Memorial Day, celebrated on the last Monday of May, is just a few days away. Since it’s a federal holiday, many Americans will have the day off from work on Monday, May 30^th and are looking forward to enjoying a three-day weekend. It’s an opportunity for many to have a day of rest, fun and celebration, so plans for spending time with friends and family, having a picnic and firing up the grill for a barbecue, or taking a trip somewhere for a mini vacation are already in the making. But what is really the point of this holiday and why do we celebrate it?

Originally called Decoration Day, Memorial Day is a day to honor soldiers. It’s a day of remembrance for those who have died while serving in the American military, sacrificing their lives for our freedom. Many Americans still observe the true spirit of this holiday by visiting cemeteries, memorials, participating in parades, and taking a moment of silence at 3 pm local time.

Help keep the true spirit of this holiday alive by giving back and honoring all the men and women who have served our country. Here are some other things that you can do to pay tribute to those who have given so much to us:

Make it a day of service – Donate your time or money or both to an organization, individual or group. You don’t have to look far. There may be someone in your community, school or family that might be in need of assistance.

Start a fundraiser – Create a fundraising campaign to help others. Lead by example and others will follow.

Help with a fundraiser – Support someone with his or her fundraising efforts and encourage everyone in your network to get involved too.

Giving back requires only a fraction of your time – a day, an hour or even a minute. Yes, a minute. In less than a minute, you can make an online donation or spread the word about a cause via email and social media tools like Facebook and twitter, so you’ll still have plenty of time left for relaxing, barbecuing or whatever other holiday activities you have planned.

Consider SocialWish for your fundraising needs. SocialWish is a fundraising platform that leverages social media. You can quickly and easily create a fundraising campaign and use built-in tools to spread the word about your campaign via social networks, as well as host your campaign on other platforms (i.e. website, blog, Facebook page).

Last year, we experienced a lot of firsts – first official entry into the startup world, first presentation and launch of SocialWish at the DEMO conference, and first encounter with some of the challenges that entrepreneurs and startups face. Through our participation at various events, we discovered that other startups faced similar challenges and it was comforting to learn that we were not alone. We then quickly realized the benefit of a startup community, a group of people who have walked in your shoes and can lend advice and support, and in seeking such a community we experienced another first – the birth of the Third Tuesday Tech Event one year ago this month.

Meeting on the third Tuesday of every month, the Third Tuesday Tech Event brings together entrepreneurs, startups and idea people to network and share their knowledge. Participants come from diverse backgrounds and industries, with different missions and levels of experience. But all share the same interest – the desire to connect with like-minded people, find support and advice, and offer feedback and support to others.

It’s not a big event. You won’t find 50 participants attending or even 25, but that’s just how we like it. We purposely aim to gather 15 people or less in order to create a more intimate and personal experience. When attending larger events, we would find that by the end, we would end up speaking to about that number of people anyway. Plus, larger events don’t really lend themselves well to having a ”real” conversation, where you can really get to know each other. Nor do the people attending these large events always come with the intention of actually listening to other people’s issues and helping them.

When we started the Third Tuesday Tech Event, we weren’t sure how it was going to be received and if others had the same interest as us, but every month we meet new people who prove us right. Just as with our decision to create SocialWish, we’re happy we have taken the leap to create this event. We thank everyone that has attended, shared their stories and advice, and helped us build the event into the support group and startup community that it is today. We’re excited to celebrate its 1st birthday and look forward to more Third Tuesdays ahead!

For more information about the Third Tuesday Tech Event, please see the following:

• http://thirdtuesday.eventbrite.com
• http://facebook.com/socialwish
• Check the #3rdTuesday hashtag on http://twitter.com

If you would like to receive notifications about the Third Tuesday Tech Event, you can subscribe via http://thirdtuesday.eventbrite.com or send us an email with subject “Subscribe to Third Tuesday” to founder@socialwish.com

Professional fundraisers use direct response marketing techniques to maximize the success of their fundraising. You can use precisely the same techniques and not have to spend any money. Here’s how.

SocialWish provides you with essentially the same tools that professional fundraisers are using for the latest and hottest trend in fundraising…social fundraising.

Let’s use the example of raising money for a playground. Before you set up your campaign, consider the following details:

• Think about a realistic sum you want to raise.
• Can you find a corporate partner who will match the amount you raise? For example, let’s say the playground costs $3,000. Maybe ABC Corporation will donate $1,500 when you raise $1,500.
• Write down what’s important to the people who are going to donate – safety, fun for more children, a better location further from a busy road, etc. Remember what’s important to you, the fundraiser, may not be important to the person who is going to donate, so put yourself in the donor’s shoes.
• Break down the amount you want to raise into realistic pieces. For example, if the amount you want to raise is $1,500 you could say, “we need just 100 people to give $15.”
• Clearly define what the money will fund.
• Take some photos of the old playground focusing on the parts that are worn out.
• Go to the playground company’s site and see if they have photos, testimonials, and other marketing materials…videos even.

Now that you’ve done your homework, it’s time to set up the social fundraiser. Create your campaign on SocialWish and start filling in the details.

• Include photos of the old playground and the new one you’re going to fund.
• Write a benefit-driven headline. For example: Morgan Elementary’s playground is falling to pieces and will be unsafe. Let’s raise $1,500 for a new one with the latest safety features.
• Include a sub-head and give a reason to act now. For example: We need just 150 people to donate $10. The ABC Company will give us $1,500 when we raise $1,500 by June 15th. So donate now!
• Write a short description of the problems with the current playground, followed by the benefits of the new playground.
• Include a testimonial from the principal or the head of the P.T.A. and something from someone at the ABC Company.
• Make the description a conversation between you, the fundraiser, and a fellow parent you’re trying to persuade to donate.
• Use the same techniques in emails, Facebook pages, and other social media.
• Use vivid descriptions and language. For example…instead of “the playground is unsafe” write…The slide is rusted and made of old materials and your child could be on it when it collapses.
• Create anticipation and excitement.
• Include plenty about the happy outcome…When we have our new playground, we’ll have the safest playground equipment made and more children will be able to play longer. And we’ll be providing a playground for generations to follow at our school.
• Always TELL the parents and others precisely what you want them to do…go now to this page and make a donation…

These are just a few of the techniques professional fundraisers and direct marketers use.

Remember these key items:

• People buy for emotional reasons backed by logic.
• People give money because they want to help a group solve a problem.
• People respond to compelling offers.

Are you still looking for Mother’s Day gift ideas, but don’t know what to get? Perhaps you’re struggling because your mom is the type that never needs anything or she could be difficult to shop for because she already has everything. Or maybe you’re just trying to find something different or extra special for her this year. Well, here are some ideas that will help you not only please your mom, but support social good as well.

Create a fundraising campaign on SocialWish:

For your mom’s personal project or cause – Does your mom have a creative project (art, film, book, etc.) that she needs assistance with? How about a cause that she’s passionate about, like a community program? Help your mom raise money for what she’s working on or would love to start.

In support of other mothers and women in need – Consider the less fortunate. It could be a person or even a group that you know. Maybe it’s someone who is going through a hardship, someone who is without family or whose family is far away, or even someone who is a single mom. Honor them and make them feel loved by creating a fundraiser on your mom’s behalf to raise money for what they need.

In support of your mom’s favorite charity or organization – Get involved with your mom’s philanthropic interests. Support and join her efforts to give back by raising money for an organization that she’s involved in.

And if you’re a mom yourself and would love others to support social good in lieu of buying you a gift, you can ask them to do the same for you.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mom’s (and mother figures) out there!

In the past, fundraising often involved setting up parties, events, fashion shows, phone-a-thons, and selling anything from donuts to wrapping paper. While effective, these methods take a lot of time and energy. Modern fundraising tools, like the ones found on SocialWish, make raising money significantly easier and enable you to conduct a successful fundraising campaign directly from your computer.

How?

Simply leverage the power and scope of your social network to raise awareness for your fundraising campaign. For example, let’s say you’re a parent and the P.T.A. has put you in charge of raising money for a new playground.

Let’s say your school has 500 children. That’s approximately 1,000 parents. Each parent has an average of 125 people in their social network (a conservative estimate) through LinkedIn, Facebook, their email database, address book, and more. So that’s at least 125,000 people you can ask for donations for the playground. And that’s before including teachers, uncles, aunts, grandparents, and everyone else who would like to help with the playground.

A social fundraising platform like SocialWish can help you leverage the power of your social network AND collect donations quickly and easily. Simply create a campaign and share the link with everyone in your database and the P.T.A.’s database. Better yet, host the campaign directly on the school’s website and have parents with blogs put the campaign on their blogs. Pretty soon you’re multiplying the number of people that see your campaign. The more you engage your network of followers, visitors and supporters, the more likely you’ll meet or exceed your fundraising goal.

Besides saving time and energy, a social fundraising campaign saves valuable resources and money. Fundraising events like bake sales or galas rely on assistance and coordination from volunteers, staff or other members. Such events also rely on goods to be provided for sale at the event. Plus, don’t forget the cost of the event space itself. This all equals to a large investment of time, money and resources that can be used elsewhere.

And what about all those people that can’t attend your event? Perhaps they have a scheduling conflict or they don’t want to pay the cover charge for the event (and see only a portion of it go towards the fundraiser). Don’t miss another opportunity to raise money for your campaign! Let your supporters “attend” and “give” at their convenience. A social fundraiser gives everyone access and the ability to donate at any time and from anywhere.