(by 9 people)
A Call to Action
This lens has a two-fold purpose. First, I'd like to share a concept with you, get your thoughts and feedback on it. Secondly, I'd like to apply this concept to the fundraising industry I think I could help out, using this concept, and would like to run this merging idea with all of you, and if you see its potential to help, I'd like to make a call to action to all Squidooers.
A Penny, Doubled Every Day for a Month...
Quite A Concept
The "Penny Doubled" Theory lies at the heart of my concept
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"Penny-Doubled" and raising money
How I combined two age-old concepts...
The heart of my concept is the theory that if you receive one penny, and subsequently received twice the number of pennies each day as you had the day before, for 30 days, that you would amass a large amount of money by the end of one month. This theory is at the heart of compounding -- as in compounding interest. You've probably heard of that, as it's in your credit card statement every month, counting against you if you carry a balance.
Turning the Tables
What If...?
But, what if it doesn't count against you? Those of you who invest, experience the power of compounding if you reinvest profits or dividends over time. Essentially, compounding is the power of money making money, or efforts of one snowballing into the efforts of many, such as with viral marketing.
One begets two...
Marketing of biblical proportions
The theory is simple: one person makes a purchase of an ebook. The company profits one penny. (Oh, the horror! ONE PENNY profit after all that work? But just wait.) Now, this person, who would naturally want to tell a few people about their purchase, tells just two individuals, and they come make one purchase each. Now the company profits two pennies the next day. Company now has three whopping cents in the coffer. Intrigued yet?
Fundraising Online
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Now to Switch Gears
and combine two concepts
Enter the art of fundraising. People and organizations raise money all the time. It is a multibillion dollar industry, benefiting everything from school programs to the environment, to political agendas. Although online fundraising has been slow to develop on the Internet, it is growing as more and more organizations are logging on and staking out their piece of cyber real estate. My theory is this: why can't the power of compounding coincide with the art of fundraising? Let me explain what I mean...
The Power of One, The Power of Many
Refer A Friend at its best
You ever been to one of those sites, and at the bottom or top, it says "Tell A Friend", or "Refer A Friend" or "Email This Article to A Friend"? Essentially, is this not compounding? If every visitor to a site referred two friends within 24 hours, that site would receive over 5 million unique visitors in 30 days! Now, by integrating this "Refer Someone" concept into fundraising, can you imagine the far-reaching effects it could have on an organization? Think about this: haven't you ever received an email from a friend, and in the header of that email are bunches of other people's emails in the CC section? You know you are part of that friend's address book, along with all these other folks. And if your friend comes across something interesting, shocking, or funny, they forward this item to all their friends in their friendship network, right?
In Conclusion
A Final Thought
My proposal, then, is this. Could fundraising online be run this way, using electronic books as the product? Why ebooks? Because their is usually no overhead, so the penny profit could be taken by the fundraising provider, and after the payment processor takes their share of the revenue, a large portion of it could be turned over to the organization. Add the compounding effect and you have great potential for that organization's fundraising efforts.
The Theory in Practice
A living example of the Penny-Doubled Fundraiser
Through Pick Your Plots, a wonderful couple are working to put the Penny-Doubled Fundraiser into practice. For over two years they have been undergoing the rigorous effort of finalizing the adoption of little Kendra from China. They hope to have their little girl home by the end of this year. To see how this compounding concept is being integrated into this fundraiser visit Help Adopt Kendra. I would also like to hear your thoughts and comments on what was discussed here. Sign the guestbook below with your thoughts. And if it deserves to be, please vote my lens a 5-Star rating above!
Or How About this...?
Where does this theory work best?
Given the powerful possibilities with compounded fundraising, and seeing it in action with Help Adopt Kendra, could this form of raising funds work in other venues?
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Other Squidoo Lenses on Fundraising
Take a Tour around our great community and discover some other excellent fundraising lenses!
- Easy Fundraising Ideas
- If you or someone you know are:
* A School PTA/ PTO member
* In a college club or organization
* In a school band or sports team
* A member of a church or youth group
* On a summer league sports team
* Volunteering for a Chairity
... or any other type of non-profit organization, you probably need to raise money for expenses like uniforms, trip fees, sports or musical equipment, building funds, operating expenses or trophies but bake sales, raffles, and candy bars can bring in only so much.
This page provides hints and tips for successful fundraising, as well as resources for fast, easy, free fundraising programs. - Buttons of Hope
- Buttons of Hope are custom photo buttons that help people personalize their cause and energize their fundraising. At Buttons of Hope there are no minimums so you can put a face on your fundraising one button at a time.
- Fundraising Ideas 101
- Fundraisers are an excellent way to your help your school or church earn the extra money it needs. There is a variety of different school fundraising ideas and church fundraising ideas that can help earn extra money for sports equipment, field trips...
- Grassroots Fundraising
- This lens will attempt to lay out various fundraising strategies and focus on the ones most commonly used by grass-roots (i.e. small) organizations or groups to raise money. There are so many fundraising ideas that people have written books and publi...
- Fundraising Green
- Dateline: Long Beach, CA, 8/20/07 Schools Say No to Unhealthy Fundraisers In a time when cookie dough and candy sales are some of the most profitable school fundraisers, school districts and lawmakers have taken note of the mixed messages being s...
Another Example
Be Cool to your School
Here's a great example. You know whenever school fundraisers come around, usually twice a year, and parents dread it because they feel obligated to hit coworkers up for cash, and those coworkers feel guilty and pay up for this reason. Or kids need to go out and become door-to-door salesmen. Who wants that for their kids? With compounded fundraising, kids bring a flyer home from school, parents pay $1 each for an ebook, then tell two friends, or relatives (best option) to do the same thing. 30 days later, see how well the school fares. Here is an example of a compounded fundraiser for schools (multiple schools across three school districts on this one) ScholarshipClass.
Pick Your Plots Announces a New Contest!
Pick Your Plots, in an ongoing effort to help Ann and Kenny James adopt Kendra, have announced a new contest. Since Pick Your Plots deals with electronic books, the contest works this way: for every donation of $1.00 (which gets you a classic novel in ebook format), your name goes into a drawing. Every 30 days, a name will be drawn from the list of contributors, and the winner of the contest will get an original story written just for them, starring people that they name. Their very own personalized story!
Regarding the New Contest...
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Fundraisers on Amazon
For those of you who are Fundraiser DIYers
Waiting to Surface: A Novel
Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 08/21/2008)
Practical Fundraising for Individuals and Small Groups
Amazon Price: (as of 08/21/2008)
The Fund-Raising Primer: A First Book for Individuals Involved in Raising Funds for Not-For-Profit Organizations
Amazon Price: (as of 08/21/2008)
The Fundraising Houseparty: How to Get Charitable Donations from Individuals in a Houseparty Setting
Amazon Price: (as of 08/21/2008)
Sponsorship Recruitment 101-102: A Comprehensive Self-help Guide for Parents, Individuals and Organizations Worldwide Seeking Sponsorship
Amazon Price: $99.95 (as of 08/21/2008)
I'd like your feedback on this concept
Please tell me below if you think this idea will succeed
Most importantly, I'd like you to consider this thought: could it work on an individual level? Meaning, what if a family is struggling after the loss of the breadwinner in their home? What if a couple is struggling to raise money to adopt a child? Could this theory work to help them raise the money they need? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!
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StacymomBiz
5 stars! Great job Posted March 24, 2008 |
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happypanda
Thanks for the post. It's good to hear stuff like this is making a difference. http://www.encyclopaedicnet.com Posted March 24, 2008 |
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ElizabethJeanAllen
Great Lens and a good concept. Posted March 24, 2008 |
Lori Koerper
I think this is a wonderful way to raise funds because it asks for such a small amount from each individual, but the donations will add up if everyone just spreads the word. Also, you get a wonderful book to read out of the process! I hope everyone takes a minute and checks out Help Adopt Kendra to see a miracle in action!
Posted March 19, 2008
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SemperFidelis
Selling eBooks for charity would certainly work. ;) Posted March 18, 2008 |
