The Good Word » non-profit

New App Helps Charities Make More Money Online

Dev Dugal — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:29:56 +0000

New App Helps Charities Make More Money Online.

Quick Pitch: Nadanu transforms the electronic giving into a simple, fun and accessible experience.

Genius Idea: Based on the ancient Sumero-Akkadian word for “giving”, Nadanu seeks to make the currently complex setup, management, deployment and usage of electronic giving and interaction with donors into a faster, better experience for users and charities alike. It helps organizations reach out to individuals who care in order to secure the funding they need.

For donors, the process is as simple as dropping virtual “coins” into a custom receptacle; the service eliminates the long, prohibitively complicated donation forms we’re used to seeing. Donors can also create reminders to give and set recurring micro-giving schedules for themselves.

Nadanu’s Push-K platform lets donors to give to their charity at anytime through a fun interface. With Nadanu, donors enjoy a simpler giving process, and non-profits or charitable organizations can deliver content such as video, audio and text messaging through a single system.

Here are some examples of the user-facing apps for iPhone, Facebook and desktop:

The Causemopolitan – Using Your Birthday For Good

Dev Dugal — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:38:24 +0000

An amazing individual, Sloane Berrent, recently interviewed me about past fundraising efforts. Below is the interview. You must follow Sloane and her incredible activities. She generous, funny, ambitious and is constantly moving forward. Read her bio on her blog, The Causemopolitan. Also, check out the piece on her recent cross-country Birthday Fundraising Campaign that was extremely successful. I’m honored to have Sloane in my circle of friends.

Dev Dugal’s Birthday Wish

Posted by Sloane Berrent in Events, Giving Back on January 22, 2010 | no responses

Dev is an amazing guy that I got to know in Los Angeles through a mastermind group that I was part of. The group continues to be some of the most dynamic and entrepreneurial people I have ever known and a terrific support group. Dev works in the restaurant/hospitality industry and so is in the amazing position of having a space that he can donate for fundraisers and to help nonprofits. The birthday campaign he talks about below doesn’t do his philanthropy justice and I’d like to thank Dev for all he does to help causes – not just on his birthday but throughout the year.

And now, the Dev Dugal interview on his birthday fundraiser:

1) Tell me about your birthday and fundraising campaign. When was your brithday? Was it a milestone? What was your inspiration? What nonprofit did you partner with? Did you tell them in advance? What was your fundraising goal (if you had one) and did you reach it?

I’ve been working with non-profits for quite some time. I realized over time which fundraising events work and which ones don’t produce. I realized that instead of bringing down the life of the party by jumping on the mic and professing the goodness of the non-profit, the structure needed to be tweaked. What has worked for me in the past is to charge people in advance or at the door and collect in advance. Spread the message about the organization thru the mediums used to invite and provide subtle reminders via auto-run presentation/DVD loop to the guests. Also a status update after the event was also fruitful.

Most people want to do good. The spectrum ranges from getting involved to simply cutting out a check. I decided I would structure my fundraising efforts around the latter and if they got more involved, it was gravy.

I’ve done about 4 events on my birthday throughout the years and they have all been fruitful. It’s a good reason to get people out when they have many choices and in the end, the non-profits win with increased exposure as well as fundraising. The organization I partnered with the most is Manav Sadhna. I had personal goals of $5,000 that I didn’t share and we reached it twice. It’s always a win-win situation.

2) Did you use online tools? Did you have a birthday party in person? What was your way to connect with people and tell them about this?

I primarily used social media to spread the word and collected general invite guest list via evite with a direct link to paypal.

3) What have you done for past birthdays?

All the events have been at bars in Southern California. My relationships allow me to generate donors for product like alcohol or deals with the bar operators for drink specials for my guests. It always works out and everyone has a great time. My motto is keep it simple with the least amount of overhead for the maximum amount of output in terms of fundraising and exposure.
4) Would you do a fundraiser for your birthday again? Was it easier or harder than you thought it would be?

I enjoy it and of course I would do it again!

5) What was the best part? Did you connect with someone you had lost contact with? Any one story you’d like to share?

The best part is when it all comes together. Even better is when I know that the non-profit is in a better position that before the event. It’s not all about the money, but it is the fact that individuals know that my events are structured this way and they keep coming back for more.

6) What advice would you give to someone else who wanted to throw a fundraiser but didn’t know where to start?

It’s a no brainer! Don’t over think it and just imagine what types of events you are not bored at and organize it the same way. Get 10 of your closest friends to commit to get 10 of their friends to commit. Have friends take ownership in the event with you as if it is their own. Create invitation on their behalf so they can also distribute to their network as if they are hosting. It works every time and before you know it, you have a solid guest list of 200+.

Two Wolves

Dev Dugal — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:26:59 +0000

There is a story about a Navajo grandfather who once told his grandson, “Two wolves live inside me. One is the bad wolf, full of greed and laziness, full of anger and jealousy and regret. The other is the good would full of joy and compassion and willingness and a great love for the world. All the time, these wolves are fighting inside of me.” But grandfather,” the boy said, “Which wolf will win?”

The grandfather answered, “The one I feed.”

Need To Party

Dev Dugal — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 20:46:08 +0000

WTN Fundraiser

Walk For Hope

Dev Dugal — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 08:00:00 +0000

For the past three months volunteers have been teeming with excitement working on creating this event for the community. Folks from all around the globe have been working on, and mailing in the hand-made quotes that will go up along the walk-route. Supplies are being gathered, food is being arranged for, all for one simple reason: To spread more love into the world.

As you know the Walk for Hope is a gift to the community. There is no registration fee, we give away a t-shirt, lunch and a quote book. Walkers can, however, if they choose to, support a charity of their own choice. If you selected a charity when you registered, there is still time to fundraise for that charity. Visit our Fundraising webpage for tips and ideas: http://www.bethecause.org/walkforhope/web/fundraise

Over the last eight years, folks have been asking us why we do this, I’m not sure that we’ve ever had a good answer. All I know is that creating this event that continues to inspire people in profound ways, that continues to support the work of numerous charities, well, that just makes us feel good about ourselves. Thank you for this opportunity.

We hope to see you on Saturday Oct 17th at 9am. All the details of the event are on our site: www.bethecause.org/walk but I’ve included directions below. A lot of folks have also expressed interest in helping out at the event. We have a Walk for Hope planning meeting scheduled this Saturday at 9am in Costa Mesa. More details are here: http://www.bethecause.com/event.php?event_id=457

DIRECTIONS TO THE WALK FOR HOPE ON SAT OCT 17:
– From the 605 South: Take the Spring St Exit. Bear Right at E Spring St. Turn Right into El Dorado East Regional Park and follow signs to the Walk for Hope.
– From the 605 North: Take the Willow St/Katella Ave Exit. Go to the Willow St Exit and Turn Right. Turn Right on Studebaker Rd. Turn Right on E Spring St, Turn Left into El Dorado East Regional Park and follow signs to the Walk for Hope.
– Parking is $7 charged by El Dorado Park.