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Putting the "Fun" Back in Fundraising
Here's how to find joy while financing your trip.
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What's the quickest way to send church members or church school parents scurrying in every direction? Say: "We need to do a fundraiser!" Immediately, images of day-long car washes and never-ending bake sales come to mind—events that require hard work but bring in little cash. The good news is that the "fun" is back in fundraising! An exciting array of programs and products and excellent support from firms specializing in fundraisers makes it easier than ever for church groups to raise lots of money. Getting StartedFundraisers have a proven ability to bring significant external support to church initiatives. But where do you begin? Start by asking a few key questions; the answers help identify the products and programs that make sense:
Fundraising success requires that people doing the fundraising be sold on the project they're supporting and love the product they're selling. Think about what your church group would like, and get several options. Fundraising companies will often ship product samples, especially of new or unfamiliar food products, so that the "salespeople" can taste and enjoy the product. If the products are tote bags, pens, safety kits, or other tangibles, people can say truthfully that they've used the products. Recruit and TrainThe "sales force" must be recruited and trained. For example, to put together a cookbook, the coordinating committee needs a team to gather recipes, a design team, and a sales team to sell the cookbook in the congregation and through external channels (such as local shops, restaurants, or on the church's website). A fulfillment team can be useful, too, insuring that orders are completed and cookbooks are delivered and paid for. Something for EveryoneWhat kinds of products are there? Products are essentially divided into the following four categories. Food ProductsCandy and chocolates are popular fundraising items. The following companies offer a variety of popular candy products:
Passive fundraisers are programs that do not require people to sell a product, but rather to "invest in an opportunity." An example of a passive fundraiser product is the scratch card. The following companies offer the cards:
Here's how they work: Donors are asked to uncover a donation amount by scratching one or more spots off a card with 50 spots. The amount they uncover is the amount they donate, never more than two or three dollars. If they scratch two or more spots and complete their donation, they receive a coupon page with up to $50 worth of product discounts. Because the coupon pages are inexpensive, the profit margin on these fundraisers can be up to 90 percent. |        
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