Camp Rising Sun is one of our non-profit partners that has used CauseVox as a “home base” for their online fundraising efforts. Rene Pierpont, one of their supporters, has raised more than $2600 through her fundraising page.
We asked Rene to share her thoughts on the experience and to give a few tips on fundraising.
Tell us a little bit about who you are.
I am 30 years old and work as a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin. I was a staff member at Camp Rising Sun for 3 years in the early 2000s and am now a member of the Board of Directors.
Why did you decide to fundraise for Camp Rising Sun?
I decided to do this fundraiser for several reasons. First, because I feel it is part of my responsibility as a Board member to play some role in supporting staff in development and working toward the financial security of the organization. Second, because I have connections with a number of younger alumni who I thought might be willing to help me. And third, because camp impacted my life in positive ways. My goal with the campaign was to test a few ideas of what might work in terms of online fundraising with younger alumni. I thought Hester’s page was very inspiring and believe it was probably successful both because of her hard work and because she came up with a good idea of how to reach people (i.e., to ask them to donate for specific items needed at camp).
What methods did you use to get people to come to your page?
1. A series of emails (~10-15 emails to different camp alumni from different seasons, family and friends) to potential donors informing them about the initiative and asking them to participate. Some emails were personalized with pictures or stories from specific camp years.
2. Asking other alumni to help out the campaign by informing their campmates about my “match” donation
3. I tried to make it fun and more interesting by providing a $5 match for each gift provided on the website as part of this campaign.
What has been the most difficult part of fundraising?
It is time consuming, and you only get responses from a small fraction of those you contact. .
How has fundraising been so far? Any tips you’d like to share?
It was a fun effort to attempt and I think young people respond relatively well to online fundraising. The best parts of the website include ability to see names of donors and their comments, the “donation meter” that displays fundraising progress, and the fact that the Camp Rising Sun logo is incorporated, such that it really takes on the feel of the organization itself.
As far as tips…it’s helpful to come up with a strategy of contacting people and building on momentum as well as some kind of “hook” like Hester’s idea of providing specific items or my idea of a “match”. There are many pages that people created for CRS that didn’t take off. It really requires dedication and a plan to make it work.
