Fundraising Tips: Get Organized
| Summary: Fundraising organizational tips that will
boost your profits. Quick tips on planning your fundraiser, organizing
volunteers, and leveraging your resources. Fundraisers are more successful
when they are well organized. |
Ten tips on organizing your next fundraiser
1) Have a written project plan
Run your fundraiser like a small business. Have a written
project plan that spells out all roles and responsibilities.
Slot motivated individuals into those roles and equip them with
everything they need to do a great job.
2) Use your website
If you don't have one, get one. Use it to communicate goals,
thank your sponsors, highlight periodic offerings, recognize
successes, honor individual contributors, etc.
Promote your web site on all your materials.
3) Review previous records
See what's been successful before. Look for ways to improve
upon the past.
What items sold best? Get more of them.
Has your gift-wrap sale lost its luster with declining revenues?
Jazz it up with newer offerings.
4) Set a specific timeline
Make sure that your start date and end date are both firm.
The best selling period is 17 days, including 3 weekends.
Any longer and the drive runs out of gas; any shorter and
you limit your prospects.
Avoid any scheduling conflicts.
Plan ahead to avoid overlapping other important community
events, holidays, etc.
5) Actively recruit volunteers
Get more and better volunteers by going after them. Don't wait
for them to come to you.
Use a calling tree to root out prospects.
Ask for dads, older siblings, and grandparents to get involved.
Advertise for specific help via newsletters and word of mouth.
6) Identify needs and define roles
Do it ahead of time and match your group's needs to each
volunteer's skills and availability by including it in each
position's description.
7) Use different people
Double up, particularly for key positions.
Fill organizational roles well ahead of time with different people
than on the last fundraiser, unless there is a good reason not to
switch.
8) Start early to broaden participation
Put the word out early and often about what volunteers you need.
Get plenty of them so no one feels overworked.
Offer a volunteer sign-up sheet for different events at every meeting.
9) Have a master sergeant
Use a strong communicator to help group and assign volunteers.
Some people are a natural for this key role.
10) Set small group goals
Break overall goal down into what's needed from each sub-group.
Set up each unit with their own goal and translate that into
what's in it for them.
Reward each sub-group based on their own success.
That will reinforce the correlation between funds raised and their
own efforts.
Summary
Once your fundraising is organized, everything else is a whole lot easier!
Related Pages
Approach Your Fundraiser Like A Business - Why it makes sense to approach your fundraiser like a business - Tips on how to boost your fundraising results.
Nonprofit Fundraising - Tony Poderis
describes how any nonprofit group should raise funds.
Non-profit Fund Raising -
Organizational tips - Four ways to boost your non-profit fund raiser results.
Church Fundraisers - Church fund-raising
through donor recognition - Christian fundraiser charity activities.
Capital Campaigns - Capital campaign
strategies for non-profit groups to increase their donor base.
Donor Recognition - How to use donor
recognition to increase your capital campaign results.
Maximize Results - Five tips for maximizing
your fundraising results, regardless of the size of your group.
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