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6 Killer Online Resources for Fundraising

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Fundraising ain’t for sissies. Not that it should, but some might report it makes you feel like you just walked out of the public bathroom with toilet paper stuck to your shoe.

But what if there are resources to make your presentation just that much easier, and a touch more professional to inspire confidence? Though nothing can substitute starting with the right support-raising mindset (! Don’t miss our post on the fear of rejection in fundraising), we’ve gathered a few goodies to make you feel a little less…awkward.

FOR DESIGN: Canva.com

Canva is an easy-to-use graphic-design website for people who’d love a little help in the form of professional-looking free templates and a drag-and-drop format. It’s frequented by non-designers as well as professionals. We’re talking templates for print as well as web: for social media (for your Facebook page, Insta feed, or blog), invitations (for that fundraising dinner a friend’s throwing), brochures, letters, flyers, slideshow presentations, posters–you name it.

2. For photos: Stocksnap.io and the International Mission Board’s Photo Library.

Stocksnap is one of Go. Serve. Love’s fave stock photo sites–and no attribution is necessary!

But for the mission world, it’s hard to beat IMB’s photo library. (Always attribute properly, of course.) IMB has photos from around the world, including people, places, and global events.

3. For Training: ProvisioFundraising.com

Not all agencies provide specific fundraising training for you. And that’s where Provisio comes in.

Provisio Fundraising Solutions “exists to equip support-based workers in the two-fold process of cultivating dependence on God as the Owner and Provider of all while practically walking in obedience by inviting others to partner in the vision and calling that He has given.”

Grab a free preview of their material here.

4. For Presentations: Animaker.com

Familiar with whiteboard videos like this one from Global Frontier Mission?

I’m honestly not sure which program GFM used, but you can make your own whiteboard animation video for free. We at Go. Serve. Love are still working out what the best platform would be for fundraising, but check out Animaker in the meantime to create videos that suck in your audience’s attention and won’t let go.

5. For Storytelling: Various

Perhaps you’ve seen this TED talk about the power of storytelling. Storytelling is all the rage in marketing–because marketers understand that storytelling is what makes the sell. (In the TED talk, you’ll hear of people buying something worth $.99 for over $80.)

Of course we know you’re not trying to sell, so to speak. But you are trying to engage someone’s heart with your mission so that they’ll invest in God’s work there. As the speaker above relates, story is all about our emotional investment.

Statistics show that people support the person (that’s you) even more than they support a cause (or at least that’s what I’ve heard. But 80% of statistics are made up?). Far more than facts or head knowledge, people are persuaded in their hearts. So convey your heart through story. Bring your listener along in what made your heartbeat for this country (remember: Those you’ve helped tell your story best!) Talk about that time where you (or your prospective organization) were able to help the impoverished, or where you were able to share Jesus on that subway.

Here’s a brief tutorial on making any story better–not just fictional ones.

And here’s a tutorial from Khan Academy, based on the storytelling techniques of Pixar.

6. For E-Newsletters: MailChimp

We’re guessing you’ve heard about services like this, but instead of pasting your email addresses for newsletters into your email client, MailChimp is an easy, free marketing service that makes it easy to put in pictures, a button for donors to click through to give (hey, hey!), and even your agency’s logo. Newsletters can be a little bit of a headache all on their own, so it’s nice to have an easy button on at least part of this process.

Help us out. What tools have you loved for support-raising?

comment below!

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Go. Serve. Love

After seven years on staff with Cru, Janel and her husband packed up their family of six to--yup, Go. Serve. Love in Uganda with Engineering Ministries International (EMI). EMI focuses on poverty relief and development, providing structural design and construction management for Christian organizations in the developing world. After 5.5 years there in East Africa, Janel and her family recently schlepped back to the U.S., where they keep working on behalf of the poor. She writes and loves on her family from Colorado. You can find more of her ideas for practical spirituality and loving each other at AGenerousGrace.com.