Are you providing opportunities for people to support your United Way outside of campaign? Have you tried raising money for your United Way online?

If you’re thinking to yourself, "We’ve tried raising money for our United Way online and it hasn’t been successful," take a look at what United Way of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks & Area (Grand Forks, ND) did this year.

United Way of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks & Area held a "Virtual Lemonade Stand" for their Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program. They promoted this virtual fundraiser in their e-newsletter and on social media.

United Way of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks & Area tied this virtual fundraiser to Dr. Seuss’ birthday (March 2nd) and encouraged their donors and community to help them provide a year of free books to 60 children by March 2nd. They also communicated results of the program, saying "Locally, 87% of parents who had a child enrolled in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library said their child graduated from the program better prepared for kindergarten," and "Locally, over the past five years, 106,618 books have been distributed and 1,705 children have graduated from the program." Most importantly, they communicated the impact of a donor’s contribution, saying that a $30 donation will provide a year of books to a local child.

United Way of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks & Area ended up exceeding their goal of providing a year of free books to 60 children and thanked their donors for their support on their website and social media.

The key to holding a successful fundraiser is to communicate about a specific issue and the impact of a donor’s contribution, just as United Way of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks & Area did with their fundraiser. Many United Ways do not succeed in holding a virtual fundraiser when they communicate about multiple categories, like education, income, and health, and only share a monetary goal. Successful virtual fundraisers are based on communicating a clear message about a single issue and sharing the specific impact of a donor’s contribution.

It is important to provide opportunities for people to give to your United Way outside of campaign, especially for those people who aren’t exposed to a workplace campaign. Also, you will find that your current donors will support your United Way through additional giving opportunities as well as continue giving to your United Way through the workplace campaign.

If your United Way is having difficulty communicating a simple and specific message, you may want to consider an issue focus. United Way of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks & Area is issue-focused, and has been able to simplify their message and raise additional resources outside of campaign because of their issue focus. To learn more about an issue focus, visit: www.perspectives4uw.com/issue-focus