First of all, the soul of any fundraiser is that it’s all about the heart. A fundraiser has to be from the heart and to the heart for it to work.
Having pulled off my own, out-of-the-blue fundraiser raising the awareness of children affected by war for the Canadian Red Cross, many months of predicted and unpredicted hard work, and one thousand dollars later, I could say that I have had a very successful experience. Not only was the fundraiser my very first attempt, but it was one totally created from scratch. The idea-no bake sale for us, but a picture taking marathon and the resources-the picture marathon required hand-made signs to pass along messages supporting the cause.
Here are my top five tips:
1) Find dedicated friends, family, workmates or classmates to share the sweat
You’ll have your close friends and loves ones interested in your cause, but the people you need on your inside, planning, or be executive team must be willingly to put in the effort. Those that may not have the expertise, but are willing to pull those all-nighters with you to work on that informative pamphlet or tell every single friend and family member they know that the fundraiser is even happening. I was lucky enough to have a sister who did all that and more for me.
2) Data, Data, Data
Be prepared to be, literally, bombarded with questions about your cause. The masses will be interested and curious about the current situation, progress, people affected, and most importantly, where the money they donate goes- 10% may go to administration fees to the organization. Know inside and out of the current issues, the statistics, and the facts. It comes extremely helpful to maintain your passion. And help keep calm in front of the media.
3) All Proceeds go to or All Profits go to…
Wording is especially important here. If all the money you donate goes directly to supporting the Child Advocacy and Rehabilitation (CAR) center in Liberia, Africa, then all proceeds truly go to the CAR center and can be justly claimed. But if any money goes towards administration of the organization, or you will use any of the money donated to advertise or buy a glue stick, then you must label your fundraiser as “all profits go…” Beside legalities, people are usually concerned with where their money goes.
4) Get the word out!
Social media, word-of-mouth, posters, television ads, radio ads, newspaper space, bookmarks and pamphlets-the success of fundraiser mainly relies on how many people know it’s actually happening. And how many people it can impact. But my friend, of all my ups and downs I have experienced, advertising may be the most frustrating part of any fundraiser. It relies on all the connections you possess, the appeal of your graphics design team, and how many friends you have on Facebook-actually no, but just how well you can appeal to your audience using social media. Golden Rule here: the earlier you can contact the media and put out those advertisements, determines whether your fundraiser sinks or swims. Silver Rule here: follow the fast food industry’s example- repetition, repetition, repetition.
5) Be creative and have fun and stay organized
If you aren’t genuinely loud and proud of the fundraiser, you can be sure no else will make the effort to either. The fact is many people shirk from hard work-sad and disheartening, but a reality. But a fundraiser requires a full-hearted effort, not a half-hearted one. GOOD LUCK!
