How to Fundraise
Whether it is for carrying on a charitable work or to upgrade a church or conducting a development program in school, funds are required at every step while undertaking such activities. It's not every time that you will find a sponsor who will back your plans. So what are the options available for fundraising? Scroll down to know about them.
How to Fundraise Successfully
Sell Scented Candles
Selling scented candles for raising money is a very popular concept, so much so that these days candle manufacturers are coming up with special schemes to sell their products in bulk to non profits and churches, at much cheaper rates. So one of the best fundraising ideas is to get in touch with some local candle manufacturers and negotiate good rates with them. Afterwards, sell these candles through your volunteers to people, especially the ones who are regulars at church or your charity, to fundraise.
Plan an Entertainment Show
Plan an entertainment show. Every person has some talent or the other, so get together with your volunteers and plan out an entertainment show, wherein you keep some plays, dances, singing competitions or any other creative, entertaining activity. Sell tickets for this fundraising event for charity to the people connected with the NGO. You can even ask your volunteers to sell tickets in their neighborhood.
Hold Online Auctions
A good idea is to hold online auctions. You can gather some old items such as books, clothes, bags, etc., which are in workable condition and raise money by selling them online. Or, if you work for handicapped children or other underprivileged children, you can plan a day wherein the kids make some crafts and cards and then sell the same online.
Plan a Day Event
One day events go a long way in raising money. So you can plan days such as "car washing days", in which your volunteers wash cars of the people on the street in exchange for money, which is then collected and used for social work. Another fundraising activity is to have a "Bake Day" in which all the volunteers get together and bake cookies. These are then packed as gifts and sold to people in the neighborhood by the volunteers.
Keep Donation Containers
Get in touch with the commercial establishments in your area such as local restaurants, malls and stores. Take permission from them to keep donation containers near their cash counters. Often it is seen that people leave change or some money for charity, while paying the bill, in these containers. After the end of each month, when your volunteers go to collect the money, you will be surprised at the amount of money that can be raised through this simple method!
Do Small Chores
One of the most fulfilling ways to fundraise is to have your volunteers do small chores, once a week, and then give whatever money is raised through them to charity. If you have young volunteers, they can take up part-time jobs like babysitting, mowing the lawns, pet sitting and taking care of the elderly, to raise money.
Hold Competitions
If you are looking for school fundraising ideas, hold sports/competitions in games such as football, basketball, baseball, tennis, etc., and sell tickets to parents for the same. If you want to make it a grand affair, invite teams from other schools to compete with your school team.
In the end, it is advised that do not consider your task over once the money is raised. Ensuring that it is wisely and efficiently used for the purpose it is meant for, is equally important!
