I need your brain... fundraising ideas for $5000 by June?!

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I'm probably kind of insane... but I want to fundraise $5,000 by June.

It's for the Hope to Haiti project, run by Random Acts. The Youtube video for it is here, if you want more details:
Basically, if I'm one of the first forty people to get $5,000 donated to the charity, I'll get to accompany Misha Collins (my role model!) and Matt Cohen (another cool actor) and 39 others to Haiti to build a community centre and a fishpond in Haiti, this June.

The recent and tragic earthquake in Japan has reminded us all that there's still death and destruction out there, and conditions in Haiti are still deplorable. Over a million people are still displaced in refugee camps, disease is rampant, and rape by armed gangs is common.

I'll find some way to fund my own travel expenses -- the $5,000 goes directly to helping Haiti, not to me.

So with that said... I need ideas for how to utilize my skills and connections to get that $5K without seeming like I'm begging. :p I want it to be a win-win-win -- charity benefits, I get to go to Haiti and help, and the donator gets some kind of special deal or thank you gift.

A quick list of brainstormed ideas and points...
  • Start a WSO and sell articles for a minimum $10 donation to the charity (big discount on my usual rates and for charity, that would be okay for a WSO, right? (Probably simplest upfront but requires the most work!))
  • Write ebooks for charity? Fewer people might buy, but more profit per ebook written... $5 per formatted page? $10? What's a reasonable -- cheaper than normal but not slave-labour -- price?
  • Release some kind of an information product with the proceeds going to charity, by donation ($10 minimum) -- about what? Hmm...
  • Reach people who wouldn't otherwise buy articles... maybe give away some kind of training for writers who donate?
  • Hey, I can build blogs. "Get your portfolio put up for you in exchange for $X"? (What's X?)
  • Create some kind of personal connection... donate $10 and get your name thanked, $25 and you get a postcard, $50 and you get a personalized video, etc...? Not sure how to set this up, but I can do it somehow!
  • The charity website it's on has an incentive program where you can donate a specific amount to any charity on the site before a specific date and be entered to win a prize... this can't go on freebie sites, but maybe I can create a followup email list to let people know about new giveaways? "Donate another $12 to maybe win an X"?
  • Offline promotion? QR codes on a poster that charge them an amount as a donation and automatically sign them up to win something? (Donate $12, chance to win an X?)
I'm insanely busy with school right now, but I'm willing to give up my entire social life to make this happen.

Please, share any ideas at all you might have. Nothing's too insane. I'll get pied in the face to earn money for this.

I'm off to search the forum for similar past threads, so I may edit this post with what I find. :p

Thank you so much.
#brainstorming #charity #donation #fundraising #ideas #june
  • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
    WSO can do well if you have experience with WSO's. There are quite a few tricks to implement if you don't have a large list to market to. You just need to offer something that has high demand.

    Set up some blogs, maybe a website to accept donations. Something I would do, write letters to churches explaining what you are doing. I have done that to raise money to go to malaysia when the 04 or 05 tsunami hit, had the money in a month.
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    • Profile picture of the author Zabrina
      Originally Posted by iAmNameLess View Post

      WSO can do well if you have experience with WSO's. There are quite a few tricks to implement if you don't have a large list to market to. You just need to offer something that has high demand.

      Set up some blogs, maybe a website to accept donations. Something I would do, write letters to churches explaining what you are doing. I have done that to raise money to go to malaysia when the 04 or 05 tsunami hit, had the money in a month.
      I've released a few WSO's before, but I don't think I can get $5K through them alone. I could be wrong, though! I've got a few unreleased products written that I could compile into a fundraising firesale package, I suppose... hmm.

      I've got a website up, and I'm raising funds through the official fundraising page online, so that's taken care of.

      Thank you so much for the idea about churches. I think I'll do that. I've got the letter mostly written already.
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  • Profile picture of the author Zabrina
    Just wanted to update this and say that I'm already at 10% of my goal... yippee! I have to go dash and write a batch of articles... but does anyone else have ideas?

    I'm still looking for any and all suggestions for how else I can trade my time, knowledge, or body -- just kidding on that last one -- for donations to my non-profit of choice.
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  • Profile picture of the author Palusko
    I can't believe I only paid $10 per article! I tell you, if more people wrote quality articles like Zabrina, then there would be no Google updates needed.

    I outsource about 75% of articles, and I use many writers. But when it comes to value/price ratio, Zabrina clearly over-delivered (which makes me very happy :-)!

    Some people may say that $10 per article is too much. But I didn't just get 10 articles. I got 10 HIGH QUALITY articles. And to me (and to the readers of those articles), that makes all the difference in the world. And, of course, let's not forget, that the proceeds go to a very noble cause. You just can't lose with this offer.

    So if you didn't jump on this offer, do it! Your money goes where it is needed, and you get articles that will make you more money.

    Thank you Zabrina, as you can tell by now, I am one very happy customer. Great job!
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  • Profile picture of the author Lee Goodman
    Hello Zabrina, The articles you did were excellent. Thanks so much.

    I love your idea about donating to Haiti and I appreciate you giving 100% (literally) to help them.

    I have some ideas that I am going to send you way.
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