We all know that money is usually a problem. We may have to decide on a project that does not cost anything (like a clean up campaign), or a low cost project we know someone would like to help us fund; or we will have to put a lot of efforts into raising the necessary funds to carry out our projects. Most organisations struggle continuously to raise enough funds for their work.
Group work
Brainstorming fund raising ideas
Aim: To become aware of the danger of becoming dependent on big donors. To use your creativity to think of exciting ways of raising funds
The time it takes: 30 minutes.
You can do this in groups or in the plenary. Groups take longer, but may produce more ideas.
Each idea is written on a small piece of paper in big letters. The ideas can then easily be sorted according to contents and importance.
Discuss the most attracting ideas in the plenary.
Here are some ideas which have been used by other young people:
From Young Voices South Africa (SAYVON)
In 2004 a small youth group wrote more than 50 proposals to different donor organizations both national and international without any success. In their September 2004 AGM members decided to fundraise differently. A fundraising committee was established and various activities were identified as tools for raising funds for the organisation in their locality.
On the 5th November 2004 they organised a Guy Faulke’s Day where in all members dressed funny went house to house and gave a short performance holding money boxes with the tag of their organisation. Most families donated money. At the end of the end of the day the group members met at their club house to evaluate their activity. They found out that they went to 190 houses (amongst the three groups) and collected R1, 270.90. The group decided to use the money for a career exposition and they wrote thank you letters and community posters to the families who donated money and the community for their support.
The success of the expo energised the group to realize that they can still implement their activities without donors but with money earned through their efforts. As a result the group decided to organize the following activities to fund their library and educational tours:
Fun Run: On the 1st December 2004, the group hosted a “Fun Run” as part of a HIV and AIDS awareness campaign. They invited parents and relatives, local professionals, the mayor and the ward councillor and the general public to participate. Adults registered their participation by R 20 (3 USD) and young people below the age of 21 paid R10. A total of 426 people participated in the event and a total of R 6,320.00 was collected.
R 2,000.00 went to prizes, the rest was for the campaign.
Dinner hosting: On the evening of the 16th December 2004 the group hosted a dinner event. Families and local structures such as political organizations, municipality, football club, schools, churches and youth clubs were invited to buy a table of 10 people for
R 1000.00 A community hall was secured with kitchen facilities and a local chef was invited to assist IBP members to cook for the guests. Members were divided amongst the tasks of door keeping, parking security, waiters, cooks and program facilitation.
A total of R15, 000.00 was collected from 15 tables and a net profit of R 8,720.19.
One day labour:
On the 24th Of December 2004 the group was allowed to provide labour to two local supermarkets and one local food outlet. The first group worked from 08am to 1pm and the second group worked from 1pm to 7pm. The local supermarkets paid R 400.00 each and the food outlet paid R 350.00
During the implementation of the intended projects the members realized that they will need some extra funds for Library stock. While they were discussing the idea of requesting people and institutions to donate books, one member objected to the idea because it would not be in line with their new approach of fundraising, earning what you need rather than seeking handouts. She suggested collecting clothes that people no longer need and organize a jumble sales day. The suggestion was adopted and 2,702 pieces of clothes were collected within four weeks. The jumble sale took place at a local taxi rank. 1,941 pieces were sold at R 10 per piece across the board.
On the 24th September 2005 the group held their 2004/5 AGM and one of the highlights was that for the first time the organization made a surplus from their funds, at the time they did not have a donor. Members were able to plan for the following three years with confidence that they will be able to raise funds for the intended activities and part of the surplus was invested in the bank to start a reserve fund for the organization. Here are some of their ideas:
- Sports Tournaments (including soccer tournaments, marathon, etc)
- Music Concerts
- Collecting and Selling Waste Material
- Beauty Contest (male and female)
- Car wash campaign (not permanent business)
- Theatre Shows (Acting and Dancing)
- Movie Festival (Block Bookings)
And here are some ideas from Cheryl Calhoun in Macedonia:
Donation box: Put out a donation box in your office and at each event your organization plans specifying what the money will be used for. You can also ask local businesses if you can place similar donation jars in their stores.
E-mail (or voice mail) message: Use the e-mail signature option on your account to write a message explaining what project you are currently fundraising for and how they can help. The message will be sent out automatically at the bottom of each e-mail you send.
Press releases: Send press releases explaining your upcoming event to various newspapers, radio stations, and local TV stations complete with contact information, in the event that they want to interview you.
Art auction: Find a local artist or ask a creative friend it they would donate a piece of art or some jewelry that you could auction off or use as a raffle prize
School art auction: Organize an art auction with local art teachers where students sell their pieces.
Approach a hair salon: Ask your hairdresser to donate 10 MKD/USD for every haircut they complete over the weekend.
Charity tournaments (i.e., soccer, etc.): Can include entry fees, concession stands, etc.
Host a movie party: Pick up some “legal” videos from your local DVD store, make some popcorn, and invite your friends over for a movie night. Ask them to “pay” for the movie and use the money towards the cost of the program.
Plan a marathon: Ask friends and family to participate in the event (dance-a-thon, walk-a-thon, turbo-folk karaoke a-thon, etc.) and have them find sponsors to pledge money for each hour, mile, song, etc. they complete.
Ticket sales: Utilize the activities that your organization normally plans (i.e., theater projects, sporting events, etc.) to make profits off ticket sales and/or entry fees that will go towards your fundraiser.
Drive-by-raking: Get a group of people to go door-to-door offering their services in performing basic home maintenance tasks (i.e., raking/mowing the lawn, pulling weeds, taking out the trash, cleaning windows, etc.) for a donation. If they have no tasks for you to do, ask if they’d be willing to donate some money any way.
Ask restaurants to share a percentage of their profits if you allow them to sell their food at one of your events
Dinner at home: Invite your friends over for a nice dinner and ask that they “pay” for the meal to help you raise money. Charge them more than it costs to buy the food and use the rest of money towards the cost of the programme
Refreshments/bake sale: This is something easy that you can do as a project on its own or in conjunction to other projects your organization is doing. You can also request permission to sell treats at big events that other groups are putting on.
Ask local newspapers and magazines (including those published by other organizations/schools) if you can advertise your fundraiser for free (or if you let them advertise at one of your events) or if they’d be willing to interview you about the project.
Sell advertising space to local businesses in your school’s/organization’s local magazine or newspaper: They could pay for the space or offer supplies and/or services that you need for one of more of your events as a form of payment.
Delegate: Give 10 of your friends the challenge to find 10 other people who will contribute money.
Errand boy/girl: Offer to serve as someone’s personal assistant for the day (or a few hours) in exchange for a donation. This can also be done through an auction (make sure to send out a press release!).
Raffle: Get businesses to donate prizes and raffle them off at the events you organize.
T-shirt fundraiser: Design a nice t-shirt and make a goal where each person in your organization attempts to sell at least 10 t-shirts (at a price higher than what it costs to produce the t-shirts).
