Category: Charity & Fundraising

Fundraising activities are the lifeblood of charitable institutions. It’s through fundraising that volunteers become friends, people come together for a good cause, and lives are changed.

But fundraising can sometimes be difficult. Some people struggle trying to raising enough money to keep their organization afloat, but their charities close down when they’re unable to do so. Dont let this happen to you.

Here are some of the effective ways to raise funds for charity.

1. Use existing trends – While bake sales and galas are still great ways to raise funds, this doesn’t mean you should always be using these same methods over and over. Looking at “trendy” things, and creating fundraising activities based on those, will encourage more people to join your cause.

Use your knowledge of new trends to your advantage. Instead of a regular sit down gala, make it a fun night, and offer a costume gala like the Met. Instead of the usual bake sale, why not hold a food truck event where you get the best food trucks to donate their food for one day.

2. Get properly trained to work for a charity – Though you may think working for a charity is just like any other job, it isnt. It’s so much more.

In order to work for big charitable institutions you have to be properly trained to handle issues that they may face now or in the future. Training in matters like negotiation skills, communication skills, and time management are a good start. You can progress to more advance training once youve mastered the basics.

These trainings will help you organize your future fundraising endeavors and make them easier to manage. Negotiation skills training, for example, will help you bargain for lower costs. Time management skills training will help you keep on schedule, so your fundraising events are done and completed on time.

3. Go with your strengths – If, for example, you feel you’re knowledgeable in regard to crafts and making things out of recycled materials, then go with this type of fundraising event. Go with the things that you’re comfortable with and about which you’re more knowledgeable, rather than venture into something you cant do yourself.

Working with your strengths means you dont have to hire extra hands to do these things for you. That means lower costs, and oftentimes more fun for you. People will also recognize you as an authority, as you show them how much of a subject matter expert you are.

4. Get to know the volunteers and company staff – Volunteers are people who donate their time and effort to support your cause. They provide invaluable service and may have talents and capabilities that you may not know of. Youll never know what kind of assets you have unless you talk to the volunteers.

Get to know them, and see where they can fit in with the fund raising campaign. If volunteer “A” for example, has some tools he can lend to build items for your fundraiser, it may be more cost effective to ask to borrow those tools, as opposed to buying or renting them. The same holds true for your staff. Get to know where they can excel, and harness those talents, to help you create the best fundraisers.

5. Make it fun – An enjoyable fundraising event will garner more people, as people want to become part of something they find entertaining. Adding fun to the fundraising campaign will make it more inviting.

If you’re holding a bake sale for example, why not go all out and create a mini food fair? Invite people to serve different kind of food, add some music and entertainment, and youre all set.

Follow these fundraising tips to successfully organize your events and generate funds for your cause.

Fund raising activities are events and activities organized by charities and nonprofit organizations to ensure that they have enough funding to help people in need. These activities can range from a school bake sale, to a black tie gala, depending on the organization’s budget.

Some of the ideas for fund raising are tried and tested, and proven to bring in more funds for charities. Others are just tired, and have been reused over and over, to the point that people don’t respond to them as enthusiastically and as generously as in the past.

To bring back the fun in fundraising, here are 7 wonderful ideas that you can try:

1. A race – before you say Been there, done that, listen. Think outside the box, and put a twist to the conventional fun runs and marathons. Think of a creative race as much as possible. Some of the most creative ideas are men running in heels, racers running while being chased by zombies, and themed races where participants have to wear something that relates to the race’s theme. You can have everyone dress like their favorite cosplay character or their favorite movie star while they run.

2. A dinner – for a unique fund raising dinner, go for extreme food. Serve a 10-foot tall cake, out of this world dishes, and anything that will put some novelty into the event. Anything over the top will surely get the attention of locals and people who have already attended one or several of your previous fund raising dinners. That’s sure to draw more publicity for your charity. Add some dancing and your event will be one that people won’t forget very soon.

3. A contest – it’s time to veer away from the usual eating or drinking contests, beauty contests, and talent contests. Again, get creative and make your contests more exciting to draw in more participants. Some examples of the most creative contests include a scavenger hunt, best photo contest, dancing marathon, and other similar contests. Ask your suppliers and friends of the organization to donate prizes.

4. An auction – one of the best auctions involve auctioning off a date with prominent personalities from the community. This promotes camaraderie and cooperation among the locals.

5. A concert or a talent show – you can try inviting a famous celebrity to perform at your event. You can also go the simpler route and just round up the most talented people around your charity to volunteer their talents. Some of the best concerts are those where the entire community has put in their share of investment, not just in the form of monetary donations, but also by helping with the décor and other logistic requirements as well as by sharing their own talents.

6. A food convention – there are charities that take their cue from famous food trucks. There are plenty of food truck owners who are always on the lookout for their next location so people can sample their cuisine. Host a food truck festival for the weekend so people can gather, have fun, enjoy the food and drinks, and give to charity at the same time.

These are just some of the ways to spice up fundraising activities for your charity of choice. These will work for all different types of charities.

Fundraising activities are important for funding charities and nonprofit organizations. Those who organize these activities should make sure that they have something exciting to offer the participants, so that they’ll be more inclined to give or donate to their cause. If you’re bored with the same old fundraising activities your nonprofit conducts, here are five exciting fundraiser activities with twists that will surely appeal to both active and prospective donors. Plus, these also test how far your donors can go to support your cause.

1. Viral challenges. Bring your fundraising campaign up a notch by taking advantage of social media. You can come up with a fun and exciting online challenge as a way of raising funds. Who knows, it might go trending or viral in the days to come. The ALS Association’s sensational Ice Bucket Challenge is one good example.

2. Fashion shows. Who says fashion shows are only for haute couture? Transform your garage sale into a fashion show featuring almost new or unused clothing from your closet. All the proceeds can go to your charity. If you do not have the budget to get professional models, you can make it a fun gig for some of your co-workers in your nonprofit group.

3. Race runners. Themed marathons or mazes never get old. Add an adrenaline boost to your fundraiser’s fun run by making it a themed maze think along the lines of the thrill of The Amazing Race, the dystopia of The Hunger Games, and the suspense of having to survive a zombie apocalypse, all in one fundraising event. Have participants paired or grouped into small teams.

4. Talent search. You give people the opportunity to show off their talents and also entertain an audience, all while raising funds for your charity. Your talent search could be an individual or group singing and/or dancing competition, or a Battle of the Bands if you’re up to some moshing. You can also hold arts and crafts contests, or bake-offs or cook-offs.

5. Dog and cat walking/babysitting. Offer to take pet dogs and cats for a walk, or give them tender loving care while their humans are away. You can add pet grooming services too. You can offer the same services for other pet animals as well. This is perfect for fundraisers dedicated to supporting animal rights. Plus, adorable pets can take the stress of fundraising work away!

6. Chores auctions. Why not give your neighbors a helping hand in doing household chores that they’re too busy for? Your nonprofit can discuss with your supporters which chores they need to have done, and when they want the services to be rendered. Not only will you raise funds, you’ll also help people with the housekeeping chores that they just cannot seem to get around to doing.

If you’re looking forward to setting up these activities with other organizations, do be careful in forging partnerships. Beware of scams when seeking help with fundraising.

Give these and a lot more fundraising twists a try. You, your fellow volunteers, and donors will surely have fun raising funds for a cause.