GiveForward is starting a new feature every week, the Staff Pick Fundraiser.  Now this doesn’t mean we have a favorite fundraiser, we love all of our fundraisers equally, but at the GiveForward office we make an effort every day to reach out and ‘hug’ a person on our site.

Once a week we come together and share the stories about the people we’ve hugged.   It is a great way for everyone to get to know more about the people using our site and spread a little good cheer at the same time.  After we share the stories we all vote for our favorite story and feature it as the “Staff Pick” for the week.

This week we are kicking it off with a fundraiser that is new to our site: “Help Support Black Family Cancer Fund”.  Jake first came to

our site when he mentioned on Twitter that he was auctioning off action figures on ebay to pay for his medical bills.  GiveForwardreached out to him to offer our services and he signed up.

Jake, a comic author, was initially diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma in 2008.  Like one of his characters, Jake managed to battle the disease, coming out a survivor after rounds of chemo.

Unfortunately, fighting cancer doesn’t end with the physical.  Like most survivors Jake was left with mounting medical bills for the care he received.  Now the Black family is getting support from their loved ones as well as the comic community to help defray these medical expenses.

This week we want to give a big shout out to the “Help Support Black Family Cancer Fund” as our Staff Pick of the week.  Sending lots of virtual high fives your way!

If you’re anything like me you are bolting out the door right about now in order to try and get your taxes post-marked by today.

Once the anxiety and adrenaline has subsided I have an idea to make you feel better; take a tip from one of our donors and use the refund you get to make a difference by donating it.

GiveForward has so many amazing fundraisers on our site that could use any extra help, whether $5 or $50.  Need some inspiration?  Head over here and browse some of the extraordinary people raising money for everything from chemo treatments to medical equipment.

Happy tax day!

(Important note: you can’t claim these donations on your taxes but you can claim them for good karma.)

Fundraiser organizers will see new functionality starting this week.  We are excited to share that we are now assigning a personal fundraising coach to each fundraiser started on GiveForward.

What does this mean for users?  It means you get the exact level of personal attention that you want.  Is this your first time fundraising?  Our coaches are

happy to help you figure out the next steps and share their tried and true fundraising tips, just email them at info@giveforward.com or give them a call at 312-957-6113.

Are you an old pro at fundraising and just want someone to call on if you get stuck?  They’re there for that too.

Plus having a personal fundraising coach also means you get a nice glossy photo of your coach with your introductory email.  Always a nice perk.

We hope that you guys enjoy working one-on-one with our coaches as much as they enjoy working with you.

Thanks to all of our amazing Giveasauruses (Giveasauri?) we have officially hit our $4million mark.  That means that over 49,000 donations have been made by people just like you.

These donations have changed lives and helped people cope with everything from an unexpected cancer diagnosis to rebuilding after a fire.  So we want to take a moment to say a big GiveForward THANK YOU to everyone who takes a little time every day to give.  It is donors like the Quinn Family, who made the $4millon donation to the fundraiser “Help Support Margie Bersterman” that are changing the world one dollar at a time.

Way to go, Giveasauruses; you are all rockstars!!

This weekend, the Chicago Tribune took a closer look at crowdfunding, GiveForward, and some of our World Give Day partners.

The Trib spoke with GiveForward, 33needs, EduLender, and IndieGoGo to get an inside look at how crowdfunding is changing the face of philanthropy….

Funding from the masses: Startups try to harness social networks to raise money

At first blush, crowd-funding may sound like just another attempt to raise money online by getting as many visitors as possible to donate to a cause.

But a growing number of startups see the landscape differently. They see the potential that social networks have to raise money in ways that align with how younger generations practice philanthropy.

Click here for full article.

One of the cool things about being a medical fundraising tool is that at GiveForward we get to see all of the creative and inspiring ways that friends and family fundraise on behalf of their loved ones.

We wanted to share one such story about Jason Noble, who was diagnosed with cancer.   Friends came together to help raise money for Jason and his wife, Kristin, to cover the cost of everyday expenses that exist outside of insurance coverage.

The unique thing about their fundraiser was the way the organizers encouraged donors to get involved.  In exchange for a standardized donation amount, donors received a collection of 12 art prints that were donated by artists from all around the United States.

The organizers assumed it would take at least six weeks to reach their goal of $15,000.  Instead, during the first day donors from the U.S., Australia, Sweden, Belgium, Germany and Canada had donated.  Within 12 hours of its launch, their fundraiser met and surpassed its goal, raising over $16,000!

Now, over a year later, Jason is on the road to recovery thanks to the support of his amazing group of friends.  We were inspired by not only the work Jason’s loved ones put into this fundraiser but the creativity they showed in their efforts.  A big GiveForward high-five to everyone involved in this exceptional fundraiser.

*Update!  Congratulations to our three fabulous Oscar winners who each had an extra $100 added to their fundraiser!

In the category of medical fundraisers, Emily Stueve Medical Fund blew us away with their amazing fundraising abilities.  Erin is showing true sisterly love by raising money for Emily’s expenses while she battles liver cancer.

The leader of the pet medical fundraisers wow-ed the audiences with the heartwarming story of a girl and her puppy.  Amber was raising money for Titan, a 15 week old Chiweenie, in Pennies for a Puppy.

Give A Bike: 50 State Tour brought it all home for us by raising the most money in the final category.  And this was done by a couple who is currently biking across all 50 states.  Talk about multi-tasking!

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Forget the Academy Awards, walk the GiveForward Red Carpet!

In honor of the Oscars this coming Sunday GiveForward is holding its own competition.  Please vote for your favorite fundraiser from the categories below.  The fundraiser with the most donations between Tuesday 2/22/2011 at midnight and Sunday (Oscar night) at midnight wins.

1 donation = 1 vote

Winners get an extra $100 and will be announced on Monday 2/28/2011

Categories

Medical Fundraisers

• Do It For Daniella
• Grace Grant
• Run4Chloe
• Emily Stueve Medical Fund
• Tony Kudalis
• Help Rich Buy A Movement Therapy Bike!!

Pet Fundraisers

• The Machas Fund
• Sydney’s Foundation
• A Leg Up For Gus
• Bella’s Surgery
• Pennies For A Puppy
• Emmy’s Chemo Fund

Other

• Debi Moore
• Team Adamo
• Go Nicaragua 2011
• Lip Sync Team Sigma Phi Epsilon
• Give A Bike 50 State Tour
• San Francisco Ballet School Summer Intensive Fund

President and co-founder Desiree Vargas was recently interviewed on GoodNewsBroadcast discussing GiveForward.  GoodNewsBroadcast strives to highlight people who have a “positive, constructive, impact on society” and we’re proud to fall into that category!  Further, they pride themselves on offering unedited, unbiased reporting. 

Click on the video below to hear all about why and how Desiree started GiveForward.  (I will warn you– the video itself is not that compelling, but the discussion certainly is!)

One fundraising strategy that many of our users have found really successful is offering prizes to their donors to create a little extra incentive to donate.   Often times, this can be great way to reel in potential donors who are sitting on the fence about donating. (i.e. those people who may have overlooked your emails in the past or may not have donated otherwise).

Although you many think this tactic too closely teeters on the border of bribing, the reality is that in most successful fundraisers, people donate for a number of different reasons. Sometimes people donate because they feel really connected to your cause. Sometimes they donate just because they want to support you as a friend. And then other times, people donate because they want to win a prize.

If it helps, think about it this way: you are fundraising for a great cause, your friends want to help you reach your goal, and someone along the way gets an iPod, gift card, etc.  I’d say it’s a win-win-win situation all around!

So, here’s how to create your promotion:

• Inform your contact list: Send out an initial email/Facebook message to your contact list informing them that anyone who donates over a certain amount will be entered into a raffle for an ipod or any cool thing you have lying around the house (autographed tissue, extra pair of moon-shoes, just a couple examples).  Make sure to follow up with subsequent reminders as the promotion moves along to keep people interested.

• Create a sense of urgency. People are more likely to donate when there is a sense of urgency, so to help get donations coming in you should structure your promotion within a short time frame or on a first come first serve basis.
• Time period: Anyone who donates within a certain time period (e.g. two weeks) is entered into a raffle to win the prize
• First come, first serve: The first X amount of people that donate (e.g. first 25 or first 50) will be entered to win the prize.

Timing of the campaign

• As far as when to begin such a campaign, it’s probably best to wait until your first or second round of donors have made donations- this being your closest friends and family first, then all your other circles of friends, co-workers, former dog-walkers, etc.  When the donations start to slow down and you think you have received all the donations you will get from these people (like when you know its time to take the bag of popcorn out of the microwave because there are 5 seconds between each POP), it’s a great time to start this little campaign.

Remember to have fun with it.

• The strategy above is just one example. But there are many ways to go about implementing a prize promotion and you will have to find a way for it to fit your fundraiser and personalize it.  If you’re real hard up for an idea or the funds to back up a good prize, simply offer your services.  If you’re a great photographer, offer to do a family photo shoot for free; maybe an oil change if you’re mechanically inclined, or something as simple as an extra hand around the house.  Be creative and make it work for your fundraiser and your friends.  You never know who will turn around and surprise you.

Saturday, May 9, saw the debut of Climate Cycle’s first annual Bike-a-Thon, which proved to be a fun, albeit freezing morning.  The ride, which had three different courses, helped raise money towards Climate Cycle’s goal of installing solar energy systems on Chicago Public Schools.

Despite weather in the 40s and strong winds off the lake, the day was a success for all involved.  Climate Cycle was able to raise over $60,000 from its participants plus an additional $30,000 match from the Motorola Foundation.

I first heard about Climate Cycle and its great cause through GiveForward’s Green Trivia night a few weeks ago.  Climate Cycle received the proceeds from our event and one volunteer, myself for its upcoming Bike-a-Thon.

I arrived at the event at 7:00 a.m. (yikes!) and proceeded over to the registration tent that would be my home for the next five hours.  I was immediately greeted by my fellow volunteers: One Brick members, local students from Curie High School, and members of the Center for Spiritual Living.  Helpful staff from Special Events Management helped us all learn our roles. While there were certainly complaints about the freezing weather and continual bracing down due to high winds, we all worked really hard and were rewarded by the wonderfully cheery riders both pre and post race.  One rider even thanked me for volunteering my time.

Another GiveForward member, Co-Founder Ethan Austin took part in the race and had a great time: “The ride was a total win-win situation for everyone involved. We had a ton of fun and all the money is going to help Chicago school kids.  You can’t beat that.  Plus, the free Chipotle burritos were a nice touch.  I doubled up and had two of them.”