Firstgiving

SOMERVILLE, Mass., April 21, 2009 — Firstgiving.com, a leading web-based fundraising platform for nonprofit organizations, today announced results from its fundraising efforts for the 113th Boston Marathon. Comprising nearly half of the charity-focused entrants, Firstgiving’s 844 runners have already raised $1,938,281 for 96 charities using Firstgiving technology. These preliminary numbers indicate that the final amount raised is an increase over 2008, for a fifth record-breaking year.

In a Jan. 13 Firstgiving webinar titled "Building Your E-mail List," David Karp, director of marketing for Firstgiving, a site that offers online donation processing services, covered elements surrounding e-mail that every nonprofit fundraiser doing or considering doing e-mail should know.

In a Jan. 13 Firstgiving webinar titled "Building Your E-mail List," David Karp, director of marketing for Firstgiving, a site that offers online donation processing services, covered elements surrounding e-mail that every nonprofit fundraiser doing or considering doing e-mail should know.

More and more, nonprofit organizations are giving constituents the tools to rally support for them and get donation pledges online. Online fundraising can be especially useful for annual, pledge-driven events like walk-a-thons; seasonal campaigns like an awareness month or during the summer for a “virtual” lemonade stand; or just as an ongoing, grassroots way constituents can support a cause. Laurel Ackerman, marketing director for Firstgiving, an online fundraising service, says that’s because using the Web is a more efficient way to ask for pledges — much easier than calling on the phone or going door to door to friends and neighbors. Participant