Fundraising
Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies.
These operations can involve a very broad array of concerns such as religious or philanthropic groups such as research organizations, public broadcasters, political campaigns and environmental issues.
Some examples of charitable organizations include student scholarship merit awards for athletic or academic achievements, humanitarian and ecological concerns, disaster relief, human rights, research, and other social issues.
Commonly the fundraising, or "development" / "advancement," program, makes a distinction between annual fund appeals and major campaigns.
The number of people involved, often having socialized at such "fund-raisings",[4] will vary widely depending on the size of the institution they sponsor.
This fact, despite numerous campaign finance reform laws, continues to be a highly controversial topic in American politics.
Viewership and listenership often decline significantly during funding periods, so special programming may be aired in order to keep regular viewers and listeners interested.
[5] In the case of associations, direct marketing enhances the anonymity and intimacy of donations, but it can also serve as a tool for developing visibility and image.
[citation needed] Many associations have transformed their one-time fundraising into automatic withdrawal collections following the example of "Doctors Without Borders."
Street fundraising involves recruiting new donors in public places, approaching them to introduce the association and propose support for its actions through assured automatic withdrawal donations.
Street fundraising aims to establish a dialogue, create a connection with donors, often younger, engaged, and loyal.
For effective fundraising to occur, the systems and operations in place, including reporting, should be organized to ensure that both new and existing donors are not just satisfied, but delighted to support.
A number of charities and non-profit organizations are increasingly using the internet as a means to raise funds; this practice is referred to as online fundraising.
Grants are offered by governmental units and private foundations/charitable trusts to non-profit organizations for the benefit of all parties to the transaction.
It is also common to see on-line impulse sales links to be accompanied by statements that a proportion of proceeds will be directed to a particular charitable foundation.
Therefore, organizations raise funds to support capital projects, endowments, or operating expenses of current programs.
Many non-profit organizations solicit funds for a financial endowment, which is a sum of money that is invested to generate an annual return.
[12] Most fundraising development strategies divide donors into a series of categories based on the amount and frequency of donations.
More sophisticated strategies use tools to overlay demographic and other market segmentation data against their database of donors in order to more precisely customize communication and more effectively target resources.
[16] A capital campaign is "an intensive fundraising effort designed to raise a specified sum of money within a defined time period to meet the varied asset-building needs of an organization".
Asset-building activities include the construction, renovation or expansion of facilities (for example, a new building), the acquisition or improvement of land, equipment, or other items, and additions to a financial endowment.
Second, "pledges are emphasized as commitments payable over a number of years convenient to the donor or through the transfer of appreciated real or personal property".
[17] Some non-profit organizations demonstrate greater accountability by showing donors the direct impact of their fundraising efforts.
[18] However, by far the most common practice of American non-profits is to employ a staff person whose main responsibility is fund raising.
[19] This ratio is highly variable and subject to change over time and place, and it is a point of contention between a segment of the general public and the non-profit organizations.
The term 'professional fundraiser' is often legislated, referring to third-party firms whose services are contracted, whereas 'fundraising professionals' or development officers are typically individuals or staff at charitable non-profits.
Fundraising organizations are developing technical options like mobile apps and donate buttons to attract donors around the globe.
