Secrets to a Good Fundraiser

Most organizations shy away from fundraising activities because they think it’s difficult to do. If you really think about it, fundraising events are just like sports, you just have to stick to the common knowledge you have about it and properly execute what you know.

Simply, fundraising means soliciting voluntary contributions such as money and other in-kind resources for a cause or campaign. If this is your first time, here are a few fundraising tips that would help make your activity a success.

• Plan ahead – At least a month before the fundraising event would be perfect. You need to spend a lot of time on legwork to make the fundraising successful. First to consider is the schedule as you don’t want to compete with other fundraisers. You also have to settle the logistics and the materials you may need beforehand to avoid having problems with shipments and reservations.
• Spend more time planning the fundraising and less time holding it. You don’t want to wear out the patience and enthusiasm of volunteers and participants. Decide on one kind of fundraising and do everything on that scheduled date in full blast.
• Motivate your volunteers – If you are selling fundraising items, give the volunteers a brief orientation on how best to sell. Tell them about the cause or the campaign you are raising funds for. If they don’t know what and why they’re selling then people would also find it difficult to believe in what you’re doing for the cause.

The secret to a good fundraising lies in getting the most amount of people involved to get the most amount of material contributions. Communication is the key to make this work. Remember that you are not only raising funds; you are also raising awareness.