Fundraising with PayPal

Many people are aware of PayPal from its popular use as a payment system for eBay auctions. PayPal is a universally recognized Internet payment merchant with a solid reputation of being secure and easy to use. It is by far the largest of its kind, and is available in 103 countries/regions and used by more 100 million accountholders worldwide. But PayPal can be so much more.

Along with being a payment option for eBay online auction users, PayPal also offers a feature called PayPal Donations. PayPal Donations is a simple solution enabling nonprofit organizations to collect donations from their own Web sites or a link in their email newsletters. It is an ideal solution for nonprofits that don't have a full-time technology staff or sophisticated online fund-raising software. PayPal Donations is an easy to implement donation system that involves no upfront costs, and maintains detailed transaction records for your accounting.

The most common method of collecting PayPal donations is by setting up a donation button on your website. Include a paragraph with the button explaining this method and encourage visitors to click on the button to donate. Or you can create an entire page on your website discussing your organizations needs and encouraging visitors to donate via PayPal.

You can create several types of buttons to match your message. You can also create a series of buttons in incremental dollar amounts that your supporters can choose from. You can even set up ongoing monthly donations, called subscriptions, so your supporters can give a little each month, month after month.

PayPal takes all the headaches out of making sure your supporters enjoy a safe and secure donation experience. All contact and credit card information is entered on PayPal's secure website to eliminate any potential problems. After the donation is complete your supporters can be returned to a thank you page on your website if you choose. It's a quick, convenient and comfortable process.

Supporters can donate using a credit card from VISA, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover. Supporters need not have a PayPal account to donate but if they do they can also donate from their PayPal account or transfer from their bank account.

When you receive a donation, PayPal will send an e-mail letting you know the amount and who sent it. Your supporter will also receive an e-mail receipt which can act as proof of their donation for tax purposes. This is a fool-proof method of tracking donations. And PayPal maintains detailed transaction records on their website that you can access 24/7.

I'm betting you are waiting for the other shoe to drop. That shoe named Fees. Well, those aren't so bad either compared to a regular merchant account.

No application fees.
No setup fees.
No monthly fees.
No gateway fees.
No transaction fees.
No expensive card machines to buy.
No expensive software to buy.
Ok, so what do they charge? PayPal doesn't charge anything until you get a donation, then they charge per transaction based on your total monthly donations:

0.00 - $3,000.00 = 2.9% + $0.30
$3,000.01 - $10,000.00 = 2.5% + $0.30
$10,000.01 - $100,000.00 = 2.2% + $0.30
over $100,000.00 = 1.9% + $0.30
(all funds are in U.S dollars for business accounts with donations being made and accepted in the United States)
For example: If you received a donation of $100 then PayPal would retain $3.20 before crediting $96.80 to your account. Meanwhile, the donor would realize the full $100 for tax purposes.
($100 x .029%= $2.90 + $0.30= $3.20)

It's easy to get your money too. PayPal will transfer your funds to your bank account whenever you want for free.

PayPal eliminates the need for your nonprofit to spend thousands of dollars on technical things like secure Web certificates, credit card merchant accounts, online processing software, and credit card machines. Nor does PayPal charge any upfront fees or monthly fees. And it is extremely easy to implement with a simple and competitive fee schedule.

If your organization doesn't already have an established way to accept cash donations PayPal is my recommended method. Once you set things up you can receive money 24 hours a day from anyone with an email address. Don’t miss this opportunity to make fundraising for your cause easier with this turn-key donation solution.

Article Source:www.fundraising-newsletters.com

Start accepting donations now with a PayPal business account. ...shoot me an e-mail for info! Britt Hosmer Peterson - britt @ rockenvironmental .com

Interview with Britt Hosmer Friedkin Conservation Fund US Representative

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Britt, How did you get involved in conservation work?

I grew up on the southern coast of Maine and started my work in South Africa in 2000 for a small, family owned and operated safari company. As my passion grew, my path in Africa took me from the tourism industry; wildlife capture, relocation, and monitoring assignments; nationally qualifying and registering as a certified Field Guide; working with communities on small business development projects in rural areas; and eventually to working as an international conservation and sustainability consultant for various non-profit foundations and corporations.

But more simply put, my love of wilderness set me on a path of experiences. I've also been so blessed to have wonderful mentors in the conservation field, from my family, Dr. Ian Player, Vance Martin, and others.

Tell us about the Friedkin Conservation fund and the goals.

The Friedkin Conservation Fund (FCF) is a registered (US and Tanzanian) non-profit, non-governmental organization incorporated in 1994 (Certificate of Registration SO.NO.9807). Their role is to assist the Tanzanian Government with the conservation and preservation of more than nine million acres of Tanzania's protected areas. They achieve this through our internationally recognized anti-poaching initiative, their innovative community development program and their field research projects. Based out of Arusha, northern Tanzania, they operate in five Game Reserves, two Open Areas, three Forest Reserves and one Game Controlled Area.

Our mission is to:

Provide proactive assistance to the Government and the people of Tanzania with their efforts to conserve and preserve their Protected Area network
Engage rural communities in the conservation of their natural heritage and empower them to alleviate some of the conditions in their lives that contribute to poverty
Monitor, research and facilitate developments in sustainable utilization of natural resources.

What are the successes of the organization?
Focusing on the anti-poaching arm of FCF...

During 2005 and 2006 our teams were responsible for the arrests of some 3,884 poachers. Their seizures included 209 illegal firearms, 15 elephant tusks and nearly 16,000 planks of illegally logged hardwood. 2007 ended on a very high note. The anti-poaching teams finished the year with a total of 2,131 arrests and 91 confiscated firearms.

FCF was recognized as the APHA's ‘Ox of the Okavango' for 2007 - an award presented to the conservation organization of the year as decided upon by the members and board of the APHA.

FCF's training and work in the field has been filmed and broadcast by ESPN and the Animal Planet Channel.

How many poachers were arrested before FCF came about?
Zero

What is the current poaching situation in Tanzania?

Poaching levels in Tanzania are significant. Bushmeat, hard wood timber and ivory poaching are very predominate. Organized and subsistence poaching affect all nine million acres of FCF concession areas. CITES decision to not downgrade the elephant's status in Tanzania is a key indicator of the level of severity of poaching levels in Tanzania and how seriously everyone needs to continue the anti-poaching initiatives! In the areas which FCF is responsible for, in excess of 2,000 arrests are made per year. How much more can be done with additional resources?

Every year FCF needs to replace tents, sleeping bags, and other supplies used by our staff in the field. Vehicle expenses are always high, considering the rough country FCF patrols and works in on a daily basis. Microlights operational costs take up a large portion of our budget. Thankfully, FCF has just received a major commitment from Safari Club International to help purchase a new mircolight and aid in the maintenance cost for five years! FCF is committed to providing higher salaries to their rangers and continuous additional training that encourages field personnel to perform to a higher standard.

I also want to note, something very rare in the non-profit world, that 100% of donations goes to the projects on the ground. All overhead and salaries are covered separately from a private donor.

Here is an example of the costs associated with one team (15-20 people) of FCF's private rangers for one year.

Expense One Year, One Team
Salaries $7,500.00
Rations $5,925.00
Uniforms $700.00
Game Scouts $2,030.00
Advancement Training $1,500.00
Performance Bonus $1,540.00
Contingency $2,000.00
Vehicle Fuel & Maintenance $22,000.00
TOTAL $43,195.00

I understand that FCF is more then just an Anti-Poaching Crusade, Tell us a little bit about the community development work that is also going on in Tanzania?

For FCF, it is not enough to conserve only wildlife. Conservation must include entire ecosystems and the human communities that live in and around these ecosystems. The Community Development Sector has been established to meet FCF's mission to practice inclusive, people-oriented conservation.

Vision:

For communities in and around our concessions to attain and appreciate benefits through sustainable use of their natural resources.


FCF projects, designed in close collaboration with villages, district officials and the Wildlife Division emphasize the importance of conservation achieved simultaneously with sustainable development. Two field officers, together with anti-poaching team commanders and concession managers, work on the ground with representatives of eleven districts and over one hundred villages. This daily, personal interaction provides groundwork for solidly designed community-owned projects that improve the quality of living around Tanzania's protected areas and highlight the benefits of conservation. I understand FCF has had various equipment sponsors and funding from private sources as well as SCI, Can you tell us a little bit about these sponsors?

Equipment Sponsorship- FCF has been fortunate to receive donations from organizations such as SureFire, ColdSteel, Leopold optics, etc. High quality equipment is very difficult to obtain in Tanzania and these generous donations go a long way in increasing FCF's effectiveness on the ground. It is a good two-way relationship as these companies get to have their products thoroughly tested in the extreme field conditions that anti-poaching operations provide and FCF gets the top quality equipment for their rangers.

Financial Sponsorship- this continues to be an important component for FCF allowing them to go that extra mile on the ground. Most of these sponsorships are targeted at the community development and include student school sponsorships tree nursery initiatives, renewable energy services in clinics, water well construction, etc. These donations come from private individuals as well as from generous organizations such as the Mzuri Wildlife Foundation, Safari Club International and Dallas Safari Club.

FCF is so grateful for the continued assistance from these various sources - it all makes a huge difference! Asante sana - thank you very much! FCF is also eager to collaborate with other organizations on conservation-related issues. Please contact us if you feel our organizations can benefit from each other on such matters!

U.S. Contact Information
Britt Hosmer - FCF US Representative
britt@rockenvironmental.com

POSTED BY KEVIN C PAULSON

Visit the Hunting Life Blog - http://www.huntinglife.com/blog/detail/interview-with-britt-hosmer-friedkin-conservation-fund-us-representative

At the Ranch - Kessler Canyon Newsletter

Recycle Man...Where are you?

As the days get longer and flowers start to bloom here at the ranch, a chance to get things cleaned up presents a wonderful opportunity for us all to re-use and recycle some of the items that have been stored away for the winter.
Up at the Jeep Barns it seems as if we have a surplus of old Car Batteries, Solar Batteries, Tires and Motor Oil.
What to do, what to do, what to do? These things can seri-ously hurt the environment!!
I’m thinking that the only person at the ranch that can
handle such a problem like this is…..
RECYCLE MAN!!!!!
With hands strong enough to crush a used car and vision that can spot a candy wrapper from outer space, Recycle Man as come to our rescue!.
With just a bit of research from his massive computer bank located deep beneath the Grand Mesa, Recycle Man has found some local venders that will help out the ranch.
To better serve our neighbors and townsman that might want to recycle there items as well,

Recycle Man has giving us all this list of places to go in Grand Junction to save the environment.

Recycle Man...Where are you?
Cont. from front page..
Rising up early in the morning Lamar, tiller in tow ,shows up at the Growing Place ready for a long, hot day. Having already re-moved the sod weeks before, the ground was begging for a final till-ing and rows hoed.
Setting out Rodeo style, Lenny and Lamar and Annie worked in the dirt and dust and muck till our hands where blistered and our
necks where sun burnt red. Nothing seems more rewarding than pouring a pile of dirt out of your shoes at the end of a long day.
Life here at The Grow-ing Place is wonderful. All signs are pointing to a great season with lots of fresh vegetables for our guests.
We’ll be looking for weed pullers and porch sitters to help watch the garden grow. If interested...give us call.


Tires:
TDS Tires
410 North Ave
Grand Junction, CO
970-242-3021
Cost you pay for tire drop-off is $3.00 a tire.
Batteries:
Hensley Battery
and Electronics
459 28 1/2 Road
Grand Junction, CO
970-243-6323
Cost is free for drop-off, plus you get a core credit for future battery purchase.
Motor Oil:
Safety-Kleen
368 Bonny St.
Grand Junction, CO
970-241-1343
Depending on how much used oil you have, they will come to your shop and pump it out for free. A small charge might be billed if only a few gallons are pumped or taken.


Row-Row-Row the Garden.

Sunday the 9th was a very big day for all the Mothers in our life, In-cluding….
“Mother Nature”.
For on this Mothers Day we here at Kessler Can-yon have planted the first seeds of the year.
Potato Seeds and Rad-ishes to be exact. Rising up early in the morning Lamar, tiller in tow ,shows up at the Growing Place ready for a long, hot day. Having already re-moved the sod weeks before, the ground was begging for a final till-ing and rows hoed.
Setting out Rodeo style, Lenny and Lamar and Annie worked in the dirt and dust and muck till our hands where blistered and our
necks where sun burnt red. Nothing seems more rewarding than pouring a pile of dirt out of your shoes at the end of a long day.
Life here at The Grow-ing Place is wonderful. All signs are pointing to a great season with lots of fresh vegetables for our guests.
We’ll be looking for weed pullers and porch sitters to help watch the garden grow. If interested...give us call.

…... and BEARS!!! Oh, MY!!!

Around Six O'clock PM on Monday May, 3rd the Cook was heading out to the Pavilion and Smoker to check on things and make sure them there ta-bles where well covered.
Coming ‘round back of the smoker to see how much wood was there he looked across Brush Creek to see the largest Bear he’d EVER seen.
Dark Brown in color this Bear was most likely a Black Bear but the size of it was more towards the Grizzly type.
Gianormous!!!
Perhaps no other animals have so excited the human imagination as bears. References to bears are found in ancient and mod-ern literature, folk songs, legends, my-thology, children stories, and car-toons.
Bears are among the first animals that children learn to recognize. Bear folklore is confus-ing because it is based on carica-tures, with Teddy Bears and the kindly Smoky on one hand and
ferocious magazine cover drawings on the other.
Dominant themes of our folklore are fear of the unknown and man against nature, and bears have tra-ditionally been por-trayed as the vil-lains to support those themes, un-fairly demonizing them to the public.
A problem for black bears is that litera-ture about bears often does not separate black bears from grizzly bears.

Newsletter made with love by: Lenny McNab