Everyday Giving Blog

Why Do Charities Need Fundraisers?

Charities need fundraisers for a variety of reasons. A fundraising event is one of the most important ways to create attention for a charity, and can also help to generate engagement with a local community. Moreover, charity fundraisers help to enlist new people for Charity Jobs, as well as developing links with local businesses. Moreover, charity fundraisers can help to create specific fundraising drives, as well as establishing long term targets for an organisation to hit. The importance of fundraisers for charities is expanded on below:

1 - Attention

A major event, or even a smaller local one, will create a lot of attention for a charity. If properly marketed, an event can help to bring attention to the work of the charity, and will create a lasting profile, even if people do not initially donate. Local events are particularly useful for smaller charities that don’t have the marketing budget of larger organisations. A few memorable events can become a tradition for the charity, and will help to support a range of other mail outs and fundraising drives.

2 - Local Engagement

A well organised fundraising event represents an excellent way to engage with a local community. An event that involves that community will also help to build an identity for a charity within the area, and can encourage people to use that charity as a future partner for their own fundraising events. Getting a charity involved in local schools and businesses is similarly important for raising awareness, and for increasing the potential for future collaborations.

3 - Enlist New People

A well attended fundraising event can bring in a number of volunteers. These volunteers might then decide to stay on at the charity in a voluntary or a future professional role. Having an event at a school, college or university can also help to build loyalty to a charity at a young age, and can spin off a number of individual fundraising activities.

4 - Specific Fundraising Drives

A special event can work to bring attention to a specific cause. The focus of an event can therefore make it easier to demonstrate where the money is going to be used, and how individual donations will contribute to that effort. In this context, it is important for an event to be tailored to a specific cause, from a walk to raise funds to tackle breast cancer, through to a charity music night set up to help cancer sufferers. Although a direct identification does not have to be necessarily made, the event can be made more memorable by using badges and logos that identify the particular cause and who it will be helping.

5 - Sets a Standard to Hit

Successful fundraising events ultimately establish a standard by which a charity can be measured. In many cases, a public fundraising event can be years in development, and can provide a charity with a much larger amount of income than everyday fundraising. Being able to assess and meet these targets consequently means being able to work out an annual schedule for major events that can push fundraising targets over a certain limit.

Citations:

• Image courtesy of Mindful One
• Image courtesy of Sifu Renka

Sebastian is a freelance writer and a blogger. He writes for a UK based charity job portal and through his posts advises about how to go for the best ngo jobs available in UK.

Sight For Sight- Top 6 Most Charitable Sunglasses Brands

Top 6 sunglasses brands which donate to charity

Clear vision is often something we take for granted due to our easy access to medication, prescription eyewear and professional treatment, but for some people, good eyesight can be considered an unaffordable luxury. Almost one billion people in the world have no access to glasses, meaning that many people are unable to read, learn, study and carry out their daily activities as effectively as they would if they were provided with a sufficient prescription. When you buy one of these pairs of sunglasses, you not only protect your eyes from the damaging sun’s rays with 100% UV protection, but you also contribute to a good cause, potentially restoring the sight of someone in need.

Here are 6 of the most humanitarian brands, offering unique and fashionable eyewear.

1. Tommy Hilfiger. Despite being a well-known designer brand, Tommy Hilfiger is down-to-earth when it comes to charity. The sunglasses ‘promise collection’ benefits people in Ruhira in Uganda by providing free eye check-ups and corrective lenses to those who need them. These frames showcase African styling with colourful, tribal-inspired prints on the sunglasses arms.

2. Westward Leaning sunglasses appear to be just average, stylish frames. However, on the arms of each pair is an inlaid coloured panel celebrating a different social cause. The glasses all feature a black, wayfarer style frame with an attractive arm plaque. The designs range from the ‘Children of California’ subtle wooden square ($10 to ‘Teach for America’ for every pair sold), to rainbow ribbon threaded through the arm in support of gay rights organisations. In addition, every pair sold raises $10 for non profit charities such as Love Thy Neighbor Mexico. This charity seeks to raise awareness about the link between the high drugs demand in the US with the drug wars in Mexico, using the unconventional tools of social media and art installations.

3. TOMS sunglasses range marks part of the brand’s charity campaign, ‘Summer of Sight’ in which they aim to help restore the sight of 100,000 people around the world. For every pair purchased, TOMS will provide essential medical treatment, prescription glasses or surgery needed to restore vision. The glasses appear to be regular sunglasses with a dark, wayfarer frame, but buying a pair of these will help someone in need.

4. Warby Parker promises to donate one pair of prescription glasses to someone in the developing world for every pair bought. The prescription glasses donated are tailored to the needs of the local communities and can help provide the dignity, independence and confidence of clear vision. The sunglasses range is stylish and cool, with an emphasis on bold frames in tortoiseshell, red, and other bright colours, forming part of a popular brand that promised to do good in the world.

5. Solo is a San Diego glasses range which is dedicated to a charitable cause. For every pair sold, Solo promises to donate a pair of prescription glasses to someone in need and to fund part of an eye surgery for two people. The glasses are cool and innovative, featuring dark bamboo arms and bright plastic lens frames, for a quirky contrast. And with one simple purchase, every customer can help save the sight of someone in need.

6. Proof focuses on creating unique aviator-style frames, whilst supporting a charitable cause. For every pair sold, Proof promises to help those who cannot afford the treatment they need in India, by providing sight-saving cataract surgeries. When choosing your pair of sunglasses, you are even given the option of creating different combinations of wood shade, stain, lens colour and frame shape.

So if you’re feeling charitable, consider investing in a pair of super stylish, innovative frames, whilst benefiting those in need. You can wear a unique pair of frames; whilst someone across the globe can regain their sight... it’s a win-win situation.

Victoria writes for online retailer of glasses frames, Direct Sight

7 Great Causes You and Your Bicycle Can Get Behind

Cycling is an excellent way to get a really good workout and do great things for your body while being outside and enjoying the scenery around you and all of the amazing fresh air. Burning approximately 400 calories in an hour, there really is no better workout, and biking is a great way to explore your surroundings as well.

There are an abundance of charities and groups that are using cycling and its enthusiasts as a way to raise money and awareness for their respective causes. By giving their participants ample motivation and cashing in on their philanthropic desires, they combine physical challenge and service opportunities, making a healthy and worthwhile combination for all who chose to partake of the experience.

Here is a look at 7 of the most popular rides hosted for a good cause:

American Lung Association

The Big Ride across America is a seven week, cross country bike ride hosted by the American Lung Association of the Mountain Pacific Region. This non-profit organization requires riders to raise a minimum of $6,000 and also charges them a $150 registration fee. Once the cyclists are registered, they gear up to make the cross country trip from Seattle, Washington to Washington D.C. Over the course of the seven weeks, riders travel approximately 3,300 miles from beginning to end.

Parkinson’s Disease

This ride hosted in Maine annually, was started by a man named Chris Woods after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. This ride is particularly interesting because studies have shown that tandem bike riding can actually help to ease the symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease. The ride offers a variety of mileage options, allowing for any level of cyclist to participate. Participants must raise an minimum of $100 to participate and all proceeds go to the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

The American Diabetes Foundation

The American Diabetes Foundation is perhaps one of the foundations with the greatest amount of rides being hosted for its cause, these are individually as a Tour de Cure. There are annual rides in 43 states that allow for riders at any skill level to participate and help raise money and awareness for the foundation. It is essential to raise awareness for this cause as diabetes is a disease that affects people of all ages and it can be prevented in a lot of cases. These rides have hundreds of participants each and most of those participating either suffer from diabetes themselves or know someone who does.

Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong Foundation

The Livestrong Challenge is an annual event held one day a year in San Francisco, Philadelphia and Austin, Texas to raise money for cancer research. There are varying distances offered for riders to accommodate any skill level. All participants must raise a minimum of $250 and pay a registration fee of $50. Austin hosts a special event called the Ride for Roses which allows any of the cyclists who raise over $10,000 to participate and at the finish line all of the cancer survivors are presented with a yellow rose.

Arthritis Foundation

The Amgen California Coast Classic is a weeklong bike ride hosted by the Arthritis Foundation to help promote awareness for their cause. The ride is for cyclist of all strengths and is promoted as a week for these bikers to celebrate the sport while getting to know one another and enjoying the great outdoors. The route for the ride is from San Francisco to Los Angeles annually and many of the bikers that participate in the ride end up enjoying themselves and having such a great time that they return year after year to participate and help a great cause.

Multiple Sclerosis

If you are interested in biking for this cause, you should look up all the possible events being hosted by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Annually they host a wide variety of events nationwide in order to raise money for their foundation. Their particular events are a great option for anyone looking to bike for good because they put together events that cater to cyclist at all skill levels. Depending on your location, you may have the opportunity to participate in half day, day or multiple day trips, whatever suits your personal level of comfortability.

San Diego Center for the Blind

The San Diego Center for the Blind hosts the annual Cycling for Sight, which is a 200 mile ride through southern California that benefits the Center for the Blind. What makes this ride particularly emotional is that there are a great number of tandem bikes that participate in the ride and those bikes generally have a blind person in back and a seeing person leading from the front. Participants are required to raise a minimum of between $100 and $1600.

Hillary Rose is a writer and bicyclist. She works with Racor to find storage solutions for bicycles. When not working you can find her out on the road with her weekly cycling crew.