Hi there,
Fundraising can be a tricky thing for an non-profit organization,
especially in the current economic climate. There are a lot of
different ideas out there for raising money to support a cause. They
generally fall into two camps: events and ongoing drives.
Events: One-time fundraisers have a strong advantage of raising
(sometimes significant) amounts of money in a very short period of
time. These events fall into two major camps: ones that sell
something tangible (food, clothing, etc.) and ones that involve
sponsoring a person to do something intangible (walk, play a game, get
out of “jail”). For events, the major drawback is usually the amount
of effort that goes into seeing the process through. Organizations
usually depend heavily on volunteers and donated goods to make these
happen.
Ongoing drives: It is also possible to raise money on a more
continuous basis. While such methods do not always result in large
amounts of money in each iteration, they can add up significantly over
time. These usually also involve work that is spread out over time
rather than concentrated in a week or so before and after an event.
However, it is important to make sure that the group doing the
fundraising has good follow-through and staying power, since it is
never known when the money will come in.
Below are ten categories of fundraising ideas. I’m sure there are
more out there, and you might try some of the links I’ve included
below for specific examples of the ideas listed below. With each idea
are a few examples as well as some advantages and disadvantages of
each technique. These categories are of my own creation and come from
experience participating in and running fundraisers for/with various
organizations of which I am a member or employee.
1: Sell something door to door. A lot of schools use this technique
to raise money for their music, arts, or general programs. You can
sell anything from candy to stationery to coupon books to plants by
sending children or young adults around. Think of this as the "Girl
Scout Technique" of fund raising. Advantages: There are a lot of
companies out there eager to provide the item you wish to sell, and
you can make a lot of money. Usually people can't say no to kids
raising money for a good cause, especially if they get something good
out of it (like thin mints). Disadvantages: Going door to door may be
a good way to meet your neighbors, but it's also one of the number one
ways to irritate them. Also, you have to be very careful of where you
send your kids, especially in this day and age of kidnappings and
drive-by shootings.
2: Hold a rummage sale or bazaar. A church in my area regularly
raises $20,000 each year with its annual “ABC: Attic, Basements,
Cupboards” (or closets) sale. Parishioners donate goods, the church
prices them more or less fairly (often extremely cheaply) and people
come in from all over to purchase items. Advantages: You can raise a
lot of money if you’ve got a lot of stuff. It’s a great way to get
notice in the community. It can be a real bonding activity for the
people involved. Disadvantages: It is a lot of work in a very short
period of time and can take up a lot of space. It takes a while to
get known in the community so that it can be successful – otherwise
it’s just another yard sale. You usually have a lot of unwanted stuff
left over that you have to dispose of.
3: Hold a raffle, auction, or silent auction. This concept is similar
to that of the bazaar or rummage sale, with a few major changes.
First, you usually are auctioning off new and/or valuable items.
Accordingly, you have far fewer items to sell than at the bazaar.
This technique goes for quality over quantity. While donations may
come from members of whatever group is doing the fund-raising, they
most often come from local businesses and commercial groups, and can
include gift certificates and services rendered. Advantages: It’s
pretty easy to run the actual event, especially if it’s a silent
auction or raffle where people do not have to be present to win. If
you get good stuff you can make a lot of money. In the internet age
it’s possible to do a lot of the work online, and even through an
online service like Ebay. Disadvantages: There is still a lot of
preparatory work involved, both with securing valuable donations (and
learning how to say “no” to ones that aren’t useful) and with
advertising the event. Unlike with the bazaar or rummage sale, a
raffle or auction heavily depends on the number of people coming to
the event/buying tickets. It helps if the people who come are willing
to spend more for an item than it may actually be worth. This is less
true of people who go to rummage sales.
4: Have a barbecue or other food-related event. In this case, people
purchase tickets to eat food that is either catered (with lower yields
for the fundraiser but less effort) or prepared on-site by the
fundraisers (higher yields but a lot more effort). This seems to be a
favorite technique of Kiwanis clubs and churches. Advantages: It’s a
big community-bonding event, and can really be a lot of fun. You can
take the time to meet people and invite them to join your church,
group, or whatever. People always like food and will eat even if
they’re not interested in buying more stuff. Disadvantages:
Vegetarians may not appreciate a festival of pork (there was a PETA
rally at a pig-picking this fall). It can be hard to find a space
appropriate to such an event. Any time you get a lot of people
together to eat there are affiliated concerns such as cleanup, toilet
facilities, and provision of plates and utensils.
5: Hold a “thon”. This could be a walk-a-thon, dance-a-thon,
read-a-thon, you get the picture. The walks for hunger and breast
cancer research are famous, large-scale examples of the “thon”
technique. In this technique, each participant gets sponsors that
either give a flat amount or pledge a certain amount per mile, hour,
etc. that the participant completes. Advantages: Since you’re not
selling anything, there is less invested in finding items to get rid
of, then getting rid of them. People enjoy being active and can fold
an event into their “feel-good” time. It’s a very visible way to
raise money, especially if the event is outdoors and during the day.
Disadvantages: Walks require coordination with local authorities in
order to shut down streets or provide security for walkers. The
burden in this technique is on each individual participant to find
sponsors – and so having a very close-knit group of people will not
work as well as having a diverse body of participants.
6: Hold a charity tournament. Golf and basketball are big in the
American South as charity tournament fundraisers – especially if
someone famous is participating. In this technique, the participants
in the fundraiser are players (individuals or teams) who may or may
not be compensated if they win. The proceeds are raised either by
entry fees charged to both the players and the attendees or by a
sponsorship program somewhat similar to the “thon” concept above.
Advantages: Sports are a unifying theme in this country, and a
tournament can draw people out who would not otherwise participate in
a fundraiser. If celebrities are involved, everyone wins – both the
group raising the money (they get more money) and the celebrity
(he/she gets press time and goodwill). A lot of money can be raised –
one of the local Habitat for Humanity partnerships in my area pays for
a house using a golf tournament fundraiser. Disadvantages: This can
be a major undertaking, especially if the hope is to attract major
names, that requires a significant investment of time and money. It
is possible to lose money through a tournament if not enough people
come or participate.
7: Just ask. A one-time fund drive for an event or issue can be very
compelling to people, especially if it is for a designate purpose and
fills a critical need. Examples include fundraising for disaster
relief or to support the creation of a new building, program, etc.
This differs from pledge drives (see below) because they are not
intended to be repeated or to provide funding for ongoing projects.
Advantages: You raise money immediately for an immediate need. It can
be as glitzy or as low-key as desired, relative to the amount of money
needed. Disadvantages: Too many one-time fund drives cause people to
tune them out, like the boy who cried wolf too many times. If the
object of the drive is not compelling enough to people they won’t
donate and results can be unsatisfactory.
8: Change (or tip) boxes. The Animal Protection Society boxes are a
good example of this idea. The concept is that people will leave a
quarter or a dime (whatever change they have when they break a dollar)
in a jar. Sometimes they get a mint for their money, sometimes not.
These boxes are usually left at local businesses that place them at
their check-out stations, but can also be personal, in-home “mite”
boxes. Advantages: It can be amazing how much money can accumulate
using just the change from people’s pockets. This is a low-effort
fundraiser, since most of the fundraising is totally passive and the
only investments are in the boxes and the person who periodically
collects the money. Disadvantages: It can take a long time for the
money to build up, especially if the cause is one with which people
are not so familiar. It can be hard to get local merchants to agree
to sponsor your box location, especially since they may already be
sponsoring someone else. You also have to remember to pick up the
money.
9: Pledges and direct mail/phone “askings”. This technique can fall
in the border between an event and a non-event, since organizations
who use it usually have some kind of pledge drive to get the pledges.
This is the public television/United Way model. In this way you ask
people to give money either once or on an ongoing basis (using
automatic withdrawal or credit card charges) to support your
organization. It’s commonly used by alumni associations and
environmental groups as well. I include it as a non-event because
many groups send a dunning letter on a regular, ongoing basis that is
somehow tied to the recipient’s record (be it date of graduation or
membership, location, or some other unknown algorithm). Advantages:
If you don’t promise anything in return (other than maybe a tax
write-off) people don’t expect anything in return, other than some
form of recognition (a letter and/or mention in the program or
elsewhere). This can be done with relatively little investment,
especially with direct-marketing lists and form letters.
Disadvantages: It relies on the loyalty of the mail recipient to the
group. People hate spam and junk mail and may resent the group for
intruding on their time (think of the grumbling you hear when NPR has
it’s pledge time).
10: Offer item sponsorship. A lot of building campaigns are funded
using this model, such as the National Cathedral and Habitat for
Humanity. On the one hand, you can offer to inscribe a person’s name
(their own or in honor of someone) on a brick, window, plaque,
bookplate, etc. in exchange for a donation. On the other, you can tie
items to donation amounts, for example: $10 buys a box of nails, $100
buys a new window, $1000 buys a new pew, etc. (numbers are made up).
This differs from auctions and the like because the organization keeps
the item “bought” by the donor. Advantages: This works particularly
well for physical buildings and so on, since people feel like they are
actually part of the building even after its done. It can be fairly
simple to maintain such a program, since gifts are (as in the pledge
drives) not usually expected by the donor. You will get a variety of
large and small donations for such a campaign, since anyone can be
involved. Disadvantages: You have to make sure to write the person’s
name on the correct item, or they will be angry. This kind of
campaign requires good marketing so that people know it exists. An
online system may help but will need to offer online support for the
donation process as well.
Links:
Fund-Raising.Com: The Source for fund-raising on the Internet
http://www.fund-raising.com/
Thomas Fund Raising
http://www.thomasfundraising.com/
Fundraising Yellow Pages
http://www.fundraising-yellow-pages.com/
School Fund Raising Ideas Network
http://www.fundraising-information.com/
All Fundraising Companies Directory
http://www.fundraisingweb.org/
I found these by doing a search in Google for “fund-raising ideas” and
“fundraising ideas”.
Librariankt-ga |
