501c3 Tips

Welcome to another episode of Volunteer All Heart from Binky Patrol. I'm your host Susan Finch, and today we have two of our amazing volunteers joining us to share their experiences hosting Bink-A-Thons in their communities.
First up is Binky Patrol director, Carolyn Berndt, one of our dedicated volunteers who helped organize a small but mighty Bink-A-Thon with kids from a local charter school. She knows the power of involving youth in service.
We'll also hear from Daphne Boyd, a longtime New Jersey Binky Patrol Area Coordinator who partnered with her local library for a Bink-A-Thon. Daphne knows the importance of engaging senior volunteers, using online volunteer platforms, and allowing flexible participation.
Both ladies have great tips to share from their events, which the MrBallen Foundation sponsored. They'll inspire you with how our volunteers unite to make blankets and hope for children and families nationwide. Stay tuned!Here are some key tips from this episode and our recent event:
Partner with organizations receiving donations to help promote and recruit event volunteers through their newsletters, social media, etc.
Involve youth groups like Girl Scouts or school kids to participate in service activities. It teaches them to help others.
Engage senior communities in making items, giving them a sense of purpose.
Use online volunteer platforms like VolunteerMatch.org to manage and recruit volunteers. Have multiple admins.
List your non-profit in volunteer directories like 211 and United Way to increase visibility.
Consider hosting events in different seasons to provide more opportunities for involvement.
Block enough time for setup, the event itself, and clean-up when planning. Allow some flexibility.
Develop partnerships with local schools, companies, stores, etc. to host drives or service days.
Provide options for volunteers with limited time, like setup/cleanup help only.
Learn more at https://binkypatrol.org 

With fundraising and volunteer engagement always top of mind, nonprofits need to maximize their donor relationships. Susan's penmanship can be challenging to read, even with the most heart-felt card she sends. Simply Noted provides nonprofits an easy way to personalize communication through handwritten notes, helping donors feel appreciated. Their customizable templates, bulk mailing discounts, and automation integrations enable nonprofits to scale personalized donor touches throughout the year. By sending consistent, meaningful communication outside of solicitations, nonprofits can improve donor loyalty and lifetime value. This outline explores how Simply Noted enables nonprofits to show extra appreciation, share updates, and invite supporters in a more genuine, memorable way. Binky Patrol is fortunate to have a sponsor for this account for the year. It's time to get started on the piles of return addresses on blanket boxes and get those thank you's out. We're also going to use it to send our volunteers anniversary cards - we'd be nothing without their hearts and time!
About Our Guest:
Rick Elmore is founder and CEO of Simply Noted in Tempe, Arizona, a company that utilizes software and robotic technology to create personalized handwritten notes for its 300,000 monthly users.
Learn more about Binky Patrol here.

This is not your episode if you want to remain with only one location and not scale your organization. If you want to grow - even slowly, here are some tips to increase the success of that growth and help retain your regional chapter leaders.
Here are a few ideas covered in this short episode:
How-to videos.
How to edit their info on your site - profile.
Where are their tools - central location to make it easy for them to create letters, social posts, flyers, and thank you cards with their local info. Lock it down except for those pieces to keep it consistent with your brand.
Ask for feedback once a year or more to ensure you still address your audiences with the materials.
Who pays for printing? Do they need to submit expenses?
Ask them for faqs you can add to the site - and credit them - they will feel supported and heard!
Press kit they can easily access to make local grant-writing and sponsorship processes easier.

Susan's guest, Steve Squillante, co-founder of Tiny Transplant Titans, opens up about the nights he and his wife spent at the hospital with their son, who is awaiting a liver transplant. The encounters with other families and transplant patients illuminated the challenges faced by those who lived far from medical centers or lacked the support of a partner. Steve realized the privilege they had of living just a short distance away and being able to care for their son together. Witnessing the struggles of other caregivers who couldn't easily leave the hospital, they saw the significance of the little things they often forgot, like coffee gift cards, cozy blankets, or brand-name toothbrushes.
Their experiences sparked an idea: to create care packages containing these forgotten items, relieving financial stress for families unable to leave the hospital. They aimed to offer a sense of ownership and familiarity, providing comfort during their stay. Susan emphasized the importance of feeling at home and having personal belongings in the hospital. 
Amidst their son's health challenges and nonprofit work, Steve and his wife balance jobs while working from home. Their desire to positively impact motivated them to utilize their support system to help others. The journey of Tiny Transplant Titans is just beginning, but the positive feedback and smiles from families receiving their care packages inspire them to continue.
The emotional tone of this summary reflects the resilience, compassion, and determination of Steve Squillante and his wife. It underscores the significance of small acts of kindness and their impact on families navigating the difficulties of pediatric transplants. The listener is moved to support Tiny Transplant Titans and witness the transformative power of their work.
 
Impact4Good sponsors this podcast.
Impact for Good is the one source for bringing community service to your next event. Excited and engaging team-building activities are just part of what they offer. Let them identify the best cause or beneficiaries to support, manage the donation logistics, and bring the spirit of community service to your group from your initial request through the day of your event. Impact4good handles all the details. Be sure to visit them at Impact4Good.com.

In this episode, Susan Finch and Russ Cassvah discuss the ins and outs of starting and running a small nonprofit. They cover important topics such as conducting research, building a community, and finding strategic partners. They also share their experiences with fundraising events and employee matching programs, as well as the importance of being flexible and having a clear vision for your nonprofit.
Some key points covered in the first half include:
Conduct research to identify the need for your nonprofit and the organizations and individuals who can help you achieve your goals.
Building a community through social media, in-person events, and other outreach efforts.
Finding strategic partners, such as companies that offer employee matching programs or provide materials for fundraising events.
Some key points covered in the second half include:
Being prepared for the time commitment required to start and run a nonprofit.
Building a network of friends and colleagues in the nonprofit sector.
Being flexible and willing to pivot in response to changing circumstances.
The importance of having an active and engaged board of directors.
Utilizing tools such as ChatGPT, Zapier, and AI transcription services to streamline your work and improve your output.
Learn more about Little Bricks Charity here.
Learn more about Binky Patrol here.

Today we have a special guest, Michelle Cramer, the founder of On Angels' Wings. Michelle’s story is one of devotion and determination, and her mission is to improve the mental health and well-being of families with medically fragile children. On Angels' Wings provides free therapeutic photography and grief recovery services to families who need it most. Michelle started doing bereavement photography 15 years ago, and the experience led her to start On Angels' Wings in July of 2013. Today, the organization serves families all over Missouri and has recently expanded to Oklahoma City and will soon launch in Minneapolis. All photographers who volunteer with On Angels' Wings are specially trained to handle the emotional challenges of working with families who have sick children. Michelle quit her job in June to work full-time for On Angels' Wings, relying on salary support raising to cover her costs. Join us as we learn more about Michelle's journey and the incredible impact On Angels' Wings has on families in need.
Links from this episode:
On Angels' Wings - https://oawphoto.org
Binky Patrol - https://binkypatrol.org
Michelle Cramer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellelcramer-oaw 

For those of you who help market non-profits, volunteer for social media to help the non-profits, this episode will cover free tools to help lighten your load. I'm also excited to share with you some of the amazing small charities and organizations doing things differently in 2023. We'll be exploring the challenges they've faced and the successes they've achieved to inspire you to volunteer or run a nonprofit more efficiently. 
Join me and my co-host Savannah Finch as we interview these organizations and learn from their experiences.
Stay tuned and visit binkypatrol.show and binkypatrol.org for more information. 
This podcast is sponsored by Impact4Good.com
Impact 4 Good is the one source for bringing community service to your next event! Exciting and engaging team building activities are just part of what we offer. Let us identify the best cause/beneficiary to support, manage the donation logistics and bring the spirit of community service to your group. From your initial request through the day of your event, Impact 4 Good handles all the details.

Having events is a great way to expand your audience, donors, volunteers, and build goodwill in the community. Since Binky Patrol is all-volunteer, we rely on partnering with sponsors and hosting organizations that are looking for a fun event to offer their volunteers, employees, members. This episode walks you through some ideas, and a list of what you need to know before you have an event.
If you want to have an event, find partners. For Binky Patrol, we partner with United Way, HandsOn Portland, Comcast, quilt guilds, girl scouts and schools. Local coffee companies like Dutch Bros, sandwich companies like Subway help keep our volunteers fed and energized. You also need a partner to help you at the end of your event. We have our delivery team that will take all of the blankets made that day to deliver them. We have a clean up crew that will take everything to put it away until the next event. You need to plan it from start to finish, before promotions and after thank you notes.

Wade Perry joined Susan after his first annual Coventry Summer Jam in Littleton, Colorado. He goes through the expense and return of this event. The expense is all under marketing, the return is beyond what he had hoped. This event benefitted the School of Rock in Littleton. They raised enough for ten scholarships. Seeing and hearing everyone enjoying this event in their local park was the best gift. Listen to this to hear how a small business or two can align with a charity to give so much to a community overall, and directly to a charity. It wasn't that hard. They are already talking about next year.
Wade offered to talk to anyone who wants more information on how they can host a similar event in their community. Susan Finch is also available to anyone who wants to brainstorm events. Wade can be reached [email protected].
Here are the steps Wade recommends.
1. Find a local quality band that has a danceable set.
2. Local food trucks.
3. Partners who may be willing to share the expense.
4. A local charity you are truly attached to - you have to be all in.
5. Charity is always the focus. You are in the background.
6. Best to keep it a smaller community event under 500 people.
7. Pull permits.
Plan this starting at least six months out.
 

There are 6 elements a 501c3 orgs website must have to build trust and give a clear picture of the impact of the organization. Listen to this episode for the list
Kimberly Ofilas, Healthcare Partnerships Communications Manager at Direct Relief joins us to talk about the must-haves for a non-profit organization's website to build trust and credibility, as well as clarity of the organization's mission. Kim's experience with non-profits and many segments stretches back to when Binky Patrol started. Her current position with Direct Relief has allowed her heart to be full. Direct Relief works to equip health professionals in resource-poor communities to meet the challenges of diagnosing and caring for people in need.
List includes a privacy policy, about page with actual directors and officers listed, clearly state what you do first thing on the home page, your 501c3 number, links to charity review sites such as Guide Star, stories showing what you do to have impact.