School Bands, Sports Teams, Churches, Civic Groups
O.K., so you’re the new Fundraising Chairperson.
Hitting the goal is your assignment. The budget has been set. It’s up to you to lead the way. Everyone is looking to you for leadership and fresh ideas. What next?
Imagine your first committee meeting:
Someone mentions telemarketing for cash contributions. There’s no support at all for that idea. Bake sale? The very mention of having a bake sale brings a groan from the committee. In fact, the mention of selling anything: candy, pizza, subs, coupon books, or what-have-you has people heading for the door. They have all “been there” before: the kids go selling door-to-door or sell in front of the grocery store while the parents buy from each other at work. At the end of the day, it’s too much work for too little money.
So, what’s fun, easy, doesn’t require selling door-to-door, and can raise a lot of money?
The most profitable grass roots fundraiser is an Auction. Why? Because your committee members will find asking for donations of merchandise to be easier than trying to sell something. Plus, an evening of fun will draw a good crowd, and folks will bid higher when they know their money is going for a good cause: your cause. Think about it:
- Everyone likes a night out
- Everyone likes a good meal
- Everyone likes to be entertained
- Auctions are fun and exciting
- Your crowd will come back next year and you can do it again
And if that’s not enough, consider that:
- You make money from the Live auction
- You make money from the Silent Auction
- You make money from the raffle
- You make money from the dinner and/or ticket sales
- You make money from the bar (if you have one)
- Most of your goods and services are donated, so you have little or no product cost.
- You get money from and develop relationships with new people in your community instead of just members of your organization
- Gala events attract media attention that helps your promotion
You end up a “hero”:
You hit your fundraising goal and everyone has a good time in the process.
