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In: Fundraising
14 Oct 2009Most important to any non-profit organization is fundraising.
It can be a challenge motivating staff – and yourself – to raise donations, especially if you are using the same methods as you generally do. Creative fundraising can instill some much needed strength into your endeavors and business.
Many non-profit businesses are banking upon creative fundraising as a medium of increasing revenue as well as the range of their business.
It is vital to understand that while the motive of creative fundraising is to come up with innovative ways to raise money, one of the major purposes of creative fundraising is also to be happy doing it.
People respond better to fundraising proposals when they’re happy, and when they think you are providing them something different and unique. They will be more likely to donate to your cause if they enjoy your business and its employees.
If you are, for example, organizing a money raising mission for an animal shelter, there are different ways you could make it new, fun, and successful.
Maybe you would hold advocacy functions or rely upon collections from a scattered group of people. Most animal shelters depend on acquiring funds in this way.
Is there a better way? Could you, as the fundraising chair, create a way to interest people in your shelter and open their wallets? What about pet day?
Organize a day for children where they can come to some nice-looking location and have fun with all the pets that the animal care organisation takes care of.
Once the parents see their children playing happily in the company of the animals, they are more likely to shell out much needed funds. This is creative fundraising: it doesn’t cost much, if anything, and the returns can be significant. Chances are also ripe that your organisation’s members had much more fun with the children than with an advocacy meeting or soliciting random donations.
The options are endless, but here’s one more example. How do you implement creative fundraising in a library setting? Schools continually need to raise money, and a library day can help.
Try organizing a library day. Community members could come and have a look the library and see first-hand the various things that go on there. Students could present or exhibit details about different activities that the library promotes and offers. Parents will love to see the work their little ones perform, and once they discover all that the library has to offer, they will be more likely to donate.
To get more out of your time, you can also have lunch served at that particular day. Once there, people will want to eat. Add a bit of wine, and you could look forward for some heavy donations!
When making use of creative tactics for fundraising, the sky is the limit. The key is to think outside the box and come up with outrageous ideas. If they’re too far out there, you can always change them to work for your needs. But just thinking in different ways can help you develop creative fundraising methods that people will actually look forward to.
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