Make sure you have selected the right silo for your purpose – private or public. Simple rule of thumb: if it doesn’t benefit your local community, and you are not also in a leadership position with the organization running the silo, and it isn’t one of the six categories of public silo (1) youth sports, 2) religious, 3) public education, 4) civic, 5) neighborhood, or 6) regional non-profit.), you should start a private silo.
Take time creating your silo page. Craft your title well. It should be simple to understand and attention-grabbing. Your ‘organization purpose’ and ‘fundraiser purpose’ information should be succinct.
Manage your silo from your ‘administration console’. Delete members or items with inappropriate content.
Upload a high-quality photo, and – if your organization has one (typically community silos) – a logo. Upload an appropriate photo of yourself (as the administrator). A human face does a lot to inspire trust and connection. It may also be how your silo members recognize you.
For public silos: promote off-line: coordinate your silo with an in-person event, such as a day at your church or at the field where sports are played, at a block party, street fair, at a public concert, etc. You can print out 1/4 page flyers from the silo administration console, for your supporters.
For all silos: promote online: Use Facebook and our email contact tool (AOL, Hotmail, Yahoo! and Gmail) in the silo administration console. You can also announce your silo on a local event guide, with posted bulletins, or on online classified websites, like Craigslist.
Be responsible. A silo is a covenant of trust with your donors.
Once you’ve notified everybody, and they start donating items, it doesn’t stop there. Encourage them to donate multiple items, and/or big-ticket items, and to promote the silo.
Lead by example: you should be donating to your own silo.
When your silo concludes, and you have received (and/or spent proceeds), use the ‘Thank You’ feature on the site. You can select this option from the silo administration console.
