Empowered.org is a free crowdfunding platform that allows businesses, social enterprises and not-profit organizations around the world to mobilize their members and supporters, fundraise effectively, and coordinate initiatives. Through features that allow direct peer-to-peer fundraising, volunteer recruitment, and organizational management, Empowered.org has revolutionized how fundraising is conducted, allowing organizations to empower their networks and make a greater impact for the causes that matter. Learn how you can join Empowered.org today to start effectively fundraising for your cause!

2. Table of Contents
The Empowered Structure
Setting Up Your Account
Fundraising With Empowered.org
Creating a Personal Fundraising Page
Adding Volunteer Activities
Maximizing Your Results

3. THE EMPOWERED STRUCTURE

4. The Empowered Structure
TERMINOLOGY
ORGANIZATION [N]: the overarching institution
[ex. Global Brigades]
PROGRAMS [N]: sectors within the institution that are
categorized by a common theme
[ex. Medical Brigades within Global Brigades]
CHAPTER [N]: geographically based branches of a program
[ex. Medical Brigades at the University of Southern California]

5. The Empowered Structure
FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN [N]: campaigns initiated by members
of a chapter
[ex. John Smith’s fundraising campaign]
VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES [N]: chapter initiatives for which
members and/or non-members are recruited as participants
[ex. University of Southern California’s Medical Brigade Trip to
Honduras]
EVENTS [N]: all other non-fundraising and non-volunteer chapter
initiatives open to the chapter’s guests
[ ex. University of Southern California Medical Brigade’s End of
Year Celebration]

6. The Empowered Structure

7. SETTING UP YOUR ACCOUNT

8. Setting Up Your Account
Once your Organization Administrator has set up your school’s
group page, go to Empowered.org and click “Join” in the upper
right corner to register for an account

9. Setting Up Your Account
After you have created your account, access your university
chapter’s page by searching for your university.
Once you have located your school’s group, find the corresponding
“Volunteer Activity” that you will be taking part in. Click the
orange “Volunteer With Us” button on the Volunteer Activity
page
Once you are a part of the Volunteer Activity, you will be able to
personalize your fundraising page to collect donations.
NOTE: if you only “Become a Chapter Member”, you will
be a member of the group, but you will not be signed up
as a volunteer. To be given a personal donation page, you
must take part in the Volunteer Activity as well].

10. FUNDRAISING WITH
EMPOWERED.ORG

11. Fundraising with Empowered.org
Log into your Empowered.org account, and go to your homepage
dashboard by clicking on your name at the top right-hand
corner
Under “Upcoming Activity”, click “See My Fundraising Page”. Direct
donors here to make a donation by clicking on the “Donate”
button.
Donors can also access your
page by searching for your
name, and scrolling down
your profile to click on “My
Fundraising Page”.

12. CREATING A PERSONAL
FUNDRAISING PAGE

13. Creating a Personal Fundraising Page
Under your name in the top right hand corner, click “Settings”.
Update your
personal
information and
include a photo
of yourself

14. Creating a Personal Fundraising Page
Go to “Manage Fundraising Pages” to view current activities. Also
update “My Message”, which will be viewed by supporters.
Click “Tell Friends” to share your personal fundraising page with
friends and family via Facebook, email, and Twitter.

15. ADDING VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES

16. Adding Volunteer Activities
If you are a chapter administrator, go to your Chapter Home and
click “Create a Volunteer Activity”

17. Adding Volunteer Activities
Set the title of the activity, description, and the date
Enable fundraising and set the volunteer goal
If you want volunteers to be accepted without needing the
approval of an admin, check the box.
Upload a photo after
inputting the activity
information

18. Adding Volunteer Activities
Add volunteers: you can import your contacts, from gmail, msn,
yahoo, etc. – and include a personal message. Send the link to
your group members so they can volunteer for the activity

19. Adding Volunteer Activities
Get the word out! One of the last steps in creating a campaign on
Empowered.org is to share your page via Facebook, email,
Twitter, and by posting a link to the campaign on your website.

20. MAXIMIZING YOUR RESULTS

21. Maximizing Your Results
You’ve set up your Empowered.org Account, created a
fundraising campaign, and maybe even set up a few
volunteer initiatives for your chapter. Now what? This
next section is dedicated to 10 tips and tricks that can
help you get the most out of your Empowered.org
experience.

22. Tell a Story
Everybody enjoys a good story- which makes it
valuable. Make sure you not only tell donors why you
need funding, but also the story behind what led you to
begin your endeavor. Consider creating a blog to
expand your story beyond what donors can see on your
Empowered.org page. This is especially relevant if you
or have photos of past experiences that relate to the
cause, or documentation of ongoing fundraising
activities and events.

23. Push Social Media Outreach
Generally, Twitter and Facebook are the most effective
social media platforms to push your fundraising page-
but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t share your
Empowered.org page link on every outlet possible
(Instagram, Youtube, Tumblr- you name it)! That being
said, creating fundraising graphics that you, your
organization, and your friends can use for profile
pictures and cover photos can be particularly effective.
The longer these graphics are on display, and the
greater the amount of people who display them, the
more effective they will be.

24. Push Social Media Outreach
Creating Facebook groups or events to publicize your
Empowered.org fundraiser is a common practice. If you
choose to do so, including a specific monetary goal in
the name of your event (Ex. Help Joe raise $1000 for
Medical Brigades!) can be a great idea by encouraging
people to help you reach a definitive goal.
Make sure to include the link to your Empowered.org
fundraising page in all social media posts, as well as in
any graphics that your organization creates. Lastly,
don’t just post once and expect huge results- post
frequently and regularly!

25. Launch a $1.00 Campaign
In today’s social media age, each member of your
organization has hundreds, if not thousands of contacts
that they can access instantly. Imagine the impact it
would make if each of them donated only $1.00 to your
campaign. A quick and effective fundraising strategy
can be just that: asking each member of your
organization to reach out to say, 100 contacts, for a
minimal donation amount. Usually, people are much
more receptive to a request for a small and specific
donation rather than a general request for an unnamed
sum.

26. Offer Incentives
Whether you’re a college student or an established
business, it’s easy to offer donors some form of reward
for achieving a certain donation level. This can be movie
tickets, gift baskets, etc., but the best rewards will be
relevant to your fundraising cause. If budget is an issue,
not to worry. Something as simple as a signed
photograph from your event can serve as an incentive.
There’s lots of room for creativity, and the possibilities
are endless!

27. Interact With Your Donors
It’s easy to attribute all your fundraising efforts to the
online world, but don’t count out your face-to-face
interactions with your family, friends, and peers. Before
heading out the door each morning, put some cards with
your Empowered.org fundraising page link written on it.
That way, whenever you find yourself talking about your
cause (which is hopefully often!), it’ll be easy to bring up
your fundraising efforts and slip the person a card.

28. Film a Video
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then think about
how much a video is worth. Videos are one of the best
ways to showcase your cause, and bring donors on
board. Many people are put off by this idea because
they think it will be time and budget intensive. However,
new apps for phones and tablets have simplified that
process immensely. Those who are uncomfortable with
the filming process can check out apps for stop motion
videos, which are created by taking a series of
photographs (ex. iMotion HD). Whatever route you
decide to take, remember to include the link to your
Empowered.org fundraising page in the video,
preferably at both the beginning and the end.

29. Obtain Press Coverage
Local newspapers and student publications on
university campuses are often open to featuring articles
about organizations who are making a positive impact,
or trying to attain a goal for a good cause. If a
publication is willing to feature your cause, make sure
you provide the background story behind your
fundraising efforts, as well as a request for readers to
join in through Empowered.org. Don’t know where to
start? A quick Google search of the publication you had
in mind and their contact information is a good way to
start. Many publications also have submission
information for interested guest contributors on their
websites.

30. Mobilize your Network’s Networks
Chances are, someone you or your organization knows
owns their own website, blog, or has an online presence.
Some may even have access to the websites of other
organizations that they are a part of. Find out who these
people are, and ask them if they would be willing to
feature your Empowered.org page on their site. This
strategy has the greatest chance of success if you find
people with site content that is relevant to your cause.

31. Set a Quantitative Deadline
This tip applies specifically to the end of your
fundraising campaign. When your are nearing your goal,
it’s time to make one last big push. Let your supporters
know exactly how close you are to your goal, and how
many days there are left to make it happen (ex. Only
$50 away from our $1500 goal, and 4 days to go!). With
the pressure of an impending deadline, supporters are
more likely to pitch in the last bit and pull you through
the home stretch.

32. Follow Up
Once your fundraising campaign ends, it’s important to
follow up with all your donors and thank them for
contributing to your cause. This not only lets them know
that they are appreciated, but encourages them to
support you again in your future Empowered.org
fundraisers. For small donor bases, a personal thank-
you card is best; for large donor bases, thank you emails
may be more practical. Lastly, it’s good practice to let
your donors know how the initiative that they
supported went (photos are a plus), so that they can see
what their money made possible.

33. The End.

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