Fundraising Services

Justin Alan asked:


Copyright (c) 2008 Justin Alan

What is Your Fundraising Goal?

Many organizations depend on fundraising to get the things they need. People fundraise to get a new swimming pool for their town, or to get special facilities for their school. Sometimes people fundraise to get money for people who need special health care or to help disabled or disadvantaged people. Fundraising is always for a good cause and helps people or organizations in their hour of need.

Once you take on the role of fundraiser, the first thing to do is set a specific goal. Whether it’s a large goal or a small one, it needs to be phrased in a way that people can relate to before they will get involved. Naturally the fundraising is to raise money, but what is the money actually for? Does the school need 10 new computers? How would this change the lives of the children attending that school?

The children won’t just learn how to play games on these computers, but they will learn skills that they will need all through their working lives. It will benefit them because they will be more employable if they are computer literate. They will learn to do things on their school computers that they would never learn just by having one at home.

Once people can see exactly how they - or their children - would benefit from these computers, they will get behind the project and offer help wherever possible. This goal will benefit teachers by making their work more interesting and easier. It will motivate the children to learn since most children love using a computer.

The next goal - or the sub-goal - will be to find out the amount of money that is needed to achieve our goal. To do this, we need to know how many computers are needed and what sort they will be. Will there be printers and scanners to go with them? Should they be networked? Who will install them and see that they are running properly? There may even need to be blinds installed to reduce the screen glare. The money raised will need to cover all costs, not just the purchase price of the computers. Each sub-goal should be itemized with an approximate cost.

Other questions that need to be addressed for your fundraising campaign are what specific activities you will use to will accomplish your goal, and when they will take place. A timeframe needs to be established, too. If there is no time frame, the fundraising could drag on until everyone is sick and tired of hearing about it. To have specific goal of raising a certain amount of money by a certain date gives people something to work towards and a sense of satisfaction when it is accomplished. Does Your Issue or Organization Look Worthy?

To fundraise successfully, your organization needs to look worthy. How many times have you heard people say they bought something they didn’t really want simply because it was for a worthy cause? If your organization looks worthy, then people will support it; if it doesn’t they won’t. It’s that simple.

To get your organization to look worthy in people’s eyes, you need firstly to appeal to their emotions. This is done by the correct marketing campaign and by the right communication. You can see this by taking note of campaigns for breast cancer awareness and others that are similar.

Firstly, you need to believe in it yourself. If you are only half convinced in the worthiness of your organization, then that will most certainly show in your manner and your communication. Most people can spot lack of sincerity a mile away and if you are not sincere or convinced of worthiness, you won’t be able to convince anyone else.

If you can get the support of someone who has the trust of your community and who also has a high profile, then that will help in the quest for a worthy ‘look’. It may be a doctor, a businessman, the town mayor or a politician. It could be the dean of the local college or a well-respected figure with a wider, national profile such as a politician.

It need not be just an individual who will lend worthiness to your cause, but an organization. If you can claim that the local tennis club or Rotary or Lions Club supports you, then that will give you needed ‘worthy’ status as well.

If your organization does not look worthy, then prospective donors will not be likely to donate. You must be professional at all times by making sure the paperwork is up-to-date and available should any ask to see it. You need to have a person available to talk to anyone who should want information. If all they can get is an answering machine -though these have their place - then they will be put off.

If your fundraising is ongoing, then you need to publish an annual report and have it readily available. Donors need to know that their money is being used wisely, so communications with them is of prime importance. This doesn’t mean that they want to be pestered on a daily basis, but they do need to know what their money was used for, and that you are really appreciative of their support. If they can be made to look good through their support, then you will have a happy donor who is willing to lend their status to your organization.

What Tools or Skills do You Have Available?

To complete a fundraiser successfully you need to have access to various tools and skills. Tools you will need could be a computer and the skills to use it. With a computer, you can send email to those who are supporting your cause and to those who are helping you with the job. This will save you a great deal of time and energy - can you imagine phoning 20 or so helpers to alert them to the next meeting? Sure, you can advertise it in the paper, but maybe they don’t all subscribe to the paper.

Besides, with a computer, all the information is written down and readily available and it didn’t cost you anything more than the time it took to prepare it. A phone is certainly handy for that personal touch and for setting up other appointments, so be sure you have access to one. If you also have an answering machine, you’ll find it beneficial for taking those calls while you are out.

Communication skills are important in fundraising; if you don’t have them, get hold of someone who does. Look for someone with a bubbly personality, a ready smile and the gift of the gab. Some people say all you need is the mouth, but you also need someone who is tactful and polite. If they are also well liked in the community, then you have a winning combination.

Logical thinking is also a skill much needed in fundraising activities. For a person to get the support of a business or organization they need to be able to verbalize the details in a logical manner. If they jump from the end to the beginning and then explain the middle, the person listening is likely to be confused and consider the proposal unprofessional. Their next step is a refusal!

Another skill that someone on your committee will need is the ability to keep meticulous records. You will need to keep minutes of meetings with a legible record of all the goals and decisions made. Whether this is done on a laptop or by hand in a notebook is up to the person doing it.

Bookkeeping skills are also essential. Since the goal is to raise money, there will naturally be money involved and you’ll certainly need a record of who gave what. Even the smallest raffle needs to be carefully recorded so that everyone can see where the money came from and where it went. This will ensure that everything is open and above board. Financial records are a must.

…More to come tomorrow…

Peter Crump asked:


Fundraising is a particularly difficult thing to do in todays world of budget cuts and restrictions, and there is a rising need for finding funds for so many organisations around us. The small organisation which relies on fundraising for much of its funding is fighting a losing battle for the sympathy, and the money, of the general public.

That is why fundraising needs to be approached professionally, even if you arent a fundraising professional. Whether you are a full time fundraiser for a non profit organisation or someone who has been enlisted to run a small fundraiser for the local scout group, you need to be aware of the importance of a proper fundraising plan.

Youve heard the old saying Im sure, failing to plan is planning to fail. This is true of fundraising as well. Failing to draw up and execute a proper fundraising plan is one of the main things you can do to increase the likelihood of your fundraiser being a failure.

What is a fundraising plan and what does it do? Basically it is a plan of the entire operation of the fundraiser from beginning to end. What your fundraising goal is. What you want to achieve. How? With what help? With what product or service or appeal? Who will be your target group, ie the people who are the target of your fundraiser?

What plans do you have in case of a change of plans? What happens if it rains on your big day? What happens if an essential person (maybe you) is sick on the day? What happens if you run out of product? Have any other problems?

Who will be helping? What are their skills and time availability? What will they do before the day and on the day? Who is taking care of the money? How and what security do you have for it? Do you need change? Who will supply the change? Where will it come from and who will get it?

All these things go together to make a successful fundraiser, and should be in your fundraising plan. It is difficult to be specific because each item in the plan depends on the particular fundraiser that you are holding, but it is always important to draw up a proper fundraising plan well before the fundraising day, to ensure that all goes according to plan.

If you have it all thought out, everything set out clearly, everyone knowing exactly what they are doing and when, then you are well on your way to a successful fundraiser day.

But if you dont then a small hiccup can spell disaster for your day.

Remember, failing to plan is planning to fail, and that applies to fundraising. Always draw up a proper fundraising plan. Have a good day.

joycelee87 asked:


An in-house restaurant fundraiser, like Chevy’s, won’t bring in enough money. We’ve done a hot dog sale and sold Lollicup. We wound up losing money on the boba sale because we weren’t able to sell it all. Our goal is another $500 by the end of May and our budget is about $250. Thanks for the suggestions.

lilleopard0115 asked:


I am planning a fundraiser at my school to get money to build bears at Build-A-Bear and donate them to kids at the Shriners Hospital. I want a catchy name and the best I have come up with is “Build-A-Bear for Kids”. =/
Ideas? Also any ideas on how to make this a really successful fundraiser?

Jessi McCafferty asked:


Many school fundraisers rely on old yet dependable ideas for school fundraising mainly because they are scared that anything out of the box might fail. These classic school fundraising ideas include cookie dough fundraisers, car wash fundraisers, candy bar fundraisers, and the garage sale fundraisers. Of course, these activities work and are efficient ways to collect money. However, a number of these old ideas can also be considered stale. For example, many donors and organizers think that the cookie dough fundraiser is no longer as effective as it was since it is so used-up. And using stale school fundraising ideas could be the cause of its failure.

This is why it is important to use new school fundraising ideas once in a while. Using new ideas can invigorate both the volunteers and the donors. It can attract attention due to its creative nature. After all, people are naturally attracted to activities that are new and novel - as long as they are interesting and worthwhile.

Scrip

Using scrip as a fundraising method is one of the new ways to collect funds. Scrip is a substitute to money, a form of credit. It is like a gift certificate that can be used as payment for services and products from certain merchants and sellers. The school fundraising organizers buy scrip, and then sell it to the donors. The merchants will give a certain percentage of sales from the transactions where the scrip was used. This type of fundraiser is innovative since it can be done for a prolonged period of time. It is also a less aggressive way to collect funds since they work like cash - the donors are not spending money on products they had no intention of buying; instead, they are merely exchanging their cash for credit.

Discount Cards

A similar form of school fundraising activity is the selling of discount cards. The donors buy the discount cards which are accepted in a particular establishment. The card will serve as a discount coupon. Just like the scrip, this is interesting because the donor will not only help a particular cause with the purchase of the discount card since they can save money in the long with the use of the product. This type of school fundraiser also saves money and time on production and effort since the organizers merely have to create a deal with merchants and companies. The transaction with the companies takes time, but the benefits are bountiful.

Using Traditional Ideas Right

Benefit dinners and concerts are not at all new school fundraising ideas, but they can be innovative and efficient if done properly. Organizers can charge a hefty price for the benefit dinner as long as they do it in a presentable way. The quality has to somehow match the price. School fundraising organizers can also ask well known singers and artists to perform free of charge, or for a minimum fee, in order to collect considerable money from the endeavor. Again, this endeavor might take time to accomplish, but it collects a large sum of money if it becomes successful.