Sunday, January 13, 2008

Fundraising For Non-Profit Organizations

Here we are once again, the beginning of a new year. People have taken their tax deductions by the end of December and most non-profits view this time of year as their financial windfall. But, you need to plan accordingly for the rest of the year. I'd like to help you capitalize on those financial gifts by giving you some tips that you'll be able to use in your organizations that if implemented should increase your donations.

And what exactly are my credentials to be giving you this information? Well, I have been a non-profit Director most of my career; children's programs, women's programs, senior programs, and hospice. I was instrumental in the fundraising for a 2.3 million dollar building. In addition, I also supervised 'Gift Planning' for a national corporation. I've also sat on the Board of Directors of several non-profits and raised funds for a symphony orchestra, children's programs, and parades. I've organized a variety of different fundraising events. As a consultant, I've taught others how to do the same. As a copywriter I write Fundraising letters that have donors emptying out their piggy banks. And as a trainer I've brought my 'How to Write a Fundraising Letter that Gets Results!' to many non-profits.

I will focus throughout this blog on a variety of different non-profits but I'm going to begin with schools. Every year schools are faced with the problem of supplementing funding for some of the every day programming, staff, or activities, that go on within the school. So today I’d like to talk about establishing fundraising needs for school organizations. This information also will work for youth groups.

First thing that your group must do is determine what your funding will be used for this year. It is much more effective if it is for a specific need rather than for blanket funding for any program. For example, let’s say you were the Band Director and you thought you’d like to raise $5,000 for the band this year. That might include a variety of things such as uniforms, music, some instruments, visiting musicians, etc. That type of fundraiser could be ongoing throughout the course of the year but wouldn’t glean the same attention as a fundraiser focused on a specific project. You also want your fundraising goals to be 'measurable'. That will make your Board (or Principal & Superintendent) very happy!

An example of this could be the band needs new uniforms because they’ve been selected to march in the New Year’s Rose Bowl Parade! So, not only do they need new uniforms but they also need transportation and lodging costs covered. This is something that your community can be very excited about and want to support! Imagine the pride of their town school band playing in the Rose Bowl Parade?

So my first recommendation is do something that establishes pride in the community. Second, have a focus so that the window to raise the funds is limited to a certain time—say Nov. 30th, for this hypothetical New Year’s Day Parade. That gives the Band Director an opportunity to then book hotel and transportation a full month prior to the event. And, if you’re short $500 then you still have time to do a ‘Special Community Appeal’.

Where do you begin? OK. you’ve established your goal of $5,000, spoken to the kids involved, perhaps met with the parents, what’s next?
Do you need to meet with the school committee for approval before you begin? Find out from your Principal or School Superintendent any rules governing the school doing fundraising. Is there someone in your group who has organized fundraisers previously? Are they willing to help you out on this project? Next, establish a committee of members of the band to make a decision as to what they choose to use for their fundraiser. You may also have a committee of adults who are able to help guide the children through this process. There are many organizations that supply products that the kids can take door to door—there’s candy, popcorn, cookie dough, ( http://www.abcfundraising.com/cookie-dough-fundraiser2.htm?gclid=CLHf9eGu9JACFQ66PAodPzP12w ) and a whole lot of other door to door products. Can you afford the upfront costs of some products? You’ll have to determine what your group feels has the best profit margin and meets their own needs.

One of the most popular events for kids is to have them involved in a car wash. Besides school events, this is also successful for church groups, and scouts. Wal-mart has been known to lend not only the space but also provide the water and add their own donation to the cause. Another 'service' that kids can provide is 'Kids for Hire'. Perhaps they mow lawns, rake, weed gardens, shovel, get groceries, clean cellars, hook up computers, and even teach computers. If the non-profit is for a school orchestra or band they might want to make themselves available for weddings or parties for a set fee that goes directly to the non-profit.

There are organizations that can offer you a unique array of educational products that does not require the child to go from door to door. All of the products can be safely downloaded over the Internet. So there’s no fear of having the children in unfamiliar neighborhoods, walking on roads without sidewalks, or having to purchase products upfront and hope for profits. http://abetterfundraiser.com/ is one company that supplies educational material appropriate for various ages as well as gift cards. So if Mrs. Jones doesn’t know what to buy her nephew she can purchase a gift card for him to then download the software that he would like to own. This may offer your group an alternative over calorie-laden sugar products, your profit margin is much higher, and neither does it put the child in any jeopardy from going door to door.

A nice addition to a long term and ongoing fundraising is http://topbananamall.com/ here the non-profit organization signs up to be a free Business Mall owner of over 1200 stores. They in turn also give their members a mall and encourage them to shop online through their own mall. A comprehensive web site movie does a good job at explaining the concept. Every member of the 9 tiers receives a residual amount on each purchase. That residual amount goes directly to the non-profit. It takes a while to build up but this is ideal for a school, church, or any organization with some long range plans. Every month the $ amount increases as you bring in more buyers. It is easy to do, and one of my favorites, because you can use the mall debit card and use it for your gas, groceries and other every day expenditures. And every purchase brings money to your non-profit. This makes it very easy for every family, no matter what income level, to participate.

OK. Your committee is in place, you have established the dollar amount needed, and you’ve selected the product (s) that you would like to sell or services you want to provide. What do you do next? You’ll need a Press Release to send to all of the local newspapers, as well as a PSA to all the local radio stations. { As a professional copywriter, http://impactwriting.net/ I can write those for you for a nominal fee.} You then distribute those to the appropriate media and ask for a reporter who will cover the story as a feature article in the beginning of your campaign and again at the end. Remember we are assuming this will be a short campaign for a specific target.

So how do the children sell? If you’ve bought a product that needs to be brought door to door make certain that the parents are in agreement with this. The children can set up a table at any local events, malls, or major stores, and sell products there describing the campaign and what one must do to help out. With educational products or the mall, I would recommend an email and phone campaign to family, neighbors, and friends in your address book. Again, I can supply you with the basic email template for your organization. It will bring them to the website, explain to them the secure purchase site, and how to actually download the software to their computer or to sign up for the program. If they do not want the software for themselves, they can also purchase a gift certificate to give to someone or, they may just click on the ‘donate button’ and make a donation to your organization.

Next blog will discuss how to motivate the kids and educate them on the fine art of selling!

Best Wishes for a successful campaign!

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