Memorial Day Fundraising Ideas for America’s Heroes

Memorial Day isn’t just about grilling burgers, swimming, and enjoying a long weekend. It’s a day for remembering the men and women who have sacrificed their lives to protect our freedoms. We can honor our fallen heroes by expressing our gratitude and lending a hand to veterans and those still serving.

Memorial Day Fundraising Ideas That Will Inspire You

Here is a look at a few organizations’ Memorial Day fundraising ideas that incorporate mobile fundraising, text messaging, and crowdfunding to help care for and remember America’s heroes:

Our Military Kids Inc.

Memorial day fundraising ideas: Our Military Kids Inc provides support and recognition to military children ages 3 to 12th grade to pay for fees associated with athletics, fine arts, and tutoring programs. This helps relieve the stress of separation from a parent by providing a positive distraction that builds self-esteem and minimizes emotional destabilization.

Friends Nicholas Almond and Jordan Smith started with the idea to run across Michigan but wanted their challenge to bring awareness and aid to a worthy cause. After personally witnessing the effects on children whose parents are deployed and/or injured in combat, they knew they wanted to partner with Our Military Kids. Nicholas and Jordan will embark on the Shore 2 Shore 235-mile ultra marathon, over the course of three days in September 2015.

The event will raise awareness and much-needed funds. By integrating a  crowdfunding campaign, they have made it possible for anyone, regardless of geographic location, to participate as a donor and virtual volunteer just by easily setting up their own fundraising page to share and collect donations within their own social network.

K9s for Warriors

Memorial day fundraising ideas: K9s for Warriors provides service dogs for warriors suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, and other trauma as a result of service post 9/11. Their goal is to help Servicemen and Servicewomen return to civilian life with dignity and independence.

Dogs are rescued from shelters and trained to be useful service companions for military heroes returning from combat to gain a new leash on life. Their program includes a three-week stay in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. where Warriors meet & train with their new dog. K9s For Warriors focuses on the recovery of the warrior by including them in the training and giving them the training tools necessary that also become part of their own recovery.

Keywords are great for sharing on social media, via mobile messaging, and during live verbal calls to action. K9s for Warriors includes simple instructions to text the keyword WOOF to 91999 within pictures posted to their Facebook and Twitter accounts. To cover all of their bases, the customizable donation form can quickly and easily be embedded on a website or shared via a unique URL link in an e-mail.

Veterans Matter

Memorial day fundraising ideas: Veterans Matter works with HUD and the VA to ensure funds raised go directly to landlords for rental deposits necessary to secure housing. 57,000 veterans are homeless in the streets of the very country they defended. Recently, they helped place their 600th veteran in housing, but their goal is to continue housing as many unhoused veterans as they can. Veterans Matter also continues to provide additional services to veterans and their families to recapture their lives and return to domestic autonomy.

Veterans Matter chose a custom keyword that reflects what their campaign and cause are all about. It is short, easy to remember (aka easy to share), and easy to spell. These key characteristics should be taken into consideration when strategically choosing keywords for mobile fundraising to ensure funds accurately and securely reach your organization.

Mobile messaging is a great way to stay connected to supporters as text messages have a 99% open rate. Veterans Matter consistently sends updates, Thank You messages and links to videos – some feature celebrities making a call-to-action, like the one below – as part of their mobile messaging strategy. The messages are sent from their account to donors and subscribers whose smart donor data has been securely captured for the purpose of building a loyal relationship via regular communication.

Text VETS to 41444 or click here to donate

Purple Hearts Reunited

Memorial day fundraising ideas: Purple Hearts Reunited returns lost or stolen military medals of valor to veterans or their families in order to honor their sacrifice to the nation. Founded in 2012 by combat-wounded veteran and active-duty Army National Guard officer Zachariah Fike, the organization has been able to locate and return medals to over 150 military families to date. Our organization returns what is often the last tangible piece of a veteran to his or her family. This is often the solace that is needed for a military family to commemorate their loved one’s service and move on from the pain of his or her sacrifice.

The Purple Hearts Reunited organization created a branded mobile responsive sign-up page for a custom Memorial Day campaign. They have a $3000 goal that they’ll easily meet (and exceed!) by sharing their strategically chosen keyword, VALOR, via text message and social media.

Reaching out to current donors and volunteers is a great way to kick off a crowdfunding campaign because these people already share a connection to the cause. They’ll be able to tell friends and family why they should join in as donors and supporters through a genuinely passionate first-hand call-to-action on their individual fundraising page and social media posts.

Text VALOR to 71777 or click here to contribute

Memorial Day Fundraising Ideas for the Little Guy?

Feeling inspired to honor our vets, but worried you missed out this year? It isn’t too late!

Consider hosting a bake sale or lemonade stand this weekend with the keyword and shortcode displayed for donations in exchange for your gourmet goodies. Get the kids involved so they can feel good about helping our past and current service men and women. Just take out your phone, open a new message, enter the shortcode as the recipient number, then enter the keyword in the message. As a crowdfunding virtual volunteer, you can customize your fundraising page from your smartphone – in less than 5 minutes! All donations are directly and securely directed to the organization. Another great memorial day fundraising idea that anyone can do is make patriotic cards to deliver to veterans at a local nursing home or assemble care packages to send to active military and include a handwritten note thanking them for their service.