Fundraising Events And Ideas

All over the world, fundraising activities are conducted almost on a daily basis. The big ones are in the news and they are the ones we remember most.

In other parts, fundraising takes on several sizes. In rural areas, a school may have raised some funds needed to buy more school materials. Some parish church somewhere may have sponsored some cookie sales.

All in all, there are so many kinds of fundraising activities anyone can organize. Here are some of them for you to choose from.

Raffle
This is one of the more popular ones. You can give your version some twists to jazz up things and make it interesting. Instead of standard raffle tickets with raffle numbers on them, you could distribute lollipops with the raffle numbers written on a label wrapped on the sticks.

A good idea would be to gather many volunteers and participants to make these tags on the lollipop sticks.

One fine idea, too, is to have some local businessman donate an item or gift certificates to be raffled off. You'll be surprised how generous people can be regarding fund raisers.

If you have businesses helping out in the fundraising, make sure you acknowledge them by mentioning them right at the event. If you have the budget, thank them in advertisements you placed on the papers and on radio and TV.

More tips:
- For businessmen-donors, be clear to them how the money will be spent, plus giving them information about your organization.

- Try to think of a fundraising idea that hasn't been done yet.

- Some large businesses plan their donation budgets early in the year, so contact them as early as possible. Remember to budget for incidental costs that may arise, such as fees, shipping costs or prizes.

Unusual auctions
In Minneapolis, a church auctioned off three front pews for Christmas Eve service as part of their school fundraiser. The bids ran into thousands not because they were precious (they were free most times of the year!) but were probably carried away by the Christmas spirit.
Not a bad idea to serve as a model to your own.

Credit card
In donations, particularly for fundraising, credit cards are discovered to be better than cash. People are found to be more likely to honor a pledge (backed by a credit card) than an ordinary phone pledge. They are also more willing to give more if the amount is split into smaller monthly pledges ($100 one-time donation into $10 a month for ten months).

OTT (Over the top) display
Fundraising sometimes need blatant, up front, over-the-top, highly visible reminders.

A nonprofit organization in Illinois hosted a dinner for their supporters and raised $6,000. The best part was the extra $18,000 they raised. The secret? The organizers prominently placed a big donation jar at the registration table for everyone to see.

Online donation
The world's largest market place is extending a helping hand to non-profit groups. Simply sign up to eBay Giving Works and have your group line up for online donations.

Anyone can sell items on eBay and donate part or the entire final sale price to your organization. Donations are collected and distributed, and tax receipts are issued to the seller on your behalf.

These ideas have worked so far and are in use by many groups today. They also serve as templates and triggers to your own ideas you thought of by yourself. These ideas are only limited by your own imagination.