Fundraising Success #43
Fundraising Success - Issue #43 - Article: "Selecting The Right
Fundraiser";
Supplier Spotlight: "Orangeburg Pecan Company"; Free ebook: "The
Top 10 Tips for New eBay Sellers"
=======================================================Fundraising Success #43 -
May 2006
=======================================================
=> Kimberly's Column: "Schools Almost Out!"
=> Reader Q & A: "Breast Cancer Fundraising"
=> Feature Article: " Selecting The Right Fundraiser"
=> Supplier Spotlight: "Orangeburg Pecan Company"
=> SiteSeeing, Bonus & more: "Free sample of Tahitian Orchid Perfume"
=> Your Ebook: "The Top 10 Tips for New eBay Sellers"
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Kimberly's Column: "Schools Almost Out!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi everyone!
Well, with Memorial Day right around the corner, school is wrapping up for the
traditional year end here in the Carolinas. And with it comes a whole 'nother
season of youth sports fundraising!
That's one of the joys of being a fundraising "expert" because everybody just
naturally assumes that you'd love to run yet another fundraiser. And of course,
I'm the last one to ever say no, so I'm like the old joke about the chicken and
the pig.
When it comes to making breakfast, the chicken is "involved" because she's
providing the eggs, but the pig is "committed" because she's providing the
bacon!
Guess that makes me Miss Piggie when it comes to fundraisers...lol!
Anywho, hope all of you have done well with your fundraising efforts so far
this year. Take some time this summer to recharge your batteries. And don't
forget to do a little planning ahead for your next fundraisers!
Read on to the feature article to find out more about selecting the right
fundraiser.
The Supplier Spotlight is on Orangeburg Pecan Company. They are a great
supplier of fresh pecans which are only available for a short period after the
fall harvest. These are definitely a great moneymaker, but you do need to plan
ahead if you want to get some for your group!
This month's Bonus is
This month's ebook is The Top 10 Tips for New eBay Sellers
*-----------------Hot Tip------------------*
Free PC Security Software
Spam Virus Help has great information plus links to free resources for
antivirus software, spam blockers, personal firewalls, and all the other
good stuff you need to keep your computer safe.
*-----------------Hot Tip------------------*
----------------------------------------------------------------
Readers Q & A: "Breast Cancer Fundraising"
----------------------------------------------------------------
Question: I'm fundraising for Breast Cancer research, by walking
540km in organized events. My commitment is to raised $22,000. I'm having a heck
of a time getting there. I'm finding a couple of things, 1.) people think there
is too much fundraising done specifically for breast cancer and 2.) potential
donors assume that all the organizations are linked, donating to one means that
they all benefit.
Is anyone else coming up against this, how are you getting around it?
Have we finally reached saturation, has the fundraising pool been bled dry?
thanks
suzanne
Answer: If you're trying to raise money for breast cancer research by
participation pledges across multiple events, then the going will definitely be
tough.
Always think about things from your prospective supporters point of view. Most
are fine with simple straightforward requests from close friends, acquaintances
and neighbors.
However, repeat requests and multiple requests from several people for support
for the same event or cause will often increase donor resistance.
First, you need to make sure you're not asking the same people for a financial
pledge multiple times. I support a number of friends causes, but I try to limit
that support to one event per year (excluding multiple school fundraisers of
course, but thats different fundraising).
Second, you need to follow some fundraising basics. To increase participation
response, you have to create an awareness of the "need" and an awareness of your
"offering."
In your case, that means possibly printing a flyer with three bullet points each
on breast cancer statistics, three on research results, and three on the
particular event. (People can't digest much more than that)
You could also add pictures that tell of a personal link, a lost loved one, a
survivor, etc. because this adds immediacy and realism to your request.
Third, you'll need to broaden your network to raise $22,000 individually. Start
by looking at past donation amounts. Lets say your average support pledge was a
$20 donation.
That means you'll need at least 1,000 pledges. Now you can approach businesses
for pledges, but that usually requires an existing contact or relationship. You
can also ask your existing supporters for names of friends who might be willing
to help.
However, to use an analogy, at some point if you keep going back to the same
well for donations, it's going to run dry.
So, you need to find a way to ask complete strangers to support your efforts.
That can mean publicity efforts if you're doing something unique or it can mean
joining forces with like-minded fundraisers and staffing a high-traffic location
where you ask for donations.
Usually this involves exchanging some item of value, say a pink ribbon for a
lapel, or some sort of cause-related bumper sticker or car magnet, in exchange
for their support.
This is a surprisingly effective way to raise large amounts for personal causes,
but you'll need to go about it in a methodical manner.
Talk to your friends who share your passion for supporting breast cancer
research. Form your own small group and make a difference!
Best of luck with your fundraising efforts.
Kimberly
PS - Here's an article I wrote about doing product fundraisers at high-traffic
locations. The approach is very similar, so hope this helps.
You might also want to read the related publicity article as well:
You will find my book, Fundraising Success, very helpful in any
fundraising endeavor.
Buy a copy today because you'll save both time and money!
Yours for only $17:
----------------------------------------------------------------
FEATURE ARTICLE: Selecting The Right Fundraiser
----------------------------------------------------------------
Selecting the right fundraiser is the most important decision you’ll make. Among
the key factors are the timing of your fundraisers each year, the quality of the
merchandise, selling considerations, delivery considerations, and ultimately,
the net profit to your organization.
Think of yourself as running a small business building a reputation for
innovation and quality products. What are your financial goals versus expected
unit volume numbers, sales revenue versus profit percentage, quality of goods
versus cost, acceptable market price points, etc?
If you think like a business leader, then you’re on the right track.
First choose a type of fundraiser
There are different types of “best” fundraisers and you have to select what’s
best for your organization at this particular time.
Your fundraising choices are:
1 - Event-based fundraisers
2 - Direct donation fundraiser
3 - Fundraisers with immediate product delivery
4 - Fundraisers with delayed product delivery
The first decisions you have to make are on the fundraiser category,
selecting a fundraising company or distributor as your supplier, and then the
actual fundraiser itself.
Decision factors
How do you make that decision? A professional fundraising consultant can often
be a big help. You can also check the web, use your personal contacts, review
your group’s past records, etc. Most importantly, take some time to gather the
information you need to make the right decision.
You can design a simple survey that you can give to past organizers and other
key influencers such as local merchants and organizational leaders. Offer clear
choices to ease evaluation of replies. Print it out and get quality feedback
from within and without your organization on what’s worked well before and what
needs improving.
Then, put together a spreadsheet for evaluating and ranking fundraisers. Break
the ranking criteria into categories with sub headings in text boxes across the
spreadsheet. Numerical rankings should be assigned to what criteria are most
important to your group at this particular time for this fundraiser.
Things to consider when evaluating offerings:
1 - Quality of the merchandise items offered
2 - Quality of support materials provided such as catalogs
3 - References of supplier
4 - Availability of free samples or catalogs
5 - Service level of supplier such as pre-sorting goods, etc.
6 - Hidden costs such as freight, paying for brochures, etc.
7 - Hassle factors like replacement goods and refunds policies
8 - Special delivery needs such as refrigeration for some foodstuffs
9 - Specific needs of organization
10 - Previous vs. projected financial performance
Seek wisdom from past experience
Results will vary with the amount of fundraisers done previously, number going
on at same time (yours and others), time of year, etc. Look at this fundraiser
in context of others – done this one before, done it every year, competing group
just did it, or our cheerleaders did this one before and it was a big hit.
Successful past fundraising ideas could and should be repeated, but remember
that your customer base is often close to eighty percent the same customers from
year to year.
Spice it up! Go ahead and try something new and different that will increase
your revenue.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Supplier Spotlight: Orangeburg Pecan Company
---------------------------------------------------------------- (Excerpt from my book, Fundraising Success!) Supplier:
Orangeburg Pecan Company
Phone: (800) 845-6970 (Ask for Fund Raising)
Fax: Unknown
Website:
Address: P.O. Box 38
City: Orangeburg
State: SC
Zip: 29116
Description: Raise money by selling Orangeburg pecans. A fun and healthy way fun
way to conduct a fund raiser.
USPecans.com features pecans, pecan, pecan halves, shelled pecans, peanut
brittle for individuals, gifts, and fundraisers from Georgia & South Carolina
pecan farms.
We have pecan gift boxes, pecan pie, recipes, pecan halves, shelled nuts,
in-shell nuts, shelled halves, gift tins from the best pecan farms and pecan
growers in the United States.
For fundraising, currently they only offer cases of 24 one pound bags. Each bag
costs less than $5 including shipping.
Product Lines: Nuts
Terms: Prepay
Notes: Bulk shipments take place after October 20th. Free freight on orders of
more than 13 cases.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Places To Go, Things To See, Bonus Item & More
----------------------------------------------------------------
Places to go:
Faces Of The Fallen
One very compelling
Memorial Day site is “Faces of the Fallen”, developed by staff members at The
Washington Post. Utilizing information from various news services, military
releases, and family members, they have created this photographic database of
the servicepersons who have died in these conflicts.
Visitors can browse
through the database as they see fit, or also view service members by age, year
of death, home state, or military branch. The site also contains a section
titled “In their Own Words”, which contains some video clips of veterans talking
about their experiences, along with links recent news stories on these men and
women that appeared in the Post.
Things to see:
Bonus Item:
Free sample of Tahitian Orchid Intense Eau de Parfum!
Score a free sample of this luxuriously rich & intensely beautiful fragrance!
The gentle floral blend of fresh Jasmine & elegant rose create the heart of this
fabulous long-lasting fragrance!
Your Free Ebook:
Tips for new eBay sellers on how to create an auction listing that sparks a
bidding frenzy. 27 pages of quality advice from categories to pictures to
descriptions. 307kb download in PDF format (use right mouse click and chooses
"Save As" from popup menu).
Download here:
That's all for this issue. See you next month.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2006 by Kimberly Reynolds. All rights reserved.
Maximize your fundraising success!
Related Pages
Newsletters - All the Back
Issues!
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.
Fundraising Ideas - Ideas for fundraising
that focus on the best activities for high school, elementary school, sports teams, and youth groups to raise funds
with events, activities, programs, projects and products.
Fundraising Events - Three profitable event ideas
for small group or school fundraisers - Fundraiser events that are quick and easy -
Event ideas you
can do in a monthend that work anywhere from Canada to Australia.
School Fundraisers - Easy fundraising ideas for schools that consistently
produce excellent results. Includes articles on cheerleading, high school football,
soccer, and band, plus more great youth sports team activities and events for other high school groups.
Thank You Letters - Seven tips
on writing thank you letters, notes, or simple donor recognition phone calls.
Fundraising Letters - See what fund
raising letters work for other non-profit groups.
Fundraising Letter - How to
generate the best response with your donation request letters.
How To Write A Fundraising
Letter - Advice and
tips on what works and what doesn't.
Nonprofit Software - Listings and descriptions of popular software programs
for nonprofit groups. Donor tracking and recognition programs, nonprofit accounting, and capital campaign support.
Church Fundraisers - Church fundraising ideas for capital campaigns through donor recognition -
Christian fundraiser charity activities and events that produce quick results.
Articles - Full list of articles on high school fundraisers,
nonprofit fund raising, and great event ideas.
Fundraisers In The News
|
