AmeriFundraising Blog

Friends and Relatives Make the Best Fundraising Prospects

npifer — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 20:49:56 +0000

When it reaches time to raise funds for a project or organization most companies or businesses would like a pretty simple fundraiser that will not take a lot of time and especially those that do not take an excessive amount of up front capital. Using the easy fundraising ideas included in the following will make raising the necessary funds simple and easy and possibly even pleasurable.

Discount cards have become another fundraising program which can be popular among people of all ages and so profits are easy to make. These discount cards are for local restaurants and businesses. The customer receives a price reduction on merchandise or food and the team receives a percentage of the price. These programs and details concerning how to use them are available online.

Cookbooks are another popular fundraiser that typically has a excellent return. The organization gathers recipes from one another, friends and relations and then has them compiled into a cookbook through one of many fundraising cookbook programs which can be located on the Internet.

Fundraising tasks should not become tiresome work, you can keep them fun and simple and experience a much improved return on funding. Whatever the fundraising strategy picked, the plan of raising money is often simple and easy and also fun for all involved. Picking a high profit fundraising program can certainly make the entire project that much easier.

If you are looking for a truly unique and easy to market fundraising product that also offers the added advantage of being resold to your original customers, consider the Fun Pasta Fundraising opportunity.

Most everyone loves pasta. From spaghetti to macaroni and cheese or hearty soups stuffed with shells, pasta is definitely a staple in the majority of households. With Fun Pasta team members offering over 300 different shapes of pasta together with pasta salad and soup kits, the product basically sells itself.

Source: www.thefundraisingauthority.com

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Fundraisers that happen to be Fun and Effective

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 20:43:48 +0000

Fundraising is used to assist you to fund many campaigns and events, from school and church trips to athletic uniforms for teams. The key to fundraising is almost always to literally make it fun to accomplish. When the fundraising undertaking is fun, the excitement will spill over towards the sales effort and much more cash can be raised.

There are many different solutions to raise money, some will raise more money than others and some will need upfront capital for you to use them. In addition to the fundraisers listed here all that is needed is a touch of creativity and many more ideas can be developed.

One of the more creative, fundraising ideas that schools, churches, boy and girl scouts may use is Fun Pasta. Fun Pasta serves as a program that enables organizations to promote pasta in over 300 unique shapes and meal packages like soups and pasta salad. The prepackaged pastas consist of many distinct sizes; as pasta salad packages that come with necessary spices; and as complete soup packages. Which included a shelf lifetime of 24 months, selling this pasta will be the easiest money people have ever made. And, Fun Pasta offers organizations a 40-50% average profit.

Organizations can also sell other food items including candy bars, popcorn, and donuts. Food fundraisers are usually a big hit and much easier to raise money with than a lot of the other methods of fundraising that must have more effort. Many groups send their fundraising product, particularly candy bars, to work with their families. When put into the break room in offices, sales are basically guaranteed. Often, a consumable that is available immediately is easy to sell.

Fundraising could come in the form of services. Carwashes absolutely are a common site, particularly during the summertime. Nearly everyone has seen the group carwashes where kids are gathered around with their buckets and garden hoses washing cars for a very low price while a few stand on the edge of the road waving signs beckoning cars in. Although this takes physical effort, it does not require much financial input. A bottle of soap, some buckets and old rags are the only thing that is necessary.

Along the same line as carwashes are dog washes. The idea is equivalent to the carwash with the exception of having to advertise in advance. Not everyone has their pet inside their car or truck, though some do, so flyers would need to be place prior to the event.

Fundraising should be fun dollar raising, not tedious tasks that feel like work. Try one of these ideas, like Fun Pasta for the next fundraiser and make your profits pour in.

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School Fundraising Alert! Why Traditional Fundraisers Face Challenges

npifer — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 08:29:11 +0000

Are you responsible for raising money for your school? If so, you need to read this article to learn why traditional fundraisers like gift wrapping paper and cookie dough sales have seen a significant decreases recently due to the down economy. If your school depends on these types of fundraisers to raise money, then you are probably all too familiar with the decrease in sales. Couple that with decreased funding from state and local governments, and your school could be in for some serious cutbacks.

So your school has two options: accept the cutbacks as status quo and deal with them, or you can become creative and find a way to raise the money you need. I don’t know about you, but I’m not up for the first option, and will show you how to focus on the second. Unfortunately, most schools are used to the traditional fundraisers and will often have a hard time transitioning to something new.

So what’s the problem…

One thing you need to realize is that the problem is not with your students or volunteer involvement, instead the problem is the same as any other product that is for sale…the customer’s need. In the past, your school could get away with, “We’re doing a fundraiser for _______,” and the supporter would buy what you had to sell. Now, you have to go after their need, “We’re selling this __________ that will benefit you by (saving you money, saving you time, etc.) and the proceeds will go to help us raise money for ______ .”

Do you see the difference? By providing something that will benefit them, you are helping them meet a need or a want, which takes the focus off them parting with their money for something they don’t know if they want.

So what’s working…

At this point, all that is left is to make sure you are providing something of value…something that’s a “no-brainer.” As someone who has been involved in fundraising for years, I can tell you that I’ve never seen more interest in Discount Card Fundraisers than ever before. At the end of the day, the benefits FAR outweigh the cost to the buyer that they have no problem forking over $10 or $20 bucks because they know they’ll save 5 times that with the savings.

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Local Fundraising for Larger Non-Profits

npifer — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:27:24 +0000

Doing local fundraising for a large organization can sometimes seem complicated and unwieldy. Whether you are running a local affiliate of a large national organization, or are responsible for raising funds in a single neighborhood for a small, city-wide charitable group, raising local money for larger groups presents a unique challenge.

Working with a larger organization offers a lot of benefits, including increased name recognition for the charity, pre-designed and pre-printed materials, and often, lots of support. On the other hand, your neighborhood, city, or area may have unique fundraising norms, present opportunities unavailable in other places, or offer obstacles to fundraising that are not problems in other areas. How can you, as a local fundraiser for a larger charity, best capitalize on the situation in your area to benefit the organization as a whole?

1. Learn the Ground Rules

Before beginning your local fundraising effort, talk with the head of development for the national charity you are working for / with. Discuss what the basic fundraising rules are for that particular group. Many larger non-profits have a list of non-negotiables (things that either can’t be done or have to be done), as well as a list of preferences (things they would like to see happen or not happen, but which are negotiable).

2. Build a Local Team

Nothing encourages giving like being asked by someone you know. If you’re doing local fundraising, rely on local people. Get all the help you can from the national or state-wide office, but recruit a team of local volunteers and staff members to help you raise the money to meet your goals.

3. Use Best Practices…

Does one pitch work better than another? Does one brochure encourage giving more than a second? Your national office has probably tested these items, and more likely than not will be willing to share their best practice advice with you. Use whatever information you can to help you increase your local fundraising revenue.

4. …But Modify for a Local Audience, if Necessary

If your city or neighborhood has a unique opportunity or presents a unique challenge, don’t be afraid to modify your parent charity’s procedures to fit the situation on the ground, provided that: (a) you don’t step over the line and change anything that is non-negotiable for the organization you are working with, and (b) you test your modification and find out that it does, in fact, work better in your area than the standard national pitch, event, fundraising e-mail or other tactic.

5. Remember, You’re all on the Same Team!

Sometimes, this one is the hardest to remember. Your local fundraising group and the parent non-profit you are fundraising on behalf of are on the same team, working towards the same goals, and serving the same mission… so even if you don’t see eye to eye on every single strategy, be mindful that you’re both in this together.

Source: www.thefundraisingauthority.com

Raising Money through Discount Card Fundraising

npifer — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:25:24 +0000

We’ve all seen (or been asked to buy) one of those “Entertainment Book” fundraising cards (and the accompanying phonebook-sized discount directories). Perhaps you’ve even wondered whether or not you could go it alone and hold your own discount card fundraiser, catering to your own small corner of the world. The answer is yes… many schools, churches, and charities have found great success creating their own discount card fundraising programs.

The Basics of Discount Card Fundraising

At its heart, discount card fundraising is a simple process: your non-profit goes out to local stores, restaurants, retailers, etc., and asks them to join your fundraising effort by offering a discount of 10-50% to anyone who presents your discount card to the business. Your non-profit then goes out and sells the discount card for anywhere from $5-$50 to raise money for your group.

Discount cards are a win-win for all parties involved: local businesses get to help your non-profit and generate extra business without taking out expensive advertising, your supporters get to make a donation to your organization and save money at businesses all over town, and your non-profit raises much needed funds in a fun and energizing way.

Five Tips for Success

Discount card fundraising can be a great method for raising money, particularly for small and medium-sized charities, as well as for large schools and churches. Be forewarned, though, that this is a time- and volunteer-intensive endeavor. Follow these five tips to maximize your overall return:

1. Delegate – To be successful with this method, you’ll need to use tons of volunteers… not only to sell the actual cards, but also to go out to local businesses and ask them to offer a discount to your card holders. Start a discount card committee to work on this effort on behalf of your organization.

2. Look Professional – There are a ton of companies that can create great, professional looking high-quality discount fundraising cards for you at a competitive price. Look them up online, and use them (or a supportive printing company) to print up high-quality booklets listing the participating businesses to hand out along with the cards.

3. Know Your Break-Even Point – Before you begin, work with the card company and your printer to figure out what your cost per card & per book will be and how many you have to order. Then figure out how many you will need to sell in order to make your money back (break even). Then, look at how many volunteers will be helping you sell cards and how many you think they will sell. Decide whether or not this endeavor will be profitable for you before you begin.

4. Set a Time Limit – Discount card fundraising works best when you set a limited time period in which to sell your cards… three to six weeks is a good guideline. Set a definite end to your fundraising campaign, and be sure your volunteers and everyone who is selling the cards for you knows what the last day for sales is.

5. Go One Step Further – To raise even more money, you can also sell ads in your discount book promoting some of the businesses who are offering discounts, or (for a fee) offer to include additional promotional materials (like brochures or refrigerator magnets touting the discount) along with each card/book combo that you sell.

Take some time to review your volunteer base and your fundraising goals, and see if discount card fundraising will work as part of your non-profit’s fundraising plan.

Source: www.thefundraisingauthority.com

How to Make Your Fundraising Efforts Go Viral

npifer — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:06:07 +0000

Viral marketing is the holy grail of online salesmanship. Having a product, game, or website go viral… that is, be passed on and promoted by word of mouth, personal e-mail forwards, and social media recommendations… is the quickest, cheapest way to spread the message about your product or service.

The benefits of viral marketing don’t stop with online retailers, however. Non-profits of all sizes can and use the same tactics to make their fundraising campaigns spread like wildfire, being passed on from person to person and group to group.

If you’d like to see your fundraising campaign go viral, either online or off, be sure to follow these important tips:

1. Make Your Ask Bite-Sized

$10,000 asks don’t go viral. $10 asks do. If you’re trying to start a viral fundraising campaign, make your asks bite-sized and concrete: $10 to buy a mosquito net and stave off malaria… $27 to send 3 kids to school for a week… $5 to feed one family for one day.

2. Find “Sneezers”

There’s nothing a virus likes more than a good sneeze, spreading the germs far and wide. The same is true for your viral fundraising effort. Find supporters who are good sneezers… that is, who have a broad network and aren’t shy about promoting your charity. Task these supporters with heading up your viral campaign and spreading the word about your efforts. (For more information on getting others to pass on your message, read Building Fundraising Networks).

3. Boil Down Your Message

Viral marketing relies on good, succinct, easy to explain concepts. Make sure that everyone who is working on your fundraising campaign can quickly, accurately, and passionately describe the need. Instead of, “Our organization was founded in 1924 by three Philadelphia social workers for the purposes of collaborating with…” use, “We save kids from starving. $12 will feed a child for a week. We have a child who needs your $12 today!”

4. Make it Easy to Give

Be sure that you make it as easy as possible to give. If you’re running a viral fundraising effort, set up a separate web page that allows people to give directly to the campaign easily and in the right chunks. For example, if you’re raising $25 donations to pay for vaccinations, this campaign-specific page should ask how many vaccinations the donor wants to sponsor… 10 for $25, 20 for $50, etc. (For more information on setting up great fundraising pages, read Fundraising on the Internet).

Source: www.thefundraisingauthority.com

Creative Silent Auction Ideas for Your Event

npifer — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:36:34 +0000

Silent auctions have become a valuable revenue stream for most mid- and large-sized fundraising events. (If you’re not yet using a silent auction, it makes a great — though often time-consuming – addition to events).

Of course, as auctions have become de rigueur at fundraising events, attendees have come to expect bigger, better, and bolder items at every event they attend. Below, we present some creative silent auction ideas to spice up your next event and keep your donors bidding and buying.

But First, Remember the Basics

Before adding new or different items to your silent auction, be sure that you have all the “basics” covered. Guests who attend your event will expect you to have certain items available, including gift certificates, gift baskets, perhaps some sports or theatre tickets available, and any items that you “normally” have at your event. Before launching some of these more creative silent auction ideas, be sure you have these basics ready for your event.

Experiences

When you’re ready to take your auction to the next level, one category of big-ticket item you can add is “experiences.” People love to bid on things they can’t find anywhere else… things they consider priceless. And auction supporters will often donate items to a non-profit that they wouldn’t offer for sale elsewhere.

Examples of good experiences to offer include: a backstage pass to a ballet performance, a chance to ride in the local news helicopter during a traffic report, the opportunity for you and a friend to play basketball with two members of the local professional team, etc.

Services

Services performed by your staff, your board, or a group of your supporters are great silent auction ideas. For example, your board could host a party for the winner and 10 of their friends at the board president’s house where the board cooks the food, waits on tables, and plays bartender. Or, a group of supporters could offer to clean the winner’s house. Likewise, your staff could take the winner’s car to get oil changes every three months for a year. Be creative!

Mission-Related Items

Adding a mission-related component to your event auction is my favorite outside the box silent auction idea. At every silent auction I have ever attended, I have seen people who bid on and lost items walk out the door with money in their pocket that they were expecting to spend… and that they would be more than happy to donate to the school, church, or charity in a creative way. Cue the mission-related sale. There are two ways to add this component to your auction.

First, set up a table where you offer services to your clients to be sponsored in an auction-like setting. For example, if you serve the homeless meals and it costs $10 per meal, but out a bid sheet letting people bid on how many meals they will buy for your clients. The winner may be 23, 45, or 200 meals, depending on your donor base.

Only the winner has to pay –he or she writes a check for the total amount (in the case of 200 meals, that would be $2,000 at $10 per meal) which your organization then uses to provide the service. You could set up several of these types of auctions on the same table.

Second, set up a “Buy a Service” table right by the exit door. As people leave, ask them to buy a service for one of your clients. Offer numerous levels of services that the donor can “purchase” on a client’s behalf. This isn’t done in an auction setting, but is designed to allow people who have money to spend, but who lost their bids, to donate the money to your non-profit in a creative way.

For example, if you are running a sports program for underprivileged youth, you could offer donors the chance to “buy” a set of baseballs for you for $10, a uniform for a child for $20, or cover the fees you have to pay to use the field for one day for $50.

Be resourceful with your event, and use these creative silent auction ideas to make sure your donors stay engaged with your auction, your event, and your organization.

For more great, outside the box thinking for your fundraising operation, check out Creative Fundraising Ideas for Non Profit Organizations. For more event ideas, check out Using Ad Calendar Fundraising at Your Next Event.

Source: www.thefundraisingauthority.com

Raising Funding for a New Non-Profit

npifer — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:46:03 +0000

Fundraising for a non-profit is hard enough… stating your case, writing a plan, and coming up with creative fundraising ideas takes time and hard work. Raising funding for a new non-profit, though, is doubly hard, because donors like to see a track record of success before investing their hard earned dollars into your cause.

Raising funding for a start-up charity is successfully done every day, however, despite the reluctance of traditional and institutional donors to get involved. Here are four tips for successfully funding your new non-profit venture:

1. Seek Start-Up Capital from Those Closest to You

The single best place for a non-profit founder to raise money is among your friends, relatives, and colleagues. Just as the founders of a new business who are looking for capital must often go to their own networks to raise seed money, so too the founder of a charitable organization normally must seek early-stage funding from their own rolodex.

These calls work because people have a hard time saying “no” to their friends. If your group has more than one founder, all the better: each person involved with starting the school, church, or charity should work the phones to seek donations for the non-profit. (For more information read What is a Fundraising Ask?)

2. Find a Board that is Passionate and Connected

Raising funding for a new non-profit is made easier when you build your board of directors with development in mind. Seek out business and community leaders who are passionate about the issue your organization addresses. Sit down with those leaders one-on-one and explain your mission and what you are hoping to accomplish with your new non-profit. Ask each leader to get involved by sitting on your board.

Once you build your board, ask your founding board members to help you raise $1,000, $10,000, $25,000, or whatever your group needs to get started.

3. Connect with Complimentary Organizations

Many non-profits have had great success raising early gifts by connecting with complimentary organizations in their area who might have a vested interest in seeing your new group succeed. For example, if you are raising funding for a new soup kitchen, would local churches, homeless advocacy groups, or anti-poverty groups want to help fund your launch? If you are working on starting a new school, the local civic association, the town’s municipal government, and large local employers might want to help get you started.

4. Kick Off Your Effort with a Launch Event

A fantastic way or raising funding for your new organization is by holding a big launch event as your first fundraising activity. Recruit a well-connected host committee that cares about your mission, but that also loves to hold events. Get them to work their networks to find event sponsors and sell tickets.

The reason events work particularly well for start-up funding is because often, people who wouldn’t give $100 to your new non-profit are more than willing to pay $100 to go to your cocktail party, and many socialites who may not be interested in raising money for your initial fund drive might be willing to throw a fabulous fundraising event for you.

Source: www.thefundraisingauthority.com

Lake Shores Middle School Raises $950…

npifer — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:06:01 +0000

Lake Shores Middle School Raises $950 using the Discount Card Fundraiser.

Using Ad Calendar Fundraising at Your Next Event

npifer — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:32:22 +0000

Many organizations that run larger fundraising events use ad books to generate additional revenue, reward sponsors, and provide information about the charity’s mission. For those that aren’t familiar with the concept, an ad book is simply a book that contains ads for local businesses and individuals that purchase the opportunity by making a contribution or providing an event sponsorship. Ad books also normally contain information about the non-profit, its staff, and the people the group serves. The book is then handed out at the event to all attendees.

Ad calendar fundraising is very similar to using an ad book… instead of handing a book out to your event guests, you provide them with a full-size 12 or 18 month calendar that they can take home, and which contains ads for local businesses that made a donation to the sponsoring organization. (For more information on holding great events, read The 10 Steps to a Successful Fundraising Event).

Why Ad Calendar Fundraising Works

Using ad calendars is a nice change of pace for donors and attendees because it is something that they are going to want to hang on to and use throughout the year… unlike ad books, which are generally discarded at home after the event, if not on the way to the car.

Because ad calendars tend to get posted in people’s homes and offices and are used for a long period of time, donors may find them especially attractive as a way to keep the donor’s message in front of the event guests for a whole month or year.

Getting Started with Ad Calendar Fundraising

If you are going to use calendar fundraising at your next event, be sure to start planning early. Price out the printing costs to make sure that using calendars will be cost effective for your school, church or charity. Also, be sure to let donors know up front that you’re offering an ad calendar this year, and that ads can be purchased on their own, or through a sponsorship of your event.

Set up a schedule of benefits for your donors according to your own organization’s needs… many non-profits have found the following ad calendar fundraising benefits to be useful in generating support:

Top-Level Donor: Back cover of calendar
Second-Tier Donors: Inside front and back covers of calendar
Large Event Sponsors: Sponsor a whole month
Medium Event Sponsors: Share sponsorship of a month or sponsor a week
Smaller Event Sponsors: Share sponsorship of a month or sponsor a day

The amount you charge for each benefit or sponsorship level will depend on your organization, your donor list, and the amount you are trying to raise. Also, remember that while ad calendar fundraising works particularly well when holding large events, many organizations have successfully raised money through calendars as a stand alone item, without tying the effort to any event.

Source: www.thefundraisingauthority.com