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Fundraising is the process of soliciting and gathering money or other gifts in-kind, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gather funds for not-for-profit organizations, it is sometimes used to refer to the identification and solicitation of investors or other sources of capital for for-profit enterprises. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Economics offers various definitions for money, though it is now commonly defined as any good or token that functions as a medium of exchange that is socially and legally accepted in payment for goods and services and in settlement of debts. ...

Organizations engaging in fundraising

Fundraising is not the primary way that non-profit organizations obtain the money for their operations. These operations can involve a very broad array of concerns such as religious or philanthropic groups such as research organizations, public broadcasters, and political campaigns. A Capital Campaign is when fundraising is conducted to raise major sums for a building or endowment. Special events are another method of rasing funds. These range from formal dinners to walkathons. A non-profit organization (abbreviated NPO, or non-profit or not-for-profit) is an organization whose primary objective is to support an issue or matter of private interest or public concern for non-commercial purposes, without concern for monetary profit. ... Various Religious symbols, including (first row) Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Bahai, (second row) Islamic, tribal, Taoist, Shinto (third row) Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu, Jain, (fourth row) Ayyavazhi, Triple Goddess, Maltese cross, pre-Christian Slavonic Religion is the adherence to codified beliefs and rituals that generally involve a faith in a spiritual... Philanthropy is the act of donating money, goods, time, or effort to support a charitable cause, usually over an extended period of time and in regard to a defined objective. ... The word research derives from the French recherche, from rechercher, to search closely where chercher means to search (see French language); its literal meaning is to investigate thoroughly. Research is a human activity based on intellectual investigation and aimed at discovering, interpreting, and revising human knowledge on different aspects of... Public broadcasting is a form of public service broadcasting (PSB) intended to serve the diverse needs of the listening public. ... Political campaign Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A political campaign is an organized effort to influence the decision making process within a group. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Sponsored walk. ...

Some examples of charitable organizations include student scholarship merit awards for athletic or academic achievement, humanitarian concerns, disaster relief, human rights, research, and other social issues. The word student is etymologically derived through Middle English from the Latin second-type conjugation verb stŭdērĕ, meaning to direct ones zeal at; hence a student is one who directs zeal at a subject. ... Scholarship is the pursuit of academic research, whether in the arts and humanities or sciences, and in all such fields means deep mastery of a subject, often through study at institutions of higher education. ... A sport consists of a physical activity or skill carried out with a recreational purpose: for competition, for self-enjoyment, to attain excellence, for the development of a skill, or some combination of these. ... Plato is credited with the inception of academia: the body of knowledge, its development and transmission across generations. ... Humanitarianism is the view that all people should be treated with the respect and dignity they deserve as human beings, and that advancing the well-being of humanity is a noble goal. ... Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ... The word research derives from the French recherche, from rechercher, to search closely where chercher means to search (see French language); its literal meaning is to investigate thoroughly. Research is a human activity based on intellectual investigation and aimed at discovering, interpreting, and revising human knowledge on different aspects of...

Professional fundraisers

Many non-profit organizations take advantage of the services of professional fundraisers. These may be paid for their services either through fees unrelated to the amounts of money to be raised, or by retaining a percentage of raised funds (percentage-based compensation). The latter approach is expressly forbidden under the Code of Ethics of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), a professional membership body.^[1] A fundraiser is an event or campaign whose primary purpose is fundraising. ...

Many non-profit organizations nonetheless engage fundraisers who are paid a percentage of the funds they raise. In the United States, this ratio of funds retained to funds passed on to the non-profit is subject to reporting to a number of state's Attorneys General.^[2] This ratio is highly variable and subject to change over time and place, and it is a point of contention between a segment of the general public and the non-profit organizations. In most common law jurisdictions, the Attorney General is the main legal adviser to the government, and in some jurisdictions may in addition have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions. ...

Religious organizations

Equally important are fundraising efforts by virtually every recognized religious group throughout the world. These efforts are organized on a local, national, and global level. Sometimes, such funds will go exclusively toward assisting the basic needs of others, while money may at other times be used only for evangelism. Usually, religious organizations mix the two, which can sometimes cause tension. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Political campaigns

Fundraising also plays a major role in political campaigns which, despite numerous campaign finance reform laws, continues to be a highly controversial topic in American politics. Political action committees (PACs) are the best-known organizations that back candidates and political parties, though others such as 527 groups also have an impact. Some advocacy organizations conduct fundraising for or against policy issues in an attempt to influence legislation. A political campaign is an effort to reach a certain political goal. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Campaign finance. ... In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group organized to elect or defeat government officials in order to promote legislation, often supporting the groups special interests. ... Political parties Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A political party is a political organization that seeks to attain political power within a government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns. ... A 527 group is a type of tax-exempt organization named after a section of the United States tax code, created primarily to influence the nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates for public office. ...

Public broadcasting

While public broadcasters are completely government-funded in much of the world, there are many countries where some funds must come from donations from the public. Pledge drives commonly occur about three times each year, usually lasting one to two weeks each time. Viewership and listenership often declines significantly during funding periods, so special programming may be aired in order to keep regular viewers and listeners interested. Fundraising is the term referring to the process of soliciting and gathering money by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. ...

Taxation

Organizations in the United States established for charitable purposes are allowed to raise funds from many sources. They are given a specific designation by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), commonly noted as 501(c)(3) organizations. Other nonprofits such as fraternal associations have different IRS designations, and may or may not be eligible to fundraise. Financial information on many nonprofits, including all nonprofits that file annual IRS 990 forms is available from GuideStar. Seal of the Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the United States federal government agency that collects taxes and enforces the internal revenue laws. ... 501(c)(3) is a provision of the US tax code that provides exempt status, for Federal income tax purposes, for some non-profit organizations in the United States (see 26 U.S.C. Â§ 501(c)(3)). The term refers to: Section 501. ... GuideStar, a 501(c)(3) public charity, provides information on other 501(c)(3) organizations. ...

Types of fundraising

Many non-profit organizations receive some annual funding from a financial endowment, which is a sum of money that is invested to generate an annual return. Although endowments may be created when a sizable gift is received from an individual or family, often as directed in a will upon the death of a family member, they more typically are the result of many gifts over time from a variety of sources. A financial endowment is a transfer of money or property donated to an institution, with the stipulation that it be invested, and the principal remain intact. ... Invest redirects here. ... A family in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 1997 A family consists of a domestic group of people (or a number of domestic groups), typically affiliated by birth or marriage, or by analogous or comparable relationships — including domestic partnership, cohabitation, adoption, surname and (in some cases) ownership (as occurred in the... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

While fundraising often involves the donation of money as an out-right gift, money may also be generated by selling a product of some kind, also known as product fundraising. When goods are donated to an organization rather than cash, this is called an in-kind gift. Girl Scouts are well-known for selling cookies in order to generate funds. It is also common to see on-line impulse sales links to be accompanied by statements that a proportion of proceeds will be directed to a particular charitable foundation.^[3] The Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts of the USA in the United States) is the largest intenational youth organisation for girls and young women. ... A chocolate chip cookie In the United States and Canada, a cookie (sometimes spelled cooky) is a small, flat baked pastry. ... Impulse buying is the act of making unplanned or otherwise spontaneous purchases. ...

A number of charities and non-profit organizations are increasing using the internet as a means to raise funds, this practice is referred to as online fundraising. For example the NSPCC operates a search engine which generates funds via Pay per click links. Fundraising for Non-profit organizations and membership organizations has traditionally required a combination of personal requests, direct-mail asks, telephone solicitations and special events. ... The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is a UK charity working in child protection and the prevention of cruelty to children. ... Pay per click, or PPC, is an advertising technique used on websites, especially search engines. ...

Some of the most substantial fundraising efforts in the United States are conducted by colleges and universities. Commonly the fundraising, or 'development,' program, makes a distinction between annual fund appeals and major campaigns. In recent years major capital campaigns have followed one another with little breathing space between.

The donor base for higher education includes alumni, parents, friends, private foundations, and corporations. Gifts of appreciated property are important components of such efforts because of the tax advantage they confer on the donor encourages larger gifts.

The classic development program at institutions of higher learning include prospect identification, research and verification of the prospect's viability, cultivation, solicitation, and finally stewardship, the latter the process of keeping donors informed about how past support has been used.

Some prominent charitable fundraising events

• Band Aid (1984), Live Aid (1985) and Sport Aid (1986), for famine relief in Ethiopia
• Walk Against Want in Australia
• Red Nose Day in the United Kingdom
• Christian Aid Week in the United Kingdom and Ireland

Cover art for the original release of Do They Know Its Christmas? – artist Peter Blake Band Aid was a British and Irish charity supergroup, founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in order to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia by releasing the record Do They... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ethiopia, as its borders were in 1985. ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sport Aid (also known as Sports Aid) was a charitable event held on May 25, 1986, raising millions of pounds to support famine relief in Africa, and is the sporting event with the most participants in history. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... // Origins Charity work to aid the starving has developed from religious alms in previous centuries to organised charities in the modern day. ... Walk Against Want is an annual event held by Oxfam Australia. ... Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character or scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. ... Christian Aid Week is an annual door-to-door fundraising drive that is Britain’s longest running fundraising week. ...

See also

• Fundraiser for a list of typical kinds of fundraiser events.
• Freelanthropy Charitable Web Search
• Online fundraising A new trend in fundraising
• Accountable Fundraising for a new type of fundraising

A fundraiser is an event or campaign whose primary purpose is fundraising. ... Freelanthropy was started in 2004 to help non-profit organizations raise money online. ... Fundraising for Non-profit organizations and membership organizations has traditionally required a combination of personal requests, direct-mail asks, telephone solicitations and special events. ... Accountable Fundraising is the term used to describe a Non-profit organization holding its members accountable for their donations by showing them the direct impact of their fundraising efforts. ...

Notes and references

1. ^  Code of Ethics. Association of Fundraising Professionals. Retrieved on 2007-01-23.
2. ^  For example, Active Charity Promotions in Kentucky. Retrieved on October 9, 2005.
3. ^  This is an example and not an advertisement. See the fine print at the top of this website, which states "Fifty to 80 percent of the purchase price of all products sold by the Komen Foundation will benefit the Foundation and the fight against breast cancer." The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Marketplace. Retrieved on Jan 30, 2006.

2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ... January 23 is the 23rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... October 9 is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 30 is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

External links

Look up fundraising in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• American Institute of Philanthropy