How to proceed for Fundraising Wisely
We consider fundraising as a modern phenomenon but this philanthropic act exists in societies since many centuries. Fund-raising is a charitable activity which incorporates generating help and support in a form of donations, gathering required material from different institution, organisations, companies or even from common people. Earlier fund used to raise from public by approaching them in person but with time the mode has been shifted to online and crowd sourcing. In the beginning, one may find the procedure of raising fund little perplexing but anyone can be a better fundraiser simply by acquiring fundamental clarity about it. Practice is the key of mastering any skill and so it to being a fund-raiser. Consistency in practicing of raising fund make anyone an incredible fundraiser.
Make a Profitable Fundraising Plan
Are you someone who think of managing a start-up or non-profit charity without a funding plan? Is it? Well…don’t worry, such thoughts are very common. During the initial campaigning phase, the upcoming organizations operates with various volunteers directly under the main team without any concrete plan. As a result, they search for sponsors and investors during any financial crises. This is obviously not an appropriate way to run any business. One should be well prepared even if the organization has enormous funds and investors in hand. And here, the fundraising plans confirms its significance.
Having a well thought and clear plan for sourcing the funds is an absolute necessity of every big or small; old or new organization. It builds up the capacity of an organization and promotes an effective work environment. It makes the task like planning, mailing, strategizing simple and easy. Hence, an explicit fund-raising plan sets the organization up for profitable journey.
Decide whom to reach and when?
After setting out to write a fund resourcing plan, one may encounter with an obvious thought that when to begin writing and to whom one should reach out to write a plan? You must agree that working without a fund raising plan is not less than undermining your hard work. Therefore, start planning and developing it now. Once you start, it’s never too late. Depending upon the requirement, initiate with weekly or monthly plans and gradually move towards long term plans of year or more.
For making an explicit plan, Development Staff of the organization can be approached. Keeping the requirements in mind and also in depth discussion with the Director and Board, the developmental staff would come up with workable plan. In the absence of developmental staff, the Executive Director has to develop fund-raising plan with the approval of Board of Directors. Also, professional consultant who has an expertise of writing a fund-raising plan can also be approached.
Make Fundraising Plan and Framework
After deciding and approaching the appropriate person for writing the fund-raising plan, it’s time to focus on what should be incorporated and what not in the plan.
Hence, the next step is to think and design the major points for your philanthropic plan.
The Aim
An aimless plan is just like walking on a road without knowing where it is heading. Surely you never want this to happen. Hence, having a clear aim in mind is a basic need to start writing a plan. Decide about the funds which are required by the organization for working without unnecessary hurdles. At this step, clearly state your overall and yearly funding goal.
The Objective
Define purpose of raising funds for your orgnisation. It makes your plan more significant. Also describe briefly about the required amount, procedure of spending funds under objectives.
Strategies
After getting clarity about your goals and objective, you must be wondering what next? So, the next step is formulating a well outlined strategies about how you are going to arrive at the set amount? What tricks and tactics will use to achieve your aims and set objectives? The strategies which your organisation decide and use to gain result should ultimately serving you to attain your desired amount.
Here are some Fundraising Ideas and Concepts to Follow-
- Independent Donation – You may ask the significant benefactors to make certain amount of donation or gifts to your organisation.
- Major Donor Groups – May provide finance or development committee.
- Events organization – May organize at micro and macro level.
- Direct Mail for making donation
- Telemarketing
- Online donations
- Grants – You may apply to Foundations, Corporate, Government seeking financial grants
- Corporate Donation Event
- United Way Fundraising
- Minor Donor Groups may also be approached
- Participatory Fundraisings – participatory activities can be planned to raise funds
- Annual and Multi-Year Donation Campaign
Regarding the strategies for raising funds give freedom to your creative mind. You may come up with innovative ideas and blend them together to raise funds. You can achieve your set goal amounts and objectives efficiently with a limited number of volunteers and staffs. Just make sure that you are using appropriate ideas and strategies that would lead you to earn profit and avoiding loss.
Decide the Timeline of Plan
Even if you are ready with all goal, objective and most appropriate strategies to reach out your targeted amount, it wouldn’t be useful unless you know the right time to act on each step. Therefore, a working schedule to carry out your plan is essential. For this, a yearly timeline serves the best. For example, organizing an event in the beginning of the year followed by correspondence with the stakeholders and campaigning towards the end of the year.
It’s nice to keep approaching your big goal along with executing your smaller yet important objectives. For instance, taking care of every minute details of your upcoming event including making choices for appropriate venue, entertainment, invitation etc.
Having a working timeline would enhance your planning and implementation and make it more effective. It provides guidance and direction throughout a year and also enable you to take appropriate decision at the right time resulting a guaranteed progress for your organization.
Want a Successful Fundraising Event – Follow the steps
Organizing fund raising events is in trend these days. It is one of the popular forms of fund-raising activity. But organizing such big event is a tedious task. Therefore, cautious planning and arrangement is important to ensure the success of the event. There are certain factors that can transform a dull occasion into a phenomenal one.
Following are 10 significant parts that may make your event a hit:
1. Motive to raise Funding
First and foremost, define the motive behind the event which you organize. Presently organization conducts an event for many purposes like to advertise themselves, to gain popularity, to contact and develop healthy relations in the field or to raise funds as well. Having a valid motive behind the event helps you to plan accordingly focusing on the right benefactors.
2. Goals to raise Funds
It is important to discuss the goal that you intend to accomplish through the event with the host panel, the staff, and the main fundraiser. For instance, if you are conducting an event specifically for fund raising then the goal of the event will be to generate the targeted fund.
3. Decide the Budget
Each fund-raising event needs to have a laid-out budget. It involves the cost required to organize the event including staff expense, invitations, security arrangement, venue, catering, decorations etc. the budget should also focus on fund-raising goal so that net sum goes on the positive and profitable side. Furthermore, remember to leave some additional amount for miscellaneous work.
4. Decide Leadership for Fundraising Unit
For your fund-raising endeavors, the event would undoubtfully involve one or more than one “Host Committee Chairpersons”. These people usually are affluent promoters, big investors, politicians or celebrities. Though they are not responsible for conducting the event but are important to make sure that you acquire your target goals of fund-raising. These people donate generous amount of money and motivate other as well to donate.
5. Target Donors
Who will be the actual audience for the event? The answer for this question is totally dependent on the main aim of organizing the event. For instance, a fund-raising event will have an intended target group of well-off promoters and business person. Any social event would call for the audience like parents or youth and so on. But ultimately it is your event and you are free to invite as per your wish and need.
6. Establish Set-up for Fundraising
This task is of the staff who are involved in organizing the event to plan the entire set-up beforehand. Make sure that things like venue, food, decoration, security, invitation, timing etc. all are on point.
7. Marketing
An appropriate marketing by targeted audience will ensure the success of your event. Pursue all your funders and investors to convince that your organization and your event is worthy to their time and money. Publicity of the event before conducting it will ensure the interest and money-support of your benefactors into your event and organization too. This can be done through sending special invitation, emails, using non-profit fundraising network and your also your host committee.
8. Through Marketing and Sales
After marketing and advertising your event, there should be a safe and practical set up for selling the tickets and also for accepting the donations from varied people and sources. Decide and plan that how the entire event will be carried out. Regardless of whether there will be various level of involvement and contribution for different invited people, (for example, a level ticket charge, an additional charge to invite V.I.P. etc.). It is important to decide the procedure of selling tickets, who will sell them, the delivery and shipping of ticket, who will deal with all the gathered information and data regarding buying and selling?
9. Practice before Implementing Plan
It is important for each and every one to know the details of the event and be a step ahead for carrying out a successful event. Everyone should be well aware and know their responsibilities to run the event as planned and expected. Conducting few practice sessions can be extremely useful for the staff and the volunteers. It may take the strain of the event day away from the minds of the organizers and operators.
10. Show Gratitude to Donors
The most common complaint which you may get to hear from the donors, contributors and also from the staff and volunteers about the organization or fund-raising event is “they didn’t even mention a single word of thanks”. Never make this mistake on your part. It is important for you to keep your benefactors and staff happy with a pleasant gesture of being thankful. Make sure to do it at the earliest as you’re presumably require another donation or support any time.