| Cut
the Cost of Your Fundraising
Efforts and Raise More!
By Sandra
Sims
Is
your non profit organization
operating on a shoestring budget?
Take heart, you’re certainly
not the only ones! Many community
groups, schools and other social
impact organizations have very
tight budgets and are dedicated
to putting the money they do
have toward their mission. So
what do you do when it comes
to fundraising? Does it really
“take money to make money”
as the old saying goes?
One
of the best fundraising strategies
is to plan fundraisers that
require very little upfront
cost. This can be accomplished
through sales fundraisers, collection
drives and sponsorships.
Sales
Fundraisers
Many
product sale fundraisers do
not require an upfront purchase.
Product fundraisers, such as
candy, magazines or plant sales
are very popular and could be
a good solution for your organization.
If
you have a large group of volunteers
to sell the items, your sales
fundraiser will be more successful.
Each volunteer would just need
to sell a few items for the
entire group to raise a lot
of money. You may find that
you have some very dedicated
“super sellers”
who help push through to meet
the fundraising goals.
Collection
Drives
Partnering
with businesses for a collection
drive is another way to raise
funds at no cost. Box Tops for
Education is one example of
this. This program will help
schools earn up to $20,000 each
year by clipping box tops from
specially marked grocery products.
Recycling
drives are another way to raise
money for your cause. Your group
can partner with recycling centers
to collect newspapers or cans
and get money back from the
recycling center. Other types
of recycling such as cell phone
recycling and printer cartridge
recycling can also be profitable
ways to raise funds. These drives
also have a secondary outcome
of helping to promote conservation
and environmental awareness.
Collection
drives are normally ongoing
projects and may take several
months to collect enough of
the items to get a sizable redemption
reward. A short term drive or
“blitz” could also
be successful with a large amount
of community participation and
dedicated work by your volunteers.
Donations
and Sponsorships
Events
such as dinner fundraisers normally
require supplies to be paid
for in advance. However, getting
support in advance from businesses
and individuals will help offset
the cost of producing event
fundraisers.
There
are many ways that donations
and sponsorships can support
a fundraising event. For example,
you could contact a local printer
and ask that they donate printing
for your mailings, programs
or flyers. A corporate sponsorship
program would allow businesses
to “underwrite”
costs for the event by making
a financial contribution and
in return the business gets
advertising and publicity.
Finally,
fundraisers such as silent auctions
and raffles can be planned based
solely upon donations of prizes
by local businesses and individuals.
Reducing
upfront costs and getting donations
and sponsorships are keys to
having a successful fundraiser.
Sandra
Sims has been fundraising for
various charities for over
10 years and is dedicated to
helping non profits raise more
for their causes. Visit her Step
By Step Fundraising website
to get your free copy of the
special report.
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