Fundraiser Basics
July 1, 2008
Organizing Your Fundraiser
It takes time to plan a successful fundraiser. The fundraising timeline is a general guide to planning a fundraiser over a two-month span. Before you even begin setting up the particulars for the day of your event, you’ll need to set a goal and budget, decide on the type of fundraiser that fits your needs, and staff your fundraiser with volunteers.
Next, you will need to promote your fundraiser to potential donors and participants. This can be done with fundraising letters. Once your plans are in place and until your event date arrives, everyone should concentrate on promoting your event by word of mouth and by circulating any applicable marketing materials.
Before you begin organizing, take some time to discuss the cause for your fundraiser with your team. As detailed below, your cause and fundraiser name must be specific and well-developed in order to facilitate your advertising efforts.
Identifying Your Fundraising Cause
By definition, the purpose of a fundraiser is to raise funds. The most fundamental feature of every fundraiser is its cause, that is, why you are raising money in the first place.
There are millions of potential causes for a fundraiser. However general or specific your cause, it must be clearly stated so it is easy for anyone to determine what the fundraiser is about. When you describe your cause to potential donors, you should also specify exactly how the raised funds will be used.
Universal Causes
Universal causes are causes that are not regionally-specific. A cause may be considered universal even if it is group-specific, if the group is relatively broad (for example, “the elderly”). Here are some examples of universal causes for a fundraiser:
- Diseases
- Ecology
- Civil Rights
- Human Rights
- Some Nonprofit Organizations
Organization- or Group-Specific Causes
Organization, or group-specific fundraisers benefit regionally-specific causes. This can include anything that is not considered a “global” concern. Some examples of organization and group-specific fundraiser causes include:
Naming Your Fundraiser
Once you have determined what you are raising money for, you need a name for your fundraiser. The fundraiser name is of key importance because it creates everyone’s (including potential donors’) first impression of your event.
Be Goal-Oriented, Not Problem-Oriented
Before naming your event, think carefully about your audience and your theme, and brainstorm about positive associations with your cause. Concentrate on the goal of your fundraising, rather than the problem you are seeking to fix. This way, you will create a positive impression on which to build participation and donor relationships.
For example, if your fundraiser is raising money for birth defect research, then “Small Miracles” would be a better name than, “Help Deformed Babies.” The former brings about a positive association, whereas the phrase “deformed babies” creates a negative mental image and therefore a negative association with your event.
Keep it Short
The name of your fundraiser should be short (preferably less than 5 words), concise, and easy to remember. Mnemonic devices such as rhyming or alliteration (using a series of words starting with the same letter) can be used to make the name more catchy. Without sacrificing descriptiveness, you should keep the name of your fundraiser as short as possible. Not only will this be beneficial for advertising, but it will encourage people to remember the name of your fundraiser after hearing it only once.
Think about Advertising
When naming your fundraising event, choose something that will work well for advertising purposes. You can add a simple image or symbol, or even just use a distinctive font, to make your fundraiser name more eye-catchy.
Continually Build Your Contact List
As soon as you decide to organize a fundraiser, start getting the word out. Having the right guest list, with plenty of entries, is key to making your fundraiser successful. Imagine everyone you know, and everyone you meet, as a potential donor, sponsor, or volunteer. Right away, start making a list of contacts. This will not only help you maximize the exposure of this event, but will serve you in the future, as you will be able to call on the same donors, participants, and volunteers for future events.
On the day of the event, take the opportunity to gather everyone’s contact information, both donors and volunteers. Most people will be willing to provide you with at least an e-mail address, and this list can provide you with a quick contact list for your next event.
The success of every fundraiser depends on many more people than just the organizer. The names of these contributors on your contact list can also be used for addressing thank-you notes to your team and to your generous donors and sponsors. Additional volunteers can help with this task; just make sure you don’t have a volunteer seal and stamp his/her own thank-you note!