What...I started a blog?!? On Fundraising!

I had the best intentions with this blog to keep it up to date with activities I was doing with the Hoboken Shelter, but then my own career in fundraising in NYC picked up and all good intentions and thoughts flew out the window. HOWEVER, I am now in a place where I think I should chronicle how I am doing. 

I recently accepted a position to be the Development Officer at Pro Bono Net, Inc. and will, for the first time, supervise an employee to help put the organization on track with fundraising.  Pro Bono Net is an organization that works to increase access to justice through innovative technologies. 

I also am continuing to work guiding the Hoboken Shelter through their development efforts and hope to help them hire a part time person to help move activities along.  I will also offer my advice and counsel.

I am hoping to use this space to chronicle my trials and tribulations and seek advice and counsel as I fumble through this complicated world of fundraising!

My new employee starts on Monday so I am hoping to set a good tone as a boss and keep her busy and learning. I feel like Ted Mosby on How I Met Your Mother, trying to decide what kind of teacher to be.

So I'll try to update weekly or bi-weekly with thoughts from the job in NYC or what actions we take fundraising in Hoboken, NJ. 

End of Year Waltz on Facebook

The End of Year is always a busy time for fundraising.  Getting in end of year donations, mailings, thank you's and of course keeping up with social media and emails to both thank donors and get those last donations.  On the now working NJ Path to work  I put some thought into what to say to both thank our supporters and still try to trigger a few dollars because the clock strikes midnight. Since in my organization and those I work with (the Shelter) email usually need to be approved and lists are not easily accessible, Facebook and Twitter represent great ways to get the word out.

However, as we put together our messages, it's a real waltz to both thank donors and remind them "Get in those last minute dollars!" While some people think that we (fundraisers) just slap up Facebook messages and get to play on the Internet for a job, those of us that do this everyday know that we are constantly thinking about how to get the best response, target our audience, grow our base, figure out how to turn this into a fundraising tool, etc.  We carefully craft messages to coordinate with our activities, appeals, holidays, events, etc. So the end of year message is the pinnacle of our SM year.

I snagged a line I liked from PP for the Shelter asking volunteers and supporters why they supported the Shelter after a fellow volunteer had posted a thank you at 8am this morning (I was doing my dishes!).  I also pulled a quote from the volunteer we honored at our 30th Anniversary event. I already love the responses that have been posted and it's been shared on other pages.

Hoboken Shelter

“Every single time I go into The Shelter I hit the reset button. [Volunteering] is very therapeutic.” - Todd Kinney, 30th Anniversary Honoree. Why do YOU support the Hoboken Shelter?


Later I plan to cut and paste Jaclyn's winter note into a Facebook note and paste that up.  I'd like to pull from it how many people were helped.

For my regular job, I had previously pasted links to our Annual Report and asked about resolutions to do more pro bono work so today I went with a list of our major projects and a link to our donation page. Later I plan to post a thank you and happy New Year pic.

How are you thanking and getting your message out to donors for the end of the year?  What have been your favorite New Year's posts?

Hoboken Post Sandy Shelter Status: Twitter Lifeline

Hurricane Sandy hit Hoboken with tremendous force, ruining homes, cars, and belongings, leaving many without power and putting residents and their belongings on the street. It's devastating and I wish the best to all those who need to rebuild after the storm.  We were lucky and escaped with minimal damage and only spent about 5 days without power.  In the storm's aftermath, we've been trying to return to work as normal but crazy transit commutes have certainly made that a struggle.  And today we battle yet another storm - one that is threatening wind, rain and possibly even snow.

During the storm, we were one of the last to lose power and I kept up to date with friends and "the boken" on Twitter and FB, learning where the water was, what was flooding, and seeing incredible pictures of the damage.  We found at close to midnight our garage was flooding and ran down to move boxes, bags of soil and old clothes and trees to save the garage. See picture above.  The water came in a lot stronger just after this picture was taken.  Notice our lights were still on.

While on Twitter and FB, I kept tabs on the Shelter since I handle most of their social media efforts. It was really nice to see how many were asking about the Hoboken Shelter and what they needed and if they made it through the storm okay. We've added about 20 new fans who consistently asking what they can do to volunteer and what they can bring by.  We are lucky as a community to have such supportive friends of the Shelter. Fortunately, the Shelter did not have flood damage and they didn't lose power until Tuesday morning.   You can see how many people are asking about food and such below.

In talking to Jaclyn, the ED, after the storm the Shelter did need help . They had gone through many supplies, taking in so many of our poorer neighbors.  And with another storm approaching they need all the help of the community.  Last night I found an article online interviewing Jaclyn about storm prep for Winter Storm Athena as well as what they needed. Mostly coffee and sugar as well as paper goods.  Thanks to the Hudson Reporter for providing the info which you can find here.

Wishing everyone a calmer time in the weeks to come as well as a speedy recovery. #HobokenSandy