Pixel advertising is a form of Internet advertising that is increasing in popularity. The publicity around a pixel advertising website created by a British university student who needed to raise money to pay for her education has created a lot of interest in this type of advertising.

The website, called Milliondollarhomepage.com, has earned its creator, Alex Tew, millions upon millions of dollars since he launched it in August 2005. The Tew website’s home page is a grid divided into blocks of a million pixels. Pixels are sold to advertisers in blocks of 100 pixels, each measuring 10 x 10 pixels. Each block of pixels becomes part of a colorful advertising mosaic on the website. At $1.00 a pixel, when the page runs out, Tew will have raised a million dollars for his education with this creative advertising technique.

Could your organization, club or non-profit group raise a million dollars by selling ad pixel micro-blocks? It’s possible. Anyone can set up a pixel advertising website and The Million Dollar Homepage has inspired many businesses and organizations to create their own pixel advertising campaigns. Your organization may already be selling advertising space in your programs or other printed materials. Selling pixel advertising is just like selling any other form of advertising, except that the ad appears on the world wide web for as long as you keep your website active. The potential for millions of people to see your ad, for a year or more, is a huge selling point for advertisers and donors.

What do you need to get started with pixel advertising fundraising? If your organization already has a website, you can set up pixel advertising on a page on your existing site. Or you can buy a new domain name and set up a website just for your
pixel fundraiser. You will need a web hosting account for your site and a pixel advertising software program. You can buy a software program online and install it yourself or have it installed by a professional. Your organization will also need to set up an online payment processor, such as PayPal. When your website is set up, you’ll need someone in your organization to manage and monitor the program. You will be able to sell all advertising online through the software program, as well as process payments online.

Does trying to raise a million dollars sound unrealistic for your organization? When you set up your software program, you will be able to set your own selling price for pixels. Therefore, your organization must decide how much money it needs to raise and what the theme of your advertising website will be. If you want to raise fifty thousand dollars, then you would sell your pixels for five cents a pixel. This would make a hundred pixel block cost just five dollars. You can also change the minimum number of ad unit purchases required. If your minimum required ad units are a thousand, then your minimum ad unit would cost a very reasonable fifty dollars per ad space. You would also only have to sell a thousand ad slots to earn fifty thousand dollars. Even if you sold your pixels for a penny a pixel, you could still make ten thousand dollars from a one-pixel ad page.

How can nonprofits use pixel advertising? You could sell pixels and donate the money to a charity like the American Red Cross. Or set up a pixel page to raise money for a specific project, like building a playground or a spring school trip. Pixels don’t have to be sold only to businesses. A school group might sell pixels to alumni or parents of a graduating class. A graduating class could set up a pixel page and raise money for their graduation party.

The fundraising possibilities with pixel advertising are limitless. A well designed and promoted pixel ad campaign has the potential to raise money and awareness in your organization. This form of advertising fundraising is worth considering as part of your organization’s fundraising strategy.