Angie Mackie

Angie has spent her entire career servicing the not-for-profit community.

At the Canadian Red Cross Society and Canadian Diabetes Association, she merged independent direct marketing programs, developed vibrant monthly giving programs, built relationship strategies for higher end supporters and implemented fundraising software.

At The Donnée Group, Angie continues to help a number of clients exceed their fundraising goals including: Canadian Mental Health Association, Parkinson Society Canada , The William Osler Health Centre Foundation and the St. Joseph 's Health Centre Foundation.

Angie volunteers on several local boards and in addition to her CFRE, has an MBA from the University of Toronto.

Going Once, Going Twice, Gone!

In these difficult economic times, all charities are trying to find new ways to raise funds. A client of ours, The Canadian Hearing Society is one of those groups. They have just launched their third eBay auction. This initiative is an innovative way for the Society to solicit support in addition to their traditional direct mail, major gift asks and events. Wendy Quick, The Manager of Individual Giving for the Society says. “Our key objective was to find a new way to fundraise that would hopefully also attract younger support. The traditional ways to raise money are our bread and butter, but they have not allowed us to break into the potential younger supporters.”

The Society finds the items and then offers them up on eBay for a specified period of time. This is also a unique potential opportunity for nonprofits as all the items are donated and the charity gets to keep 100% of the dollars raised. You can check out their auction which is live now for the entire month of May. Log-on to their website www.chs.ca and follow the links…

Authored by Angie Mackie, Partner, The Donnée Group

Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes

I recently attended a special event hosted by The ALS Society of Canada and had the honour of viewing a new video launched by the society ‘Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes’. The campaign is intended to raise awareness about Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and the ALS Society’s efforts to fund research towards a cure for the disease. It has done that and more.

Created by Lowe Roche on a pro bono basis, the 60-second television public service announcement, “Head and Shoulders” is composed of a montage of clips, each one focusing on a man with ALS in emotionally charged moments as his disease advances to different parts of his body. Set to the children’s song, “Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes”, as the spot progresses, and his conditions worsen, the cheerful singing becomes a sad whisper.

“We chose to create a spot that was musically and emotionally driven to raise awareness for ALS,” said Christina Yu, Vice President, Creative Director, Lowe Roche. “This song is one which everybody can relate to and we wanted to use it unconventionally to illustrate how this disease eventually affects every body part.”

“Lowe Roche has created a very powerful commercial that we think will help the public better understand what ALS is all about,” said Bobbi Greenberg, Director of Communications, ALS Society of Canada. “We’re very appreciative of their dedication to this project and of those who donated their time and services during the production process. We’re certain that their efforts will help us raise the funds we desperately need to proceed with research initiatives that will ultimately help us find effective therapies and a cure for this devastating disease.”

ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a rapidly progressive and fatal neuromuscular disease that causes the degeneration of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. As the nerve cells die, people with ALS lose control of their muscles, which makes breathing, eating and even smiling almost impossible. Eighty per cent of those diagnosed will die within two to five years. There is no known cure or effective treatment of ALS.

Go directly to the ALS Society’s website to view the video.

Tough Economic Times Hit the United Way…

The United Way of Toronto announced last week they have two weeks left in their campaign but are $4 million short of their campaign goal. It’s the kind of announcement many in the non-profit sector have been concerned about.

In an article published in the Toronto Star, UW President & CEO Frances Lankin is quoted as saying “this is one of the toughest campaigns that we have ever experienced.”

Is this a sign of more to come?
Is the United Way so unique because of their reliance on corporate support?
How are your campaigns performing?

Using Social Networking Tools in the Non Profit World

More and more nonprofits are experimenting with social-networking tools such as Twitter and Facebook. In some cases, these tools are helping them raise funds. In most cases, it seems awareness and integration with other fundraising activities are the main goals. These tools do offer organizations an opportunity to build connections with their supporters and donors.

When you think of the Salvation Army, you may think of a very traditional organization likely more focused on established offline communication methods like direct mail. While they are still very focused in the mail, they are also ahead of the game in the online world dedicating resources to this pursuit. You’ll find the Salvation Army using Twitter and Facebook on a daily basis. Their Facebook page is active with links about donating, volunteering and connecting with the organization and is a fantastic example of how to take control of these tools and their content. Here’s the kind of information they provide on the page:

The Salvation Army in Canada
Global
Basic Info
Type: Organizations - Non-Profit Organizations

Description: The international Salvation Army gives hope and support to vulnerable people in 111 countries around the world, offering service in 175 different languages. As one of the largest social service agencies in the world, and through its role in the global community, The Salvation Army seeks to alleviate poverty, suffering and oppression by helping people build secure, sustainable and productive communities.
Contact Info

Website: http://SalvationArmy.ca

Recent News
Become a Salvation Army Fan!

http://www.new.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/The-Salvation-Army-in-Canada

Keeping it All in the Family…

More and more nonprofits have come to the realization that if you can’t count on your family who can you count on? Through social networking, electronic or otherwise, many charities are finding new ways to connect with core audiences.

Parkinson Society Canada’s Family Fund is a fantastic example of a nonprofit that is both getting into the “social networking” game and also building a group of leadership supporters drawn from their family & friends. The brainchild of a long-time Parkinson’s volunteer, the “Parkinson’s Society Canada Family Fund’ has been created to provide Family members of those affected by Parkinson’s a way to pool their dollars to help support the Society’s work towards finding a cure.

Together members' dollars will help build a pooled fund of $3 Million. Families are asked to contribute to the fund to collectively help it grow.

The program is being introduced to “family” members using a multi-faceted, integrated approach that includes: highly personalized mail, phone, online and face-to-face visits.

Through the mail, a personalized invitation package will be sent to prospective members. The Manager, Major & Planned Giving will then be following up with personal calls.

Feedback from a recent donor whose siblings pooled their funds to donate several thousand dollars to the fund, says it all,

“This was the best way for my sister, brother and I to really make a difference for our dad who has Parkinson’s.”

Isn’t that what our philanthropic work is all about?