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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" > <channel> <title>acakgms.info</title> <atom:link href="http://acakgms.info/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://acakgms.info</link> <description></description> <lastBuildDate>Sun, 24 Dec 2023 00:42:40 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en</language> <sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency> <generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3</generator> <item> <title>7 Best Ways To Get Home Improvement Loan</title> <link>https://acakgms.info/7-best-ways-to-get-home-improvement-loan,html</link> <comments>https://acakgms.info/7-best-ways-to-get-home-improvement-loan,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Fri, 07 Apr 2023 21:12:23 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Home Improvement]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://acakgms.info/?p=72</guid> <description><![CDATA[Upon getting information about an upcoming school science fair and the need to consider a topic of interest, many students will typically have no idea where to get started. While the science fair is typically a common occurrence in any school at any grade level, there are different types of topics that should be taken [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> Upon getting information about an upcoming school science fair and the need to consider a topic of interest, many students will typically have no idea where to get started. While the science fair is typically a common occurrence in any school at any grade level, there are different types of topics that should be taken a look at depending on the age of the student. After first taking a look at the many different categories of science projects, you will be able to locate a suitable choice of topic to take to the next level.There is a wide variety of categories that fall under the types of science projects that can be chosen for a school science fair. These include biology, chemistry, physics, microbiology, biochemistry, medicine, environmental, mathematics, engineering, and earth science. While you may not have yet learned very much in any of these categories, don’t be afraid to see what each one entails. Taking a good look at your interests will allow you to focus on the right direction to take.Many resources are also available for those who are unsure as to the topic they are wanting to use to create their science projects. If you take a look at the topics that fall under the biology category, you will likely notice that there are topics that deal with plants, animals, and humans. For those who are in 2nd grade or 3rd grade, an interesting topic may be to determine if ants are picky over what type of food they eat. While this topic might not be of interest to an 8th grader, it is certainly something in the biology category that an elementary school student would enjoy.Along with the biology category, a high school student may want to take a look at diffusion and osmosis in animal cells as this would be a more appropriate topic for the grade level. A student in 6th grade would be more advanced than an elementary school student, but not as advanced as a high school student. At this middle school grade level, a topic of how pH levels effect the lifespan of a tadpole may be of interest.Whichever resource is used to locate a topic for science projects, it is always a good idea to consider the grade level of the student prior to making a selection. It is always assumed to be best to have a project at an appropriate level in order to keep the attention of the student and provide a fun and enjoyable learning experience. </p><div class="mads-block"></div>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://acakgms.info/7-best-ways-to-get-home-improvement-loan,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Art Gallery</title> <link>https://acakgms.info/art-gallery,html</link> <comments>https://acakgms.info/art-gallery,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Wed, 05 Apr 2023 08:41:33 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Animation]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Arts and Entertainment]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Body Piercings]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Casino Gambling]]></category> <category><![CDATA[FictionTattoos]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Film Editing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Movies TV]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Music]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Music Industry]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Music Instruction]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Painting]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Performing Arts]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Photography]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Visual Graphic Arts]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://acakgms.info/?p=70</guid> <description><![CDATA[Art Galleries are generally known for art that highlights the natural beauty all around the world. Everyday there are people creating entirely new works of art, and placing them in art galleries all over the world.The type of art included in a gallery can vary. Art can encompass a wide variety of medium, such as, [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> Art Galleries are generally known for art that highlights the natural beauty all around the world. Everyday there are people creating entirely new works of art, and placing them in art galleries all over the world.The type of art included in a gallery can vary. Art can encompass a wide variety of medium, such as, drawings, paintings, photography, and sculpture, to name a few. The purpose of the art gallery is to show off the work of local and national artists in a way that people will want to purchase them. Many of the artist’s works can also be bought as prints. This allows the artist to sell more, while making the price more affordable to people.Local Art GalleriesArt Galleries are generally known for art that highlights the natural beauty all around the world. Everyday there are people creating entirely new works of art, and placing them in art galleries all over the world.The type of art included in a gallery can vary. Art can encompass a wide variety of medium, such as, drawings, paintings, photography, and sculpture, to name a few. The purpose of the art gallery is to show off the work of local and national artists in a way that people will want to purchase them. Many of the artist’s works can also be bought as prints. This allows the artist to sell more, while making the price more affordable to people.Local Art GalleriesMost major cities have wonderful art galleries. If you have never visited an art gallery, you should make a point to do so. You may think that an art gallery is not where you would want to spend the afternoon, but you may be surprised at how interesting an art gallery can be. Check your local phone book for an art gallery near you.Virtual Art GalleriesIf you have Internet access, then you can find an online art gallery, my choice as well. If you can view and possibly order from the comfort of your own home why not. Virtual tours of art galleries are a lot of fun.As with walk in art galleries, virtual art galleries are also worldwide. Listed below are a few galleries that you can visit online.o Art Vitam, Miami, Floridao Art of this Century, Paris, Franceo Art Space/Virginia Miller Galleries, Coral Gables, Floridao Artco Galleria de Arte, Lima, Peruo Casa d’Arte San Lorenzo, Pisa, Italyo Diana Lowenstein Fine Arts, Miami, Floridao Espace D’Art Yvonamor Palix, Paris, Franceo Galleria El Museo, Bogotá, Colombiao Galleria Habana, Mexico D.F., Mexicoo Galleria de Arte Isabel Aninat, Santiago, ChileTake the time to experience wonderful works of art at your local art gallery or on the internet. Even if you are not an art enthusiast, the works of fine artists all over the world will impress you. </p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://acakgms.info/art-gallery,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>California Health Insurance – Independent Health Life Agent Verses Insurance Company In House Agent</title> <link>https://acakgms.info/california-health-insurance-independent-health-life-agent-verses-insurance-company-in-house-agent,html</link> <comments>https://acakgms.info/california-health-insurance-independent-health-life-agent-verses-insurance-company-in-house-agent,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Tue, 04 Apr 2023 22:26:56 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Acne]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Anti Aging]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Beauty]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Cosmetic Surgery]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Diabetes]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Drug Abuse]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Health and Fitness]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Massage]]></category> <category><![CDATA[meditation]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Nutrition]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Personal Training]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Popular Diets]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Skin Care]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Spa and Wellness]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Speech Pathology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Weight Loss]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Yoga]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://acakgms.info/?p=68</guid> <description><![CDATA[You have just completed an online form requesting a free health insurance quote and moments later you are being inundated with phone calls from insurance agents hoping to get your business. Try not to become overwhelmed or annoyed by these “pesky sales people” because they are really not telemarketers. Most of them are well-trained state [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> You have just completed an online form requesting a free health insurance quote and moments later you are being inundated with phone calls from insurance agents hoping to get your business. Try not to become overwhelmed or annoyed by these “pesky sales people” because they are really not telemarketers. Most of them are well-trained state licensed professionals who can really help you make a good decision regarding which health plan is best and most affordable for your individual or group coverage needs.You may be under the misconception that if you buy your health plan directly from the insurance company, and cut out the “middle person”, you will save money. This is absolutely not the case. In fact, insurance companies rely on agents for most of their business and that’s why they pay them commissions for bringing in customers. It does not cost a consumer one penny more to use a licensed California health insurance agent to obtain their insurance coverage.There are many differences between California health insurance and other states including how it is applied for.For example, while Blue Cross and Blue Shield are one company in other states, here in California, each is separate and applied to individually as Anthem Blue Cross of California and Blue Shield of California.California health insurance law AB 1672 is an improvement over the federal HIPAA law that covers all states in that it includes the following with regard to California group coverage:1. Individuals with pre-existing medical conditions may change over to a new group health plan without an exclusionary period.2. It allows small businesses and professional organizations to have access to health plans providing they have between 2 and 50 full time employees.3. It keeps insurance rates from climbing after a claim is filed.4. Employees who have health problems may change jobs or health plans without being rated higher for having pre-existing conditions.That said, the very best health insurance agent for your individual and business needs is an “Independent Agent.” Why? Because they represent multiple insurance carriers, not just one. An independent agent can help you select the most appropriate cost-effective plan offering the most benefits for your dollar as available from the major carriers, rather than feeding you just one company’s line of health plans which may not suit your particular needs. Many people are too complacent and settle for what their current insurance company has to offer. They could use a good independent agent to sort through the many plans available from multiple insurance carriers to find and provide the best choice of options.Another misunderstanding you may have is that insurance agents set the premium rates for the health insurance plans they sell. Thinking if you shop around you may get a better price for the same plan. Premium rates are based on your age, zip code or county in which you reside and are controlled completely by the insurance companies. Every agent uses the exact same rate guides set by the insurance companies. The condition of your health may affect your premium, which may be rated up after the insurance company’s underwriting department has reviewed your medical records. Again, the insurance company, not the agent, determines that outcome.Now, let’s talk about the benefits of having a good insurance agent representing you. Most consumers neither know nor understand the benefits of a health plan being offered and need the expertise of an agent to explain the benefits to them in full. For example, do you know what the difference is between an “out-of-pocket maximum” and an “annual deductible?”An out of pocket maximum is the most you will have to pay in a given year for deductible and coinsurance for covered benefits before your insurance starts to pay 100% of most expenses until the year ends.An annual deductible is usually the amount you pay each year before your health plan starts paying anything for covered services. Generally, the higher the deductible, the lower the premium. Certain services such as prescription drugs carry separate deductibles. Plans may vary and sometimes benefits will kick in before you have to meet the deductible.A knowledgeable health insurance agent can be a guide through the maze and help you choose the right plan to meet your needs and budget while obtaining the most benefits for your dollars spent. An agent will also make clear how the benefits for a generic prescription may differ from the benefits for a brand prescription on a particular plan.After you have a health plan in place, a good, caring agent will remind you to pay your premium on time so the insurance company doesn’t cancel you. Your agent can also be an enormous resource for assistance if you run into a problem with a health insurance claim. Instead of waiting on hold at the insurance company’s 800 number for thirty to forty- five minutes, call your agent and explain your problem and if you have chosen the right agent, you will get help and may save yourself lots of time and frustration, maybe even some money by having an expert in your corner where your best interests come first.So next time you or someone you know, fills out one of those on-line forms for a health insurance quote and you get several phone calls from health insurance agents wanting your business, be grateful that a professional wants to help you for free to choose the right plan and you’ll have an important friend for life. </p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://acakgms.info/california-health-insurance-independent-health-life-agent-verses-insurance-company-in-house-agent,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Fundamental Elements of Modern Home Interior Design</title> <link>https://acakgms.info/fundamental-elements-of-modern-home-interior-design,html</link> <comments>https://acakgms.info/fundamental-elements-of-modern-home-interior-design,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Tue, 04 Apr 2023 19:03:08 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category> <category><![CDATA[modern home]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://acakgms.info/?p=65</guid> <description><![CDATA[If you want a house with chic, clean lines and a fresh, updated feel, you will probably enjoy the look of an ultra-modern home interior design. The primary benefit of this type of design is that it offers a wide variety of choices when it comes to colors, fabrics and decorations that you can use, [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> If you want a house with chic, clean lines and a fresh, updated feel, you will probably enjoy the look of an ultra-modern home interior design. The primary benefit of this type of design is that it offers a wide variety of choices when it comes to colors, fabrics and decorations that you can use, making it easy for you to come up with an overall look that is truly your own.The trademark look of modern home interior design is that of class and elegance without the frills and extravagance that designs of previous decades are known for. On the contrary, the furniture and architecture used in modern home interior design are very simple, to the point of being quite minimalist. The colors are very solid as well, and the shapes are mostly geometrical. Intricate designs and lavishly ornamental pieces are very rarely, if ever, found in modern home interior design.A Contemporary LookMost of the appliances and furniture used in modern design are made from a combination of stainless steel, glass, plastic and leather, making for a very contemporary look. However, wood elements are also a nice addition to any modern room. The rich, dark tones of walnut and mahogany can soften the atmosphere in the area and they complement the coldness of metal and other modern materials.Speaking of metal, no modern home interior design is complete without its share of metallic elements. Stainless steel in undoubtedly the most popular choice today, perhaps because of the relatively low cost, but there are also other metals that work effectively in a modern environment. Brushed nickel cabinet handles and chrome floor lamps for instance, are always excellent highlights. In general, any metal that is sleek and shiny will be a perfect fit in any modern home.Modern Theme ColorColor is another important factor that one should consider when designing a room or a home with a modern theme. A lot of people think that neutral colors are the best choice when it comes to modern design, but this doesn’t always have to be the case. You can stick with a beige or gray wall but you can offset the coldness of this hue by bringing in a deep red couch or adding royal blue drapes to your windows. These colors will not take away from the modern look of the room at all, but they can certainly add much-needed drama to the area.The best thing about modern home interior design is that it is so easy to maintain and so comfortable to live in. This is probably the reason why millions of people prefer this kind of design today. </p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://acakgms.info/fundamental-elements-of-modern-home-interior-design,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>How to Invest Money and Make It Grow?</title> <link>https://acakgms.info/how-to-invest-money-and-make-it-grow,html</link> <comments>https://acakgms.info/how-to-invest-money-and-make-it-grow,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Wed, 22 Mar 2023 15:34:05 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Investing]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://acakgms.info/?p=62</guid> <description><![CDATA[Learn how to grow your money through investing. Investing is one of the best ways to achieve financial freedom but there are required skills and knowledge to succeed. Aside from your knowledge and skills, you also have to “take risk”, do not be afraid to risk because you can manage risk, minimize it by equipping [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> Learn how to grow your money through investing. Investing is one of the best ways to achieve financial freedom but there are required skills and knowledge to succeed. Aside from your knowledge and skills, you also have to “take risk”, do not be afraid to risk because you can manage risk, minimize it by equipping yourself a skills and knowledge. As the old saying goes, in investing you should know what you are doing to avoid loss of capital investment.Before Investing MoneyBefore you invest money, make sure you have prepared the following important things. Make sure you have paid all your debts or liabilities. Make sure before you invest you have your cash reserve or the emergency funds needed to help you in case there is an emergency so that you will never pull out your investment.The ideal amount of emergency funds should at least 3 to 6 months of your income. So, if your income is $2,500 per month. You should have $15,000 emergency funds good for 6 months.You should also have to buy a life insurance. A life insurance is for protection. You need life insurance just in case something bad happened to you. Life insurance can help your family to recover from financial losses in case you died.The ideal life insurance coverage should at least 3 years of your total annual income. If your annual income is $60,000, you should buy a life insurance that has a face amount of $18,000 good for 3 years to help your family to recover from financial losses.After you have paid your debts, have emergency funds and bought insurance, it’s time to know your risk appetite.Know Your Risk AppetiteIt always depends on your age, of course if you’re still young, you can take high risk and for mid 40s to 50′s you have to take medium risk and for 50s and above, they should only take low risk investments.For low risk investments, money market funds, time deposits and bonds are appropriate investments.For medium risk investments, combination of bonds with equities are appropriate investments.For high risk, you can choose to invest purely on stock equities.Make an Investment GoalAfter you analyze your risk appetite, you have to make an investment goal. What is an investment goal? It is goal wherein you should know the purpose of your investments, how much should your investment cost your every month or annually. When should you start investing and when is your plan to redeem your investments.Take Investing ActionA plan is good if you work for it. You can never see a result of your investments if you didn’t work your plan. You have to take action, just do one thing at a time. From opening your investment account, funding your investment account. And if you choose to invest in the stock market, you should buy your first stocks, you don’t need to be afraid. All is easy especially if you really want to grow your money. Just ask the financial advisor or financial experts, there are advisors in the bank or any financial investments firms.Achieve Financial FreedomSaving is good because it will teach you the habit of managing your money. If you are disciplined money saver, you will also be a disciplined investor. Ste aside money from your salary or income every month and fund your investments account such as mutual funds, stock broker account or fund your savings account intended to use as a business capitalI hope you do learn many things in this article. To achieve financial freedom, you must “take risk” and reap the rewards someday. Thank you for reading this article, I wish you a prosperity and financial freedom. If you have time, read other financial blogs, business and finance books and magazines or attend financial literacy seminars. </p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://acakgms.info/how-to-invest-money-and-make-it-grow,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Peer-To-Peer Lending, Microloans, and Crowdfunding</title> <link>https://acakgms.info/peer-to-peer-lending-microloans-and-crowdfunding,html</link> <comments>https://acakgms.info/peer-to-peer-lending-microloans-and-crowdfunding,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Thu, 16 Mar 2023 15:12:12 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://acakgms.info/?p=60</guid> <description><![CDATA[The financial crisis has had at least one interesting side effect: the rise of alternative and increasingly creative forms of financing. During the economic recession, and continuing to today, credit and other traditional forms of start up financing became more difficult to obtain. As a result, entrepreneurs began looking to newer, less-traditional forms of raising [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The financial crisis has had at least one interesting side effect: the rise of alternative and increasingly creative forms of financing. During the economic recession, and continuing to today, credit and other traditional forms of start up financing became more difficult to obtain. As a result, entrepreneurs began looking to newer, less-traditional forms of raising capital that cut out the financial intermediaries (banks, for instance) that are typically present in the process.</p><p>Peer-to-peer (also known as person-to-person or P2P) lending is a process of borrowing directly from individuals; in most instances, the lender and the borrower never meet. There are a variety of ways this happens, but generally, the process is relatively simple: The borrower registers on one of the many peer-to-peer web sites and is then matched up with a number of lenders who are interested in investing based on the borrower and the interest rate, among other things.</p><p>The P2P industry has been growing rapidly over the past few years: In 2005, there was $118 million in outstanding P2P loans; by 2011, that number had reached more than $500 million. P2P web sites make a profit by charging the borrowers an interest rate (usually 2 to 5 percent) on top of what the lenders require. The overall success rate of getting a loan through a P2P process is about 10 percent. Microfinancing has become more popular recently because new ventures are requiring less financing than in previous years.</p><p>In the same vein, one creative funding source that has evolved in recent years is crowdfunding. Crowdfunding (or crowd financing), like P2P, involves getting individuals to pool their resources to finance a project without a typical financial intermediary. Unlike P2P, however, the lenders (also known as (“crowdfunders”) often do not engage in crowdfunding strictly for financial gain. In fact, the “lenders” often actually act more like donors. In a typical transaction, an entrepreneur can go onto a crowdfunding web site, propose the amount needed for the project, and, if the amount pledged is met crowdfunders, receive the funds. Usually, the crowdfunders receive something in return, like a product from the business (a DVD or CD from the film or album produced, for instance) but not their money back, if the project is funded, so the funds are not donations in the strict sense. In fact, studies show that for the majority of backers, the reward is the main motivator of their monetary pledge. Crowdfunding sites generally make a profit by taking a small percentage (about 5 percent) from the projects funded before the money goes to the entrepreneur.</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://acakgms.info/peer-to-peer-lending-microloans-and-crowdfunding,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>3 Things To Know Before Starting Your Crowdfunding Campaign</title> <link>https://acakgms.info/3-things-to-know-before-starting-your-crowdfunding-campaign,html</link> <comments>https://acakgms.info/3-things-to-know-before-starting-your-crowdfunding-campaign,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Thu, 16 Mar 2023 15:11:20 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://acakgms.info/?p=58</guid> <description><![CDATA[Crowdfunding has definitely taken over our lives, be it funding your dream idea or be it funding your neighbor’s operation. As with any new and developing means to make things simpler, crowdfunding comes with its own set of pre-existing conditions and context. It has become extremely easy for anyone to start a crowdfunding campaign. However, [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Crowdfunding has definitely taken over our lives, be it funding your dream idea or be it funding your neighbor’s operation. As with any new and developing means to make things simpler, crowdfunding comes with its own set of pre-existing conditions and context.</p><p>It has become extremely easy for anyone to start a crowdfunding campaign. However, the most important part lies in knowing about what you’re signing up for. If you’re someone who has a vague idea about crowdfunding, then it is important to do your due diligence before you go ahead with a crowdfunding campaign. Crowdfunding platforms are usually for-profit platforms (not to say that not for profit crowdfunding platforms do not exist) and they come with their rules and regulations, it is best to know these three things before you choose to launch a crowdfunding campaign for your cause, be it creative, medicinal or entrepreneurial.</p><p>1- Know your platform</p><p>There are some platforms that deal particularly with creative causes, some with medical and some work extensively with entrepreneurial pursuits. Depending on your case, it is important to evaluate the platform accordingly. Most crowdfunding platforms usually charge a fee for them to host your campaign. You may also incur different expenses depending on the added services you sign up for.</p><p>These platforms also come along with their own target audience, if you set up a campaign for your medical fundraising in a creative platform, know that there’s a serious mismatch in your target audience that tags along with it. It is also worth understanding that niche platforms usually specialize in one particular type of fundraising and it is best to leverage that for the good of your campaign, in terms of context, reach, marketing and audience etc.</p><p>2- Know your costs</p><p>With platforms charging their fees and the expenses that are incurred for any marketing efforts or promotional efforts, it is vital to have a buffer amount. Always take into consideration the fluctuation in different currencies (if the platform allows for donations from abroad) and the money that will be lost on the levied tax (depending on where you live). It is important to think about the PR costs and the promotional efforts if your cause is creative or entrepreneurial in nature. Marketing has the potential for a game changer, so it is important to not skimp on that and leverage the funds required.</p><p>3- Know your audience</p><p>It is important to be able to translate the value of your campaign to your audience. Regardless of the nature of your campaign (medical, creative and/or entrepreneurial), it is critical to be able to convey the urgency of your campaign to your audience. It is essential to building trust, transparency, and openness for your campaign. This enables you to be able to connect with your audience. If someone is willing to donate money to your cause, naturally they would want to know the details and the updates in the long term.</p><p>Understand that it is very important to be able to communicate your terms to your potential donors. It is of monumental importance to understand how you can communicate the terms of your cause. Empathy works well with medical causes, with entrepreneurial causes the pitch should revolve more around tangibility and with creative causes, it should revolve around your history with the creative field and the scope of your project.</p><p>These 3 things are inextricably linked to the topic of crowdfunding. It is important to voice your beliefs and start a movement through this practice. It is equally important to know what you’re signing up for while you’re doing that.</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://acakgms.info/3-things-to-know-before-starting-your-crowdfunding-campaign,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>5 Tips for Raising Funds From Crowdfunding</title> <link>https://acakgms.info/5-tips-for-raising-funds-from-crowdfunding,html</link> <comments>https://acakgms.info/5-tips-for-raising-funds-from-crowdfunding,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Thu, 16 Mar 2023 15:11:04 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://acakgms.info/?p=56</guid> <description><![CDATA[If you are going to start a crowdfunding campaign, you may wonder how you can raise funds quickly. In this article, we are going to talk about some crowdfunding tips that may help you collect more funds for your startup. Based on the type of platform and campaign, you can tweak and adjust these tips. [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If you are going to start a crowdfunding campaign, you may wonder how you can raise funds quickly. In this article, we are going to talk about some crowdfunding tips that may help you collect more funds for your startup. Based on the type of platform and campaign, you can tweak and adjust these tips. Read on to find out more.</p><p>Tip #1: Do your homework</p><p>This tip may work for you only if you have enough time to prepare for these campaigns. Generally, it takes around 11 days to do the homework and get ready for the launch of this campaign. Based on your fundraising needs and campaign type, your time requirement may vary. Given below are some tips that may help you get ready:</p><p>• Get the best fundraising advice from the internet<br />• Opt for the best crowdfunding platform<br />• Consider other successful campaigns<br />• Find out how to ask for donations<br />• Decide if you should organize an event</p><p>Tip #2: Ask For funds Early</p><p>If you think you just need to launch a campaign page and funds will start pouring in, you need to think again. In the US, there are more than 200 crowdfunding platforms. So, what are the chances of your campaign being found?</p><p>So, what you should do is promote the campaign the same day you launched it, which will help you set yourself apart from the crowd. According to statistics, around 50% of startups collect most funds during the first and final 3 days of the duration of the campaign.</p><p>You can use the in-built sharing mechanism of your crowdfunding platform to get the word out about your startup. This may include Twitter, Facebook and email, to name a few.</p><p>Tip #3: Look for prospective investors</p><p>Look for investors who may be willing to provide funds for a certain cause. For instance, if you know a relative, neighbor or colleague who has lost a family member to cancer, chances are that they may be willing to provide funds for a cancer research campaign.</p><p>Tip #4: Be Clear about where the funds will go</p><p>If you want your prospective investors to trust your crowdfunding campaign, we suggest that you be clear about where the money will go. It’s even better if you be as specific as possible. By keeping your investors informed about your campaign, you can build their confidence and they will continue to invest more money in your startup.</p><p>Tip #5: Offer Incentives</p><p>For investors, incentives work like a charm but they work for specific campaign types. The good news is that crowdfunding campaigns are more successful when it comes to creative projects and adventures. Listed below are some popular incentives you may offer to your prospective investors:</p><p>• Free tickets to a game, concert or show<br />• Media shout-outs<br />• Handmade crafts<br />• Caps and hats<br />• T-shirts</p><p>In short, if you follow these crowdfunding tips, you will be more likely to raise a lot of more money for your start-up.</p><p>If you want to raise funds for your small business, you can run a campaign on a crowdfunding platform, such as WeFunder. This is one of the most popular platforms for raising funds for startups.</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://acakgms.info/5-tips-for-raising-funds-from-crowdfunding,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Raise Capital With Private Investors</title> <link>https://acakgms.info/raise-capital-with-private-investors,html</link> <comments>https://acakgms.info/raise-capital-with-private-investors,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Thu, 16 Mar 2023 15:10:36 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://acakgms.info/?p=54</guid> <description><![CDATA[If you have launched your own startup, your first biggest challenge is to raise capital. Fortunately, you choose from a lot of options to raise the funds your business needs. Among all the sources, crowdfunding is one of the best ones as it helps redefine how startups can get off the ground. In this article, [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If you have launched your own startup, your first biggest challenge is to raise capital. Fortunately, you choose from a lot of options to raise the funds your business needs. Among all the sources, crowdfunding is one of the best ones as it helps redefine how startups can get off the ground. In this article, we are going to help you know the benefits of raising capital with private investors through a crowdfunding platform. Read on to find out more.</p><p>Benefits of raising capital with private investors</p><p>1. Funding is not equity-based</p><p>First of all, crowdfunding is not necessarily equity-based. Although startups have the liberty to use the equity in order to catch the attention of potential investors, It’s not required to give up ownership to collect capital.</p><p>The good news is that some platforms allow their members to apply a reward-oriented approach in order to raise capital. For instance, if your business deals in a specific product, make sure you hand over a few units to your prospective investors before you roll it out for the ultimate users.</p><p>2. Attracting potential investors is easy</p><p>With crowdfunding, you can attract a lot of potential investors without putting in a lot of effort. Although you can try for angel investors, keep in mind that this process can cost you a lot of time. The reason is that you will have to pitch your small business concept several times.</p><p>On the other hand, if you use a crowdfunding platform, you will have to post your business pitch in only one place. And this page will be ready by hundreds of investors from across the globe.</p><p>These platforms have a lot of useful features that may help startups collect funds from investors. So, attracting potential investors and raising capital will be much easier using crowdfunding platforms.</p><p>3. Higher visibility</p><p>Crowdfunding can help you make your startup more visible. Since marketing may consume a large chunk of your budget, it makes sense to use a crowdfunding platform instead. For potential investors, it’s easy to fund a crowdfunding campaign.<br />And these activities can help boost the visibility of your brand. Plus, you can also attract investors for your next funding rounds.</p><p>The Bottom Line</p><p>If you want to raise funds for your startup, crowdfunding can be the best choice. All you need to do is become part of a crowdfunding platform and you will be able to tap into the pool of potential investors. And this will help you kick start your business and make it a success in the industry.</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://acakgms.info/raise-capital-with-private-investors,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Ultimate Guide to Nonprofit Fundraising</title> <link>https://acakgms.info/ultimate-guide-to-nonprofit-fundraising,html</link> <comments>https://acakgms.info/ultimate-guide-to-nonprofit-fundraising,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Thu, 16 Mar 2023 15:10:06 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://acakgms.info/?p=52</guid> <description><![CDATA[Introduction Nonprofit fundraising is a complicated topic and a critical function. Nonprofits are in a unique position from businesses in that they cannot price their products and services to, well, make a profit. Operating budgets must be conceived from other sources than program revenues. This is a guide focused on fundraising for nonprofits. It will [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Introduction</p><p>Nonprofit fundraising is a complicated topic and a critical function. Nonprofits are in a unique position from businesses in that they cannot price their products and services to, well, make a profit. Operating budgets must be conceived from other sources than program revenues.</p><p>This is a guide focused on fundraising for nonprofits. It will discuss the following major topics:</p><p>1. Crafting a nonprofit fundraising strategy</p><p>2. Optimizing your organization</p><p>3. Kickstarting your donor development</p><p>4. Developing your marketing campaign</p><p>5. Leveraging grants and other funding opportunities</p><p>Before we begin, here is a brief background on funding.</p><p>How are nonprofits funded?</p><p>The following categories make up the bulk of funding for nonprofits:</p><p> Fees for Goods/Services from Private Sources – this is driven largely by hospitals and higher-education nonprofits who charge fees for services, tuition, etc.<br /> Fees for Goods/Services from Government Sources – includes things like Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements<br /> Government Grants – cash awarded to organizations with varying stipulations attached<br /> Private Contributions – charitable donations and grants from private individuals, corporations, etc.<br /> Investment Income – endowments make up a significant portion of income, especially among foundations</p><p>Where do donations come from?</p><p>Private contributions make up the largest portion of non-program-related revenue streams for nonprofits. These donations totaled $373.25 billion in 2015.</p><p>Of this amount, 71% came from individuals, while the rest came from foundation grants, bequests and other corporate philanthropy.</p><p>While this represents enormous potential, it brings even more enormous challenges for nonprofits looking to focus marketing and fundraising strategies on specific channels. The need for personal touch with most individual donors makes it hard to scale funding strategies focused on individual donors.</p><p>Craft the perfect nonprofit fundraising strategy</p><p>Any successful initiative requires a plan. To maximize your organization’s potential, it is important to understand where you are today and define specific paths to where you need to be in the future. A useful strategic plan for your fundraising function will provide a sense of direction for your organization and outline measurable goals to assess progress.</p><p>1. Establish a vision</p><p>The first thing you want to do is create an ideal version of your organization. Leslie Allen from Front Range Source published a good guide on the topic where she suggests you ask yourself the following questions:</p><p>A bit of administrative work should also be done now… specifically setting a budget for how much you wish to spend on this nonprofit fundraising strategy and an implementation timeline that you wish to achieve your goals by.</p><p>2. Understand your current state</p><p>Describe your organization as it exists today. This will form the foundation for which your strategy will be executed against.</p><p>You should take inventory of all the different funding sources you currently use and have used in the past. Try to rank and prioritize the effectiveness and quantity of funds raised from each one. Take note of what’s worked in the past and what hasn’t.</p><p>Take an external perspective if possible. If you can afford to audit your organization, do it. If not, be as unbiased as possible in determining how effective your organization performs in this area, and compare it to other organizations. Use either current employees or colleagues from outside the organization to get a picture of how other nonprofits perform.</p><p>Understand your strengths and weaknesses! If you are too overly funded by a specific source-let’s say a specific government grant that comes in each year and funds 90% of your budget-you need to address this. Like any business overly concentrated on one customer, you run the risk of being shut down, should the government grant stop.</p><p>Don’t limit yourself to single or few funding sources whenever possible. Make your organization invulnerable to things you can’t control.</p><p>3. Envision your future state</p><p>Use the answers produced in your vision creation to help craft your future state. Where the vision phase is about creating conceptual ideals for what your organization should look like, this phase should be about quantifying them.</p><p>Decide exactly what you want to concentrate on. If you decided that a focused nonprofit fundraising strategy was the way to go, make sure to document why it is the best course and what the benefits of this choice will be.</p><p>The result of this phase should be a set of goals that you want your organization to achieve.</p><p>4. Perform a gap analysis</p><p>By quantifying your future state and documenting where you stand today, your next step is to perform a gap analysis. It is critical to understand where all the major gaps are in your organization.</p><p>If you have 90% of your revenue coming from one government grant and your future state involves diversifying your revenue streams, then obviously here is a major gap in your strategy.</p><p>Always know your organization’s vulnerabilities. Prioritize what you think are the most critical gaps and areas that could produce the most impactful change if they are closed.</p><p>5. Connect the dots</p><p>The final step requires determining exactly what actions need to be done to achieve your desired state.</p><p>Break up the goals into key initiatives. You should ideally come up with a list of projects that can be executed on, each with different rankings for cost, effort, time, and impact.</p><p>Create a matrix that assesses each project against these four dimensions and rank the projects according to your priorities. If your strategy needs to be completed quickly with less regard to cost, then rank projects requiring less time higher. If you want the biggest impact of your initiatives, then rank those ones higher, with the understanding it might take longer and cost more than other projects.</p><p>Always understand the project management triangle of cost vs. scope vs. time. Any strategic decision will be based on these three constraints. Any change to one constraint necessitates a change in the others. Or else quality suffers.</p><p>Be sure to get all the right stakeholders involved in this priority setting process to make sure your strategic alignment matches your organization’s vision and your board’s idea of what needs to be done.</p><p>Optimize your organization for change</p><p>A common mistake among nonprofits is the lack of a single person who oversees the entire “money function” of the organization. It isn’t enough to have an individual who manages only government contracts, or only individual donors – you absolutely must have someone who oversees all cash flows into the organization.</p><p>Development director office</p><p>To ensure you hire or promote from within the right candidate for the job, you must be able to offer enough of a salary to entice someone to stay and grow the organization. Check competitive rates of not only nonprofit development directors, but also nonprofit CFOs, for-profit CFOs, etc.</p><p>It may be painful trying to come up with the money to pay someone to do this job-which is typically lower than executive director or other high-ranking positions in your organization-but it’s worth it.</p><p>You’re paying for people who spend 100% of their time focused on money. And in a few years’ time, they should be paying their own salaries with the work they’ve done to increase your organization’s capacity.</p><p>Build a business environment that enables development.</p><p>Beyond just funding the salary of your rock-star fundraiser, it is important to give this person authority over creating a team and office within your organization. By choosing the right person, you can ensure that they know exactly how many staff they need and what roles they need to hire to perform specific tasks (marketing plans, technology upgrades, cold calling, etc.).</p><p>Additionally, you must budget for costs like software, computer upgrades, marketing collateral, association dues, professional development, and so forth.</p><p>You want to create an environment that enables development success. In this way, you help retain top talent that can executive on longer-term strategies that have the highest potential for organizational growth.</p><p>Bottom line – You want to hire the right person who will help grow your organization. They need to have the keys to the kingdom when it comes to seeing how all money flows in and out. They need the ability to propose and set a budget and to executive on their strategies.</p><p>Bonus tip – leverage volunteers.</p><p>Use unpaid help to support your efforts in reaching out to people. Especially for organizations with slim staff and budgets, this can be an effective tool. Tap into your alumni pool and other partners/alliances you may have formed in the past.</p><p>Volunteers can be especially useful when promoting events, selling tickets, or soliciting sponsorships.</p><p>Engage with your board</p><p>Your board of trustees ultimately sets the direction and vision for your organization. As a result, we need to spend some significant time making sure everyone is aligned with what we are trying to accomplish with fundraising.</p><p>The role of the board typically changes based on the size of the organization-smaller organizations have board members that typically take a more operational and hands-on approach, while larger organizations may have board members more focused on governance issues.</p><p>Regardless of the size of your nonprofit, it is critical to make sure everyone understands the importance of philanthropy and can agree on a high-level strategy for accomplishing the mission.</p><p>Have an open conversation about what role board members can play in nonprofit fundraising. Beyond agreeing on strategies, this can be an extremely beneficial task in helping to grow and retain donors. For example, a simple thank-you goes a long way. A fundraising study performed by Cygnus found that when donors got a thank-you call from board members within days of making a gift:</p><p> 93% said they would definitely or probably give again<br /> 84% said they would make a larger gift<br /> 74% said they would continue giving indefinitely</p><p>Find ways to engage donors. Use board members for this purpose. Their clout alone brings great respect to the people who donate to the organization. This should be used to your advantage.</p><p>Just as important as engaging board members with donors, is keeping donors engaged in the strategy. Present strategy proposals and work in their feedback. This ensures alignment and sense of purpose with board members.</p><p>Keep everyone involved in the budget setting process so they know a strategy goes beyond simple concepts and pipe dreams. The board needs to know that fundraising is staff driven and presenting a simple projection of anticipated costs and revenue with a strategy can go a long way in helping drive change.</p><p>Most importantly – realize when you have good board members and do everything you can to retain them. Keep them motivated. Listen to what they say. Their contacts and knowledge go a long way toward helping drive your strategy, so realize what you have while you have it and don’t risk losing good board members to greener pastures.</p><p>Measuring and communicating impact</p><p>After staff and board considerations, the next big item to prepare for is impact measurement. You need to be able to communicate your story with words and numbers.</p><p>Nonprofit fundraising is much more than asking for donations. It includes everything before and after this step… from searching for supporters to expressing gratitude and measuring impact. Measuring impact helps you do two things:</p><p> Evaluate fundraising campaign effectiveness<br /> Demonstrate your program’s effectiveness and help tell a story that will attract future funding</p><p>Your programs already exist to further your organization’s mission. And for programs that do it well, there should be data that prove it. Make sure to have the systems in place to capture the results of your programs’ efforts. (Note: systems don’t need to be complicated… they can simply be processes used to document results of activities.)</p><p>Use your mission to determine a set of outcomes you wish to achieve. Then work backwards to determine the activities you can perform to get there.</p><p>For more information check out Whole Whale’s guide on measuring nonprofit impact.</p><p>Once you’ve set up your impact measurement processes, find ways to communicate your results on your website. This may come in the form of dashboards, case studies, personal stories, etc. Be sure to consistently update your content to not only keep things fresh, but communicate your continued success.</p><p>If a donor visits your site and sees overwhelming evidence of the good things you’re doing, he will be more likely to buy into your cause and believe that his donations are being well spent.</p><p>How much do you spend on fundraising?</p><p>CharityWatch analyzes the effectiveness of nonprofits across a wide range of statistics. One particular interesting number is the “Cost to Raise $100.” Exactly how it sounds, this reflects how much it costs a charity to bring in $100 of public donations.</p><p>On this basis, a nonprofit is considered highly efficient if its cost to raise $100 is $25 or less.</p><p>Practically speaking, determine how much you want to raise with your nonprofit fundraising strategy or even a specific campaign. Start with a 4:1 ratio to get to the $25 mark and go from there. If you wanted to raise $5,000,000, you would start your budget at $1,250,000. Adjust from there.</p><p>Kickstart your donor development</p><p>Now the section that probably brought most of you here… actual donor development.</p><p>You have your organization set up for success. You have a clear vision of what you want to accomplish. Your board is behind you and you have the right staff to tackle the job. Now how do you actually find funding?</p><p>Prospecting and donor research</p><p>Many experts like to talk about a fundraising pyramid. A strong general fund of small donors supports a smaller core of mid-level gifts on top of which is a few major donors for your organization.</p><p>You want to maximize each level of this pyramid and continuously work on moving people upward.</p><p>The first step is to create a list of prospects. The most common prospecting strategies combine the following approaches:</p><p> Direct mail or email<br /> Brainstorming of prospects (using board members and staff alike)<br /> Prospect research (databases full of free or purchasable contact lists)</p><p>Donors give for their own reasons, not yours. When assessing your current prospect pool and searching for more, evaluate the following characteristics of each prospect:</p><p> Longevity – How long has this person been giving? Should they possibly move up the pyramid if they’ve been here a while?<br /> Cumulative giving – Are prospects donating in lump sums or giving multiple times per year? Look for the latter as good opportunities to move up the pyramid.<br /> Engagement – Look for people who are reading your newsletters, responding to your calls, reaching out about your organization… these are the types you want to move up the pyramid.</p><p>Leverage Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems</p><p>When you begin a prospect gathering mission, it couldn’t hurt to start by scrubbing your current database (whether its paper files or an Excel workbook or an entire donor management system). It is good to get a clear idea of everyone you have previously had relationships to understand your likelihood of using these people as a base for your new strategy or as referrals to new candidates.</p><p>Once you have a baseline of prospects, decide if you should leverage more advanced technology for your nonprofit fundraising efforts.</p><p>The benefits of a formal CRM system are enormous for all types of organizations. With the proper system in place, your organization has the ability to record all communications with donors and prospects, track their personal characteristics, create easy email campaigns, find volunteers, and so on.</p><p>Especially useful are these systems’ abilities to report on progress during campaigns and analyze the demographics of donors and prospects. You can run reports that help determine which people in which locations to target for each specific kind of outreach. This helps when trying to nail down a specific donor outreach campaign.</p><p>TechSoup has a breakdown of 8 top CRM systems for nonprofits as well. Perform a similar analysis to this when evaluating software for your organization.</p><p>Ensure donors keep giving</p><p>You have two major goals with donor development:</p><p> Make sure current donors keep giving.<br /> Try to move donors up to mid-level and major gift level status.</p><p>Some useful tips for maintaining and improving donor relationships range from simple thank-you notes to community recognition to providing access to special information or services.</p><p>Personal touch goes a long way in cultivating relationships with donors. Invite people individually to events or conference calls you may have. Point out donors who have given in a monthly newsletter. Everyone enjoys a little recognition, especially if they are intent on furthering their own missions of giving.</p><p>More tactically, you can use donor surveys and other donor-directed communications to try to get a feel for how they perceive your organization to be doing. Gear your marketing collateral to them based on specific programs and results that you’re achieving.</p><p>While you’re publishing data and other marketing collateral for wider consumption, try to focus specific pieces to donors only to let them see inside the progress you’re really making as an organization. You can use a more friendly and informal tone when communicating with current donors, to help aid in the relationship building process.</p><p>Hold special events just for donors. Have a social where donors can meet one another and discuss their own missions and visions for what they want to achieve. Everybody appreciates being connected with more people who can help their cause… so use this avenue intelligently to help boost relationships among your community.</p><p>Work the pyramid</p><p>Asking for more money is never easy, especially if you fear losing a relationship with a person who has given faithfully to your organization for many years.</p><p>But you must overcome this fear and ask for more money.</p><p>Why would someone consider giving you more money?</p><p>First, they must believe in your mission. It must support something they find dear to them. So, communicate your mission accurately and descriptively.</p><p>Second, they must believe in your team and that you will use their money wisely. No, they don’t expect a return on their investment, but with the thousands of nonprofits out there competing for their dollars, they have plenty of options to choose from when giving to a charity.</p><p>Most importantly, donors increase their gifts when asked to. Unless you ask, they’ll likely continue giving the standard amount-which is fine-but we’re trying to build a fundraising strategy for growth.</p><p>Key takeaway – You should aim as high as possible when placing prospects in your donor pyramid. The bigger you make the mid-level and high-level sections, the better off your organization will be. You can count on these larger donations on a more regular basis, which can be used a springboard for future growth.</p><p>Develop an impeccable marketing campaign</p><p>There are many different tools you can leverage and approaches you can take to boost your nonprofit fundraising strategy.</p><p>Major types of communication</p><p>The basic types of marketing channels are generally known. You can communicate direct via email, phone call or personal visit. You can communicate to a broader scale with public speaking, newsletters, website content, advertising etc. The main thing to know is what you’re trying to accomplish with each type of communication.</p><p>You’re not going to get a major donation from sending out a newsletter-you might, but this type of communication is generally geared to higher-volume, lower-dollar amounts.</p><p>You’re typically going to want to use more mass communication methods for filling your pipeline and those earlier-stage types of activities. More direct personal touch is required to close most deals, especially when more money is on the line.</p><p>When to use each approach</p><p>A good approach uses a mix of all the techniques discussed above. There will be times you want to target individuals and times you’ll want to target groups.</p><p>Direct Mail/Email</p><p>This method can be used whether you’re reaching out to an individual or your entire prospect list. Be sure to use mail over email if you plan to have a later-in-the-process “sales” discussion with a prospect as physical mail has a more personal touch.</p><p>Use this technique when you want to connect directly with individuals. Be sure to use personal touch to make the recipient feel that this note has more value than the other things that end up in the trash. Also include a call to action-conversion rates skyrocket by simply including an option to act on your message.</p><p>Advertising</p><p>Use this technique when you want to reach out to more than just your immediate community. This can be through printed newspapers and periodicals, on the radio or through television or other forms of media.</p><p>Make sure you know the expected return on investment before planning any fundraising dollars to this method, but realize it can pay off especially if you want to educate the masses or get your brand and mission out there.</p><p>Internet Marketing</p><p>A much cheaper form of marketing your brand, the use of social media platforms and other online communities allows you to connect with the largest number of potential donors for the lowest overall cost.</p><p>Besides simply promoting your content or brand, you can include calls to action like “donate now” on a nonprofit Facebook page. The internet was made to reach people quickly and cheaply. Use it to your advantage.</p><p>Special Promotions</p><p>Host an event that brings together different people in your community and use the platform to raise funds. Everyone likes to be connected to like-minded individuals. By creating somewhat regular events that accomplish this, you can provide spikes in your donation intake at certain times of the year.</p><p>An annual appeal may work here. Market the opportunity as an annual or monthly gathering, and give people a reason to attend. The key here is to make sure you don’t overdo it. Don’t host too many events or the idea of a special promotion loses its luster. Why would a donor attend your annual appeal if you actually had weekly appeals? No luster.</p><p>Public Relations</p><p>When you host an event or produce a new piece of useful content, create a press release to announce it to your community. Like advertising, this has the opportunity of reaching a large number of people.</p><p>Just keep in mind that you will get more press coverage in an area if you can show that your news directly impacts the community.</p><p>Additional methods for nonprofit fundraising success</p><p>Of note are cobranding and affinity marketing. Up to 6% of all product launches rely on some form of cobranding. Get your name attached to others who support similar causes. You shouldn’t see other organizations as merely competitors… but rather as potential complements to your strategy.</p><p>Work with partners to build a whole that’s greater than the sum of the parts. Unlock hidden potential by partnering with the right affiliates to help extend your reach beyond your immediate community.</p><p>What about crowdfunding?</p><p>In a society that’s continuing to be more interested in social impact, this is a potentially huge area to raise funds.</p><p>Think of Kickstarter. Anyone can promote any cause and collect money from anyone around the world. All they need to do is connect to an investor’s sense of purpose.</p><p>Be aware there are fees attached! If using a public platform, understand the costs associated. Take the time to compare different platforms and factor in the cost to raise money with any effort placed on a platform.</p><p>Also be aware of nonprofit fundraising laws! With the internet it is much easier to raise money from people in multiple states, even if you operate in just one. Many states require nonprofits to register in order to conduct fundraising within their jurisdiction-this may apply to more states than intended if you plan to raise funds online. The National Association of State Charity Officials published a guide for social media and internet solicitation.</p><p>That being said, there are definitely opportunities to use crowdfunding to your advantage.</p><p>Craft the right story</p><p>There are many ways to get a person to be interested in your organization. Most include connecting with their individual sense of purpose. You need them to feel the pain you’re trying to solve.</p><p>You might think you don’t have all the right details for a truly compelling story, but you’re wrong!</p><p>Beth Kanter outlines four classic storylines that work well when soliciting donors:</p><p> Overcoming the monster – Talk about some form of adversity your organization is tackling. Are 99% of kids in your region on subsidized school lunch programs? Okay… tell that story.<br /> Rags to riches – Use your actual clients or service recipients as a catalyst. Explain the poor circumstances that led to them using your organization, and the 180 degree turnaround you helped them achieve. Don’t be afraid to get detailed in describing the low point.<br /> Quest – Everyone loves a good quest story. We’re on a quest to a completely carbon neutral society. Where do we stand on that long journey? What are you doing about it?<br /> Tragedy – Some events have the ability to appeal to the masses. Think of the recent devastating earthquakes across southern U.S. and Puerto Rico. Tell that story. Make people feel compelled to do something for all those suffering.</p><p>Leverage grants and other funding opportunities</p><p>While donors may make up a good core of your fundraising strategy, there are often overlooked free dollars out there that you may qualify for without realizing. It is important to understand where these areas of opportunity are and to always incorporate grants and other free money into your fundraising plans.</p><p>Master grant research</p><p>There are growing numbers of online sources that can be used for free (or at reasonable costs) to help in your prospect search. Download the free premium edition of this guide to see a list of the top sources and some of their details and how best to use each one.</p><p>Write a killer proposal</p><p>Finding the right grant for your organization is only half the battle.</p><p>How do you now secure the funding?</p><p>If you’ve never written a grant proposal before, check out GrantSpace’s free introductory grant-writing class. It can be done online or in person and should help provide a baseline for writing a good proposal.</p><p>GrantSpace also includes a repository of sample documents. This ranges from proposals to letters of inquiry to cover letters to budgets.</p><p>Key things to consider…</p><p>Do your homework! If you find a grant and it has a request for proposals (RFP), then it should have all the guidelines for you to consider. Read the document carefully. Understand any deadlines, if there is a letter of intent due before the application, the ceiling amount for funding, etc.</p><p>Then go to the funder’s website and see what other types of organizations are typically funded. Visit their websites and see the kinds of programs they offer. Does your organization seem to fit this mold? Write your proposal keeping in mind what types of programs worked in the past for this funder.</p><p>Start planning. If you agree your organization is a good fit for the grant, meet with your team and start outlining what needs to be done. If a letter of intent (LOI) is required, use it to your advantage. This is your one- or two-page pitch to the funder to show why you’re a great fit for them. If the funder likes you, they will ask you to submit a full proposal. This is potentially a huge time saver, if in fact you are not a realistic recipient for this grant.</p><p>Reach out to the funder’s program officer. They’re generally very friendly people and a simple conversation can go a long way. Either you briefly discuss your idea and it’s not a fit, and you’ve saved yourself the time and effort putting together a full proposal.</p><p>Or you’re a great fit, you hit it off with the funder, and you’ve started a great relationship together, essentially completing the first stage of the application process.</p><p>This could lead to many years of future funding. Don’t overlook this useful step! Try to build a relationship with the funder before you’ve formally applied for funding.</p><p>When you finally start your proposal, you should have all the information you need to be confident that you will win the award. It should be 5-15 pages long and cover things such as a summary of your program, background and needs, goals, evaluation process, budget, timeline, and any partnerships you are planning to leverage.</p><p>Remember to answer every part of every question!</p><p>RFPs can be very long and tedious, but any excuse to dismiss an applicant is usually enough to throw the proposal in the trash. Don’t risk this. Don’t worry about fluffy language… get straight to the point. Feel free to leverage content from previous proposals, as often the same questions are asked in RFPs.</p><p>Submit your proposal and be confident you will win. If not, you move on. There are plenty of other grant opportunities out there… see the previous section…</p><p>The grant-writing process</p><p>If you’ve been following all the steps outlined in this guide, the actual grant-writing process will be the least stressful part. You’ve already got the foundation for sustained excellence engrained in your organization. Now just wrap the bow around your mission and earn the grant dollars that you know you deserve!</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>In an ever-changing technological and financial landscape, it is sometimes hard to dedicate the time and effort to staying on top of what works and what doesn’t in this space.</p><p>Use the tools outlined in this guide to help your organization maximize its fundraising potential. Share your successes and lessons learned with us as we would love to incorporate them into updated material for others to use.</p><p>Nonprofit fundraising doesn’t have to be difficult, and hopefully this guide provides a good basis for crafting your strategy and executing on it for years to come!</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://acakgms.info/ultimate-guide-to-nonprofit-fundraising,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> </channel></rss> If you would like to create a banner that links to this page (i.e. this validation result), do the following:
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