NAMI DIY: Optimizing Your Fundraising Page

DIY

WelcomeNAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.

What started as a small group of families gathered around a kitchen table in 1979 has blossomed into the nation’s leading voice on mental health. Today, we are an association of hundreds of local affiliates, state organizations and volunteers who work in your community to raise awareness and provide support and education that was not previously available to those in need.Learn more about us at https://www.nami.org/About-NAMI.

NAMI is thrilled you have chosen to fundraise on behalf of our national headquarters (EIN: 43-1201653).This toolkit will teach you how to use the tools that come preloaded with your personal fundraising page supporting NAMI. By making your page appealing and compelling, emailing potential donors, linking to social media accounts and more, you can reach more people, inspire more supporters and raise more funds for NAMI.

Contact UsIf you have any questions about this toolkit or your fundraiser, please reach out to NAMI’s development staff at donorservices@nami.org or 888-999-NAMI.

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Log In To begin, login to your personal fundraising page with the “Login” button in the upper right corner of the fundraising homepage at ifundraise.nami.org. Login with the email address

and password you provided when creating your page. If you have not yet created your page, click “Create a Campaign” to get started.

Get Oriented Your ToolbarThe toolbar at the top of the screen allows you to navigate throughout your fundraising site. The following pages describe the features and functions of your site.

View and edit your page’s title, content, photos and more

View your stats: your standing in the ranking, number of donations, number of emails, etc.

View your donations and email “thank yous” to supporters

Upload your contacts and email prospective donors

Download resource guides

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Your PageThe Your Page tab allows you to edit your fundraising page. Click the pencil icon next to the area of the page you want to change. You can change your profile picture, title, event date and your story at any time. The My Story section comes preloaded with general content about supporting NAMI. However, we encourage you to customize this section to reflect your reasons for choosing to fundraise for NAMI.

Clicking the Donations tab will open a list of people who have donated on your page.

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Click the Settings tab to change your campaign date, page link, fundraising goal and search preferences. Be sure to customize your page link to make your fundraiser easier to find.

Check or uncheck these boxes depending on your preferences. Allowing people to search for your page makes it possible to find it via Google and the fundraiser search on ifundraise.nami.org. If you uncheck the box, your page will be accessible only to those who have the direct link. NAMI recommends allowing your page to be searchable. You can also choose if you would like your page to display donor information and donation amounts. If you uncheck these boxes, this information will be available only to you when you are logged in to your site.

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DashboardIn addition to your page’s statistics summary, your Dashboard contains social media tools to share your story and grow your reach. You can promote your page with social media in two ways: by linking or a one-time post. Linking your page to Facebook or Twitter will integrate your page with your account, pushing posts out to your networks. You can seamlessly share updates like receiving a new donation, achieving milestones and reaching your fundraising goal.

You can also choose to share a one-time request for donations through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or email. Links to these are available in the sidebar of your dashboard.

TipYou can customize your social media message before it is posted or sent.

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DonationsOnce you start receiving donations, the Donations tab of your toolbar will display a searchable list of donors. You can also track progress toward your goal and thank your donors in this tab.

Thanking Your DonorsA personal thank you to your supporters is a great way to show appreciation for all they have done to make your fundraiser a success. You can email thank-yous through the system to anyone who has donated on your page. To begin, click the “Thank Your Donors” button. Select the donors you would like to thank or click “Select All” to email your supporters. These messages come prefilled with content; however, we suggest personalizing your note.

TipYou can edit your email on the next screen before sending it.

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Add an Offline DonationAs you fundraise, someone might provide you with a check or cash, rather than making a credit card donation on your fundraising page. Before sending these gifts to NAMI, you can record them on your fundraising page.

Fill out the type of gift and the donor’s information.

Then send the checks or cash to NAMI at:

National Alliance on Mental IllnessPO Box 62596Baltimore, MD 21264

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MessagesMessages are an essential tool for a successful fundraiser. You can draft and send messages to prospective and current supporters using the tools provided. Clicking on the Messages tab in the tool bar at the top of your screen will open your messaging center.

Create Your Contact ListYou can add contacts individually, by uploading a CSV file or by linking email contacts. Click the “Add Contact” button to begin.

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To add an individual contact, click “Add a Contact” and enter that person’s name and email address in the pop-up window.

To import contacts, select either Webmail or CSV (Excel, etc.).

To import contacts from your Webmail, choose a platform from the pop-up menu. On the next screen, you can select contacts to import. You do not need to import your entire address book to use this feature.

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Sending a MessageBack on your Messages landing page, click the button labeled “Compose a Message.”

Select the type of message you plan to send and add the recipients. If you did not upload your contacts already, you can do so here or manually enter the email addresses in the box below.

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The “Ask a Friend to Donate” email is prefilled with a subject line and content for your convenience. However, NAMI encourages you to add a personal touch by editing these messages. These messages will always include a link to your fundraising page, so you will not need to add your own.

Before you send your message to friends, family and other potential supporters, you can send a test message to yourself or save the draft for later, using the links at the bottom of the page. Once your message is ready to go, click “Send Message.” The system will handle the rest.

Good Luck!Thank you for choosing to fundraise for NAMI. With your help, we can bring NAMI’s mission and values to new people and communities. Together, we can make a difference.

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