold - Art Website

RoundHouse Theatre
Silver - Performing Arts Website

Check out these projects among the the full W3 Awards Winners Gallery!

Working on a new web presence or project? Get in touch with us about the award-winning Website Design Services we offer. We'd love to work together.

Doubling the Impact of Peer-to-Peer Fundraisers with 360MatchPro by Double the Donation Integration

Wed, 07 Oct 2020 04:00:00 GMT

Following the launch of raisin’s integration with Double the Donation, we’re thrilled to announce that we’re doubling down on our matching gifts integration and raisin’s Peer-to-Peer (Pledge & Multi-Pledge) modules are now fully integrated with 360MatchPro by Double the Donation!

raisin’s Peer-to-Peer modules support all types of social fundraising – be it walks/runs/rides, virtual events, or third-party DIY campaigns -- and inspires individuals and teams to join your cause behind a bold, beautiful campaign site. Effective and easy-to-use tools in our Participant Centre empower fundraisers to encourage donations by telling their story on a shareable personal fundraising page, spread the word via e-mail and social tools, sync personal fitness activity, and track their success in real-time.

With peer-to-peer outreach spanning personal networks and across multiple channels, the 360MatchPro integration helps your organization unlock the estimated $4-7 billion dollars that are left on the table each year from US companies alone.

When a donor visits an individual or team fundraising page, they are presented with multiple opportunities throughout the donation process to identify their matching gift eligibility and to take the next steps to get their gifts matched.

Built-in matching opportunities are displayed just below donation options and on the successful page to allowing donors to easily find their employer from Double the Donation’s comprehensive company database, while supporting their friend, family member or colleague’s fundraising campaign.

Once their donation is made, the integration sends gift information to your 360MatchPro account for you to take advantage of the robust tracking tools that they offer to identify matching opportunities, and create automated messages that guide donors through their matching steps. What’s more, the integration includes options to send information regarding “no company matches” to build communication streams for donors who may be matching gift eligible, but just haven't identified where they work.

The out-of-the-box integration takes minutes to set up, and activate with a 360MatchPro account for Peer-to-Peer and Donations campaigns on raisin.

To find out more about Double the Donation, visit https://doublethedonation.com/ or schedule a private demo of 360MatchPro at https://www.360matchpro.com/demo-request/.

For more information on raisin, book a one-on-one demo today!

raisin Launches a Powerful New Participant  Centre

Thu, 04 Jun 2020 04:00:00 GMT

Combining 15 years of Peer-to-Peer fundraising, first-hand learnings from fundraisers and clients, and usability expertise from our award-winning interactive agency, our new Participant Centre is a fundraising experience like no other.

Captivate your participants with a robust suite of engagement, email and social tools designed to propel your campaign forward to raise more for your important cause!

Dynamic dashboards that drive action

A beautifully designed dashboard gives participants the insight into how their marketing efforts are performing against their achievements and prompts them with next steps to continually drive action towards their goal.

Transform your participants into email marketers

Email continues to be an important marketing channel. We know from our research that participants who use our email and tracking tools in their campaigns raise more. Email features are even more powerful and easier in the new Participant Centre allowing supporter to write email on the fly from any device, create lists, access templates, track responses, encourage follow-ups and stewardship – the combined results will turn your participants into email marketing champions and increase dollars raised.

Create social advocates to spread the word 

Year-over-year we see an increase in referral traffic from social networks. With expanded social tools, participants are encouraged to regularly share out their campaign to their network of choice be it Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more, expanding the impact of their social channels on your fundraising.

The ultimate user experience for fundraising success 

Usability is a function, and one that we pride ourselves in always putting at the forefront of everything we design. The new Participant Centre gives your constituents the ultimate user experience, for ease and success across any device, so that they can make a difference.  

Unleash the Potential!

Change the game. Tap into your most important asset, your cherished participants, and help your champions exceed their goals!

Book a demo or contact your Account Manager to learn more, and stay tuned for updates as we continue to roll out innovative features throughout the year.

A.K.A. Wins 2 Webby Awards!

Tue, 19 May 2020 04:00:00 GMT

BeThere.org, designed and developed by our parent company, A.K.A. New Media, won both the People’s Voice Award and jury selected Webby Award for the Best Health Website in the World for the 25th Annual Webby Awards.

This year’s presenters including such celebrities as Michelle Obama, Tom Hanks, Miley Cyrus and Dr Anthony Fauci to name a few. We were truly honoured to have technology pioneer and winner of the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award, Jane Metcalfe, present A.K.A.’s Webby Award!

Visit Webbyawards.com/speech to see Jane’s presentation along with A.K.A.’s hallmark 5-word acceptance speech delivered by a mental health leader from Jack.org.

Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by The New York Times, The Webby Awards, presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS), is the leading international awards organization honoring excellence on the Internet. IADAS, which nominates and selects The Webby Award Winners, is comprised of digital industry experts, including Instagram’s Head of Fashion Partnerships Eva Chen, Director of Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society Susan P. Crawford, actor and activist Jesse Williams, GE CMO Linda Boff, Pod Save the People host and activist DeRay Mckesson, Google’s Head of Conversation Design Cathy Pearl, Fortnite Designer Eric Williamson, HBO Digital Chief Diane Tryneski, Los Angeles Laker Isaiah Thomas, and DDB Worldwide CEO Wendy Clark.

“A.K.A. New Media Inc. has set the standard for innovation and creativity on the Internet,” said Claire Graves, Executive Director of The Webby Awards. “This award is a testament to the skill, ingenuity, and vision of its creators.”

“This is obviously a great honour for our entire team and a fabulous opportunity to further promote BeThere.org – an important online mental health resource for young adults, particularly during these difficult times. This was a truly collaborative effort with the amazing folks at Jack.org and a true project of passion!” says Matthew Myers, COO & Executive VP, A.K.A. New Media Inc.

Announcing Integration with 360MatchPro by Double the Donation

Thu, 07 May 2020 04:00:00 GMT

A.K.A New Media is excited to share that raisin®, a product of A.K.A New Media, has released an integration with 360MatchPro by Double the Donation. Double the Donation is the leading provider of matching gift and volunteer grant solutions to nonprofits and educational institutions.

The seamless, built-in integration with 360MatchPro ensures that no corporate matching gifts opportunity for a raisin fundraiser falls through the cracks.

“We’ve seen an increase in nonprofit organizations looking for supplemental tools to maximize giving,” said Assadour Kirijian, CEO & Executive Creative Director of A.K.A. New Media, Inc. “Corporate matching gifts fit squarely into that box. We’re proud to respond so quickly to this timely need with Double the Donation as our exclusive matching gifts technology partner.”

With $4-7 billion left on the table from US-based corporate matching gift programs alone, nonprofit organizations worldwide are missing out. The reason is simple: 78% of match-eligible donors don’t know that their employer offers to match their charitable contributions.

The 360MatchPro integration with raisin tackles this gap in donor awareness of matching gifts. Donors giving through a raisin donation form integrated with 360MatchPro are presented with multiple opportunities to discover their matching gift eligibility and to take the next steps to get their gifts matched. Matching opportunities are displayed strategically on the form and on the successful page to increase average gift, without sacrificing the streamlined forms and ease of use that are designed to convert more donors on raisin.

“The 360MatchPro integration with raisin strikes a delicate but essential balance for nonprofits,” said Adam Weinger, President of Double the Donation. “We’re able to assess matching gift eligibility without disrupting the frictionless flow of the donation experience. That balance is key for nonprofits who are looking to encourage corporate matching without hurting their conversion rates.”

The integration takes minutes to activate with a raisin and 360MatchPro account and will be released on raisin’s state-of-the-art Donations module. Matching opportunities will be added to other raisin modules as raisin’s partnership with the industry leader in matching gift technology grows.

Learn more about Double the Donation at https://doublethedonation.com/ or schedule a private demo of 360MatchPro at https://www.360matchpro.com/demo-request/.

Learn more about raisin® by scheduling a demo!

A Guide to Launching Virtual Fundraising Events

Mon, 04 May 2020 04:00:00 GMT

During this time of isolation and social distancing, Do-it-Yourself (DIY) and virtual fundraising campaigns have moved to the forefront of your peer-to-peer fundraising programs. While the physical event is unable to occur, constituents are more social than ever in the digital world. This environment creates a unique opportunity to allow your supporters to continue to play an important role as heroes in your community, and fundraise in new and interesting ways.

Embrace the virtual event opportunity!

Allow it to push your creativity, create new online experiences, expand your social networks, and engage your audience in real-time - ultimately bringing you closer to your constituents in new ways.

This guide will walk you through how to pivot your peer-to-peer event to virtual fundraising - rounding up tips from successful integrated marketing campaigns, an overview of live streaming platforms and more! It also includes a bonus of 75 DIY ideas for your participants to start running these campaigns from their homes.

Save the Date for #GivingTuesdayNow

Sun, 26 Apr 2020 04:00:00 GMT

#GivingTuesday has become a globally known Day of Giving, taking place each year in November gearing up to the holiday season. In addition to #GivingTuesday scheduled for December 1, 2020, a new Global Day of Giving will be taking place on Tuesday, May 5th, 2020 as an emergency response to the COVID-19 crisis. #GivingTuesdayNow will be a new day of unity, action and giving and a way to come together amid these trying times.

Traditionally, #GivingTuesday focuses on the start of the giving season leading up to the end of the year. Organizations likely have annual campaigns they launch with standard messaging to attract donors looking to give back with whatever means possible. With the newly launched #GivingTuesdayNow initiative, it is time to think outside the box and get creative on how you can engage your donors and volunteers.

With a couple weeks to go until #GivingTuesdayNow, there is plenty of time to plan out your campaign.

One-Time and Sustaining Donors Appeals

If you want to take advantage of the Giving Tuesday rush to donate, a stand-alone campaign is a good choice. This can be an appeal that lasts only for the day, with a big push to support within the 24-hour window or transforms into a campaign that extends past the giving day. In whatever form, to capture donor attention, your campaign site explicity speaks to the impact a donor can make with imagery, direct copy, and maybe even a progress thermometer for donors to strive towards a vital goal you set. Importantly, as a campaign driven by social, ensure your presence and forms are fully mobile responsive!

Our New Donations module makes it easy to accomplish all three -- and more -- and can be set up in minutes. In the fall, we walked through the process of a creating and launching a branded #GivingTuesday appeal to accept one-time, recurring and tribute donations on our Donations module. The step-by-step tutorial is a valuable resource to follow along with should you be using the Donations module as your platform.

Multiply Impact with Do-It-Yourself Fundraising

Exploring a crowdfunding or "Do-It-Yourself" (DIY) fundraising campaign is a way to multiply the impact of your supporters. Instead of making a single one-time gift, a DIY campaign encourages supporters to create a personal or team fundraising page on raisin, and do the fundraising for you! With a powerful suite of email and social tools for fundraisers, the Peer-to-Peer module on raisin makes it easy for your champions to create, customize and promote your cause across their channels to friends, family and colleagues. The result? Expanded demographic reach with everyone fundraising for the same cause.

Promote Upcoming or Virtual Campaigns

Similar to DIY fundraising pages, Peer-to-Peer Fundraising -- for an existing event, virtual campaign or launched just for this initiative -- can be promoted on Giving Tuesday to see boosts in fundraising from your participants. Encourage your participants to head to social on May 5, post a link to their fundraising page and add the #GivingTuesdayNow hashtag to their posts. At the same time, #GivingTuesdayNow could also be used to drive registration by allocating a certain percentage of registration fees to be receiptable as donations.

Getting the Word Out

The week and days leading up to your campaign will be crucial for communication and messaging to spread the word about your initiative. Letting your participants, donors and volunteers know what your plan for #GivingTuesdayNow is and how they can support your organization is a proactive way to get them involved leading up the day.

Spending time at home and isolating has resulted in more time on social media. This is a great way to engage your network and encourage social sharing and participation. Adding your social media feeds on your raisin campaign or embedding a link to a Facebook Live broadcast are simple enhancements that will build and keep momentum growing. Creating unique #hashtags or social media challenges allows you to track the conversation and repost content to encourage others leading up to and on event day.

Need some help? We've got you! Follow the sample communication plan set out in our #GivingTuesdayNow eBook for reference, or contact our team on how to set up your campaign.

A Roundup of Virtual and Rapid Relief Campaigns

Tue, 07 Apr 2020 04:00:00 GMT

Our clients inspire us every day. Presented with the new and incredible challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, we've seen non-profit organizations adapting quickly and planning in real-time, launching virtual and rapid relief campaigns to continue their vital work.

Here are some of the remarkable ways our clients have responded to raise funds during this critical time:

Push For Your Tush 2020

This is the first year taking the Push For Your Tush Run/Walk from the parks to an online experience with raisin’s peer-to-peer fundraising platform.

Hospice Georgian Triangle Foundation

The 10th Annual Hike or Bike for Hospice helps raise $80,000 in support of Hospice Georgian Triangle.

Osler Foundation

To help the #HealthcareHeroes at Osler's hospitals respond to COVID-19, the Foundation launched a new portal with options for donors to give or donate vital life-saving equipment is to keep up with the demand.

Food Banks Canada

The impact of COVID-19 has had effects across Canada's food bank network. Food Banks Canada launching a special $150M appeal to help ensure that food banks can continue their critical work supporting those with food insecurity.

Ottawa Food Bank

Ottawa Food Bank has taken tremendous efforts to make thousands of emergency food hampers for children, families and vulenerable people affected by the increased need during the outbreak. Helping power the Food Bank's work is the generosity of their donors.

Niagara Health Foundation

In the face of difficult times, Niagara Health's healthcare teams are there to support the most vulnerable communities when they need it most. Donors are encouraged to give or leave a note to front-line works.

Power Hour to benefit Mackenzie Health Foundation

Power Hour is a new virtual fitness challenge that encourages at-home participants to commit to three consecutive days of 60-minute workouts, complete the challenge and raise funds in support of Mackenzie Health's COVID-19 efforts.

A Guide to Launching Virtual Fundraising Events

For more information on launching and running virtual fundraising events, particularly pivoting Peer-to-Peer campaigns into virtual events, please download our guide to virtual events.

Live Streaming Fundraising 101

Wed, 01 Apr 2020 04:00:00 GMT

Due to the recent pandemic, we have all had to make changes in our daily lives. For organizations, this means having to transform their fundraisers to be held virtually. With those circumstances, it's important for participants and supporters to continue to feel that there's a large sense of involvement. A great way to achieve this is by embedding Social Live Streams from Facebook or YouTube onto your raisin websites. Streaming Live brings your audience together through video in real-time! While doing so, you can address commenters and respond questions to capitalize on the engagement dynamic.

Getting Started

Facebook: Unless you don’t already have a Facebook account, there isn’t much setup to do before Live Streaming. However, please note that you will need to embed your Stream each time before going Live. For more information on how to get started, please click here.

YouTube: This requires that you have some settings activated within your account and takes 24 hours to activate Streaming. For more information on how to get started, please click here.

Schedule your Live Stream to maximize audience

To build anticipation for your fundraiser, let participants and donors know in advance when you plan on going Live. This will this ensure more constituents watch your Live recording, creating enthusiasm which can increase donations!

Add descriptions to your Live Stream

Consider adding some key pieces of information with regard to your Live Stream. This will give your audience a better sense of what is being discussed and will help those who tuned in late to understand what is happening.

Information for your Live Stream should include:

Fundraiser name and locations Special guests joining you A call to action - Like "Click here to Donate!"

Go Live!

Now that you have all the tools to start a Live Stream, you are one step closer to achieving your fundraising goals!

Quickly Pivoting to a Virtual Fundraising Event

Wed, 25 Mar 2020 04:00:00 GMT

The outbreak of COVID-19 is rapidly shifting the landscape of event fundraising. Where peer-to-peer fundraisers or gala attendees might have gathered together to celebrate your cause, you may now be looking for ways to take your event fundraising "virtual."

Pivoting from a face-to-face event to a virtual one does not have be to an especially significant change. While a virtual fundraiser may not be taking place in a physical space, the same efforts and principles you apply to welcoming them to the organization, educating them about the cause, and celebrating their collective achievements are still relevant.

Depending on the nature of your event, there is an opportunity to run your event as planned, just from the comfort of your participants' homes, backyards or safe spaces... all while maintaining social distance, of course!

DIY Fundraising Challenges

DIY challenges re-create some aspects of your event. From their personal and/or team pages, participants can post pictures and videos while still collecting donations, and use social to spread the word.

Here's an idea: Challenge participants to hit an achievable activity milestone. As participants reach checkpoints along the way, ask them to post their progress throughout the day and request a donation that corresponds with their milestone (e.g. 500 steps = $50 donation).

Pre-Recorded Videos

To guide your constituents through programming that might otherwise have been occurring when participants were getting together, consider a series of pre-recorded videos and push these out to constituents by email, social or a curated YouTube Playlist. Fun, celebratory and possibly exclusive/reward-based videos give participants a reason to tune in and take part. And as an added benefit, the content you produce is great evergreen material for future campaigns down the line!

Livestream Fundraising

If you’re thinking about live streaming, there are a myriad of options out there to broadcast to your constituents – from Facebook Live to Periscope to YouTube Live to open-source options like StreamlabsOBS. Many streaming services offer options to embed the feed or chat in other broadcasters. Importantly, most streaming softwares also allow for a call-to-action button where you can link viewers to donate directly to your raisin event.

Live streaming fundraising does require new resources, so the streaming service you go with might existing technical capacity, nature of the event, the type of stream (informal stream or a professional broadcast) and where your audience is most likely to join from.

#Hashtag

A consistent hashtag is an opportunity to bring together your participants and donors to showcase the activity, progress and successes they're making when taking on their own challenges.

This is a strategy being employed currently by a few virtual events, including The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation's Colour To Conquer, the St. Mary's Hospital Foundation's #RedDay, and the SportingLife 10K.

On a raisin event, you can quickly wrap this activity around by embedding iframe social feeds that these platforms and third-party aggregators make available using the Code Snippet content block found in the Website CMS.

Online forums or groups

Facebook Groups and Reddit provide a forum for you and your constituents to connect, interact and share stories in real-time.

Flash Fundraisers

Consider creating a special appeal and messaging as a “flash” fundraiser (timed for a short/limited time), like a Giving Tuesday campaign. If you are thinking about cancelling an event, let your supporters know that by donating they can still have an impact – even if they can’t attend.

A few things to keep in mind when crafting the campaign:

Demonstrate your impact with suggested amounts and well-placed descriptions on your donation form
Use a landing page with images to foster a connection with your cause
Set a goal and add a thermometer that supporters can strive towards
raisin is mobile-friendly across devices and screen sizes

Our Donations module is designed specifically for quick setup for special appeals and emergency response. You have the flexibility of building a complete site with a landing page landing page, real-time thermometer and options for one-time and recurring giving.

Crowdfunding

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, we've read countless stories of inspiring people wanting to make a difference in the lives of those affected by the virus. Take Michael Schur, creator of The Good Place, who raised $150,000 for the L.A. Regional Food Bank in a day.

Creating and promoting a crowdfunding or social fundraising platform of your own gives motivated supporters the means to get started and do good on your behalf. What's more, it doesn't have to be a lot of work! We've written a few articles in the space on just how quickly you can launch and support a crowdfunding program on raisin.

Here's an idea: Not everyone has thousands of followers like Michael Schur, and your campaign might not take off immediately. Gain some momentum by engaging board members, ambassadors or influencers you might already have a relationship with.

For more information, download our virtual fundraising guide.

YWCA Hamilton Honours Trailblazing Women

Mon, 16 Mar 2020 04:00:00 GMT

On March 5^th, YWCA Hamilton honoured the trailblazing women in their community by celebrating their incredible achievements by hosting their 44^th annual 2020 Women of Distinction Awards night.

This gala boosts nominated women who have excelled in their fields and recognizes workplaces that practice and promote women’s leadership and equal advancement opportunities in the workforce. Over 1000 guests such as honourees, sponsors and event attendees enjoyed an evening of cocktails, a silent auction, dinner and awards.

This year’s event raised over $227,000 with proceeds supporting critical services for women and children in the Hamilton area such as affordable child care, employment training and health and wellness- to name a few.

YWCA Hamilton used our new fully mobile-responsive Ticketing module and Content Management System to create a beautifully branded event website utilizing unlimited content pages, drag-and-drop content blocks and colour pickers.

Founded in 1890, YWCA Hamilton is known as one of Hamilton's original social innovators and works from a client-centered and anti-racism, anti-oppression framework. They strive to not only support but strengthen women’s and girl’s voices and provide crucial services to promote inclusive and equitable communities.

Although the event has ended, you can still donate here to support the organization and their trailblazing efforts!

COVID-19 Precautionary Measures

Fri, 13 Mar 2020 04:00:00 GMT

A.K.A. New Media has been closely following the spread of the COVID-19 virus to ensure continued delivery of your services on raisin. Our responsibility is to you, our valued clients, and to the well-being of our staff and their families.

A.K.A. remains fully operational and we are committed to supporting you, especially during this challenging time. Apart from team members potentially working remotely, A.K.A. New Media Inc. (A.K.A) and AKA raisin (raisin) are fully operational from both a customer service, and technical perspective.

We are following the direction and advice of local health officials, governments and health organizations, and are prepared to take all appropriate safety precautions to ensure we are able to maintain business continuity, should it be necessary:

All staff have the capacity to work remotely from secure environments
raisin Account Managers are accessible by email and/or web meeting
Phone support may be limited in the event of an office closure. As such, we encourage you to use email as the primary means of communication with your Account Manager
Emergency contacts as detailed in your personal Escalation Document are also accessible
At an application level, the environments on which raisin operates are fully redundant with 24/7 monitoring and disaster recovery

We also understand that your fundraising may be affected as events and large public gatherings are cancelled or postponed. Please contact your raisin Account Manager to discuss options of potentially migrating your event to be held virtually. The continued success of your fundraising is, and will remain, our priority.

The situation surrounding COVID-19 is fluid and evolving worldwide, and we will continually be assessing our position, and will adapt if necessary. We will keep you informed of any changes by email, and on our website. We appreciate your patience and continued support.

Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns. And most importantly, please stay safe, and look after each other.

Sincerely,
A.K.A. New Media Inc

raisin® and DonorPerfect Integration For Fundraising Success

Wed, 05 Feb 2020 05:00:00 GMT

The year 2020 marks a special milestone as we enter our fifth year of a proud partnership between raisin and DonorPerfect – and there is much to celebrate! Having grown together, we now share several non-profit clients, all utilizing raisin’s leading online fundraising platform, integrated with DonorPerfect's powerful donor management system, for fundraising success.

An Eco-System of Best-In-Class Solutions

The partnership started out primarily to offer a more robust peer-to-peer fundraising system to DonorPerfect charitable clients. The key benefits for DonorPerfect users included beautifully designed mobile-friendly event sites powered by raisin’s intuitive ‘drag and drop’ content management systems, the ability to efficiently run national P2P events, and a powerful suite of email and social fundraising tools to turn event participants into fundraising champions.

With a direct API integration between the raisin’s online these two best-of-breed systems, constituents who fundraise or give on raisin automatically flow through into DonorPerfect and match with historical data for a clean import. Meanwhile, as donations are made, funds are directly deposited into the client’s bank accounts through Softerware’s SafeSave payment gateway.

Financial and solicitation codes are imported from DonorPerfect to enable financial data to be seamlessly aligned between the systems. The benefits provide a truly integrated and powerful fundraising solution that saves valuable administrative time and effort, while leveraging the strength of each platform to raise more!

Commitment to an Evolving Integration

While initially brought on as a Peer-to-Peer fundraising partner, we’ve continued to invest in the partnership, expanding the solution to streamline constituent management, boost communication, and build a state-of-the-art solution for charities. Several enhancements have been made including integrating with raisin’s new Ticketing and Donations Modules, as well as making several field-level updates and record matching improvements based on user feedback.

Join Some of The Nonprofits Benefiting from The Partnership

Several leading Non-Profit Organizations are reaping the benefits from this integration, raising more funds online, building stronger relationships with their constituents, and saving time on efficient back-end administration, including:

APLA Health
Boys Club of Wake County
CASA Foundation
ELS for Autism Foundation
Humanitarian Coalition
KESHET
Kidney Cancer Canada Association
YWCA Greenwich
And more!

Stronger Together

The continued partnership allows us each to focus on our core strengths and ultimately extend a stronger solution for our customers. We look forward to continuing to expand and strengthen our partnership with DonorPerfect, evolving our platforms, side-by-side, together to deliver exceptional fundraising platforms with extraordinary service.

Learn more about our Integrations or contact us for a demo to see how you can leverage raisin and DonorPerfect's best-in-class tools.

Breaking the Ice: Our Recap of Brainfreeze 2019

Wed, 05 Feb 2020 05:00:00 GMT

By Tim Brandl

“The water looks freeeeezing!”

Sub-zero temperatures don’t normally scream a "casual day at the beach", but here stood Jennifer, Emily and I nevetheless: On the sandy shores of Woodbine Beach, in the middle of November, staring into the cold lake waters before us.

The three of us were there for Brainfreeze, a polar bear dip fundraiser for youth mental health.

And in moments, we’d be jumping in that freezing cold water.

In Canada, suicide is the second-leading cause of death among young people aged 15 to 24 (Source: Public Health Agency of Canada, 2019).

Brainfreeze: Polar Bear Dip for Youth Mental Health started as an idea two transformative organizations, jack.org and Surf the Greats, had to bring attention to this problem. The thinking was simple: Bring two communities together for a courageous, collective act that breaks the proverbial ice on the youth mental health.

The first event kicked off in 2017 with eighty passionate polar bears and raised $18,000.00 – an impressive feat by any calculation.

In the years since, though, the Brainfreeze community has swelled into a truly national demonstration.

Indeed, by the time the three of us found ourselves on the shores of Lake Ontario in November 2019, we were among 550 other participants and 90 teams, spanning six Canadian cities (Halifax, Montreal, Collingwood, Toronto, Victoria and Vancouver), who had signed up to fundraise and take the plunge.

Brave souls getting ready to 🥶 at #Brainfreeze2019 in support @jackdotorg! pic.twitter.com/d13ggTEapR
— raisin (@AKAraisin) November 30, 2019

Dippers smashed through the fundraising precedents set in previous years, too. In 2019, the event started with a fundraising goal of $50,000, and polar bears were encouraged to set up personal fundraising pages or team fundraising pages on our Peer-to-Peer Fundraising module to collect donations. Two weeks ahead of the event, participants and teams had had already hit and surpassed this mark, encouraging organizers from jack.org to increase their target another $20,000.

The new goal wasn’t high enough.

Not only did participants meet the $70,000 days later -- they more than doubled it, raising a total of $150,314.50!

The incredible wave of support for Brainfreeze speaks to the growing recognition of youth mental health in Canada, and the vital movement that jack.org has helped mobilize through initiatives, like Brainfreeze, to help address it. Jack.org is the only Canadian charity that trains and empowers young leaders to revolutionize mental health in every province and territory. All of the donations that participants collected go towards helping the youth mental health leaders at jack.org meeting this challenge by delivering educational Jack Talks, develop game-changing resources and advocating for effective policies that help young people.

At the same time, a huge part of making jack.org’s vision a reality is attitudinal. We need to look after each other, and recognize when someone is having problems. And when someone does have the courage to speak up, we need to know how to respond. This is within all of us.

What made the Brainfreeze experience so unique was that the spirit of inclusivity needed to help create this positive shift was in the air (no matter how cold that air was). From the spirited emails organizers sent encouraging fundraising to the care swimmers showed each other getting out of the water to the conversations amongst at post-event social, bonds had formed amongst family, colleagues, friends and even some new friends.

So, as was stood there, on the beach – shivering -- the three of us were part of more than just a fundraiser, we were there a part of a community. And that was worth freezing forth.

“Let’s dive in.”

To be notified of Brainfreeze 2020 registration, visit: jack.org/brainfreeze

Fundraising 2020: AFP Congress Session Roundup

Wed, 01 Jan 2020 05:00:00 GMT

We reached out to 94 AFP Congress session speakers for thoughts- relevant to their sessions, they would like to share and received responses from 23, here's a round up of their thoughts for fundraising in 2020.
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"Aging baby boomers have a keen interest in leaving a legacy and rearranging their affairs to minimize estate taxes. This means that bequests will increase substantially in coming years. Therefore, stewarding legacy donors, identifying existing bequests, and showing donors how to multiply their bequests by converting taxes to charitable donations is going to be more important than ever before" -- Tina Tehranchian, MA, CFP, CLU, CHFC. Planned Giving Consultant, The Donor Motivation Program.

"More and more funders are looking to be more aligned and engaged with recipients of their funds- make sure that your grant is clear how funders can achieve this!" -- Stachen Frederick. Executive Director, Frontlines.

"stronger support for employee mental health" -- Josh Bowman, Senior Development Officer for the Faculty of Engineering, University of Waterloo.

"With a strong digital program, new digital donors are far outstripping new donors from offline sources. Given that, we need to treat the acquisition of them like our charity's future hangs in the balance...because it does." -- Shoni Field, Chief Development Officer, BC SPCA.

" I think people are starting to think about things that are corollaries to fundraising. We're moving beyond tactics and strategy and thinking about underlying issues that affect fundraising. That's why my colleague and I, Lisa Watson, have spent the last year exploring Money Mindset and its impact on fundraising and leadership in the charitable sector. And in my work, I'm particularly interested how it impacts the social change sector. " --  Cathy Mann, MA, CFRE, President, Cathy Mann & Associates.

"It's more important than ever in raising more MAJOR gifts to be crystal clear on what the money DOES (and that ins't support your mission) that's molds kids for eternal life, restore forest land, provide nursing support in under served areas in your own state - what the money does.
As we are able to do more and more online and find powerful ways to influence and even manipulate the beliefs and actions of others, demonstrating we can be trusted, and coming from an authentic place, will continue to be important for repeated and larger major gifts." -- Marcy Heim, CSP, CFRE, PLCC
Founder and President, The Artful Asker.

"No matter your seniority, you are in charge of developing a more inclusive workplace. Take the time to learn how you can be more inclusive in your life and work. Consider how you recruit more diverse candidates, how you educate your teams, how you support employees in their career development, how you make space for all voices, and when you are silent you are contributing to the problem of a mono culture. " --  Nicole McVan, Director, Corporate Donor Relations, United Way Greater Toronto.

"A trend I want to see - and think we need to see - is greater focus on testing. Testing our assumptions. Testing our tactics. And even our overall strategies." -- Brady Josephson. Managing Director, NextAfter Institute

"Gift in kind donors are converting to monetary donors" --  Judy Noordermeer, Vice-President, Marketing & Communications, Arthritis Society.

"Digital is highly important for the future of fundraising. In the context of that, as organizations move towards embracing digital, there is an opportunity to stand out by using non-digital platforms like phone, mail, and in-person interactions, especially among younger supporters who are not used to receiving communications this way regularly, but do appreciate them. This would only be in certain contexts and more for stewardship than solicitation." -- Rickesh Lakhani, MBA, CFRE, Executive Director, Future Possibilities for Kids.

"This sign could use some more logos, said no sponsor ever / The goal of the first meeting...is the second meeting, not the sale! / When someone hands you a sponsorship proposal it's like they are saying...here, you throw this away" -- Chris Baylis, President & CEO, The Sponsorship Collective.

"When cultivating corporate prospects, speak the language of business." -- Andrew Reddin. Vice-President, NPower Canada.

"When asking for a major gift, it's the story and relationship that counts, not the paper with the story written on it." -- Sue McCoy, MA, CFRE. Director of Major Gifts, Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation.

"As donors experience grief, many will use philanthropy as part of their journey of healing. We, as fundraisers, are active participants in their healing and getting joy from their grief." -- Denise Fernandes, Director of Philanthropy, Plan International Canada.

"As more and more information becomes available online, development professionals will be expected to have the latest information at their fingertips. Gone are the days where only a handful of experts have access to the latest and best information. It's not just in fundraising, it's happening in every field. For example, in the past if you had chest pain, you would need to pick up the phone and call your doctor. Today, you consult Google to check your symptoms first. Likewise, in the past, you needed a lawyer for a simple will or contract. Today, there's LegalZoom. Similarly, all the tools and resources and support you need for a capital campaign are readily online and accessible." -- Amy Eisenstein, MPA, ACFRE. Consultant, Speaker, Author, Trainer.

"How have you modified your government relations strategy to effectively deal with our new minority federal government?" -- Puneet Luthra, MPA. Principal, P.S. Luthra Consulting.

"I think it's important to treat your donors like good friends -- and connect via several different mediums. How do you connect with your friends? For me, it's mostly via text. Are you sending texts to your donors yet? If not, why not?" -- Rachel Zant. Officer, Annual Giving
BC SPCA

"Research shows that Donors = Volunteers = Religiously engaged. Culturally and religiously appropriate engagement strategies will replace some of the fundraising practices" -- Ann Rosenfield; Irshad Osman; Lori Guenther Reesor.

"Embrace the messiness of money mindsets to transform fundraising!" -- Lisa Watson. Co-Founder & CEO, Openly.

"Deeply engage your trustees with your organization's mission to drive stronger governance and increased philanthropy." -- Erin Prendergast. Chief of Staff, Art Gallery of Ontario.

Donations Module Re-Launched to Increase Conversions

Wed, 01 Jan 2020 05:00:00 GMT

Following the upgrade of Pledge and Ticketing modules, we have now upgraded our General Donations Module to leverage all the ease of our drag-and-drop content management system, plus brand-new mobile responsive templates built to convert donors! Highlights include:

1. Quick Donate Widget added to Campaign Home page. Of course, for your day-to-day campaign, this page can be skipped altogether.

2. Inspire action with words! Content regions at the top, as well as impact widgets to educate users about the cause and the impact of their dollars.

3. Donation Matrix setup with pre-selected amounts to increase average gift. The option to cover admin fee can be enabled to offset costs.

4. Review page eliminated to reduce abandonment on that step. The thank you page, delivered by the Content Management System, allows for multi-media images and videos, social share, call to action buttons to raise awareness, show impact, connect with the donor or cross promote other initiatives.

5. All customizable with the raisin Content Management System to achieve a variety of different look and feel that will match your brand.

6. Designed for cross device to capture donations on the go. The mobile optimized version has now been replaced by a fully responsive site.

New to raisin? Book a Demo or Contact Us to learn more!
Existing Client? Contact your account manager to upgrade to the new Donations module.

Increase Donation Amounts With Cover Admin Fee

Thu, 12 Dec 2019 05:00:00 GMT

Donors want as much of their donation to go to the cause as possible. They also understand that there are costs associated with work done - including the cost of human and technological resources that go into processing a donation, issuing tax receipts, allocating funds, etc.

What does “covering administration fee” on a donation mean?

Every online donation comes with some administrative overhead. For online donations, this is most commonly the processing fee. This feature offers the donor a choice to pay a little bit more to cover, at least in part, some of this expense, so that more of their donation can go to the cause and make a bigger impact.

Success with Cover Admin Fee

Whilst charities often hesitate to turn this feature on, as it might be perceived as slightly offensive to donors already making a generous donation, or it could risk deterring the donation altogether - most studies have shown that neither of these concerns appears to be a roadblock in donating. On the contrary, turning this feature on has shown to increase trust. Donors expect transparency and appreciate the knowledge of such costs upfront, thereby encouraging a deeper trust and commitment from supports. Plus they like being given the option to make that decision rather it having it been made for them.

How much should you ask?

Most nonprofits want to know the magic number to ask for, and if they should use a flat fee or a percentage amount. The range of adoption of this feature is anywhere from 20-70%, with an average being approximately 30%. This adoption varies greatly due to several factors, including the diversity of the non-profit sector; variances in donor demographics across the sector; and the type of campaign. What does affect the adoption, is the actual dollar amount or percentage in proportion to the donation amount.

For example, a low, flat fee of $2 may have a high adoption rate. However, if the average donation is quite high this would represent an overall lower percentage of revenue compared to a lower average donation. So, it is important to understand your donation volumes and the range and the average donation amounts and set this fee from there.

Deciding on this percentage or dollar amount ask unfortunately involves some testing to find what donors are comfortable with during launch, and close monitoring before testing further with a slight increase or decrease in ask.

How to give your Donors the option to Cover Admin Fee with raisin

It’s that easy!

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raisin Seamlessly Integrates with Salesforce

Mon, 02 Dec 2019 05:00:00 GMT

The raisinSFConnect app seamlessly connects raisin with Salesforce! This direct API integration joins two best-of-breed systems to create a powerful extensible fundraising solution!

This connector pushes data from raisin into Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP), leveraging the standard Salesforce objects including: Contacts, Campaigns, Opportunities, and Products.

The standard associations between the Objects works seamlessly to give you a 360 degree view of your constituents across transactions, relations and campaigns.

Contact and transaction information from raisin, as well as the relationships between constituents, their events and their associated donors are all created in Salesforce, leveraging Salesforce’s powerful roll ups of campaigns, soft-credits, reports and more!

The installation is simple and easy, with minimal customization. By using all native salesforce objects, without any custom objects, upgrades to the salesforce platform are easy.

Leverage the power of raisin and Salesforce for a ecosystem of best-in-class products.

Even More Data in our DonorPerfect Integration

Sun, 01 Dec 2019 05:00:00 GMT

Our direct integration with DonorPerfect continues to expand. We’ve added more features and fields to our automatic API export so that when constituents register, donate or volunteer for your events in raisin and they sync with your database, you're able to better manage and better engage with them using DonorPerfect's suite of donor management tools.

More Contact Details Automatically Exported with raisin-DPO Integration:
More data, more insight! If you’ve enabled the Date of Birth field on raisin User Profile Forms, this will now populate in the Bio tab of their profile with the user's birthdate. Additionally, Salutation will automatically inherit the contact’s First Name as entered in raisin as per DPO’s standard behavior.

Intelligent Record-Matching for Returning Participants & User Updates:
A clean database is sometimes hard work. To reduce administrative "heavy-lifting", we've refined the automatic record-matching performed by the raisin-DPO Integration: If a returning participant joins or a user is modified in raisin and historical record is found with a matching raisin ID and Postal Code/ZIP, the platform updates only Phone and E-mail, keeping Name and Address the same in DPO. For fuzzier matches where a match is only found on raisin ID, Address fields update, but Name is also left intact.

Gifts Imported into DPO for Paid Gifts Only:
Your feedback is instrumental in shaping the direction of the raisin platform. We heard from a number of our DPO users that $0.00 gifts, like a free event registration, cause reporting confusion and artificially depress gift calculations... so, we made a change! When a transaction of $0.00 value takes place in raisin, Contact and Event Information for the user is exported, but the Gift is not by default. Still want to report on $0.00 gifts? Let us know and we can configure your account accordingly.

Never Override DonorPefect-Specific Fields:
There are some fields in DonorPerfect that raisin does not map to like Suffix, Salutation, ProfTitle, FaxPhone and NoMailReason. For data integrity, especially for historical records, we added logic to ensure these fields are never overwritten in DPO when a user is exported from raisin.

Check out more about our Integration or contact us for a demo to see how you can leverage raisin and DonorPerfect's best-in-class tools.

The Ultimate Toolkit for a Successful Giving Tuesday | 2019

Fri, 01 Nov 2019 04:00:00 GMT

Nonprofit professionals behold! The holidays are soon upon us, so sip those gingerbread lattes and button down those coats, as the giving season rolls in! An estimated 30% of giving occurs in the month of December, and 10% during the last three days of the year alone (source: Nonprofits Source). The global event that ignites that momentum is just around the corner: Giving Tuesday, December 3rd.

While Giving Tuesday is fast approaching, you still have enough time to plan and execute your fundraising campaign. As a nonprofit organization, consider the following steps-

#1: Check out the #GivingTuesday Guide
You will find everything you need to run a successful fundraising campaign this Giving Tuesday including access to free social templates and a checklist for action items.

#2: Goal Setting
Determining your overall goal, reviewing the benchmarks from previous years and researching successful strategies from past campaigns to set goals for 2019.

#3: Determining Your Campaign
Deciding on the most effective campaign type to connect with donors and motivate giving, whether its a stand-alone, recurring or peer-to-peer campaign.

#4: Fundraising Website
Leverage one of raisin's online fundraising modules to create your own custom fundraising pages or website with donation forms optimized for conversion.

#5: Communications Plan
This includes a timeline and strategy to amplify your reach and connect with donors and participants across digital channels and inspire them to give to your cause.

#6: Social Media Strategy
Social media is a huge piece of Giving Tuesday’s success every year. The hashtag #GivingTuesday trends across the world on the day and people will be looking to participate – so be sure to make it fun for them. Additional hashtags to consider across social channels are...

Whether it’s taking time to volunteer, donating needed items, or even vowing a day of kindness to others, Giving Tuesday has continued to expand every year. The event’s year over year growth has been impressive, starting from $10.1 million in 2012 and reaching all the way up to $400 million in 2018, within North America alone. Individuals are already in the spirit to give, and it’s a great event for fundraisers of any size to build awareness and raise money for their cause.

Download this Giving Tuesday Checklist to get the most out of the fundraising event.

A World Record Hockey Fundraiser

Fri, 01 Nov 2019 04:00:00 GMT

Hockey fans are known for their passion, so can you imagine thousands of hockey players coming together to take on cancer? Well, that’s what happened when The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation hosted the Scotiabank Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer this fall, and the results were literally record-breaking.

Scotiabank Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer is an annual “dust-to-dawn” fundraising event with teams of fundraisers and hockey celebrities in four street-hockey games throughout the day.
This year saw 1,900 participants on 167 teams participate in the event and raise an astounding $3.1 million for vital cancer research at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. The totals set the Guinness World Record for the largest road hockey fundraiser in the world -- breaking a mark already held by the campaign.

On the way to this historic achievement, Road Hockey players collected funds with individual player and team fundraising pages powered by raisin’s Peer-to-Peer module. Shareable fundraising pages empower participants to tell the personal story that they are fundraising to conquer cancer through text, images and video and encourage donations.

Fundraising is a source of competition amongst Road Hockey players and teams — a fact perhaps not surprising given the passion of hockey fans. In this spirit, teams are placed into divisions by industry with winners crowned on event day by amount raised. And if bragging rights weren’t enough, top earning teams are able to reserve draft positions to select NHL alumni and celebrities to play on their team. This year’s cast featured big names like Doug Gilmour Paul Coffey and Paul Bissonette. Talk about an incentive!

The results of each player and teams fundraising is broadcast in real-time on their pages, along with custom leaderboard that’s sortable by Division. Leading up to draft day it’s not uncommon for teams to “scoreboard watch” to see who will lead the tournament in fundraising and have a chance to play with a pro.

The real winners of course are those benefiting from the life-changing work that Scotiabank Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer helps fund in the fight against cancer. The event has raised $23 million to date for the innovative cancer treatments and techniques that make The Princess Margaret one of the top 5 cancer centres in the world.

After such a banner-raising 2019, we can’t wait to see the new records and research that the Road Hockey will breakthrough for its 10^th anniversary upcoming on September 26, 2020.

To get in on the action for next season and help conquer cancer, visit roadhockey2cc.ca to sign up or donate.

Proud to Present Peer-to-Peer Success!

Tue, 01 Oct 2019 04:00:00 GMT

We do everything we can to help our charitable clients raise the funds they need to make a positive difference in the world, and we take immense pride in their success. Over the summer, a few organizations hit especially remarkable heights, breaking their fundraising goals, with our Peer-to-Peer fundraising module. Check out their success:

The Jack Ride
For 10 years, cyclists of all experience levels have shifted gears and helped shift attitudes towards mental health by fundraising in The Jack Ride, Canada’s Ride for Youth Mental Health. The 10^th anniversary edition of The Jack Ride this May was a record-breaking, sell-out success, with over 1,000 riders raising $1,300,000 – more 130% of the event goal.

Peterborough Dragon Boat Festival
Over the past 19 years, the Peterborough Dragon Boat Festival has raised more than 3.3 million and continues to be a community favourite! This year’s Race raised $200,000 – more than 100% of its goal -- as paddlers, donors, sponsors and volunteers all rallied together to help Peterborough Regional Health Centre expand their efforts in becoming a Regional Centre of Excellence for Cancer Care.

Sleeping Out at The Bridge
The Bridge Youth in Leamington hosted their first-ever fundraising event, Sleeping Out at The Bridge, to massive success! The unique event challenged fundraisers to experience a night sleeping outdoors, and raise funds for homeless youth. Altogether, the event raised $102,000 - breaking their goal!

The FYI on DIY Fundraising

Wed, 01 May 2019 04:00:00 GMT

If you’re active at all in digital spaces, you’re definitely familiar with crowdfunding – but do you also know about Do-It-Yourself (DIY) fundraising? This popular method of fundraising empowers passionate supporters of your cause to raise money by organizing an event of their own and setting up an online fundraising page to collect donations. It’s a great solution when your supporters want the ability to make a quick, creative campaign that will reach out to their friends and loved ones and fundraise virtually.

Need more info? We’ve got you covered with our quick primer:

What is it?
Let’s say that a supporter of your cause is having a event of their own, like a birthday party, a BBQ, or a wedding and they want to include a fundraising component – so instead of asking for gifts, they’d like people to donate to your organization. This is where a DIY program comes in: It leverages the power of a P2P event system for a more personal DIY campaign.

With this type of DIY program, third-party fundraisers rely on the help of their extended network of family, friends, and community in order to reach a specific goal. Plus, there are online fundraising platforms out there that are specifically tailored to DIY fundraising, allowing for creative branding, fun features, and other modules that add extra personalization. Whether it’s setting up a fundraiser in memoriam of a loved one or hosting a challenge campaign, a DIY program gives your supporters options to make a personal fundraiser feel just as huge as a major crowdfunded one.

How does it work?
Let’s look at what a DIY fundraising platform such as raisin has to offer from both participant and administrator standpoints:

Fundraisers:
For your fundraisers, there’s the ability to create unique, beautiful pages that are responsive across all mobile devices – a super important feature when it comes to bringing in online donations! Plus, there’s a wealth of fundraising tools for participants to access to help them raise even more money, including email templates to help them craft the best appeals.

Administrators:
On the administrative side, you have the ability to create a website, fundraising pages, and automated emails all under your own branding. Indeed, with a couple of small content tweaks, you design to a DIY fundraising campaign from scratch that lets your supporters “register” to host their own fundraisers and create a page and run a successful campaign online.

Scheduled emails can be setup to trigger a set number of days after registration to steward and drip information that supports them along their journey (i.e. how to use email tools in the Participant Centre).

What's more, transactions align with Campaign, Fund, and other financial tracking codes, plus tax receipts are immediately received by the donor without them having to inquire. Also, payment is transferred immediately into the organization’s merchant account – unlike some crowdfunding sites, which can hold the donation money for a period of time before it’s cleared.

The DIY Solution
When supporters are raising money for your cause, you want to make it as simple and easy as possible for them to set up an event and bring in the donations. That’s why DIY fundraising is such a good fit for weddings, birthdays, school fundraisers, and more – it gives you the flexibility and creativity that you get with online crowdfunding, but with more control and faster payment transfers. It’s the perfect way to get your supporters started!

We're at AFP Congress on Nov. 19 & 20!

Mon, 19 Nov 2018 05:00:00 GMT

We are thrilled to once again be attending AFP Congress at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Nov. 19th & 20th. Visit us at Booth #104 to experience the drag-and-drop website building tools that power our new Peer-to-Peer module... and more!

Did we mention we’ll also be handing out lots of tasty treats, as well as a top-secret giveaway prize for one lucky winner?

Drop by, we’d love to see you!

raisin® Ticketing and General Donations Modules now integrate with DonorPerfect!

Fri, 12 Oct 2018 04:00:00 GMT

We are excited to announce that our General Donations and Ticketing modules can now integrate with DonorPerfect for seamless data exporting!

Since 2016, raisin® has been a proud to be DonorPerfect's preferred partner for peer-to-peer fundraising, using our Pledge module to automatically export donors and participants into the DonorPerfect Online databases of our clients.

raisin’s General Donations module allows you to accept one-time and recurring donations on either a standalone campaign microsite, or a donation page integrated within your own website.

Our Ticketing module is perfect for events like a gala, golf tournament or any special event where tickets are issued.

Using the integration with our Ticketing and General Donations modules means eliminating manual exports for all constituent types across all event types, including ticket purchasers and recurring donors!

Funds and revenue codes directly import from DonorPerfect into raisin, while constituent and transaction records from raisin automatically flow through into DonorPerfect and match with historical data for clean integration. Meanwhile, as donations are made funds are directly deposited into the client’s bank accounts.

Read up on other raisin Integrations

Integrate raisin with Raiser’s Edge

Tue, 17 Jul 2018 04:00:00 GMT

raisin connects with JMG Solutions’ Super Importer Exporter for Raiser’s Edge, making it faster and easier to import your donors, participants and volunteers into Raiser’s Edge.

How does it work?

As Blackbaud's Technology Partner for two years in a row, and with over 25 years of non-profit experience, JMG’s Super Importer Exporter Plugin leverages our API to automate and sync the supporters you reach using raisin with the donor management system you already use. It gets raisin talking to Raiser’s Edge – without the need for any Excel files or manual imports.

Features include:

	Sync Data in One-Click Skip data files and effortlessly import fundraising data into RE with one click
	De-Duping Automatically identifies and handles duplicate constituent records already in RE
	Custom Mapping of Constituents & Gifts Map constituent and gift data to import in a way that best suits your needs
	Optional Scheduler For on-premises or self-hosted versions of RE, you can even set a schedule to pull data during off-hours!
	Hands-On Training & Unlimited Support Expert training from JMG Solutions, plus unlimited support for SIE Plugin
	Cost Effective Pricing for non-profits with long-term resource and time savings

Get Your Colour On This May!

Fri, 18 May 2018 04:00:00 GMT

Spring in Canada traditionally welcomes the blooming of colourful flowers. This May, though, The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation is bringing a little extra pop of colour to the season with Colour Your Hair to Conquer Cancer!

Colour Your Hair to Conquer Cancer encourages Canadians colour their hair, share their new look with friends and raise funds for cancer research at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre while doing it!

Nearly 1 in 2 Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, and The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre is at the forefront of research that detect and advance treatments to conquer cancer. As so many cancer patients lose their hair during treatment, Colour Your Hair to Conquer Cancer celebrates diversity, inspires creativity and shows solidarity with those affected by the disease, while raising prevents to help treat and prevent it.

Want to get your colour on? It’s easy to join the cause:

Choose a bold colour to dye or streak your locks
Set up a fundraising page at www.colour2cc.ca/HowToParticipate
Share your new look with the world using raisin’s best-in-class Participant Centre tools and the hashtag #GetYourColourOn!

Supporters of your colourful campaign can choose to make a donation and receive a charitable tax receipt or opt to breeze through the giving process by providing enough information that they are showcased on your page.

With your streaks of colour supporting The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, spring flowers won’t be thing bringing hope to Canadians this spring!

For more information, about Colour Your Hair to Conquer Cancer visit: www.colour2cc.ca.

Camp Boomer 2018

Mon, 30 Apr 2018 04:00:00 GMT

BE Extraordinary! With Boomer’s Legacy’s CAMP BOOMER!

For the first time, Camp Boomer, a third-party event benefitting Boomer’s Legacy is on raisin! For the past decade, the Boomer’s Legacy BC bike ride has been a multi-day 240km ride from Comox, BC to Victoria.

This year, with the brand new raisin site comes an exciting new event format! Camp Boomer is a single day event with a military theme that allows participants to choose whether they will be cycling, running, or walking two mapped routes within 6 hours.
This event promises to be a day of physical effort, remembrance of the fallen, and of course, raising money for our troops to contribute to humanitarian efforts wherever they serve.

This year’s Camp Boomer takes place in Comox BC on July 16, 2018.

The Boomer’s ride honours all 158 Canadian soldiers who have given their lives in the line of duty while serving in Afghanistan. Many of the participating cyclists have served in Afghanistan, and some of the civilian cyclists are family members of fallen soldiers.

Boomer’s Legacy is part of a bigger fundraising and support program called Support Our Troops. Support our Troops is an entity of Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services, which raises money to provide support and assistance to help individuals and families cope with challenges arising from their military service.

Boomer’s Legacy is named after Corporal Andrew “Boomer” Eykelenboom, a dedicated soldier and a Canadian Armed Forces medic killed by a suicide bomber on August 11, 2006.

We are so excited to be hosting this amazing event on raisin for the first time and honoured to support the valuable work CFMWS does for Canadians.

Scheduling social media while scheduling your event communications

Tue, 24 Apr 2018 04:00:00 GMT

In a previous blog, we looked at ‘How your organization can get the most from Instagram’. Today, we’ll be diving deeper into how you can optimize and schedule your social content to expand your organization’s social reach!

Just like raisin’s eMail Management features, like Message Templates and E-mail Participants, you can also schedule your social media posts. We’ll be looking at the social media tool Later, formerly known as Latergramme. Later states that they are the “#1 marketing platform for instagram”, and they have the client base to back this claim. Over 1 million people currently use Later, and out of those million users some of the most recognized clients are Yelp, Lonely Planet, The Huffington Post, and the Wall Street Journal.
You might be thinking, “those are some great companies, but how does this relate to me? I’m a not-for-profit foundation/organization.” Everyone can benefit from the ease of scheduling your social media around your events, and like raisin, Later was also created right here in Canada (Vancouver, BC)! Their services range in price from free, to $49 per month, but their Nonprofits Program offers a 50% discount on an annual subscription for paid plans. For this blog post, we’ll be focusing on the free subscription model and all features included.

The free subscription will give you scheduling on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and even Pinterest. Something to note is within the free model you’ll have 30 posts per month on all platforms, except for Twitter, where you get 50 posts per month. That being said, this should be more than enough as it should allow you to post daily within a single month. In the free model, you receive 30 posts per month, per social media platform (excluding Twitter, where you get 50), which allows you to post daily within a single month. You also receive an analytics feature, which helps you better assess your content to see what is more successful. This helps you create content that your audience will positively react to, based on comparing likes, comments, and statistics for your 10 most recent posts. Also, if you use DropBox, you can connect that within the Later tool, to have all your content in one place.

To schedule a post, you’ll want to go into the scheduling tab, which will allow you to select from your media gallery or upload a photo. From here you have the option to select dates, times, and even apply some finishing touches of cropping or even adding a filter. There are two posting settings: one notification and one auto post. If you were to select notification, on the scheduled time of your post a notification would appear on your phone (if the app is installed), which will allow you to post on your story or feed of choice. The photo itself will autoload in and the caption you’ve created during the scheduling period will copy itself onto your clipboard, which you can then paste into the photo.

It's extremely straight forward, but above all easy to use! We are by no means sponsored by Later, but rather a few of your account managers currently use the tool and we thought you, could also benefit. Indeed, it’s a great way for you to promote upcoming campaigns, communicate the success and increase engagement!
For the most impact on awareness, I’d recommend scheduling social media posts in conjunction with planned communications and emails through raisin’s Scheduled Email tools. Posting to Instagram 30 minutes before your scheduled emails so that your audience sees the message across channels will strengthen your message across channels, in turn increasing awareness of your cause.

The benefit from Later and even our eMail Management is to help you get in better contact with your audience. Nothing makes us happier here at raisin than to hear our clients had a successful event! We want to make the ability to talk to your participants/volunteers easier with the eMail Management features, like sending a mass schedules email or even have auto triggered emails sent (ie Thank for donating). If this blogpost helps make managing your social media a bit easier alongside your event, then I’m happy!

Photos, facts, and pricing were all taken directly from Later.com

Join us at AFP International, New Orleans!

Thu, 12 Apr 2018 04:00:00 GMT

We are thrilled to be attending the 55th annual AFP International Fundraising Conference in beautiful New Orleans, Louisiana from April 15 – 17!

If you are also attending, our Director of Business Development and VP of Product will be there, and would love to connect in-person to learn more about you and your online fundraising initiatives while in the Big Easy!

Drop by Booth #543 for a friendly chat, and a demonstration of how our mobile-first fundraising platform can help expand your cause.

Did we mention, we'll also be giving away a GoPro Hero camera?

We hope to see you there!

What are Twitter Moments?

Wed, 04 Apr 2018 04:00:00 GMT

1- Picture taken by First Motion
If you are a charity in Canada or the United States, your organization probably has a Twitter account. On your Twitter account, you are probably tweeting facts related to your cause, ways a person can contribute, or about your upcoming events.
Those are all great things to share with your followers, and celebrate the impact your organization is making.
But how can you quickly share those memorable experiences with your followers? Here is where Twitter Moments comes in.

What are Twitter Moments?

Now you might ask yourself: "What are Twitter Moments?"
Twitter's Moments are curated stories that you can use to highlight a memorable moment on Twitter. The feature will allow you to share those special moments during your online fundraising events as they unfold to all your followers.
To give you a quick background story on the feature, Twitter Moments came out in 2015. At the time, it was only available to recognized news outlets such as The Washington Post, and The New York Times.
Fast forward to 2018, and the feature is available to everyone on the platform including your organization
.

Where can I find the Twitter Moments feature on my computer and mobile device?

1) Desktop:

2) Mobile:

Its positioning on both the desktop and mobile version of Twitter also changed in recent years.
When on Twitter's homepage on your computer, the Moments tab is located next to the Home tab on the top-left of your screen. On mobile, you will find the Moments tab in your side menu.

Why Should I Create Moments On Twitter?

With the rising popularity of Instagram Stories, more and more people enjoy consuming their content in a "snackable" format.
By creating a Twitter Moment that is made up of a series of tweets that can contain pictures/videos and that can come from your account or any other account, it is a great and easy way to capture the essential moments in your fundraising event.
Here are some other advantages of using Twitter Moments according to the Digital Branding Institute*1:
1. It promotes engagement with your existing/potential followers.
2. It allows you to control your brand messaging.
3. No need for hashtags since you can share the moment the entire Twitter universe.

How to Create a Moment?

Your team can create your Twitter Moments via both your desktop computer and mobile device.
Here is a great tutorial video made by Richard Byrne that will show you how to create them via your desktop computer:

Additionally, here are also step-by-step guides from Twitter for reference.
https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/how-to-create-a-twitter-moment
With all of this information on hand, you are now ready to go ahead and create your first Twitter Moment! We encourage you to try the feature out on your next fundraising event as a way to engage with your followers and let us know what you think of the tool.

1.Digital Branding Institute: 3 Reasons Why Twitter Moments Benefits Your Digital Brand-https://digitalbrandinginstitute.com/3-reasons-twitter-moments-benefits-digital-brand/

2.Twitter: About Moments- https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/twitter-moments

3.@Balajis Scrinivasan: How big is Twitter Moments? - https://medium.com/@balajis/how-big-is-twitter-moments-f3a81ee85f71

Introducing the e-Tax Receipt Template Builder!

Wed, 14 Mar 2018 04:00:00 GMT

Official charitable tax receipts are an important benefit that you're able to offer donors, but receipting changes — especially unexpected ones — can be time-consuming. Until now.

We’re pleased to introduce the e-Tax Receipt Builder, an all-in-one facility that eliminates costs and turnaround time when setting up or making changes to the charitable receipts you issue through raisin. The e-Tax Receipt Builder empowers you to design a branded tax receipt directly in raisin. Updates to your template can be made any time, completely free of charge.

In a few easy steps, the e-Tax Receipt Builder empowers you to personalize a standard tax receipt template. Simply set your receipt number and prefix, personalize the receipt with your choice of the following options and you're ready to start!

Receipt formats and custom fields include:

Single, double or triple template style
Bilingual or unilingual (if enabled)
Organizational receipt prefix and starting number
Logo, signature and areas for stewardship

Custom templates, designed and developed based on your Organization’s specifications, are always possible.

It's here: Discover our new Peer-to-Peer & Ticketing Modules

Thu, 16 Nov 2017 05:00:00 GMT

Mobile-first fundraising optimized for any device.

Key features include of our new modules include:

Fully responsive design
Hundreds of drag-and-drop content blocks
Unlimited number of pages
Design and colour pickers for custom colours and branding
Integrated SEO marketing options
Pre-formatted interactive and fundraising widgets

Take action and build your next P2P Fundraising Campaign and Special Event (Gala, Golf, Ticketed) with raisin.

Book a demo to learn more!

How your organization can get the most from Instagram

Tue, 24 Oct 2017 04:00:00 GMT

By Account Coordinator Mitch

As an Instagramer you’re free to post, like, comment, and share things you love/support. More charities are seeing the social impact of the site through donations and a call to action. How can you get started on getting the most out of your Instagram?

Knowing your audience – Instagram has a large following, which continues to increase on a monthly bias. Currently Instagram sees an average 700+ million active users, 400+ million daily posts, and 250+ million daily stories. Instagram is for all ages; however, 59% off users are between the ages of 18 to 29. Also, majority of those individuals live in an urban location with that stat being 39%.

Knowing what to post – It’s not a surprise to say that millennials are picky when it comes to content; however, you only want to remember 3 things when you’re about to post any content. You always want to ensure that your content is crisp and recognizable; the day of a pixeled photo is a thing of a past. By no means are we saying that you need to have professionally photographed content, but photos/videos in natural light and any basic smartphone will be more than acceptable. When editing any content, the “more is less” saying also implies to editing, since the hashtag #nofilter has over 205 million posts. People rather see the natural beauty of what you’re trying to share. Also, don’t be shy! Don’t be afraid to post raw and emotional photos that tell a story; a photo is worth a thousand words, but don’t forget Instagram has a 2200-character count. This allows you to post a story to bring those who aren’t familiar with your cause into the shoes of those who face it on a daily base.

How to reach that following – Hashtags are the primary way to boost any page or post, which allows you to widen your reach. However, just note that a hashtag alone won’t again an audience. There are a flooded number of posts that don’t necessarily relate to the given hashtags posted just to gain a larger audience. Your content must stand out and draw attention of those who scroll through their recommend newsfeed with clear and consistent branding. Setting a content schedule really plays a huge part in getting people to notice your posts, page, and ultimately your cause. Most popular pages post three times daily; however, that’s typically not realistic without thousands of pre-generated content. It’s fine to post daily, but ensure you’re doing it at the peak viewing time. This could be during an early Monday morning to reach those early 9 to 5 public transit commuters or even in the evening after a long Friday workday. It’s best to recognize your demographic and fit your posting schedule within their downtime. Don’t forget about the story feature, which allows you to connect to your following. The story feature allows you to post 24hr videos, which get erased after that time period. Many instagramers use this feature to connect with their follow to create a conversation, which creates more activity within your online community.

Don’t be shy! It’s time to link up your Instagram to your raisin site. This will drive traffic to your social media page to ensure donors or potential donors can view your social media to get inspired. Instagram has made the process of sharing posts extremely easy and it’s a three click process to gain all the information needed to add a feature post to your site. All you need to do is press the three dots ‘…’, this will give us a few options; however, we want to select the ‘Embed’ option. You’ll see a pop-up, which will allow you to copy a long line of text which can look confusion since it’s written in HTML code. Once you have this line of text please let your account manager know where you’d like it placed and on what page since they have the ability to add it to your site. They’ll be able to add the line of code to the location of your choice so traffic visiting that page can then see your post of choice!

_{York, A. (2017, July 19). Social Media Demographics to Inform a Better Segmentation Strategy. Retrieved September 29, 2017, from}_{https://sproutsocial.com/insights/new-social-media-demographics/}

_{Vogel, B. (2015, January 22). Instagram for Nonprofits: 4 Tips to Get You Started. Retrieved September 29, 2017, from https://wiredimpact.com/blog/instagram-for-nonprofits/}

5 Design Tips for Creating or Updating your Website

Mon, 28 Aug 2017 04:00:00 GMT

Whether you have a live website or are in the process of creating a new site or event, there is always opportunity to improve the look and feel of your site and broaden your exposure.

The first impression donors get when they visit your site is often the basis for how much involvement and support they are going to give to your organization. Here are a few tips on how you can optimize your site in hopes of capturing current and potential donor’s attention and growing your support base.

1. Make your website mobile friendly or mobile responsive. Giving users the opportunity to participate and donate on the go will certainly help you reach your goals. Having a mobile friendly site will broaden your network of constituents, not limiting yourself to those who might access your site from a desktop. If a mobile friendly site is not an option, consider building a minimal website with as few photos, videos, and lengthy text paragraphs so that when visited on a mobile device, can still be navigated through with ease.

2. Keep the most important thing, the most important thing. Create easy to find and easy to navigate through calls to action. If a potential donor has to search for the donate button or has countless fields to fill out, you will likely lose their focus and with that, their donation. Keep the button or link to “Donate Now” front and centre, at the top of the page, perhaps repeated through the page if there is a lot of text, and static on all pages of possible. When designing a donation form, aside from the mandatory ones, keep additional fields to a minimum. Capturing just the necessities and not taking up much of their time will leave the donor with the impression that your organization is organized and easy to work with.

3. Never under estimate the power of social media. Not only does embedding any and all social media feeds into your website highlight your online presence and activity, but also gives visitors to your site a quick and easy way to instantly connect their network to yours. This is also why including social media sharing options is a great way to grow your exposure. Providing a donor or participant has an easy and instant way to thank a donor, emphasize their fundraising progress, or send out a call to action for donations or participation, will not only boost personal and event donation, getting you one step closer to reaching your goal, but will certainly grow your social media network and brand.

4. Focus on quality over quantity. While it can be easy to upload an entire album of photos from a previous event, an infographic downloaded from the internet, or a simple YouTube embed, there are a few things to consider that will significantly improve the way you capture a donors attention. Instead of uploading 10-20 photos, narrow it down to 2-3 that best capture your non-profits brand, mission statement, and what your events look like. Try to find high quality, vibrant and clear photos that draw a visitor further into your site and organization. If creating infographics and logos, try to maintain consistency to your branding and the message of the campaign or of the organization. Avoid downloaded stock graphics that can look pixely and might not be relevant. A YouTube video can be a great addition to any website and are easily embedded. If using a video that your organization created and hosts on their account, be sure to adjust the thumbnail image that will be the static image for the video before play is clicked. Find a point in the video where there is a flattering photo or frame that best describes the video about to be seen.

5. Update content often. Whether you create a “share your stories” page or allow for comments, showing how donors and participants are engaged in your organization keeps your page and campaign relevant and shows how active it is, enticing others to want to get involved as well. Updating your site with information about new events, accomplishments, non-profit news will highlight your involvement in the non-profit community and how active you are in the industry.

While these are just a few tips to get you started or inspiration for a site refresh, what remains most affective is that you are true to your organizations beliefs, mission statement and community. These tips and tricks are simple, and not time consuming, ways to enhance the impact non-profit organization websites have in our community and all they give back to society.

A wheely good time!

Wed, 19 Jul 2017 04:00:00 GMT

Montréal is always a great destination and if you are planning to travel to this city and are an Inline skating fan, then the weekend of September 16 and 17 is the perfect time for your visit.

By enrolling in the 24hrs Inline Montreal event, you will have the amazing opportunity to skate on the beautiful Formula One track Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve at Île Notre-Dame, starting in the F1 paddock and skating on the well maintained 4.3km of the course. This challenge is available for skaters eight years old and above so it is a perfect family activity and it’s available to all levels from novice to elite so don’t be shy if you are a beginner.

Choose your challenge from the three time lengths offered and don’t hesitate to set your own personal objective:

6hrs: The 6hrs is best suited for younger skaters and their parents who are at their first 24hrs Inline Montreal experience. This challenge is available for skaters eight years old and above.
12hrs: You want the full experience without having to skate all night? The new 12hrs challenge is for you! This challenge is available for skaters 8 years old and above.
24hrs: For the buffs, the 24hrs is the ultimate challenge! Come and test how many laps you and your team can complete in a day, just improve your total from previous years! This challenge is available for skaters 14 years old and above.

24hrs Inline Montreal is a unique event, the largest gathering of roller skaters in Canada. Join the great family of skaters, who meet every year since 2004. It is a personal and team challenge accessible to all. You choose your challenge so anyone can succeed! Whether alone or as a team member, register today and skate with us to raise funds for the development of sport and healthy life habits in Quebec. All donations go to the Speed Skating Federation of Quebec. Every dollar raised will be matched at 210% by the program Placements Sports to develop the sports of the Federation.

Event Details:
From Saturday, September 16th 1 pm to Sunday, September 17th at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve on Île Notre-Dame
Starting at 1 pm in the transition zone of the F1 paddocks
Registration, costs of registration and donation information are available on the event website: www.24roller.com

Fraud Prevention 101

Fri, 14 Jul 2017 04:00:00 GMT

By Yannick Perrottet

Large for-profit businesses aren't the only ones susceptible to online fraud and data breaches. Hackers also target nonprofits, seeking access to financial files and other sensitive data. The need for online security is growing as nonprofits find they run not only the risk of losing money, but also donor trust if someone breaches their systems.

The Competition Bureau, along with the Fraud Prevention Forum, plays a significant role in helping Canadians get the information they need to be informed and confident consumers.₁ Consumers also have a role in stopping fraud by arming themselves with the facts and reporting fraud when they encounter it.
There is no typical fraud victim in Canada. Fraud targets Canadians of all ages and from all walks of life. Recognizing fraud is the first step to better protecting yourself.₂

Fraudsters are professional criminals that know what they are doing, they rely on some basic techniques to be successful. These include:

developing professional-looking marketing materials and communications (ie. Emails, text messages, social media posts, etc …
providing convincing and knowledgeable answers for your verification questions
impersonating government agencies, legitimate businesses, websites, charities, and causes
pretending to be your ordinary supplier
hiding the actual details in the fine print preying on areas of vulnerability, including those needing help with loans or finding employment
asking for fees in advance of promised services
threatening legal action to collect on alleged contracts
falsely claiming affiliation with reliable sources, such as legitimate news sites to support their products or services
exchanging victim lists with other fraudsters₂

As a non-profit or organization, you have a responsibility to assure the maximum security and safety on the payment processing environment. raisin partners with only the safest payment gateways to ensure your donors are protected. Many of these gateways offer additional security and fraud management tools, as well. raisin is also PCI-DSS compliant, and regularly tested as part of this certfiication.

The best way to prevent fraud is to be aware and don’t hesitate to question anything that seems out of the norm: Inform all of your donors and participants to never accept a request for a cheque from us by email and never communicate their credit card or payment information via email.

Be aware! It can happen to all of us.

[1] Resources - Competition Bureau

[2] "Vision Credit Union - Protect Yourself from Fraud."

Is Snapchat a good tool for your organization?

Mon, 10 Jul 2017 04:00:00 GMT

Is your organization thinking of incorporating the popular social media app Snapchat in its fundraising efforts? Snapchat now has more users than Twitter but is it the right platform for your organization to reach its current constituents and encourage people who are unfamiliar with your cause to sign up to your raisin event?

Snapchat is a good fit if your organization works with millennials.

There are over 60 million daily Snapchatters in the United States & Canada alone, and 60% of its 166 million global users are between the age of 13 to 24 years old. These statistics present a good enough rationale to implement Snapchat to your fundraising efforts if your fundraising events focus more towards millennials. Examples of these are events to raise money to send kids with disabilities to summer camps or events to raise funds to provide the latest research tools for hospitals which focus on improving children's health.

What will your call-to-action be?

If you are ready to move forward with implementing it to your fundraising efforts and that your organization has created itself an account, the next thing to think about is what type of call to action you should go with for your fundraising events. Here are the two types of call-to-action at your disposal:

Take a Screenshot:

When posting your marketing material to your Snapchat Story, you can display links by adding text to your pictures/videos and then ask the person viewing your story to take a screenshot of the content with the link on it. This approach is not the most ideal because your followers have to do the following steps:

1. Take the screenshot.
2. View it in their Camera Roll.
3. Write down or copy the link.
4. Open browser on phone and type in the link.

That is many steps hence why we recommend that you go with the second call-to-action.

Swipe Up (Chat):

In one of Snapchat's recent system updates, they have given us the ability to reply directly to any snaps located in a story. This new feature makes it easier for your followers to take action on your marketing material since they only need to perform one action to tell you that they are interested in participating or donating to your event. An example of this is if you post a short video of your star fundraiser asking people to register to the event, his call to action in the video can be of him asking the viewer to swipe up and express their interest in participating or donating to the event. After the view expressed his or her interest, a member of your team can reply to them directly with a link to the registration page or with a link to the donation page.

Give Snapchat a shot in your next fundraising event and share your experience with us!

Sources:
Mediakix.com (2016, Jan 25th). 10 Snapchat Statistics You Need To Know (May 2017). Retrieved from http://mediakix.com/2016/01/snapchat-statistics-2016-marketers-need-to-know/#gs.j65MYks

How to force Facebook to share a new thumbnail with Facebook's Object Debugger

Mon, 19 Jun 2017 04:00:00 GMT

By Tim Brandl

Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns rely on the ability for fundraisers to share their campaign with friends, family and colleagues and request donations. While e-mail remains the primary means for fundraisers to spread the word about their mission, we’re seeing more and more fundraisers – across age demographics – promoting their campaigns on Facebook.

raisin empowers fundraisers to expand their reach with easy-to-find social widgets to share their pages and even Auto-Posts that instantly publish an update with their personal page photo, title and a brief description to Facebook when key fundraising milestones are reached.

Sometimes when these posts are shared Facebook displays the wrong image or title. Not ideal! Facebook posts with relevant images have been shown to double post engagement (BuzzSumo, 2015), and a wrong image can be especially frustrating after you or a P2P participant have spent time crafting the perfect page.

Why does this happen?

The photo, title and description that appear when site visitors Share to Facebook are “scraped” automatically by Facebook based on the meta data it finds on the page. Facebook tends to re-scrape information every 30 days, so sometimes content changes to may not be reflected for several days and “cached” content appears when the page is shared.

The fix?

Fortunately, Facebook offers a handy tool called Open Graph Object Debugger. The tool previews how content will preview the page when shared, view exactly what Facebook sees and debug it.

If you’ve found that Facebook is sharing an old photo, simply enter the page URL you’re having issues with and hit the “Fetch new scrape information”. This will force Facebook to re-crawl the page for the page, find new content and share the profile image optimized for Facebook’s sharing best practices. For shared posts, Facebook recommends images that are 1200 pixels by 628 pixels (or anything that's in 1.9:1 ratio).
The end result after you scrape? The perfect share!

Sources:
Pinantoan, A. (2015, May 20). How To Massively Boost Your Blog Traffic With These 5 Awesome Image Stats. Retrieved from http://buzzsumo.com/blog/how-to-massively-boost-your-blog-traffic-with-these-5-awesome-image-stats/

Mobile responsive vs. mobile optimized: which is best for your non-profit website?

Tue, 06 Jun 2017 04:00:00 GMT

By Emily Westover

Did you know that 18%¹ of donations were made on a mobile device in 2016 and 19%¹ of event registration is done through mobile? These figures are expected to increase in 2017.

With such a rapidly increasing number of mobile users, you may be losing out on donations if your donation page is not mobile-friendly.

As non-profits look for ways to acquire and retain millennial donors, it’s important to have a user friendly mobile site. Last year, 87%² of millennials donated to charity, and with 85%² of this demographic owning a smartphone, it’s important to ensure your non-profit does not get left behind with a poorly designed mobile site.

Mobile optimized and mobile responsive are two terms generating buzz in the tech world. Although they sound similar, they actually mean two different things. Let’s break it down:

If a page is mobile responsive, generally this means that your page was designed first for Desktop, and with a mobile responsive design, the elements will shrink down proportionately to fit a smaller screen.
A mobile optimized page is typically designed specifically for improved UX on a mobile device. This generally means different sized images and banners, larger buttons and simple navigation design, larger font and less copy. A mobile optimized site may also use more neutral background and font colours.
In the fundraising world, we already know that your call-to-action should be greatly emphasized on your page, but it becomes even more important when working on mobile. With that in mind, here are some tips to best optimize your mobile fundraising page:

Less is more – when it comes to copy, you don’t want your users to have to sift through a lot of text on their mobile device before getting to your call to action. On smaller screens with limited space, getting right down to the point is important. Let your users know what you want them to do (donate or register) in the simplest terms you can.
Optimize your donation and registration forms. The less fields a donor has to fill out, the quicker the donation process, the more likely it is that they complete the donation process, especially on mobile. Only require the most necessary fields. Keep user profile fields to a minimum by only capturing the most necessary information.
Photo sizes – take the time to resize any banners, logos and images for a smaller screen to avoid any distortion and blurriness.
Make it easy for your site visitors to donate or register for your event by having your call to action button big, bold, and high up on the page or “above the fold.”
Limit the amount of video, graphics, plugins, etc you are using on your mobile page as these can make the page take longer to load on some devices.

So, should your non-profit choose a mobile responsive or a mobile optimized website? It really comes down to the design of your site. If your site was built with Desktop design front-of-mind, with lots of specific formatting, your site may be best suited for a mobile optimized mobile site. If mobile usability has been considered throughout the evolution of your website design you are likely suited for a mobile responsive page. As mobile technology continues to improve and change, stay tuned for exciting mobile enhancements for your raisin Pledge pages!

¹ https://www.cdw.com/content/cdw/en/industries/Nonprofit/nonprofit-it-services-and-solutions.html
² Huffington Post

The 2017 Gusty Walk was another great success!

Tue, 06 Jun 2017 04:00:00 GMT

Last Sunday, the 22^nd annual Gutsy Walk took place in more than 70 locations across Canada, and it was a huge success! This wonderful philanthropic activity is Canada’s largest community event committed to raising funds and awareness for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

Canadians have more reasons to be concerned about Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis than anyone else in the world, with nearly 250,000 Canadians living with these diseases. That’s 1 in 150 Canadians living with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. Even more alarming is the rate at which children are being diagnosed: Crohn’s disease has doubled in kids under 10 years old since 1995. Families new to Canada are developing Crohn’s and colitis for the first time – often within the first generation. (Crohn’s and Colitis, 2017)

"Year after year, I am amazed at the tenacity of fundraisers and the generosity of Canadians at large," said Mina Mawani, President and CEO of Crohn's and Colitis Canada. "The money raised through our Gutsy Walk is critical in helping us fund research, advocacy, and patient programs – all of which are vital to improving the quality of life of our patients and ultimately our quest to find the cures. It's making a dramatic difference today, as Crohn's and Colitis Canada has become one of the top funders of Crohn's and colitis research in the world." (Crohn’s and Colitis, 2017)

We, at A.K.A. raisin, are so proud to take part in the inspiring work that they do to help provide patient programs, advocacy and awareness, as well as to invest in research. This year alone, over $3.2M was raised, and you can still help this amazing cause by giving your contribution here. They will be accepting donations until July 5^th.

The Gutsy Walk website is a great example of how to leverage our latest peer-to-peer fundraising module to provide users with the best-in-class fundraising experience. Paired with the talent of the folks at our digital agency, A.K.A. New Media Inc., we were able to create a completely custom web template to help represent Crohn’s and Colitis’ cause and values. The use of distinctive call-to-actions, dynamic social widgets, a custom event thermometer, a countdown, and much more, made the whole site more engaging and user-friendly!

Here are a few photos from the event:

How to Grow your Charitable Organization's Social Network

Fri, 19 May 2017 04:00:00 GMT

Social media is one of the easiest, most effective -- and not to mention free -- ways to promote your organization, event, campaign or cause. In this day and age, it is rare to come across an organization that isn’t connected on social media in some form, but how they utilize this platform is what can determine how much exposure and awareness can be brought to their organization or cause.

This is not to say that “going viral” shouldn’t be your ultimate goal, but there are many other options and avenues you can explore to grow your organization's social media network and increase awareness or bring attention to a particular campaign.

Showcase social

The first step is one of the simplest: Let people know how they can connect with you on social. On your website, linking to social platforms and promoting hashtags helps increase awareness of your social activity, and where else supporters can find you on the web. To even further increase awareness, consider connecting your social media feeds -- Twitter and Facebook specifically -- to your organization or event website. Embedding these live feeds on your website or fundraising campaign will entice the visitor to click through the link to your social media page where they can follow you or like your page.

Like and follow!

Once folks engage, surefire way to solidify this relationship is to like or follow them back. You can even go as far as giving them a shout out “thanks for the like/follow (insert name here).” It opens a line of communication and lets the visitor know they are appreciated.

Be part of the community

Another way to grow your subscriber base is to find like-minded philanthropic individuals and organizations and subscribe to their pages. In the world of social media, a like is often traded for a like or follow for follow, you just have to be the one who reaches out first sometimes.

As social media platforms are becoming increasingly popular, you might think to approach digital publications and well-known influencers for additional exposure. Asking them to mention or publish information about your organization can reach a much larger audience.

Livestream your impact

All of the above are steps you can take in the months leading up to an event, to grow your network so that on event day, you have a larger audience that you can then involve and interact with virtually. The most current and popular platforms for interacting with an audience before and during your charity event are Twitch and Facebook Live.

Livestreaming platforms allow you to stream a video that provides a glimpse into the attendee experience and encourages the visitor to participate virtually. Visitors can comment or start a conversation in the live chat feature, where you can respond, calling the visitor out by name, and thank them for their participation. Giving the visitor a call to action such as “donate now to provide clean water for African School Children” or suggesting a dollar amount “your $10 will provide clean water for 25 children in Africa” gives a potential donor a tangible idea of where their funds would be going.

raisin's Livestreaming integration for Peer-to-Peer Fundraising has the capability to add real-time thermometers and donor recognition to a livestream hosted on Twitch, Facebook Live and YouTube Live, along with a “Donate” button so that a visitor can not only participate by watching the event, but also donate to the cause and see their donation amount reflect in the event total immediately.

Livestreaming an event or campaign isn’t the only way to showcase your organization or cause, video content in general can be a valuable tool when you want to give a potential donor a visual example of what your organization does and who the funds go to. Videos and photos are an effective method of communicating your organizations mission statement as well as tell success stories.

If you have a few minutes a day that you can dedicate to growing your social network and creating effective and relevant content that will keep visitors and potential donors coming back, it will grow the awareness around your organization and in turn, result in more dollars towards your cause!

raisin is heading to sunny California!

Thu, 27 Apr 2017 04:00:00 GMT

raisin is excited to announce we will be attending the industry’s most influential conference of the year, AFP’s 54^th annual International Fundraising Conference in beautiful San Francisco from April 24 to May 2. We at raisin are passionate about ensuring our clients not only reach but exceed their fundraising goals. We take every opportunity to immerse ourselves in the community of philanthropic professionals to be inspired by advances and achievements being made in the non-profit world, then share them with our clients to help them achieve success.

We have met many outstanding individuals over recent years at the AFP Congress in Toronto and are thrilled to be broadening our network across North America next week. raisin will be located at booth #551 on the exhibitor floor. We hope to see you there!

For more information or to register for the International Fundraising Conference, visit their website!

raisin Release - Register Multiple Participants, Cover Admin Fee in P2P & MailChimp Integration

Thu, 26 Jan 2017 05:00:00 GMT

raisin is pleased to kick off 2017 launching four new exciting features to ease registration, increase P2P revenue, enhance communication and improve admin efficiency!

Participants can Register Multiple Participants at Once
A parent registers her family for the event, a boss registers their employees, a girlfriend registers her BFF… all within a single transaction! raisin’s new Pledge (peer-to-peer) functionality expedites event registration by allowing participants to register multiple individuals at once. Designed with the ultimate flexibility in mind, the feature gives you control over the profile information collected for additional participants – be it minimal contact details for speedy registration or full information.

Donor Opt-In to Cover Admin Fees for P2P Events
Building on the successful adoption of our Opt-in to Cover Administrative fees in General Donations events, we have now added this popular feature to our Pledge module. Activate this feature in your peer-to-peer events, and watch funds grow!

Integration with MailChimp to Enhance E-mail Communication
Take advantage of MailChimp’s full suite of e-mail marketing capabilities by setting up your events to automatically sync constituents with MailChimp – no manual exports required!

Record Matching with DonorPerfect Integration Saves Valuable Administrative Time
The raisin Pledge module integrates directly with DonorPerfect's donor management software for a truly integrated fundraising solution. When constituents are exported from raisin into DonorPerfect are now automatically merged with duplicate records in your DPO database that share the same First Name, Last Name, E-mail and ZIP Code (or first 3-digits of Postal Code). This major update will save valuable administrative time otherwise manually de-duping records.

To learn more about how these features can enhance your non-profit's online fundraising in 2017, get in touch with our Business Development Manager.

Happy Holidays from AKA!

Wed, 21 Dec 2016 05:00:00 GMT

On behalf of the entire A.K.A. team, we would like to wish you and your loved ones a wonderful Holiday Season.

Join us at AFP Congress in Toronto!

Wed, 16 Nov 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Every year, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre is packed with new fundraising ideas and delightful fundraising professionals attending the AFP Congress in Toronto.

Since 2009, raisin has been a proud E-Philanthropy Partner of the AFP Every Member Campaign and we’re thrilled to once again exhibit at Congress 2016 from November 21 - 22.

Visit Booth #102 on the exhibit floor to learn more about our leading online fundraising system, and meet with our team. We'll have tasty treats and a top secret giveaway prize for one lucky winner, so come on by!

For more information or to register for this great international fundraising conference, visit: http://afptoronto.org/congress/

Protect Your Charity Against Online Fraud

Thu, 10 Nov 2016 05:00:00 GMT

By Geneviève Cassan

From stories of stolen passwords to e-mail phishing schemes, fraud is an unfortunate risk of all e-commerce.

As more and more charitable donations are made online, non-profits have also become subject to fraud. Notably, fraudsters attempt methods of ‘card tumbling’ on charitable websites that undermine the social good your organization does. Card tumbling refers to a process in which fraudsters obtain a list of stolen credit card numbers and programmatically test their validity on charitable donation sites. In some cases, the volume of tumbling can be quite severe.

Despite these risks, charitable organizations should not refrain from accepting donations online. The web has transformed the fundraising industry, and made it more accessible for large audiences to contribute to important causes than ever before. The increase in online peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns – highlighted by the Ice Bucket Challenge -- over the latest several years is just one example of the proliferating positive impact small groups of individuals can have.

To ensure donors can still make a difference, there are many ways of safeguarding your organization from online fraud. Payment processors offer varying levels of risk management and fraud protection tools, including:

Address Verification System (AVS)
CVV and CVV2 matching
Positive and negative database checks
IP address verification
BIN number validation
Transaction velocity monitoring
Global device intelligence
Customizable risk rules

In conjunction with support for payment gateway fraud protection features, raisin has its own anti-fraud tools in place to prevent bots from attempting automatically scripted transactions, like a reCaptcha checkbox that can be added to events payment pages for users to verify that they are human.

raisin is also P.C.I.-D.S.S. Certified and regularly assessed to ensure that payment information submitted for processing by a payment gateway passses through a secure, encrypted channel. We want to ensure that the donation process is as secure as possible for our clients!

To further discuss your organization's online security, get in touch with our business development manager here.

It's Giving Season! Preparing for #GivingTuesday & Year-End Fundraising

Fri, 21 Oct 2016 04:00:00 GMT

By Timothy Brandl

It’s hard to believe that #GivingTuesday is only 1 month away!

The end of the year is always a busy time for fundraisers. Be it a push on #GivingTuesday or extended year-end campaign, the giving season offers plenty of opportunity to attract support for your cause!

Looking for some last minute ideas? Here’s a few things to consider when preparing your year-end online program:

Setting Goals

Planning your year-end starts with meaningful goals. Obviously, the chief objective of most fundraising endeavours is to increase dollars raised -- and not that fundraising shouldn't be your focus -- but the giving season is also about the idea of "giving back" more generally. Your goals therefore may not necessarily be fundraising targets; consider improving other important metrics pertaining to awareness, stewardship and impact, such as:

New constituents - donors, volunteers and fundraisers
Number of returning donors
New followers and subscribers
Impressions on social media
Number of clicks and site visits

Multiple Ways to Get Involved

In the spirit of giving, give supporters multiple ways to join forces with your charity and promote the good that you do in the world. While getting involved can be as simple as sending a tweet with a relevant hashtag, sharing a photo on Instagram or posting your message on Facebook, your primary call-to-actions should include:

Donate
Recurring Gift
Volunteer
Fundraise as a DIY Supporter

Your charity's online fundraising system should be flexible in supporting each of these endeavours. With raisin's General Donations & Appeals module, donation options are completely within the control of your organization. A single event microsite can support one-time gifts, tribute donations with eCard capabilities, recurring donations to deepen relationships with dedicated supporters... and even volunteer registration!

Moreover, enabling an opt-in for donors to cover your processing fees empowers donors to further expand their impact. Some research suggests that as many as 95% of donors will choose to cover your costs when presented with this option.

Tailored Content & Quick Setup

What will spark your audience to get involved? As noted previously in this space, content matters! Almost 75% of donors said they may stop donating due to content that is too vague, improperly formatted or not personalized to them. These lessons are even further amplified in the context of a condensed single-day campaign or year-end push.

Take the time, then, to tailor campaign content that meets your supporters’ interests. Think about what might be driving them to get involved with your organization and map their journey with messaing that high-quality, personal and consistent. You should be maximizing every touch you have. Increasingly, visual content is being used as an effective way to communicate with and engage supporters - be it a simple video, infographic and photos demonstrating all of the amazing things that your organization has accomplished over the past year. Donors want to how they are contributing to the world, so show them!

Building custom online fundraising sites with customized content you've created for this impactful time of year takes mere minutes with raisin. Repurpose your assets to populate a complete microsite, write custom thank you messaging and eCards so that when supporters contribute they feel a part of your organization. If you're looking for a truly custom touch from end-to-end, A.K.A. raisin & A.K.A. New Media also offer the "best of both worlds" -- combining award-winning design with raisin's best-in-class fundraising system.

Learn more about how raisin's General Donations & Appeals module can spark your best #GivingTuesday yet by contacting our Business Development team.

How Can Google Analytics Help Your Fundraising?

Wed, 28 Sep 2016 04:00:00 GMT

By Geneviève Cassan

Where are donors coming from? What content is most effective in converting visitors into registrants? Where are users losing losing interest? How does social impact site traffic?

Fortunately, Google offers a free tool that allows you to answer these questions called Google Analytics!

Google Analytics (GA) provides the tools to measure and analyze how people find and interact with your website and eventually take action to support your mission (Corrado, 2013). Here are a few reasons why you should strongly consider incorporating GA into your engagement strategies:

1. It will help you easily track your most popular pages
The "Behaviour" tab offers a multitude of options to help you understand your visitors’ behaviour. By exploring the "Site Content" section, you’ll be able to determine which pages are the most engaging. Ultimately, this will give you precious insight regarding the most popular content, and will help you build future campaigns or communication in a better and most efficient way.

2. It will allow you to create and compare segments
Google Analytics gives you the ability to create segments based on plenty of attributes, such as mobile traffic, or new users, and this will help you determine if your visitors’ behaviour differ from one another. They’ve also just recently launched a new demo version of GA, where you can get inspiration on how to create segments or which reports to use (Google, 2016).

3. It will indicate you where your visitors are coming from
The ‘Acquisition’ tab will give you precise information about your website’s traffic (including referrals, and channels). This will help you guide your future promoting and advertising efforts based one those that have been the most successful (ie. social, direct, referral, etc.). That’s also where you can track the result of your Google Adwords campaigns.

4. It will provide you with general yet helpful statistics
The "Audience" dashboard contains valuable statistics to get to know your visitors. That’s where you’ll find out about who they are, where they’re from and what are their interests. Moreover, "the three most important metrics on this dashboard are Pages per Visit, Average Visit Duration, and Bounce Rate. As a general rule, you want to increase the first two and decrease the third." (Good, 2014)

5. It will reveal your conversion rate
Last, but certainly not least, GA has a section where you can track conversion rates, meaning how many Website’s visits have led to a donation. Just like the "Acquisition" tab, you can organize your data by channel, and see which ones are the most profitable.

raisin makes gaining these user metrics easy. With the click of a button, your fundraising is instantly connected with Google Analytics, allowing you to leverage Google's tools to record, track and analyze fundraising campaign activity efficiently.

To learn more about how your non-profit organization can utilise raisin's online fundraising solution in conjunction with Google Analytics, please get in touch with our Business Development Manager, Gus!

Sources:

Corrado (2013). 7 Google for Nonprofits Tools That Will Change Your Cause Marketing Forever. Retrieved August 19, 2016 from http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/google-for-nonprofits-tools-change-marketing-list#sm.001fk3md4j8jf8010l31kzr64ywgh.
Good, S. (2014). Google Analytics for Nonprofits: 5 Basic but Essential Metrics to Track. Retrieved August 19, 2016 from http://savvypanda.com/blog/beginner-level/google-analytics-for-nonprofits-5-essential-metrics-to-track.html.
Google (2016). Introducing the Google Analytics Demo Account. Retrieved September 12, 2016 from https://analytics.googleblog.com/2016/08/introducing-google-analytics-demo.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=augustadvanced&utm_content=en_us.

Achieve Seamless Integration with raisin & DonorPerfect

Fri, 09 Sep 2016 04:00:00 GMT

raisin® is proud to have been chosen as DonorPerfect's preferred partner for peer-to-peer fundraising. Combining raisin’s leading online fundraising system and DonorPerfect powerful donor management system, the partnership will inspire non-profits to utilize peer-to-peer outreach as an effective way to fundraise.

“After an exhaustive search, we feel raisin’s technology and solution are the best fit for thousands of DonorPerfect clients,” Vice President of Fundraising Products for SofterWare, Jon Biedermann, says. “More importantly, their vision and philosophy match our own: providing robust and innovative yet affordable solutions that meet the needs of non-profits in North America and beyond."

Through the partnership, raisin’s fundraising solution integrates seamlessly with DonorPerfect’s donor management software and its payment processing services, SafeSave. The benefits are immediate, and aligns all data between the systems to provide a truly integrated solution that saves valuable administrative time.

Funds and revenue codes directly import from DonorPerfect into raisin, while constituent and transaction records from raisin automatically flow through into DonorPerfect and match with historical data for clean integration. Meanwhile, as donations are made funds are directly deposited into the client’s bank accounts.

"We're excited to be chosen as DonorPerfect's preferred partner for peer-to-peer fundraising,” Assadour Kirijian, CEO at raisin® says. “It's great to partner with a long-standing industry leader who shares a common passion of helping non-profits succeed and fulfill their unique missions.”

Join the Non-Profit Organizations already connecting raisin and DonorPerfect!

Dare to Care Food Bank
Food Bank of Alaska
Humane Society of Tampa
Magee Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation
Myeloma Canada
NAMI Northern Virginia
National Kidney Foundation of Illinois
Northwest Parkinson's Foundation
Team Type 1
The Kelly S. Brush Foundation
The Montefiore Foundation

To learn more about raisin, get in touch with Gus Klemos at 416-323-1981 or cklemos@akanewmedia.com.

To learn more about DonorPerfect and SafeSave, please contact (800) 220-8111 or visit www.donorperfect.com.

Walking to Raise Awareness for Bladder Cancer

Wed, 24 Aug 2016 04:00:00 GMT

By J.F. Pierre & Timothy Brandl

Bladder cancer is the 5th most common cancer in Canada, with approximately 8,300 new cases diagnosed every year. Bladder Cancer Canada aims create a world where this is just a memory.

Founded in 2009 by two bladder cancer patients – David Guttman and Jack Moon -- Bladder Cancer Canada provides programs and services that help: address daily issues patients and their support teams face; increase awareness among both the public and medical community; and fund research to better diagnose, treat and eliminate the disease.

The majority of Bladder Cancer Canada’s funding is raised during the organization’s annual Bladder Cancer Awareness Walk. From Vancouver to Sydney, participants and teams in 20 locations across Canada take important steps towards forwarding the organization's mission by joining a nearby Walk, creating a personal page to raise funds and walking together on event day.

After raising a remarkable half million dollars last year, Bladder Cancer Canada is aiming for over $550,000 in 2016. To accomplish this goal, Walkers are supported by raisin's best-in-class Participant Centre which provides the tools to tell their story on unique personal pages designed by AKA New Media, leverage their network to send e-mail blasts requesting donations, track open and click rates, and spread the word via social media. What's more, these tools are mobile-friendly, empowering participants to fundraise up to -- and even during -- the walk!

Superstar fundraiser Ferg Devins has employed these tools with great success as part of the Kenora BCC Walk. One key, he says, is to construct a well-thought out and transparent message to send to donors. The content he includes is a brief synopsis of his personal fight with bladder cancer, information regarding the disease and Bladder Cancer Canada, and why to donate.

Join Bladder Cancer Canada this September at a walk near you to raise funds that support bladder cancer patients, increase public awareness and ultimately, make the disease just a memory. In the organization's words: A walk in the park might not be cure yet, but it's is a great place to start!

How to Get Your P2P Fundraisers Engaged!

Fri, 12 Aug 2016 04:00:00 GMT

By Geneviève Cassan

A beautifully-designed website can attract attention, but the essence of a truly successful peer-to-peer (P2P) campaign resides in its participants’ ability to fundraise. If fundraisers aren’t engaged and sharing their campaign to their network, it defeats the whole purpose of P2P fundraising – no matter how much effort has been put into building the event.

In recent Content Marketing blog posts, we have imparted tips to help you personalize the design of your charitable events. Today, we share a few more to give your participants the tools and content they need to run a successful fundraising campaign on your behalf!

1. Fully-customized participant pages

Participants’ personal and team fundraising pages are the most viewed pages in a P2P campaign. And while fundraisers may be passionate enough about your cause to sign up and fundraise, they may not have the time or background knowledge to compose content on their personal page that drives donations effecively. In fact, less than 25% of participants actually update their personal page.

Take the time, then, to treat participant and team pages like a home page: Craft a well-positioned default page that includes a story with an impact statement, inspiring profile photo and video(s), and banner image. Photos from the field, collateral from previous years’ events and organization mission statements are a great place to start! Indeed, compelling default participant pages will ensure that donors are presented with meaningful content that inspires a gift – just in case participants choose not to customize their page.

2. Consistent communication through all channels

Furthermore, each fundraiser is given access to their own Participant Centre, which allows them to log in to the event and engage their network in many ways -- most notably to send communications soliciting donations to their campaign. Like with personal pages, be sure to prepare a diversity of email templates that can promote your cause. Messaging, including your impact statement, should remain consistent throughout all communication channels. These emails will be made accessible in each Participant Centre, so that your fundraisers can send messages more easily and efficiently.

3. Targeted tips and reminders

Remember that event participants are not full-time fundraisers. They have diverse background and careers, and may not be able to devote their time solely to collecting donations. It is thus important to guide them through the process via targeted communication. It starts with a welcome email that should encourage them to actively use the powerful fundraising tools in their Participant Centre. They should strongly take advantage of tools such as the Facebook Connect feature and be solicited to share their progress on social media.

Scheduled emails are also available to steward your fundraisers every time they reach a milestone, and provide them with more tips to push their fundraising initiatives even further. Moreover, emails can be targeted to the different types of constituents and locations that your event contains. Team captains, for example, could receive additional information about tips to motivate their troops.

Related: Content Marketing Part 1: Valuable Content is Key to Fundraising Success

Related: Content Marketing Part 2: Creating Memorable Content for P2P Fundraising Sites

Don’t hesitate to contact us to get more information about how raisin's best-in-class suite of Participant tools can help your P2P event raise more money!

Creating Memorable Content on P2P Fundraising Sites

Thu, 04 Aug 2016 04:00:00 GMT

By Geneviève Cassan

Peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising formats – like walks, runs, rides and personal challenges – continue to grow in popularity as charitable organizations look to deepen relationships with existing supporters, and find fun, new ways to reach new networks of people.

Engaging support for your next P2P fundraising event starts with a memorable online presence that motivates visitors to join the cause, login to fundraise on your behalf, and in turn, encourages potenital donors to give. Applying the learnings from last week’s introduction to content marketing, here are some tips and features that will help your non-profit create valuable content and catch the eye of users on your site:

1. First Impressions are Lasting
The home page is your opportunity to make a strong first impression. What does your organization do? Why should a visitor care? How can they get involved in supporting the cause? According to industry research from the Content Marketing Institute (2015), one of the most effective ways to answer these questions is through a meaningful and well-positioned image. A picture, after all, is worth a thousand words! So take the opportunity to communicate the good you do with a large banner that immediately greets visitors and inspires to be part of the change you’re making. The homepage is also where you can tell a brief and impactful stories targetted at your consistuents or to include relevant testimonials.

2. Call-to-Action
It’s important not to forget to actually complete the ask! Craft straightforward call-to-actions that convert the passion of visitors into support for your cause. In the context of a P2P fundraising website, big buttons make it obvious to potential fundraisers, donors or volunteers how they can get involved. Wired Impact (2015) also suggests using clear language that is think urgent and incites action - like “Donate Now”, “Take Action”, “Give Today” and “Join the Cause”.

3. Social Networks
Embedding your social media feeds onto your home page will boost viral activity, redirect users to your social networks and encourage them to connect on a more personal level with you. Remember: social is one cog in your organization's broader content marketing strategy. Use this platform to drip out inspiring stories, demonstrate organizational efficacy and build excitement about your event.

4. Look & Feel
Presenting a branded event site manner imparts quality and professionalism, among the most important factors in assessing content according to consumers. From fonts, colours, sizes and logos, you’ll want to ensure that everything matches not only on your website, but also on all other active platforms, to reflect consistency. The end result? Increased trust and engagement.

5. Don’t Forget Mobile!
Last, but certainly not least, due to the undeniable importance of mobile devices, make sure that content is mobile-friendly! Mobile users, as noted on our Blog and elsewhere, have different needs than desktop users. We suggest tightening content such that it accelerates and facilitates the fundraising actions you are promoting - without forcing on-the-go visitors to unnecessarily swipe or scroll.

raisin Pledge module for peer-to-peer events and ongoing third-party campaigns make it easy to define the unique needs of your peer-to-peer ask, and create beautiful content that inspires participation. Contact us to learn more about how the content tools in raisin can help you make a difference with a peer-to-peer fundraiser!

Related: Content Marketing Part 1: Valuable Content is Key to Fundraising Success

Sources:

Hill, G. (2015). Nonprofit Content Marketing Stats For 2016 [Infographic]. Retrieved July 25, 2016, from http://www.contentuity360.com/blog/nonprofit-content-marketing-stats-for-2016-infographic
Vogel, B. (2015). Nonprofit Call to Action Phrases that Convert. Retrieved July 25, 2016, from http://wiredimpact.com/blog/nonprofit-call-to-action-phrases/

Meet the Newest Member of the Kelly Brush Foundation

Thu, 28 Jul 2016 04:00:00 GMT

It was only a few months ago that we had the pleasure of beginning our relationship with the Kelly Brush Foundation. The Kelly Brush Foundation is a private 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to assisting individuals with spinal cord injuries and increasing ski racing safety. Behind this incredible Foundation, is a very strong, and inspiring woman named Kelly. Since their involvement with raisin, the organization has begun campaigning in the United States, including the 11th Annual Kelly Brush Ride - which has raised over $100,000 and counting.

Working closely with their team has been an absolute privilege. The amount of passion, commitment and love they present for Kelly, and the Foundation makes it easy for everyone to get involved! When we learned that Zeke, and Kelly had added a new member to their family, we could not wait to share the news!

Without further delay, meet Dylan Mary Davisson. We like to think that Dylan is one of the cutest babies we have ever worked with, and delightfully await for more blog posts and photos from Kelly about her development.

Congratulations Kelly, and Zeke on this beautiful baby! A beautiful healthy baby is a blessing for any family, and Dylan is lucky to have you as her parent.

Valuable Content is Key to Fundraising Success

Wed, 20 Jul 2016 04:00:00 GMT

By Geneviève Cassan

It goes without saying that marketing plays a crucial role in the success of an organization: awareness generates interest, which in turn, generates business. In a well-established digital era, the concept of "content marketing" has become increasingly important in developing effective online marketing strategies.

But what exactly is content marketing?

Content marketing is defined by the CMI (2015) as “the marketing and business process for creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience."

In fact, research conducted by Roper Public Affairs found that 61% of respondents say, “valuable content makes them feel closer to the company that delivers it and are more likely to buy from that company” (Jefferson & Tanton, 2015). Many factors seem to impact the success of online content, including -- but not limited to-- quality, interest, and timing.

A good content marketing strategy should positively impact your brand awareness, and help you build a solid reputation. As Jefferson and Tanton (2015) mentioned in their most recent book, people want to be able to make their own opinion about your brand, based on the information that is openly and freely made accessible to them online. Publishing valuable content that helps inform consumer decisions is key, and will help you building trust and becoming memorable.

Now you might wonder: does that also apply to the non-profit industry?

According to a recent study cited by eMarketer (2016b), an astounding 72% of donors said they may stop donating due to poor content. The most common issues with content published by non-profits were reported to be:

inconvenient format
lack of interest
not suited to the region
content being too vague

To address these issues, all communication and content published online should be undertaken within the context of a digital marketing strategy already established by your organization and applied to all online channels - including blogs, social media, newsletters, and of course, fundraising websites. They should be compelling, attractive and relevant.

Developing a content marketing strategy to build your brand and attract support can be an ardous task, though. To help get your non-profit on the way, we'll be posting a series of blogs targeted at peer-to-peer fundraisers, donors and more.

Stay tuned...

Sources

Baltes, L. P. (2015). Content marketing – the fundamental tool of digital marketing. Economic Sciences, 8(57), p. 11-118
eMarketer (2016a). Marketers Rely on Visual Content for Social Platforms. Retrieved June 30, 2016 from http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Marketers-Rely-on-Visual-Content-Social-Platforms/1014086?ecid=NL1003#sthash.hDt0qrB4.vVHUYhWn.dpuf
eMarketer (2016b). Poor Content Marketing Turns Nonprofit Donors Off. Retrieved June 30, 2016 from http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Poor-Content-Marketing-Turns-Nonprofit-Donors-Off/1013989?ecid=NL1003
Jefferson, S. & Tanton, S. (2015). Valuable Content Marketing. Philadelphia, PA: Kogan Page.

Event Spotlight: Stunning P2P Events on raisin

Wed, 06 Jul 2016 04:00:00 GMT

By Geneviève Cassan & Timothy Brandl

raisin’s latest Pledge web template makes it easy to design stunning event sites that showcase your brand, inspire participation and help peer-to-peer fundraisers raise more money! With summer upon us and P2P fundraising season in full swing, we'd like to shine a light on how top charities across North America are leveraging raisin’s powerful out-of-the-box tools for outstanding fundraising success:

The Jack Ride | Jack.org
Built-in scoreboards showcase the Riders who made the 2016 Jack Ride, Jack.org’s best year yet!

7th Annual Bladder Cancer Canada Awareness Walk | Bladder Cancer Canada
Built-in smart widgets track key statistics and progress in lead-up to Bladder Cancer Canada’s cross-country Awareness Walks.

11th Annual Kelly Brush Ride | Kelly S. Brush Foundation
Connect and spread the word with integrated social media tools throughout the event - from embedded timelines to Share buttons.

Third-Party Fundraising | Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology
Easy to find buttons pop important calls-to-actions to register, donate and login to fundraise for CAWST's water projects!

Guts + Glory Corporate Challenge | Covenant House Toronto
An eye-catching thermometer instantly keeps visitors in-the-loop on the success of Covenant House Toronto’s inaugural corporate challenge!

One Last Tri: Celebrating 10 Years of Joe's Team

Tue, 28 Jun 2016 04:00:00 GMT

By Timothy Brandl

On July 9th, Joe’s Team celebrates its 10^th and final Triathlon.

Since 2007, the spirit and vision of Joe Finley has inspired hundreds of Joe’s Team participants to conquer the personal challenge of a triathlon, while collecting vital funds to conquer cancer. Proving that amazing things happen when you Tri, Joe’s Team has raised more than $11 million net and has grown to become the most successful grassroots fundraiser in the history of the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.

The remarkable commitment of fundraisers, volunteers, sponsors and organizers culminated last year in the establishment of the Joe Finley Centre for Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) Research at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. This state of the art facility is driving discoveries that prevent, screen, diagnose and fight many forms of cancer, including head and neck cancer.

Celebrate the legacy of Joe Finley and Joe’s Team by donating to the event or supporting your favourite participant. It's sure to be an amazing last Tri!

Dragon Boating & #DragonBragging for Cancer Care in Peterborough

Thu, 16 Jun 2016 04:00:00 GMT

By Geneviève Cassan

Peterborough’s 16th Annual Dragon Boat Festival hit the water last Saturday, June 11. This year’s event was another great success, with 66 teams of 20 putting their paddles up and raising funds for breast cancer.

“It is a community event intended to promote awareness of breast cancer in our community, the benefits of physical activity and fun!” says Debbie Keay, Chair of Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival. “The funds raised by the event are something our entire community can feel proud of. There has been a significant enhancement to cancer diagnosis, treatment and care at our own hospital.”

This year, on a newly designed event site, participants competed to attain entry into the exclusive Dragon’s Lair luxury tent for the top fundraising team, while issuing #DRAGONBRAGGING challenges to others to raise more along the way.

Looking at this year’s fundraising, teams indeed have a lot to be #DRAGONBRAGGING about! In total, teams raised an amazing $172,000 (and counting!) towards breast cancer detection programs, treatment, and care at Peterborough Regional Health Centre.

Donations are still being accepted, so show your support for Dragon Boat paddlers by visiting the event website and making a donation: https://prhcf.akaraisin.com/pdbf2016.

Go Mobile with your P2P Fundraising Site

Thu, 26 May 2016 04:00:00 GMT

By Geneviève Cassan

eMarketer recently published its forecast of Canadian consumer trends in 2016, and their predictions for mobile usage are staggering: Smartphone penetration rate is estimated to rise up to 61.2% of the adult population (up 9% from 2015), with more than a quarter (25.4%) of time spent with major media will be mobile.

Given continued trends in this direction, a sound mobile strategy is vital in order for non-profits to remain competitive in a mobile-driven world.

Mobile Users' Expectations
Mobile users’ needs are different from those on desktop. They expect a faster, more immediate browsing experience and their purchases are often impulsive ones.

Meeting the needs starts with a mobile-optimized peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising website that is fast and tailored for handheld devices -- without sacrificing functionality.

Faster Speed
Mobile-optimized websites offer a multitude of benefits to enhance user experience. When you go launch a Pledge (peer-to-peer) event site on raisin, our best-in-class technology automatically detects if a user is entering from one of the 150+ supported mobile browsers, and instantly takes them to a version of the site that is optimized for the size of the device. A multi-channel solution like this also means that costly apps per OS or upgrades are not required.

Control Content
Content, as they say, is king. Mobile visitors want to be able to access information in a quick-and-easy manner without unnecessary navigation or scolling. Our mobile event sites allow you to tailor your branding and message for mobile, while keeping important call-to-actions, like “Donate” and “Register", at the forefront to quickly capture the immediacy of the on-the-go experience.

Fundraising Tools for P2P Giving
What’s the use in a mobile peer-to-peer fundraising site without the ability to actually fundraise? On raisin, peer-to-peer participants have all of tools they need to run a successful fundraising campaign in their pocket. When logged in, a convenient Participant Dashboard dynamically appears for quick navigation to our suite of mobile tools: import and manage contacts, solicit donations, update their personal page, view donation history and send “Thank You” messages. What’s more, every action taken on their account are automatically synced across devices and back to desktop.

Ensuring your fundraising events are mobile-friendly will do wonders to build better brand engagement, convert more visitors into participants, and ultimately, raise more money for your cause! raisin’s mobile Pledge solution makes going mobile easy to implement with the simple click of a button. Oh, and did we mention that this feature was free?

Get in touch with Gus to learn more about how raisin can help you unleash the power of on-the-go fundraising!

Reference: Briggs, Paul. Canada Trends 2016: Marketer Mastery Of Tech, And The Consumer Tastes That Make It Necessary. eMarketer, 2015.

Kurling for Kids – The Greatest Game is Giving

Tue, 08 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

By J.F. Pierre

This April, Kurling for Kids celebrates the 18^th anniversary of its annual curling fundraiser, dedicated to providing medical treatments, programs, and equipment to children in need through The Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation and the Sainte-Justine UHC Foundation.

The first Kurling for Kids bonspiel was organized by Robert Sears in 1993, where 48 people came together for curling and a pizza dinner, followed by trophies presented to the winners. In 1999, though, the annual bonspiel took on a different purpose after Robert’s daughter was treated at St-Justine Hospital following a seizure. Since then, he’s dedicated the annual curling tournament to St-Justine Hospital Foundation to show his appreciation for the hospital that saved his daughter’s life.

raisin is proud to have helped power the Kurling for Kids fundraiser since 2011 - with each year being more successful than the last!

2013 marked a year of milestones for this event as it was the first year that Kurling for Kids was operated under its own registered charity! Two years after, Kurling for Kids was fast approaching the $2 million mark in total funds raised since its inception. To celebrate this occasion, the event was launched on the then brand-new Multi-Pledge module, and with a refreshed event site designed by A.K.A. New Media. Leveraging the latest in peer-to-peer technology, Multi-Pledge has made it possible for the K4K team to quickly set up the 11 curling clubs who fundraise for Kurling for Kids; while saving them administrative time behind-the-scenes so that they can encourage and steward the over 400 curlers participating and make sure that they maximize the powerful fundraising tools in raisin’s best-in-class Participant Centre.

Now that 2016 event has launched, they are excited and confident that they will raise more than ever before for the life-changing facilities at The Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation and the Sainte-Justine UHC Foundation!

To donate to a participant or learn more about the cause, visit Kurling for Kids raisin event site at: www.kurlingforkids.com

To learn more about how you can leverage the Multi-Pledge module for fundraising events in multiple locations, request a demo today!

It's All About Guts + Glory!

Mon, 22 Feb 2016 05:00:00 GMT

By Timothy Brandl

This Wednesday, thirty corporate teams of six from throughout the GTA will push their limits in the ultimate boot camp for charity. The Guts + Glory Corporate Challenge is a unique athletic fundraiser designed for competitive and philanthropic professionals in support of homeless youth at Covenant House Toronto.

Corporate teams will test their speed, agility, strength and power in a series of ten intense challenges at historic Moss Park Armoury that include 9-foot rope climbs, carrying 81mm rocket ammo and sea bag drags. Off the field, teams also compete to raise the most funds for the vital programs and services Covenant House provides to help homeless youth move from a life on the street to a life of independence.

Top-placing teams based on a cumulative score of athletic points and funds raised will be awarded with medals and bragging rights over their corporate opponents. It’s all about guts and glory!

To donate to a participant or learn more, visit the Guts + Glory Corporate Challenge site powered by raisin’s Pledge module at: www.gutsglory.ca.

London is United for Refugees

Mon, 01 Feb 2016 05:00:00 GMT

By Natalie Good

In December, United Way London & Middlesex and London Cross Cultural Learner Centre, with the support of London Mayor Matt Brown, launched a new online fundraising campaign in response to the news of Syrian refugees moving into the community. Armed with the knowledge that this is just the beginning of a long journey towards creating a better life, the campaign seeks to address the urgent support that will be needed.

“This is a co-ordinated, community-wide response to support these new Canadians, these new Londoners,” said Mayor Matt Brown. “London is a caring and compassionate city. We’re going to do everything we possibly can to welcome these families.”

Donations made to the London for Refugees campaign will be used to provide mental health support, language training and assistance, pre-employment and employment support, peer support and mentoring, as well as community-based programming. Community supporters are also encouraged to start a campaign of their own and collect donations from friends, family and colleagues through the raisin event site.

To support this cause or find out more, visit: www.londonunitedforrefugees.ca. On social media, follow the campaign with #UnitedForRefugees.

raisin Releases: Option for Donors to Cover Fees, Mobile P2P Store & More!

Tue, 26 Jan 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Happy New Year! We’re kicking off 2016 with a brand-new raisin release, packed with features designed to increase giving amounts and make registration for returning participants even faster:

Option for Donors to Cover Your Administrative Fees

Invite donors to opt-in and cover your administrative costs when contributing one-time or tribute gifts on General Donations events.

Import Profile Photos & Personal Story for Returning Pledge Participants

Our powerful User Recognition for Returning Participants feature has been further enhanced, empowering users to import their profile photo and personal story from a previous event.

Offer Store Items on Mobile-Optimized Pledge Events

Sell special and sought-after event swag through your mobile-optimized Pledge event!

The release also features:

Biggest Donation widget has been added to Multi-Pledge participant pages
API Versioning as we continue to open up the system
New API Call for “Get Event List”
Bug fixes and minor enhancements

DonorPerfect Fundraising Software Announces New Partnership with raisin®

Fri, 15 Jan 2016 05:00:00 GMT

raisin® is proud to have been chosen as DonorPerfect's preferred partner for peer-to-peer fundraising. Through the partnership, raisin and DonorPerfect hope to inspire nonprofits to utilize peer-to-peer outreach as an effective way to fundraise. raisin integrates with DonorPerfect’s powerful, complete donor management software and payment processing services so all donations and donor information collected through raisin are automatically reflected in DonorPerfect.

“We're excited to be chosen as DonorPerfect's preferred partner for peer-to-peer fundraising,” Assadour Kirijian, CEO at A.K.A. New Media Inc. says. “We share their passion of helping nonprofits succeed and fulfill their unique missions. It's great to partner with an industry leader that devotes so many resources to ensuring their partnerships succeed."

Jon Biedermann, Vice President of Fundraising Products for SofterWare says, “We're thrilled to partner with raisin®. After an exhaustive search, we feel their technology and solution are the best fit for thousands of DonorPerfect clients. More importantly, their vision and philosophy match our own: providing robust and innovative yet affordable solutions that meet the needs of small and medium-size nonprofits in North America and beyond.”

For more information on the partnership, see the official press release.
To learn about Donor Perfect, visit: http://www.donorperfect.com/.

Goodbye 2015, Hello 2016

Tue, 05 Jan 2016 05:00:00 GMT

By J.F. Pierre

From the entire raisin team, Happy New Year to you all!

We hope that you celebrated the beginning of 2016 surrounded by family and friends. Now that we’re a few days into 2016, it’s a perfect time to start looking in the future and the things that we want to achieve this year. But first, a quick look back.

2015 was a great year for raisin. We’ve released the mobile optimized version of the Pledge and General Donation modules, a brand new Multi-Pledge module and a new template for our famous Peer-to-Peer module “Pledge”.

Now enough about what we’ve accomplished as a company, we’ll let our account managers share their most memorable moments of 2015:

Jean-François – Bilingual Account Manager
My proudest moment of 2015 was helping Kurling for Kids set up a multi-city Pledge event and working alongside A.K.A. New Media to improve the look and feel of their website. We also made some changing to the branding and communication which helped them bring their event to the next level!

Natalie – Account Manager

One of the many highlights of 2015 was working on the United for Refugees campaign with United Way London & Middlesex. The arrival and plight of the Syrian refugees has been a topic on the forefront of many of our thoughts for quite a while now and I am happy to see a community banding together to do their best to help! It is an honour and a privilege to get to work with so many organizations that work tirelessly to contribute to creating a better, healthier world for all of us!

Rima - Account Manager
Joining AKA raisin in 2015, I have been able to work with both new and older clients.

I remember being assigned my first account, Appleby College, and assisting them with their first multi-location campaign using our recently released Multi Pledge module. The module features a fresh new template with increased social feel, greater scoreboard options (including a scoreboard content page), and streamlined register, donate, login and search processes – along with all of raisin’s best-in-class Participant Centre fundraising tools. Using raisin also significantly reduced Appleby’s administrative effort and allowed their team to really focus on fundraising. Together we were able to launch a successful campaign that allowed for Appleby College to raise 127% of their goal!

Working with the raisin team has also been a delight! I look forward to growing with them, and sharing more of my success stories in 2016. Happy New Year!

Two P2P Events That Think Big and Look Great!

Thu, 15 Oct 2015 04:00:00 GMT

By Natalie Good

As many of us begin to cool down with the Autumn breeze, United Way London & Middlesex and Covenant House are just warming up. This November marks two of their biggest and most-exciting peer-to-peer campaigns; each challenging the participants to take on substantial fundraising goals and exciting physical demands. Using our Pledge and Multi-Pledge modules, both of these organizations have designed events that are motivational and cause-reflective by using strong imagery, graphics, and colour. We are proud and honoured to showcase these great events!

United Way London & Middlesex: Scotiabank StairClimb for United Way
The annual Scotiabank StairClimb for United Way is a major fundraising initiative for United Way London & Middlesex that has raised over $2 million in donations since the event's inception. Using raisin’s Multi-Pledge module, over 2000 participants get donations to support United Way funded programs before taking the final steps on November 5th… up One London Place, London’s tallest building! To celebrate its 20^th anniversary, this year’s event will be marked with a 90’s throw-back theme that has been incorporated well into the pages of their raisin site. Can you kick it?

Covenant House: Sleep Out Toronto
On November 19^th participants will join an exclusive group of Toronto’s top business and community leaders (including some familiar names like Amanda Lang and Belinda Stronach) to spend a night on the streets raising awareness and critical funds for the Covenant House. By engaging in this unique experiential event, participants are exposed to the hardships that homeless youth in the city have to endure on a daily basis. Leading up the event, those involved use the features of the participant centre in raisin’s Pledge module to fulfil their commitments to raise a minimum of $5000. All to benefit Covenant House Toronto programs directly and helping those in need.

raisin Releases: New P2P Template, Mobile Volunteer Registration & More!

Sat, 10 Oct 2015 04:00:00 GMT

We are pleased to announce our fall release, which introduces an elegant and feature-rich web template for Pledge (peer-to-peer) events, along with other exciting system updates.

New P2P Template
Harnessing the latest trends in web design and user experience, this feature-rich web template empowers you to create beautifully-branded event sites that amplify your organization’s mission. Out-of-the-box features include:

Wide page width that is also responsive on tablet
Elegant participant and teams page design
An expanded Scoreboard Page that dynamically tracks top fundraisers, top teams and major donors
New content page for increased communications
Updated thermometer design
New smart widgets tracking key stats for teams, participants and donations

Stand out by launching your next peer-to-peer event this new template!

Other notable features:

Google reCaptcha control that can be enabled on an event-by-event basis to protect your sites from fraudulent activity
Anti-scripting mechanisms on forms to prevent bots from attempting transactions
The ability for volunteers to register on a mobile-friendly form
Visa Checkout launched for The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation
Performance tuning and optimization to ensure speedy mobile sites, as well as minor bug fixes

For more information about this product release or the raisin online fundraising system, reach out to Gus for a demo!

Facebook Introduces a Donate Now Button

Wed, 07 Oct 2015 04:00:00 GMT

By Tim Brandl & J.F. Pierre

To the delight of the non-profit world, Facebook has introduced a “Donate Now” call-to-action option for Non-Profit Organization Pages and link ads!
According to Facebook:

"Now, it's easier than ever for nonprofits to connect with people who care about their causes and encourage them to contribute through the website of their choice."

Indeed, adding a Donate Now button that accepts secure donations on your raisin event to your organization’s Facebook page takes seconds - and can have a massive impact on your online fundraising.

The social media titan boasts 1.49 billion active users and is one of the most significant drivers for giving. The Donate Now button is a great way of tapping into this market directly.

Just follow these easy steps:

Step 1: Select “Edit call to action” button found by the Cover Image of your Facebook page.
Step 2: Select the “Donate Now” icon.
Step 3: Insert the link to your raisin General Donations event.
Step 4: Finally, test the process by clicking the new “Donate Now” button on your page and ensuring it directs to the correct raisin page.
And you're set to accept donations directly from Facebook!

Donate with PayPal on raisin

Fri, 28 Aug 2015 04:00:00 GMT

By Diane Klich & Nicholas Sawarna

We’ve all done it – impulsively clicked on a link to buy something only to realize that our wallet was downstairs. You close your browser with the intention to buy it later. You don’t.
Now imagine this is your donor or your participant or someone who clicked on friend’s post who was asking for sponsorship. The intention to make a donation or sign up for that 10K run is there, but they can’t be bothered to walk downstairs or take the extra minute to pull out their credit card to do it now. You’ve just lost that donor.

Enter PayPal. With 165 million active digital wallets, and available in 203 markets, PayPal has built a trusted brand in the marketplace for secure transactions. This becomes even more important with the growth in mobile commerce which, according PayPal figures, is outpacing overall ecommerce transactions at double the rate.

Activating PayPal for your raisin events is easy – simply connect your organization’s PayPal merchant account with raisin using the admin console, and then turn it on for your events. It’s really that simple. It really takes 1 minute to do.

In combination with raisin's user-friendly desktop and mobile forms, PayPal makes the donation process a smooth and easy one.

Seize the moment. Capture more donations.

Event Spotlight: DIY Fundraising Pages

Tue, 28 Jul 2015 04:00:00 GMT

By Timothy Brandl

Do-it-yourself (DIY) fundraising is on the rise as charitable supporters seek new and inspiring ways to get involved with their favourite organizations. raisin’s Personal Fundraising Pages module makes it easy for advocates to quickly set up their own online pages and run successful fundraising campaigns, like community BBQs, car washes, sports tournaments and birthday parties, on your organization’s behalf.

Check out some of the creative ways charities are using Personal Fundraising Pages to promote the entrepreneurial spirit of third-party organizers:

The Kidney Foundation of Canada | The Kidney Foundation of Canada uses five separate DIY microsites that encourage community members to “put their passion into action." Personal Kidney pages can be built in honour of loved ones, birthdays, weddings, third-party fundraising events and even “Transplantiversaries” that commemorate a life-changing transplant date. The multi-site campaign has been extremely successful in raising funds to help people living with kidney disease!

Save the Children Canada | Leveraging the design flexibility of raisin's fundraising templates, Save the Children Canada has built a fully-branded “Team Save the Children” micro-site for fundraising champions across Canada! Not only does the site look great, it also empowers community members looking to run their own fundraising initiative, and collect one-time or recurring gifts in support of Save the Children's humanitarian programs around the world!

Oakville Hospital Foundation | The Oakville Hospital Foundation launched their campaign to become a “Fundraising Champion” in fall 2011, and it has grown organically to raise over $200,000 for the Foundation. More than 60 fundraisers have created tribute pages for patients treated at the hospital, as well as pages to collect donations in lieu of life events or 3^rd party fundraisers. The module takes into consideration the sensitives that occur when donors are giving in-honour or in-memory of someone, and offers e-card and printed card functionality.

Looking to involve your supporters in similar ways? Contact us to learn more about how you can launch a Personal Fundraising Pages event of your own.

Launch a Do-It-Yourself Fundraising Program with your Peer-to-Peer System

Thu, 23 Jul 2015 04:00:00 GMT

By Diane Klich & Nicholas Sawarna

Crowdfunding software has been quick to extend the offering to not-for-profits in recent years. So, how different is crowdfunding from traditional peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns, which were born and raised in the NFP space?

Well, in many situations, the two aren’t so different after all.

Let’s consider a popular method of crowdfunding called Do-It-Yourself (DIY) fundraising. DIY fundraising empowers passionate supporters of your cause to raise money by organizing an inventive event of their own, setting up a virtual fundraising page, collecting donations in lieu of birthday/wedding gifts or honouring of a loved one.

With this type of DIY program, third-party fundraisers rely on the help of their extended network of family, friends and community – and as such, leveraging a solid peer-to-peer online fundraising system may be all you need to kick-start their fundraising spirit!

What, then, should you look for when embarking on a DIY fundraising program?
Help Fundraisers Become Digital Marketers
Passionate people are the best ambassadors for your cause -- all they need are the right tools! Start them off with a basic campaign kit containing the necessary features to launch a compelling and effective digital campaign, including:

a self-serve fundraising page that they can quickly setup to effectively share their story and accept donations
an fundraising centre that provides statistics and intuitively coaches participants throughout their campaign
an email dashboard populated with some sample messaging that helps them communicate the importance of the cause and the difference they can make.

Taken together, these tools can turn third-party supporters into effective fundraisers, as well as thankful recipients.

Encourage Stewardship
You’ve spent time and money ensuring you have a strong brand presence that effectively communicates your mission, the work you’ve done, and how donor dollars make a difference in the lives of others. Use a system them helps you extend this voice to a DIY program, launched under your brand, your website, and using your organization’s messaging. This arms your fundraisers -- be they board members or a school class -- with the proper advice and materials to build trust in your cause, and in turn, assures donors that their money is in the right hands.

Attend to Those Special Moments with Care
Receiving a donation on behalf of someone affected by your cause is a special gift. Tribute pages recognize these occasions with the ability to send e-cards to loved ones, or opt-in to a recurring program that coincides with a birthday, holiday or day of passing -- all of which provide that special touch for your donors. Also take care to ensure E-mail messaging doesn’t get grouped with a generic ‘thank-you’ communications, but recognizes the sensitivity and the timing of the donation with the ability to craft a unique, targeted message.

Alignment with your Systems to Develop Long-Term Relationships
By launching the campaign within your own systems, you have the benefit of knowing that gifts are properly delivered to the correct fund, aligned with financial reporting, and receipted by your charity. This also provides the opportunity to nurture these new donors, and earn their trust through a proper engagement program that truly demonstrates how the difference their donation has made and fosters a long-lasting relationship.

Nurture the DIY Program
While DIY fundraising may not be running a physical event, it’s still effectively a peer-to-peer campaign. The same efforts and principles you apply to teaching your event participants to fundraise, you should apply to these individuals as well. Be sure to have dedicated resources to onboard these DIY champions for success – educate them about the cause, teach them about fundraising best practices, introduce them to the fundraising tools and resources at hand, and welcome them to your organization.

Need Inspiration?
Check out some of the creative ways charitable organizations like the Kidney Foundation of Canada and Save the Children Canada are empowering grassroots fundraisers with raisin's DIY fundraising module.
To start your DIY program today or learn more about our DIY module, called Personal Fundraising Pages, contact us for more information.

raisin Releases: Mobile Recurring Donations & New Participant Insights

Fri, 03 Jul 2015 04:00:00 GMT

The latest updates to raisin's leading online fundraising system were made with your fundraisers in mind! With this summer release, we’re pleased to bring to you some fantastic new features, including:

Recurring Donations for Mobile
The best donor is a recurring donor, and with raisin you can now capture recurring patrons - on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis - via mobile devices! Our best-in-class mobile technology automatically detects your custom recurring donation options when donors visit your site from a handheld device, with giving amounts appearing as convenient finger-sized buttons to ensure a smooth donation process.

Participant Centre Activity Report
Successful peer-to-peer fundraisers are also the most active in spreading the word about their campaign. To help you track, measure and analyze fundraiser efforts, we’ve developed a new real-time report that paints the full picture of a participant's activity. Turn these insights into actionable strategies that contribute to your event’s success - nurture your most engaged participants, segment and target appeals towards returning users, encourage participants to leverage the valuable fundraising tools in our Participant Centre… and more!

Team Tagging for Custom Leaderboards
A neat Team Tagging functionality is now available for Pledge events. Tags are an additional method of classification that allow you to identify groups of teams based on a set of pre-defined categories and allows you to create sortable custom leaderboards.

Custom Facebook Auto-Post Updates
We’ve updated our popular Facebook Auto-Post feature in the Participant Centre so that participants can personalize the updates that are automatically published to Facebook upon reaching key fundraising milestones.

Contact us to learn more about how your organization can take advantage of these cutting-edge fundraising tools.

Big News for Big Peer-To-Peer Events!

Wed, 29 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Perfect for launching your next big event, Multi-Pledge is designed to power multiple groups under one branded campaign.

raisin Multi-Pledge is ideal for:

National/Provincial campaigns with participant registration for multiple locations
Peer-to-Peer initiatives across different organizations (e.g. schools, corporate offices or gyms)
Events that employ ‘teams of teams’ or ‘groups’ (e.g. corporate, school or virtual challenges)
Pledge events where groups of people fundraise for different causes (e.g. breast cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, etc.)

Features:

Innovative interactive interface harnesses latest trends in social media design and user-experience.
Leading-edge mobile-optimized solution for all constituents.
One-click to Donate, Register and Login across all locations and groups.
Enhanced communication tools at location, group and personal page levels, with real-time dashboards promoting participant achievements.
Leadership thermometers promote real-time competition between top fundraisers, teams, groups, locations, industries, company schools, etc.
New enhanced fundraising tools inspire and engage participants throughout event life cycle.

Multi-Pledge in Action in 2015!

2015 Gutsy Walk | This national bilingual event engages 7000 participants, across 70 communities to raise money for research and education. ‘It takes guts to make it stop!'

Kurling for Kids | hosted 11 bonspiels across Quebec, to raise funds for both the Montreal Children's Hospital and the CHU Sainte-Justine Hospital foundations.

Power of Movement | Canada’s largest yoga event, held virtually, at schools and studios across the country raises money for arthritis research. Experience the power of movement!

Push for Your Tush | 2000 participants across nine Canadian locations are giving back to their communities by raising funds for Colon Cancer Canada.

Shave for the Brave | Community-driven, this national event encourages local groups & individuals to host head shaves supporting young adults fighting cancer.

Kidney Walks | This spring, over 40 communities will come together for the Kidney Foundation of Canada’s annual walk to raise funds to help end kidney disease, a silent killer affecting 1 in 10 Canadians.

The Possibilities are Endless…

The ease of setting up events is a joy - grow your event, propel participation and expand your impact!
Contact us to learn more! Request a demo or check out some of our other modules, part of our leading online fundraising system!

Call For A Demo Today!

Save the World One Tax Receipt At A Time

Wed, 22 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMT

By Nicholas Sawarna

According to a 2009 Conference Board of Canada report, the average Canadian contributes approximately 777 kilograms of waste per annum. What this means, among other things, is that Canadians rank amongst the worst in the developed world in terms of waste production.

This Earth Day, our team wishes to celebrate raisin’s electronic tax receipting service as one of our positive contributions to the environment we all share.
Here are some positives of electronically issuing tax receipts:

1) Saves trees

The more obvious advantage of issuing tax receipts online is the piles of bleached paper which are spared. Save the forest. Save the planet.

2) Saves your dollars

Manually issuing your tax receipts requires time and resources. raisin’s electronic receipting system is automatic and doesn’t require the time of your staff or expensive postage. So you can focus on other things…like fundraising for making the world a better place.

3) Reissue with ease

Reissuing tax receipts through raisin is as simple as clicking a mouse and fully CRA-compliant. No wasted paper. No postage. No stress. It’s so easy that even participants in your peer-to-peer events can do it through the participant centre, saving you administrative time and effort!

4) Branded tax receipts

Use your branded tax receipts with raisin. Our system pulls donor information and sends a perfect receipt to a donors email.

5) Immediacy for your donors

Deliver exceptional customer service to the donor’s mail box with a PDF tax receipt conveniently saved and stored away for tax time.

Raising Revenue with Store Items!

Thu, 26 Mar 2015 04:00:00 GMT

By Nicholas Sawarna

As a child I volunteered for the Canada Summer Games. Although my official duties were serving as a tennis ball-boy and a trash collector, my unofficial joy was to collect limited addition commemorative pins, released one at a time for every day of the games. I bought all seven pins that year.

This successful experiment in classical conditioning hints at an important way you can use store items to hype your fundraising event and make it memorable. Branded items made available through your online fundraising event can be sold outright, but there are ways you can make slight tweaks to their availability to make them special and sought after. All this adds an interactive and exciting element to an otherwise dull transaction.

Here are four ways to do this:

1) Offer store items during registration

Take the registration process as an opportunity to upsell products. You may also offer promo codes to further entice a sale.

2) Sell event memorabilia

If your event produces artwork, photographs or other valuable swag items, sell them post-event!

3) Add limited edition items

Make store items available for a limited time only or apply time-sensitive promo codes to create an even greater sense of item exclusiveness.

4) Offer Unlockable Promo Codes

Set online fundraising benchmarks for your participants. Promise to provide them with special discount promo codes for specific store items if they reach these goals.

raisin’s online store is flexible to fit different organizational needs. Easily add items, set tax receiptable amounts, add pictures and thumbnails, assign package or appeal codes and start selling! Add promo codes or offer these items during the registration process.

Bcc As a Tool In Stewardship

Mon, 16 Mar 2015 04:00:00 GMT

By Nicholas Sawarna

From the abacus used by ancient courts of Roman Babylonia to the QWERTY keyboard’s introduction on the 1873 Remington typewriter, the computer age has, and continues to, borrow from a pre-computing age. The Bcc, of email significance, is no different and properly understanding this tool’s pre-computer usage can help your charity raise money.

The Bcc, or ‘Blind Carbon Copy,’ refers to a pre-email office process where addresses were manually added to messages after they had met the carbon paper copy process. This allowed selected recipients to follow a message without alerting their presence to official recipients or other Bcc’d recipients. Anonymous readers could choose if or when they chose to join a tracked conversation.

For email, the Bcc tool process works much the same. By adding addresses to the Bcc bar of an email, recipients are made anonymous to everyone else in the conversation but the original sender. For your charity this can be particularly useful for tracking donations activity and taking appropriate stewardship action.

At raisin, all seven of our modules feature the ability for organizations to Bcc themselves to any automatic message delivered by our system. Whether you wish to be notified when ‘Thank Yous’ are sent for donations above certain amounts, to be made aware of an important table sale for your gala event or whether you wish to be notified every time a participants signs up for your event, raisin gives you every opportunity to join the conversation.

Hashtag Holidays: Love Your Pet Day

Wed, 18 Feb 2015 05:00:00 GMT

By Natalie Good

This Friday, February 20, celebrates ‘#loveyourpetday,’ a virtual opportunity to show all of your fluffy friends how much you really care! Here at raisin we recognize the value of the unconditional love of our pets and are happy to support our clients at the Toronto Humane Society and the Humane Society of Durham who use our General Donations, eCards, and Personal Fundraising Pages to spread the word of their tireless efforts to protect them.

So, go ahead...show your pets some love!

To donate, get inspired or to see how you can help animals in need:

Check out the Toronto Humane Society or create your very own online fundraising page through their website!

OR
Check out the Humane Society of Durham Region to see how you can help!

The 2015 Push For Your Tush Packs a Big Punch

Fri, 13 Feb 2015 05:00:00 GMT

This spring, Colon Cancer Canada cordially invites you to ‘push for your tush’ to fight colon cancer!

Begun in 1996 as a small event in North Toronto, Colon Cancer Canada's annual ‘Push For Your Tush’ walk, held in May and June, has grown to span nine cities across Canada, in addition to a virtual walk. With more than 2, 000 people involved, the walk brings communities together to combat the second deadliest cancer in Canada.

To date, the event has raised over $4 Million.

This year’s event aims to raise $450, 000 for colon cancer research!

Using raisin’s new peer-to-peer ‘Multi-Pledge’ online fundraising module, the 2015 Push For Your Tush has several features which ease the managing of this multi-city event:

• Single event website powering multiple locations and walk dates
• Flexible giving options to donate to participants teams, cities or the event
• Robust set of communications tools to spur engagement throughout your event
• Single participant login
• Concise registration process
• Effective online fundraising tools, including: Facebook auto-posts; an email centre; a multimedia gallery; and much more!

We are honoured to provide the leading online fundraising tools that work to raise more money for Colon Cancer Canada.

Check out Push for your Tush today!

Hashtag Holidays: Send a Card to a Friend Day

Mon, 02 Feb 2015 05:00:00 GMT

By Natalie Good

February 7 marks ‘#sendacardtoafriendday,’ a virtual holiday asking people to show they care by sending their friends an eCard! As we all live busy lives (and are likely affected by a case of the dreaded “winter blahs”), this day is a great opportunity to brighten someone’s day and make them smile. If you are anything like us you have not thought far enough ahead to create a brilliant paper card by hand and send it the old-fashioned way; but, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!

raisin’s eCards are the perfect cost-efficient and green solution for your organization to help your donors spread the love.

With raisin’s ‘General Donations’ module you can create eCards in a snap! Simply upload a picture, enter a message, notify your followers and voila! Whether you add this feature to ‘In-Tribute’ or ‘In-Memory’ donations or create a stand-alone ‘send-a-card’ campaign, eCards are an effective way of reaching new donors.

Celebrate #sendacardtoafriendday and create your eCards today!

Call For A Demo Today!

Why a Bilingual raisin® is a Better raisin

Tue, 24 Jun 2014 04:00:00 GMT

By Nicholas Sawarna

Since raisin and our parent company, A.K.A. New Media, are owned and operated in Canada, it only makes sense that our product be flexible in both our country’s official languages. At raisin, we are proud to offer our clients bilingual options, from the moment they sign on to the moment their event begins.

When creating a French or bilingual event, switching back and forth through languages can be frustrating. At raisin, we offer a user-friendly interface which allows administrators to easily toggle between French and English. This allows you to enter French content for every aspect of the system, from webpage content to default email message templates.

All layers of communication and generic system content and validation messages have been professionally translated and are available in both languages. This means both the default messages and content are available in both English and French. This saves you time during setup.

Tax receipts can be made to be language-specific or bilingual. Being content-sensitive and detail-driven, tax receipts must be translated properly. Tax receipts missing mandatory information or providing misleading information can lead to financial penalties from the Canada Revenue Agency. Our experience digitally building physical tax receipts in English and French ensures your online receipts remain consistent with your offline templates.

For organizations who operate in French, ensuring accents transfer with your data is crucial. To make your export experience smoother, raisin’s export system supports French accents, characters and words. This means your data comes out intact and correct every time.

In addition to our bilingual software, it is worth noting that we have French-Canadian staff members to guide you through every step of the online fundraising process. When you call into raisin and ask “En Français SVP,” we don’t say “What?” we say “Avec plaisir.” Make sure nothing is lost in translation, trust a Canadian company to represent your bilingual brand properly.

References:
1) CRA Guidelines

Photo credit: Hussein, Abdallah via Flickr
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

Un raisin® bilingue est un meilleur raisin

Mon, 23 Jun 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Par Nicholas Sawarna

Puisque raisin® et notre société mère A.K.A. New Media sont détenues et opérées au Canada, il est logique d’offrir un produit qui fasse preuve de souplesse dans les deux langues officielles. Chez raisin, nous sommes fiers d’offrir à nos clients des options bilingues, du moment de leur adhésion jusqu’au début de leur événement.
Le passage répété d’une langue à l’autre peut s’avérer frustrant lors de la création d’un événement français ou bilingue. Chez raisin, nous offrons une interface conviviale qui permet à l’administrateur de basculer facilement entre le français et l’anglais. Cette souplesse vous permet d’insérer du contenu français pour tous les aspects du système, depuis le contenu d’une page Web jusqu’aux modèles de courriels par défaut.

Tous les niveaux de communication ainsi que le contenu générique du système et la validation des messages ont été traduits de manière professionnelle et sont offerts dans les deux langues. Cela signifie que le contenu de même que les messages par défaut sont disponibles dans les deux langues. Ceci vous permet donc de gagner du temps pendant la configuration de vos paramètres.

Les reçus aux fins de l’impôt peuvent être émis dans la langue voulue ou encore bilingues. Du fait de leur contenu sensible et détaillé, les reçus aux fins de l’impôt doivent être traduits correctement. Les reçus incomplets ou dont les informations sont inexactes peuvent entrainer des pénalités financières de la part de l’Agence du Revenu du Canada. Notre expérience dans la conception de reçus électroniques tant en français qu’en anglais vous assure que vos reçus en ligne demeureront conformes à vos modèles hors ligne.
Pour les entreprises qui opèrent en français, il est primordial que le transfert des accents liés au data s’effectue adéquatement. Pour faciliter l’exportation des données, le système d’exportation de raisin supporte donc les accents français, les caractères et les mots. Ainsi, les données produites sont toujours intactes et correctes.
Outre notre logiciel bilingue, il importe de mentionner que nous avons parmi notre personnel des Canadiens français qui vous guideront à chaque étape du processus de collecte de fonds en ligne. Lorsque vous appelez raisin et que vous demandez : « En français svp », nous ne répondons pas « What? », nous répondons « Avec plaisir ».

Assurez l’intégrité de vos données lors de la traduction : faites confiance à une entreprise canadienne pour représenter votre marque bilingue dans les règles de l’art.

References:
1) Consulter le site de l’ARC

Photo credit: Hussein, Abdallah via Flickr
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

When Peer Pressure Is Good For Your Cause

Mon, 02 Jun 2014 04:00:00 GMT

By Timothy Brandl

Successful fundraising relies on leveraging peer networks. As soon as an individual decides on a worthy fundraising cause they proceed to reach out to those closest to them for support – be it friends, families or colleagues. Since online communications are faster and online donor networks are larger, online fundraising makes connections easier.

Researchers at The Centre for Market and Public Organisation demonstrate in a 2013 study that online donors are influenced by amounts others have already given. They call this phenomenon the ‘peer effect.’ Examining 12,000 personal fundraising pages from the 2010 London Marathon, the authors find strong evidence that higher average peer donations increase subsequent pledge amounts. The peer effect also influences larger donations, producing greater and longer-lasting responses from subsequent donors.

raisin’s online fundraising tools facilitate the peer effect to help your organization generate conversions and to increase the value of donations made during peer-to-peer campaigns. Participant fundraising pages display their fundraising goal and a thermometer, alongside all gifts pledged to the fundraiser on a scrolling ‘Honour Roll’ list. The Honour Roll lists the highest giving donors to challenge potential donors to match them or give more. Donation forms include ‘suggested’ giving amounts provided by custom-set giving matrixes with dollar values affixed to a description of the difference it makes for the cause: this encourages an ‘up-sell’-type donation approach.

raisin also drives the peer effect forward with its social offerings, such as automatic Facebook posts calling to action friends, family members and colleagues through updates on your fundraising progress. Through the Participant E-mail Centre, fundraisers are able to import contacts and send mass system-generated messages to friends, family and extended network, and track whether they open them and whether they donate to your cause.

Whether it is a run, walk or ride Pledge event, a stand-alone third-party event or an ‘In-Honour’ or ‘In-Memory’ page, raisin’s peer-to-peer features drive your mission forward. Be sure to encourage your fundraisers to leverage their peer networks to help raise more money and awareness to your occasion!

References:

Peer Effects in Charitable Giving: Evidence from the (Running Field) by Sarah Smith, Frank Windmeijer and Edmund Wright

raisin - online fundraising platform

Why Your Giving Tuesday Dashboard Isn't Just Another Spreadsheet (And Why That Matters)

Real-time signals

A few metrics that matter

More time means more opportunity

The day after tomorrow

The bottom line (actually, several bottom lines)

Introducing raisin Analytics

Intuitive insights, flexible reporting and supporter intelligence – directly in raisin

Spot-on insights available on the spot

Interact with your data in-app and in real-time

Personalized to your unique reporting needs

Action your analysis

Streamline Supporter Management with New Recurring Donor Portal

Update credit card information

Address details to reflect a new location

Modify their recurring donation amount

Customizable to your brand and campaign

Mobile responsive

Creative ways to use the Peer-to-Peer module

NBA Alumni team up with West Park Foundation community members for the Tournament of Stars!

Enhance your fundraiser’s involvement with your Event through journey marketing

Kick Starting your DIY Campaign

Maximizing Impact and Raising More Funds: Tips for Gala Planning

Create a compelling event website

Give ticket purchasers options

Use the store to sell non-ticket items

Use the volunteer form for so much more

Use the event reports to help manage your event

Don't forget to follow up with attendees after the event

Thinking Outside the Donations Box

10 Tips to Make Your Website Accessible

No one intentionally sets out to create an inaccessible product or digital experience.

1. Be Mindful of Colour Contrast

A comparison of Kidney.ca and what the website looks like through a blue-yellow colorblind filter from the Siteimprove Chrome extension.

2. Create an Accessible Navigation

A screen reader demonstration from BeThere.org, a website designed by AKA New Media.

3. Make Text Accessible

4. Describe Your Links

Links from BeThere.org, a website designed by AKA New Media.

5. Include Alt Text

6. Use proper Headings

based on hierarchy. All pages should have at least a

for the title of a page. Use them to add structure to your content and describe what each section of content is about. Using headings also allows Google to understand your content for SEO purposes.

7. Make Accessible Forms

Lakeridge Health Foundation, built using raisin's Donations module.

8. Use Captioning for Videos

BeThere.org (and initiative of Jack.org), designed by AKA New Media, shows closed captioning option from an embedded Youtube video.

9. Dynamic Content

10. Avoid Auto-play

Creating Value and Obtaining Brand Sponsorships

Selling Sponsorship Packages

Creating Value for Sponsors

The Art of Thanking Donors

Automated and personalized Messages

Engage with your major donors

Public recognition

Customize your Success Page

Express impact and gratitude

Make the Most of Giving Tuesday with Matching Gifts

How do matching gifts impact Giving Tuesday success?

Best practices for optimizing Giving Tuesday with matching gifts

Gamification for Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

What is "gamification"?

Leaderboard

Fundraising thermometers

Fundraising badges

Social sharing

Engagement and challenges

10 Essential Design Elements to Convert Donors from your Website's Homepage

The homepage of your website is prime virtual space for your charitable organization.

1. Relevant content that gives an overview of the organization

Kofflerarts.org, a site designed by AKA New media, states what the organization does and showcases the work they do in the sections of their homepage.

2. Logo and branding elements

3. Clear navigation

An example of a responsive website navigation on Kidney.ca, designed by AKA New Media.

4. Relevant call to action buttons

Mobile-responsive donation form accepting one-time, recurring and tribute gifts to Lakeridge Health Foundation, built using raisin's Donations module.

5. Use a search bar to guide traffic

A large search bar on the homepage of Baycrest.org, a website designed by AKA New Media.

A comparison of K idney.ca and what the website looks like through a blue-yellow colorblind filter from the Siteimprove Chrome extension.

Links from B eThere.org, a website designed by AKA New Media.

BeThere .org (and initiative of Jack.org), designed by AKA New Media, shows closed captioning option from an embedded Youtube video.

raisin Launches a Powerful New Participant  Centre

Create social advocates to spread the word 

The ultimate user experience for fundraising success 