Charitable Champion: Abby Habeck

This college student is making a big impact in her community. 

Abby Habeck is a summer intern with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin who is working towards some positive changes within the organization.

Feeding America is a national food bank that also raises money, all of which goes to pantries across the country. Feeding America also consists of regional branches, including the Eastern Wisconsin chapter. Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin distributes more than 20 million pounds of food to 330,000 people in 27 counties.

Abby’s role with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is fundraising for their campaign to get a new food distribution center in the town of Little Chute. This distribution center will provide Northeastern Wisconsin residents in need access to more food and resources. Most of Abby’s fundraising work is in the form of grant writing, but she has also participated in two fundraising events: the Packers Softball Game Homerun Derby and Street Music Week. These two events raised more than $5,500 towards Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin’s ultimate goal of $5,000,000. Abby says that while this amount may seem small in comparison to the end-goal, “it is great to see the community taking action and spreading awareness of the work Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin does.”

Abby’s favorite part of her internship is when she sees her work pay off in the form of donations or mobile food pantries. “Not only does it show the work I have done, but the end result is something that benefits a good cause, which is a very rewarding experience.”

If you know someone who donates, volunteers or otherwise supports charitable causes, nominate them as a Charitable Champion.

How to Plan a Charity 5K

We recently posted about the work involved in planning a charity picnic. Kicking off the start of the Suamico Firefighters Volunteer Association picnic was a charity run: the Stop, Drop and Run 5K. Using our experience from planning the 5K, we have some tips to help you plan a successful charity run. 

The first and most important thing to cross off your to-do list is to get full cooperation from the city. You will need to get the city’s approval and a parade permit in order to close off any roads that your run will go through. Without having traffic blocked, your participants will not be able to run in a safe and protected environment, so make sure this detail is taken care of right away. Because charity runs are becoming popular in the fundraising world, this first step of planning should take place about six months to one year in advance so your event is not competing with other area fundraisers. This time frame also allows for the proper amount of planning time.

Once your event is cleared by the city, your next focus should be promoting it. The channels of promotion that gained the most attention for the Stop, Drop and Run 5K were radio advertising and paid Facebook ads. After the run started gaining some traction, we found many people also found out from friends and family, so make sure your volunteers and event staff spread the word!

Two things to make sure to have for the participants are t-shirts and water. People like to have t-shirts as a fun souvenir of something participated in and completed. If your run is paired with a bigger event, such as a picnic, you can sell any extra shirts to other attendees for additional profit. T-shirts are also a good way to advertise your sponsors by listing them on the back. Providing water stations for your runners is the best way you can ensure they stay properly hydrated. Remember, it is better to have too many water bottles than to have your participants experiencing dehydration. 

One of the runners crossing the finish line

If you are looking for a way to get more involvement, we suggest including a Kids Run. Parents are always looking for fun and inexpensive activities to keep their children healthy and active. Including a Kids Run is a great way for parents and their children to have an experience together, whether the parent runs alongside their child or separately in the 5K. A children’s portion is also a fun way to make your event stand out from other events. Our children’s run featured firefighters running with the kids, fire trucks and a mascot dog greeting the runners at the end of the race. Parents and children alike loved the interaction and it provided some good photo opportunities.

Two of Suamico's fire trucks 

Rocket congratulates a runner as she crosses the finish line.

Running next to a firefighter was a huge hit!

Kids loved getting their picture taken with Rocket!

What successes have you had in planning a charity run? Share your tips or experiences below in the comments!

Incorporating Your Community into Activity Planning: A Guide for Nonprofits

Whether you are a mentor to one person or running a group program, thinking up new and engaging activities can be tiresome. It’s also easy to find yourself in a rut, planning the same activities over and over if you’ve already had success with them. A great way to find new activities is to immerse yourself in your community. Instead of waiting for community events to find you or your nonprofit, make the initiative to look for them yourself! By using the following three ideas, you are sure to find new activities to enjoy.

Find new establishments in your area

By looking up recently-opened establishments such as restaurants or entertainment venues, you can find new places to frequent. The best way to find out to new places is through word of mouth, so ask around! Chances are someone you know can refer you to their new favorite place or warn you about any poor experiences they’ve had. If you’re not finding much from those around you, head to the Internet. Google can be your best friend when trying to find new places in your community, but also check out city websites and platforms like UrbanSpoon for restaurants. Make sure to check out the company website and reviews first if you’re headed somewhere with children to make sure it will be age appropriate.

Find upcoming events

Through finding new establishments, you may come across events they sponsor or are hosting. These are usually free or low-cost events that you can take your group or mentee to. These are great ways to support any organizations you find that you have an interest in or are relevant to what you do. These events are also a good way for you to learn more about what the company has to offer. If you are having trouble finding events through your new favorite establishments, look up event calendars through your city, local news outlets, libraries, museums, and sports teams.

Odd national holidays

Google “odd national holidays,” and you will be surprised at the amount of holidays that come up. When you find days that appeal to you and your group, use them for your outings. It’s even better if you can incorporate these quirky days into one of the other activities you found. For example, one of our HuTerrians Monica took her Little Sister, matched through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeastern Wisconsin, to a local ice cream shop that opened last month to celebrate July as National Ice Cream Month.

Do you have any good ideas for planning activities for your nonprofit? Share your experiences below in the comments!

Planning a Successful Charity Picnic

A successful charity picnic requires a significant amount of prior planning. By using these planning tips, we can help your event run smoothly.

Your first step is to have a pre-planning session in which you develop a purpose for your event, plan for the demographic of your attendees and set a budget. Once you have your purpose, or event “wish list,” set and a proposed budget, you will need to seek sponsorships. The money you spend on your picnic should come from these sponsorships.

While planning a community picnic, an essential thing to keep in mind is providing entertainment throughout the whole day. This event should be family-friendly, with a focus on providing children-centric activities, while still catering to the adult crowd.

Recently, HuTerra Foundation partnered with the Suamico Firefighters Volunteer Association for their annual picnic. For the children, we provided firefighter-themed games, a bounce house, face painting and temporary tattoos. It is important to have games and activities for different age groups and skill levels. For example, we had a Ducky Dip game for younger children to enjoy by choosing a rubber duck in a pool and their prize was determined by the color on the bottom of the duck. Older children really enjoyed a Spray Away game, which consisted of shooting extinguisher-shaped squirt guns at ping pong balls to knock them off their pegs.

One of our guests picking a prize after playing Ducky Dip

Do you think you could knock off the whole row?

The bounce house was a huge hit with the kids

A children’s run is also a great way to engage your youth guests. Our picnic started off with a children’s run in which the children could run alongside firefighters and were met at the finish line by a mascot fire dog. We also included two game tickets in each runner’s post-race bag to encourage them to stay and enjoy our other activities.

Parents and children alike loved running next to the firefighters

Runners were congratulated by Rocket upon completion of the race

When planning entertainment for adults, it is important to appeal to those attending with and without children. We booked several local bands to perform throughout the day, offered raffles and advertised affordable beverage prices as strong draws to our adult crowd.

The Cougars during their performance

Some of our staff members taking a break to catch a few songs by The Cougars

While planning your picnic, you may find that you are stretching yourself thin amongst everyone reporting to you. One way to ease some day-of stress is to send out instructions to all of your volunteers prior to the event. This way, your volunteers will know what they are responsible for and where to report to upon arrival without searching for you first. This will also relieve some responsibilities for you day of so you can focus on other aspects of coordination. It is also important to know who your volunteer audience is so you can prepare how to most efficiently communicate with them.

Another key thing to remember is your “thank yous.” After your picnic is completed, make sure to send a personalized thank you to each of your sponsors. This personal connection will create a lasting impression and your sponsors will be more likely to sponsor future events. You will also want to make sure you genuinely thank your volunteers for their time and effort. Building a strong relationship with your volunteers makes them feel connected to your organization. When they feel they are a part of your cause, they are more likely to volunteer again.

If we could leave you with one lasting piece of advice, it is to always stay calm and to go with whatever comes your way. Anything that can go wrong, probably will. You can’t always plan for which difficulties will arise, but your event’s success will be determined by your reactions. You can find a solution to any hurdle you come across, as long as you’re willing to work through it and you have a strong team backing you.

What tips and tricks do you have for planning events like a charity picnic? Share your ideas below in the comments!

How Crowdfunding Isn't Stealing Your Job

We occasionally hear from nonprofit development directors that have significant reservations about crowdfunding. Among are the top are:

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1. Crowdfunding is a fad 
2. You can't raise much with crowdfunding
3. Crowdfunding may eventually replace development

These are valid concerns, but allow me to put your mind at ease.

1. Crowdfunding is a fad. 
Crowdfunding by name might be a fad, but it is the natural evolution of peer-to-peer fundraising that development directors have used and encouraged for years. While micro-donations can't take the place of those big endowments that come from relationship building, it's unlikely that in today's uber-connected world, getting people to frequently donate small amounts and ask their friends to support the causes they care about is going to change. We might call it something else, but crowdfunding as a practice is here to stay.

2. You can't raise much with crowdfunding.
While we think of crowdfunding in terms of microdonations, small things can add up to big things. At HuTerra, we've had individuals create creative fundraiser that raised thousands for their favorite charities-- money the organizations weren't expecting! What could you do with an extra $10,000?

3. Crowdfunding may eventually replace development.
Crowdfunding offers a great opportunity to get younger people involved in your cause. But it still takes development and relationship building to move those people up the pyramid of giving. Crowdfunding can't replace a great development director. It is another arrow in your quiver, but only you can make your next crowdfunding campaign great, and only you can build relationships that make first-time supporters turn into endowment supporters.

We created HuTerra to help connect nonprofit development to crowdfunding in a way that builds your nonprofit's support community- in short, to make crowdfunding a free tool in your development strategy. So, what other concerns do you have about crowdfunding?

Free Tools for Creating Images to Use in Social Media

There is evidence that including images with tweets can boost retweets by 150%. That's a staggering amount of reach -- and awareness -- from one tweet. But images cost time and money that many nonprofits just don't have. Luckily, there are many resources available to help you create images in a jiffy...

1. Canva is a free online image creator that is easy to use, and offers premium images for just $1 each.

2. Cool Text allows you to create word art for free.
3. Create infographics for free, no expertise needed with Infogr.am 

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4. Chisel allows you to put text on images to tell your nonprofit's story.

5. Your smartphone. Desperate for an image to go with a tweet? Snap a photo of the work going on in the office. Followers love seeing how you actually create good in the world!

Do you use free online image tools to create content for social media? If so, what's your favorite?

Don't Let Your Next Crowdfunding Campaign Fail

TechImpact recently published The 5 Reasons Nonprofit Crowdfunding Campaigns Fail. Topping the list is lack of planning. We couldn't agree more! In fact, the other four items on that list can really be addressed with better planning.

We find that many nonprofit crowdfunding campaigns are put together too hurriedly to work well.

Even then, most organizations manage to bring in a few hundred more in donations than were originally planned for. But imagine having the opportunity to take your time and plan a really great campaign that both drives donations and grows your support community!

Even if you are getting started with a campaign now, go ahead and start planning your next campaign. That way, you'll have time to think through all the details so the campaign runs smoothly and effectively when the time comes. Download our free crowdfunding planning guide to get started.