Fundraising Services

Armond B asked:


I am trying to raise $5,000 US for a school and healthcare center in Haiti. But I need to find a great fundraiser. So I want to know what is the best fundraiser you have seen from experience. thank you.

Jessi McCafferty asked:


Fundraising is a perfect way for churches to support missions and programs. However, most churches organize fundraising events with volunteers who have little or no experience at raising money in any type of setting. A little innovative thinking on the fundraiser’s part and some teamwork is everything you need for successful church fundraising programs. One such fun and profitable idea is selling cookie dough. If you ever need to raise funds for your church, remember there is no better fundraiser than cookie dough, because everyone loves cookies, and often most people don’t have the time to make the dough themselves.

From the host of fundraising programs, cookie dough fundraising has always shown a great potential for profits. If you prepare a cookie dough fundraiser once or twice a month and sell it to the congregation, you will soon discover why cookie dough enjoys a distinct advantage over other types of fundraising activities.

With little or no call for expenses from your own pocket, it helps you to enjoy a major part of profit at minimum time. Such fundraisers will surely earn you between 30-60% profit against the base price and there is always a greater chance of repeat fundraising year after year.

Cookie dough sales do not normally require the organization to pay anything up front to the company. So usually, you will have no up front cost.

Cookie Dough Advantages

~ People love cookie dough. With a wide variety of dough’s available, your buyers can buy custom dough for each member of the family.

~ Here you usually do not have any up front costs. Get your volunteers to buy some dough and increase your profits even higher.

~ Profits are kept when you send in the order. This allows your church to begin utilizing the funds for your ministries immediately.

Remember, you will need to have a scheduled delivery day and time. Your dough will need to be immediately frozen and delivered as soon as possible.

Let’s Sum Up

So, as a refresher, if you are thinking of investing your time and effort in a fundraiser, give some consideration to the cookie dough fundraiser. It provides great returns and gives you a chance to have fun and boost morale among your congregation.

Another advantage of fundraising that is often taken for granted is the fact that fundraising draws your group together with the effort of working together for a mutual goal. In the excitement, work, competition, and satisfaction of a fundraiser, you will find that your group will become a team that functions well together. Fundraising not only supplies the church’s needs for financial support, but it also results in a sense of unity among the congregation or fundraising team.

So give the cookie dough fundraiser a try and have fun watching the revenue come in. Just remember to be organized, thorough, and to have fun. If you make an effort to do these things, your stress-level will rapidly decrease and you will find that the fundraiser will run much more smoothly.

Michelle Pearson asked:


Volunteers are an essential part of your fundraising group. They should help you motivate and inspire people to participate in your cause and help you organize your event. But how do you approach a new volunteer and convince them to become involved with your group and selflessly give their time and effort? Below we have some tips that will help you recruit new fundraising volunteers.

Where to Recruit Fundraiser Volunteers

There are a few tactics and different places to check out for recruiting fundraiser volunteers. You can advertise in your local newspaper or simply by using word of mouth. An essential part of all fundraisers is networking and talking to people - you can use this same tactic when recruiting volunteers. Talk to supporters at your events and ask them if they’ve ever thought about supporting the cause with time instead of money. Talk with current volunteers and see if they have friends or family who would also like to get involved.

You can also advertise at places like high schools and colleges. Most students are very eager to have volunteer work on their resumes - it’s a win-win situation for both of you. Some cities have volunteer bureaus that match up volunteers with volunteer opportunities. This is a great way to find potential fundraiser volunteer recruits.

After You Have a Few Interested Volunteers

After you have met with a individuals that are interested in volunteering, it is important to explain to them exactly what they can expect from your group. You should explain your fundraising plans and how volunteers are essential to your fundraising success. Ask for their feedback - it will help you learn more about what participation level they would like to have and their knowledge about fundraisers in general. Volunteers should be energetic, motivating and full of useful information.

Training Fundraising Volunteers

Training your new fundraiser volunteers doesn’t have to be hard, but they should be on the same page with you. Start by showing them your fundraising plan so they can see the big picture. Then allow them to ask questions and fully understand how they fit into your fundraising expectations. Tell them about your past fundraisers and what your new goals are for this fundraiser. All volunteers should have a specific task they are assigned but it would be a good idea to train volunteers to do all tasks so jobs can be switched and backed up if needed. Remember most importantly to praise and thank your volunteers for a job well done. They need your appreciation and thanks as much as you need their help and support.

Michelle Pearson is a former fundraising consultant who currently is a writer for the Fundraising Know How Magazine at fundraisingknowhow.com - a site that specializes in helping fundraising coordinators offering information on sample fundraising letters, cheerleader fundraising ideas, brick fundraising and more.

Paul J. Meyer asked:


In order to get their valuable perspectives on fundraising, I interviewed more than 30 donors of the highest caliber who have given millions and millions of dollars to various charities, ministries, and organizations. I asked them why some fundraisers succeed while others fail.

 

These are the qualities and characteristics the donors felt made successful fundraisers:



Sincere relationship — Above all, successful fundraisers are sincere.

Personal integrity — Successful fundraisers are upfront, genuine, and always operate with integrity.

Knowledge of their charity — Successful fundraisers are well informed.

Clearly defined goals — Successful fundraisers clearly state the mission, needs, and opportunity a donor has to help accomplish the mission.

Regular communication — Successful fundraisers keep donors in the loop.

Assurance of cost effectiveness — Successful fundraisers show donors that their money is doing what was promised.

Credibility — Successful fundraisers use donors’ funds for the intended purpose only.

Matching gifts — Successful fundraisers think about lead gifts or matching gifts so donors’ gifts are multiplied.

Deserving cause — Successful fundraisers help donors feel that they are making a worthwhile contribution to a worthwhile cause.

Shared vision — Successful fundraisers seek donors who share the organization’s vision and want to make a difference.

Passion — Successful fundraisers believe in their cause so much that they contribute to it themselves.

Common interest — Successful fundraisers find donors who are interested in their mission.

Enthusiasm — Successful fundraisers are enthusiastic about their cause.

Quality presentation — Successful fundraisers present the charity in an enticing, concise, and articulate manner.

Gratitude — Successful fundraisers must have an air of gratitude, no matter the amount of the gift.

Persistence — Successful fundraisers are persistent without being offensive.



 

 

On the other hand, these are the qualities and characteristics the donors felt made fundraisers fail:



Lack of personal relationship — One of the most common reasons that fundraisers fail is that they haven’t established a relationship with the donor.

Negative characteristics portrayed — If something is said or done that runs up the “red flag” for the donor, the fundraiser will most likely fail.

Lack of sincerity and belief — Failure comes when fundraisers are not sincere and do not have a strong belief in their charity.

Poor communication — Failure is imminent for fundraisers who do not communicate, including communicating about the charity and keeping in touch with the donor.

Lack of clear goals — Fundraising without clear goals leads to lack of balance and action.

Lack of integrity — Any hint of a fundraiser’s lack of integrity, and the donor will slow down, back up, or demand answers.

Perceived ungratefulness — Fundraisers who fail rarely give donors a personal thank-you for their gift or else they use it as a steppingstone to the next request.

Desperation letters — Desperation letters are not effective, well received, or quickly forgotten.

Pressure selling — High-pressure salesmanship is a serious turnoff.

Lack of knowledge — Fundraisers fail because they cannot answer the questions that donors ask.

Inaction — Many fundraisers fail because they are not getting the message out to enough people.

Wastefulness — Fundraisers fail when they do not spend the donors’ money wisely.

Lack of interest — Fundraisers who fail seldom do the homework necessary to know if the prospective donor is even interested in the charity.

Inappropriate appreciation — Unsuccessful fundraisers don’t take the time or care to find out how their donors expect to be appreciated.

Forgetting the obvious — If a fundraiser does not leave a donor with all the necessary contact information, the donor cannot give.

Wasting time — Prospective donors do not appreciate when fundraisers are insensitive to their time and schedule.



 

 

Having a donor’s perspective can help make the difference between success and failure as a fundraiser!

Juan Franco asked:


Copyright (c) 2008 AIM Fundraising

I often hear this at the end of a Fall fundraising season… “I sure thought we would have done better.” Or, “I don’t know what happened, but we didn’t do as well as I thought we were going to do.”

Being on the receiving end of this because we run hundreds of school fundraisers every semester, I can tell you my take on “WHY” most of these groups didn’t meet their expectations. The only problem with me saying it is that most people will simply nod their head in agreement and then go on their way forgetting about it because it sounds to unbelievably simple to work or it goes against their own notion of what works and what doesn’t.

I can say that without a doubt that as long as a school does a main stream product line, as opposed to some quaint product line you will find in the fundraising world, in their school fundraisers, they can and do have above average sales “IF” they do one thing. One simple thing, that’s it. The answer to a great fundraising program can be summarized in three words… Do Great Prizes!

That’s it! If you do average everyday prizes you will have an average everyday school fundraiser. If you skimp on prizes, you will have a poor sale. If you enter a partnership with your fundraising company and charge full bore into giving premium prizes at the right levels, you will make much more profit than you thought possible. Period.

The facts don’t lie. This is not my opinion or bias, it’s just a plain and simple fact. This is based on the results that even you could take a look at on our website. If you “Wow” the students and their parents with the prize incentives you offer with your fundraiser, they will “Wow” you with results that you did not expect. Pretty simply stated, if you make it worth their while to participate in your school fundraising drive, they will more than likely do just that… participate! And the level of participation is where you make your profit.

It is not getting more students selling 40-80 items, it’s getting 50-100 more students that sold nothing last time to sell 5 or more things this time. Think about it, which would you rather have, 3 students selling 50 things or 100 students selling 5 things?

THow you put the “Wow” in your incentive program is a little more involved than just adding a drawing for a Playstation or Wii, but it is a pretty simple process. In fact, if all you do is add a $200 Playstation or Wii game as your top seller prize, the only thing that will happen is you will waste a perfectly good two hundred dollar bill. However, there is a one way to structure your “Wow” factor that will greatly increase your participation and the level that participation goes to. In most cases, the first time you set up your school fundraiser incentive program in a “Wow” way, you’ll more than likely see anywhere from a 40% - 200% increase in your previous sales.

Like I said earlier, this is just too simple and the claim just a little too far “out there” for many people to accept it. It’s simple nature however, does not change the fact that it works to increase the results of school fundraisers almost every time that it is tried. Period.