10 Fundraising Ideas for a Successful Campaign
Fundraising, traditionally, consists mostly for asking donations on the street or at people’s doors. It is a significant way through which a non-profit organization may receive money for running their operations. Gathering funds is generally depicted as a tedious task for many and people who organize fund raisers usually have to go through a lot of painstaking effort and dedicating their valuable time to be able to generate significant amount of funds required. Following are some examples that can help one run a successful fundraising campaign through the least amount of dissatisfaction in the end.
1. Don’t Generalize
Try specializing in one specific product, and give your sale a compelling tagline. A great example of the bake sale model done right is Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for cancer. Four-year-old Alex Scott had the right idea specializing in lemonade and making her cause explicit.
2. Get Foot Traffic
Organize your sale around a larger event if you can, like a sports game or a carnival. But don’t count on strangers to make your sale a success. Drawing a crowd of supporters will attract even more people to your sale.
3. Know your audience
Take a good, long look at the stuff you’re planning to sell and build a profile for your ideal customer.
4. Get some help from your friends and family
Once you have an idea for the “theme” of your sale, ask friends to donate any items they want to get rid of that would fit in. Collaborating makes for a killer selection of items, which will attract more buyers.
5. Advertise appropriately and aggressively
Make interesting flyers that complement the type of sale you’re having and put them all over town, but especially in neighborhoods where your key audience is. Cover all your bases by hitting up social networks and making e-vites.
6. Build an ambiance and pay attention to detail
On the day of your sale, make sure your garage/yard is a place people will enjoy spending time. Play some music, provide beverages and above all, make sure your merchandise is well-organized.
7. Rewards
Give donors an unconventional reward for their donation. One of the favorite examples of this method is Jorts4Jay. Jay’s brother-in-law sent donors a photo of himself wearing jean shorts (AKA jorts) each time they gave $50, helping raise $15,000 to fight Jay’s cancer.
8. Take advantage of significant dates
Use birthdays and surgery dates as reasons to donate – for example, if the birthday of the person you’re raising money for is on the 10th of the month, ask donors to donate $10 on that day.
9. Get creative with your event
Have a cook-off, a roller skating marathon or organize a sports game and donate the proceeds to your cause. Stand out by setting a theme to your event or by incorporating costumes. People are more likely to remember a baseball game if the teams are dressed as superheroes than if they’re just wearing baseball uniforms.
10. Diversify your event
Create as many opportunities to collect donations as possible. Couple a benefit dance with a live auction or raffle. Get your friends involved in donating some prizes for the raffle to increase your revenue. Sell drinks and snacks to guests.
A Selection of Inspirational Charity Quotes
“A good example has twice the value of good advice.” ~ Author Unknown
“The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of tiny pushes of each honest worker.” ~ Helen Keller
“It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life that no person can sincerely try to help another without helping themselves.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Instead of counting your days, make your days count.” ~ Author Unknown
“If you have no will to change it, you have no right to criticize it.” ~ Author Unknown
“Charity begins at home, but should not end there.” ~ Thomas Fuller
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