Fundraising For All

by Al Jackson

Nowadays, hardly a day goes by when we are not asked to donate some thing to some worthy cause or another, and even though we may support the concept, our funds will simply not cover everything we would like them to.

However, we can donate time or even items that we no longer use to some of these causes. Quite often non-profit groups take used items and sell them to places like consignment stores who in turn sell them to individuals. When this happens everyone benefits. The donor gets rid of things they no longer need, the non-profit group gets some funds for their organization, the store gets some profit, and the purchaser gets something they wanted at a good price.

Now that was one way to fundraise, but there are many others too. A Cookie Dough Fundraiser may be appropriate for many different groups to use, as long as they are not for diabetics! Certainly School Fundraisers could benefit substantially I would imagine from organizing this kind of a fundraiser, as all children enjoy cookies, and they could be encouraged to use the dough to bake them for themselves, with adult supervision of course.

There are many ways to fundraise, which is good because a College fundraiser, will probably not be the same as Church Fundraisers, and I suspect that a Cheerleading Fundraiser would be different to Fundraising for Little League! Did you know that there are even companies who make all their profits from organizing fundraisers? These companies take the hard work out of fundraising by providing flyers, order forms etc, as well as the goods to sell, so that you just have to concentrate on the marketing of the products to as many people as possible. The company makes money, but so do you, as you split the profit. It is worth researching these companies before deciding which to go with, as they offer different percentages for your share of the profit, and have different return policies for items not purchased.

However, all fundraising groups may be able to benefit from Fundraising Software, providing they have someone who is computer literate, and able to take the time to learn how it operates. Computers can be great time savers. Nowadays we can email a list of volunteers with the arrangements for an event, rather than having to phone each one individually. And this makes sure that everyone gets the same information!  Letters can be personalized and printed, then sent to donors informing them of your next event, or thanking them for their participation in the past and updating them with news of your current successes.

Software can of course deal with the accounts of your organization, to make sure everything stays on track. It can store various lists for you, the volunteers list, the donors list, potential donors etc., but you have to make sure that personal information stays personal, so take precautions to safeguard this. And remember not to request private information like credit card numbers over the internet. This needs to be done either in person, or by phone.

Fir lots more information, I suggest you take a look at Practical Fundraising where there is a wealth of information for everyone.