Gathering contributions in terms of money for a particular cause or event is called fundraising. In short, it is asking for donations by those interested. Fundraising is done by non-profit organizations, political parties, religious organizations, schools, clubs, sports, and public broadcasting companies to raise money for various reasons. Sometimes, it is lead by an effective individual while sometimes it is a corporation or a group of individuals.
Nowadays, fundraising can be organized and done in a very simple manner through online campaigning. Everyone from charity groups to schools is putting up websites to host money for a cause or an event. If it is not a special website for the purpose, it is a special page dedicated to the matter on an already existing website. Online fundraising sites is done by starting websites for the cause where people can become members and donate money, sending bulk mails, posting about the fundraising with a link on sites which are visited by many people, and many more.
There are special sites that assist in doing the job of fundraising online. These sites provide marketing and media fundraising tools and also give sound advice as to what all is needed to be covered in the matter.
These sites also have fundraising divided into different categories and the methodology is suggested as per the category it belongs to. For example, if it is a school fundraising through selling candy, the website helps in setting it up properly and also helps the school authorities by reducing many time consuming activities.
One of the main advantages of raising money online for a cause is immediate responses both for the fundraiser and the donor. Another advantage is that it is possible to keep track of what a person looks into when they visit a fundraising site. This gives a good idea of what they are interested in and what should be emphasized more to reel in the funds. The possibilities are limitless for raising money online.
Other methods of fundraising, other than online, are holding events, shows, parties, distributing fliers, going for a campaign to certain locations, putting up booths in busy places like malls, etc. Most people advertise many of these fundraising tactics on the internet as well as it has a far wider reach. In events and parties many times there are celebrities who perform free of charge to reel in more funds.
For the bigger events, most people arrange the services of a professional who takes care of all the arrangements, including media coverage. These professionals charge a big fee and a part of the money raised goes into their pocket. Hiring a professional consultant is a good idea for the large campaigns. The reach and scale of the campaign may be too big to be handled individually. The smaller campaigns can go in for booths, fliers, face to face marketing, etc.