| Anyone who has ever worked with a local group or | | | | build your list, add a feature on your group's website |
| organization knows that funding is king. Whether a | | | | for collecting the e-mail addresses of supporters. You |
| group's budget is used to grant awards, sponsor | | | | can also collect e-mail addresses from everyone who |
| events, raise awareness, or simply conduct | | | | makes a purchase or supports you during your |
| day-to-day operations, raising money is an absolute | | | | regular fundraisers. With a large e-mail list, you will |
| necessity for the modern group or organization, | | | | build a strong channel for getting information out |
| regardless of its size. | | | | whenever your group has new news (or a new |
| Here, we highlight five fundraising ideas and tips that | | | | fundraiser). |
| are designed to help small, resource-constrained | | | | 4. Set realistic goals--and accept nothing less. No |
| groups raise money efficiently: | | | | matter how small your organization is, fundraising is all |
| | | | about numbers. If you know exactly how much |
| 1. Define your supporter set. Before you decide how | | | | money you need to raise, you can determine how |
| to go about raising money, sit down and think about | | | | much money each group member should be |
| whose money you are most likely to be receiving. | | | | responsible for generating. If your fundraiser is |
| Whether you end up soliciting donations, selling | | | | something as simple as a bake sale, simply do the |
| products, or holding a more creative fundraiser, you | | | | math: how many items at 50 cents each does each |
| will likely raise a lot of your money from a core, loyal | | | | person have to bake in order to hit their goal? This |
| supporter base. Ask yourself what your typical | | | | kind of logic can be used across any kind of |
| supporter does for a living, what they do for fun, | | | | fundraiser. Also, when setting member-specific goals, |
| and why they care about your cause. Remember, | | | | take a tip from the world of sales and secretly inflate |
| your supporter set probably extends far beyond | | | | everyone's quota by 10% to 20%. That way, even if |
| your group members' friends and family. Once you | | | | 10% to 20% of your members fail to meet their |
| have developed this "supporter profile," you can do a | | | | quotas, you will still hit your overall fundraising goal. |
| better job of picking a fundraiser that is appealing to | | | | 5. Consider the lifetime value of a supporter. When |
| as many potential supporters as possible. | | | | you ask a supporter to contribute to your group or |
| 2. Know your information channels. How will | | | | cause, think about more than the immediate goal. |
| information about your fundraiser get to your | | | | Yes, they may contribute just a few dollars today, |
| supporters? Does your group have a website? A | | | | but if you add up how much they contribute in their |
| mailing list? A physical sign somewhere in town? Think | | | | lifetime, the numbers can be staggering. This idea of |
| about the supporter set that we just defined and | | | | lifetime value teaches a valuable lesson: losing a |
| consider how your typical supporter learns about new | | | | supporter is more expensive than you think. When |
| events or activities. Sending information to your | | | | someone decides to stop supporting your cause, you |
| group's members is a good start, but how will this | | | | are losing income for every future fundraiser you |
| information get to new supporters or those who are | | | | hold. As a result, you should take special care not to |
| not yet aware of your group? The dream scenario is | | | | alienate, insult, or otherwise offend anyone in your |
| to get some attention from the local media. Try | | | | supporter base. This can happen if your fundraiser |
| contacting reporters at your local newspaper (you | | | | sells low-quality products, overcharges for items, or |
| can usually find e-mail addresses at the bottom of | | | | pressures donors too highly. Talk to your supporters |
| feature articles) or tip lines of your local news | | | | and see what kinds of fundraisers appeal to them |
| stations. These outlets are often eager to learn more | | | | the most. Usually, a fairly small sample size can be |
| about local events and public interest stories, and | | | | enough to get an idea of what fundraising strategy |
| your fundraiser might just fit the bill. | | | | will be best received by your supporter base. |
| 3. Embrace the internet. These days, it is safe to | | | | As these fundraising tips reveal, even a small |
| assume that most of your supporters (and countless | | | | organization can benefit from a high level of |
| potential supporters) spend time online every day. Be | | | | fundraising sophistication. Applying ideas like these |
| sure that you are listed on websites that catalog | | | | across an entire campaign can lead to significantly |
| specific causes, such as Idealist.org. Also, be sure to | | | | improved performance. Happy fundraising! |
| keep an active list of supporter e-mail addresses. To | | | | |