How has your fundraising season gone? Are donations up? Or down? Feedback we are hearing is that many nonprofits have seen declines in their donation base. But not The Salvation Army.

The Salvation Army reported record fundraising results from its 2011 Red Kettle. Reports are that they raised $147.6 million. Based on 2010 results that is a 3.4 percent increase in what would certainly be considered a season where people were worried about stretching their dollars as far as possible.

So how the Salvation Army raise record amounts of money? They developed the right strategic partners for their Red Kettle campaign. Reports show that nearly a third of their total came from Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores, where bell ringers collected $41.5 million

They also partnered with Square and with Sprint to accept donations by cell phone in some of the largest markets.

Essentially what the Salvation Army did was to identify better ways to reach people that would be inclined to offer support. They did not count on the way they had always done things and there is a good lesson there for all non profits. Fundraising ideas that made sense 10 years ago might not make as much sense now as they did in the past.

But it goes beyond fundraising ideas. It goes to methodology and implementation. Nonprofits that want to raise record amounts of money need to meet their supporters in the world in which their supporters live. Whether that’s in person, by phone, online or elsewhere, organizations need to stay in front of their potential supporters, create a message that compels people to donate and makes the donation process simple and fast.

The Salvation Army’s results should encourage all of us that even in hard economic times people will be there for organizations they believe in.

When you want to make a positive difference in the world, you may decide that holding a fundraiser is the best option. After all, fundraisers help to raise money fast and encourage people to work together in the name of a good cause.

But sometimes deciding on which cause needs your efforts the most can be a daunting decision, since there are now thousands of non-profit groups around the planet that are helping to make the world a better place.

Whichever organization you decide to support, choosing the best non profit fundraising ideas is paramount to success. The best non profit fundraising ideas are the ones that reflect the values that your chosen charity supports, while offering something fun and exciting for everybody involved. The idea you decide to go with may depend on a number of different factors, such as when and where your event will be taking place, to the number of people you have to help implement your ideas, to how much money you have to begin with.

You will want to look at these restrictions before getting started and make a realistic plan of action to pull off the best non profit fundraising ideas. Some organizers of past events have found that in order to pull off a monumental event that everybody loved being a part of they decided to use one of our product fundraising packages to help them reach their goals.

You might like to try out our Earth Candle Fundraising package in support of your chosen non-profit organization, or you might like to try something tasty with our Hershey $2 Fundraising Candy.

For more information on these products and to check out our other great fundraising products, feel free to visit our product pages to help you get started. Your next non profit fundraiser is only a few clicks away!