Turn Your Event Merchandise from an Expense to a !Source of Fundraising!

 Presented  by  Andrew  Urban  of  GoodThreads  and  

 Carolyn  Edrington  of  Melanoma  Research  Founda?on  

How  this  webinar  works  

•  A link to the slides and a recording will be sent after the webinar

•  Please type questions in the box on the right side of your screen, we will be answering them throughout the webinar

•  Use hashtag: #fgwebinar to tweet about this webinar

About  the  Presenters  

Andrew Urban Vice President of Business Development andrew@goodthreads.com

Carolyn Edrington National Director Miles for Melanoma cedrington@melanoma.org

Who  is  FirstGiving?  

Who  is  GoodThreads?  

A solution that makes it fun and easy to create customized merchandise that tells personal stories and supports nonprofit causes.

Who  is    Melanoma  Research  Founda?on?  

–  Founded in 1996 by Diana Ashby, a Melanoma patient

–  2010 Operating budget of 2.6mil

–  Fundraising Expenses – 9% of budget

–  Education, Advocacy, and Research – 84% of budget

•  Mission Statement

–  To support medical RESEARCH for finding effective treatments and eventually a cure for melanoma. To EDUCATE patients and physicians about the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of melanoma. To act as an ADVOCATE for the melanoma community to raise the awareness of this disease and the need for a cure.

Webinar  Takeaways  

•  How to make merchandise a more effective, streamlined and profitable piece of your existing fundraising events

•  How personalized merchandise can increase engagement with your supporters and contribute to a consistent brand identity

•  Why merchandise can increase both donations per supporter AND donor satisfaction

•  How to create a persistent store presence for your non-profit

The  Merchandise  Problem    

Extra  Upfront  Costs  Here’s  a  cost  breakdown  for  a  hypothe?cal  SmartMoney  fun  run.  

 Toilets  

Online  fund-­‐raising  commissions    

Signage  

Pre-­‐  and  post-­‐event  furniture  

Entertainment      

Event  T-­‐shirts  

Water  and  snacks    

Race  gear    

Fences  and  barricades  

Permits  and  security  

Net  proceeds  to  charity  

Actual  funds  raised  to  support  organizaCon’s  

mission  

Bulk  Orders  =  High  Costs  

Homemade  shirts    

Free,  un-­‐personalized  shirts  are  less  likely  to  be  worn  again  aMer  the  event  

Case  Study:    Melanoma  Research  Founda?on  

Miles  for  Melanoma  with  FirstGiving  •  2011 Events (3 quarters)

–  $533k for run/walk events through September. –  $858k for all registration-type events.

•  2010 Events (full year)

–  Over 7,500 Supporters –  $705 for run/walk events (but that’s all four quarters of

2010) –  $1.2 million for all registration type events –  Top cities

•  Wilmington, DE - $75k; Morristown NJ - $65k; Wisconsin Dells, WI - $45k

MRF  Merchandise  Headaches  Major headaches with event merchandise

–  No revenue from registration fees –  Bulk orders/ Leftover T-Shirts –  “Homemade” shirts with pictures of honorees or

memorials –  Challenge to meet sponsors needs for branding –  Control over branding for overall event look –  Longevity for branding

FirstGiving  &  GoodThreads  Solu?on  Suppor?ng  

Miles  for  Melanoma  

MRF  Results    •  First GoodThreads Test

– Sep 25th 5th Annual Miles for Melanoma New Jersey 5k Run/Walk

– With one weeks notice pre-event 6% of fundraisers purchased an item

– Planning full integration now to pre-event communications cycle for future events. Anticipating 25% of fundraisers purchasing.

Tightening  up  branding  

Increase  Revenue  

Purchase   Fundraise   Donate  

Promote  Sponsors  &  Brand  Consistently  

Longevity  

•  Increased Engagement •  Increased Awareness

•  Will wear this shirt over and over again

•  Won’t end up in the Goodwill bin

Simple  Ordering  Process  

Support  Small  Events  &    Grassroots  Fundraisers  

Bringing  Fundraising  &    Merchandise  Together!  

Upcoming  Webinar  

Join  us  for  our  first  webinar  of  the  new  year!    

What’s  new  at  FirstGiving    

Thursday,  January  5th,  2012  1pm  EST,  10  PST  

Connect  with  us  in  our  social  spaces      FirstGiving

Facebook: www.facebook.com/firstgiving Twitter: www.twitter.com/firstgiving Online Fundraising blog: http://blog.firstgiving.com FirstGiving for Runners blog: http://runners.firstgiving.com

GoodThreads Twitter: www.twitter.com/goodthreads GoodThreads blog: http://tumblr.goodthreads.com Website: www.goodthreads.com

Thank  you!      

Interested in working with GoodThreads?

Lee Johnson Email:

lee@goodthreads.com Telephone: (818) 445-4340

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Mention this webinar for free setup

(design services possibly extra)

Interested in fundraising online with FirstGiving?

Contact: Amber Williams

Email:

Amber.Williams@firstgiving.com

Telephone: 617-963-5123