Fundraising tips

7 super tips for fundraising organizers

Raising money for good causes requires imagination, ingenuity and
resourcefulness – no longer is it just acceptable to pass a bucket around
and ask people to throw dollars and cents in it.

Luckily, raising money can be a fun activity – one which should give
children happy memories of a day of charitable fun.

Here’s how you can put the ‘fun’ into fundraising and drum up some
much-needed funds for a worthy cause.

Choose a cause

This is probably your starting point – pick a good cause and you will give
people motivation to get involved in your fundraising activities.

You could take a ‘charity begins at home’ approach and pick a local
charity. Perhaps you could pick one which benefits the people who
will participate in the fundraising event. For instance, this could be a
fundraising event which raises money for a new local playground.

Or you could make your fundraising ‘topical’ – a fundraising event which
aims to raise money to provide aid for a country which has just suffered a
natural disaster is likely to attract a lot of positive attention.

Make use of what’s in the news when planning your event - if the
Olympics is on then it could be a good time to organise a fundraising
sports day to earn some funds for some new school sports equipment!

Set a target

Okay, so this tip is optional but setting a fundraising target can provide
motivation to the people involved. It can also give people an extra nudge
to contribute to your fundraising event.

For instance, if you announce that you have raised $500 dollars and
need to raise another $500 to meet your target then people might be
more likely to reach in their pockets in order to achieve the event’s aim.

Who to invite

Work out at an early stage just who you want to invite to your
fundraising event. Is it going to just be aimed at pupils and parents of

your child’s school? Is it just going to be a neighbourhood fundraising
event with invites limited to people who live on your block?

Working this out will help you calculate how many people are likely to
attend and determine where your event should be held and how many
raffle ticket books etc. should be ordered.

Delegate

Before you post out your invites, draw up a list of tasks for the people
who will be helping you organise the event. You might need to allocate
someone to plan the activities, someone to organise the food and
someone to count and cash the money you are raising.

Get people involved and they will feel that they have a personal
commitment to your event.

Spread the word

It used to be the case that a fundraising event was advertised by word-
of-mouth or through a hand-written poster pinned to a local building.
However, the rapid advent of social media has changed this!

Set up a Facebook page dedicated to your fundraising event and you are
sure to boost attendance numbers. It is also a good idea to contact the
local newspaper to let them know what is going to be special about your
event. Which brings us on to the next point…

Make your event special

Try to think of a fundraising activity which will mark your event out from
other events. Does anyone you know have an unusual skill or occupation
which could help give your event a theme or inspire an activity? For
instance, someone on your fundraising committee might own a horse or
a pony – why not arrange rides around the perimeter of the fundraising
venue to raise money?

Or you could organize an event where children are invited to throw wet
sponges at a strait-laced member of the community; the local head-
teacher or a police officer is always a fun target!

You could also invite a local dignitary or celebrity to officially open your
event – nothing attracts a crowd quite like a famous face does.

After the event

When the event ends, let people know how much you have raised
and explain just how this money will help a good cause. It is a good
idea to round off your day of fundraising by presenting a check to a
representative of your chosen charity.

And don’t forget to say ‘thank you’ to all the people who have helped you
with your fun fundraising efforts!

James Christie writes for children’s craft company Yellow Moon. You
can find out about Yellow Moon’s fundraising and charity scheme
here.


Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post.  The Mom Show did not write the original content, and was compensated for sharing.