You know it from your personal life, and on the professional side too — when you share something personal (but appropriate, can’t be too much), it can deepen understanding, interest and the connection.
The same goes when your organization — or you, speaking for your organization — does so. Here are a couple of recent examples that wowed me:
- Holly Ross, NTEN‘s executive director, used a double fun strategy to raise $10,000 for scholarships to the recent NTC conference. She challenged members and others to give, offering their choice of “public humiliation” if they met the goal. They did, and the vote was for Holly to do a remake of Beyonce’s Put a Ring on It video. The NTEN community (and my daughter, Charlotte) went wild for the video, which generated a huge amount of Holly- and NTEN-love. Move over Beyonce.
- Patricia Wilson, executive director of the Greater Bay Area Make-a-Wish Foundation just launched a diet-based fund-raising campaign to help close the gap on her org’s $200,000 deficit. She’s putting herself way out there, asking folks to pledge for every pound she loses. Donors and lurkers can track her progress (see her sign at left, with weight lost and dollars gained) and give via Patricia’s Big Loser Campaign on Facebook. She’s going strong on both fronts and is likely to exceed her $7,500 goal.
- Social media blogger Chris Brogan shaved his head to raise money for Giving Kids Laptops. His dramatic campaign – - part all Chris, part reality TV — conveyed like nothing else how passionate he is about the cause, and made me feel like part of the Chris club.
P.S. Don’t miss out on in-depth articles, case studies and guides to nonprofit marketing success — all featured in the twice-monthly Getting Attention e-update. Subscribe today.
