Internet users spend a lot of their time searching. Now, thanks to the Rehab Foundation in British Columbia, Canada, they can search for the murderer of a fictional tycoon called Hugo and raise funds for the charity.
UK Fundraising reported last month on an online celebrity book auction being held by a consortium of three Canadian educational charities. Celebrities were asked to donate books that had inspired them or were important to them. The event raised $3713.
November is Will Aid month. Over 2,000 solicitors in the UK are taking part to encourage people to make a Will. Participating solicitors ask for a charitable donation of £40 from clients and pass that on to the participating international aid charities. Don't be put off by the fact that the Web site is still stuck in 1996 - Will Aid is a valuable fundraising tool that is very much alive.
Children's Aid Direct are trying to raise funds online for their work in Kosovo by offering a chance to win prizes in return for online donations. If you give more than £10 to the Couch Potato Competition, you will be entered into a draw to win a digital camera, a handheld TV and a pair of tickets to Boston. The competition closes on 9th November.
Online auctions have been a popular method of Internet fundraising for more than three years. Marilyn Dickey reviews successes to date in her article for the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Sold, to the Man at the Mouse. As well as interviewing fundraisers, Dickey pulls together some useful guidelines for other charities planning to launch an online auction.
A group of Canadian celebrities have donated books for sale at an online auction to raise money for educational projects in Canada. This "unique event" is being held in support of scholarships and bursaries for adult learners in literacy and high school programs.
Now that it is public knowledge (The Guardian, 19 October 1998, p.3), UK Fundraising's Howard Lake can share one of his more satisfying experiences as a fundraiser for Amnesty International UK. "I remember the time" he says, "when, four years ago, AIUK received a letter from Ruth Rogers, co-owner of prestigious restaurant the River Cafe in Hammersmith, London.
Shelter would like you to suit yourself at branches of Austin Reed and help raise money for their work with the homeless and badly housed people. During the National Suit X-Change, which runs between 1 and 25 October 1998, you can take any old suit into a branch of the outfitters and receive up to £50 off the price of a new suit.
The first Internet fundraising seminars took place in the UK just three years ago at the end of 1995. Now, this year's Professional Fundraising Conference and Show is being sponsored by an e-commerce solutions company that serves charities. eCharity.com was launched earlier this year by the MM Group.
