Is your non profit organization operating on a shoestring budget? Take heart, you're certainly not the only ones! Many community groups, schools and other social impact organizations have very tight budgets and are dedicated to putting the money they do have toward their mission. So what do you do when it comes to fundraising? Does it really "take money to make money" as the old saying goes?
One of the best fundraising strategies is to plan fundraisers that require very little upfront cost. This can be accomplished through sales fundraisers, collection drives and sponsorships.
Sales Fundraisers
Many product sale fundraisers do not require an upfront purchase. Product fundraisers, such as candy, magazines or plant sales are
very popular and could be a good solution for your organization.
If you have a large group of volunteers to sell the items, your sales fundraiser will be more successful. Each volunteer would just need to sell a few items for the entire group to raise a lot of money. You may find that you have some very dedicated "super sellers" who help push through to meet the fundraising goals.
Collection Drives
Partnering with businesses for a collection drive is another way to raise funds at no cost. Box Tops for Education is one example of this. This program will help schools earn up to $20,000 each year by clipping box tops from specially marked grocery products.
Recycling drives are another way to raise money for your cause. Your group can partner with recycling centers to collect newspapers or cans and get money back from the recycling center. Other programs such as cell phone recycling can also be
profitable ways to raise funds. These drives also have a secondary outcome of helping to promote conservation and environmental awareness.
Collection drives are normally ongoing projects and may take several months to collect enough of the items to get a sizable redemption reward. A short term drive or "blitz" could also be successful with a large amount of community participation
and dedicated work by your volunteers.
Donations and Sponsorships
Events such as dinner fundraisers normally require supplies to be paid for in advance. However, getting support in advance from businesses and individuals will help offset the cost of producing event fundraisers.
There are many ways that donations and sponsorships can support a fundraising event. For example, you could contact a local printer and ask that they donate printing for your mailings, programs or flyers. A corporate sponsorship program would allow
businesses to "underwrite" costs for the event by making a financial contribution and in return the business gets advertising and publicity.
Finally, fundraisers such as silent auctions and raffles can be planned based solely upon donations of prizes by local businesses and individuals.
Reducing upfront costs and getting donations and sponsorships are keys to having a successful fundraiser.
Sandra Sims has been fundraising for various charities for over 10 years and is dedicated to helping non profits raise more for their causes. Visit her website Step By Step Fundraising to learn more about free and low cost fundraisers such as online magazine sales and raffles.
Creative Marketing: Just Your Style You've enlisted some of the traditional marketing methods to sell your services: you received some publicity in your local paper; your website is up and running...
Workplace Stress: What to Do During Down Times? The main problem in a down economy is that workplaces tend to become stressful and morale bottoms out. This reduces overall productivity and especially gets in ...
Rich Career, Poor Career A rich career is one that has a rich return on investment. What is career ROI? It is more than a paycheck and healthcare benefits. Your career ROI is the entir...
How to Find Bad Credit Loans UK Bad credit loans UK can sometimes prove quite difficult to find, especially for those individuals who need the loan money quickly so as to cover various expense...
The Secrets of… The article asks if there are real secrets of search engine optimization or if it is just a good business to sell books that reveal the secrets. It cites source...
Immunological Profile In Postpartum Women Pregnancy and postpartum is also associated with immense dynamism in maternal immunology as well. There exists though faint, evidence that, pregnancy is the st...
How to Get Back in AdSense A number of site owners are getting kicked out of the AdSense when they have done nothing wrong to deserve such a punishment. In this article we'll show you a t...
Water and Exercise: Stay Hydrated! Water plays an important role in many of the body's internal processes, so it's important to keep hydrated!
Buying a Puppy? Use This Puppy Checklist So you've decided to buy a puppy? Dogs can bring joy, laughter, love, loyalty, protection and companionship into your life. However, there are a few things you ...
Beyond Paint: Decorating Walls With Stencils Painting walls in various colors is a quick and easy way to decorate any room in your home. But when you're looking for something a bit more artistic and unique...
Baby Expense: What To Do When Baby As you probably know, baby expense should be high on your list of things to plan for, before the baby comes. There is no cheap way to have and raise a baby: it ...
The Abundant Life! Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
ROMANS 6:11
Types of Home Air Purifiers There are several types of air purifiers that you can use to improve the quality of the air in your home, from smaller units that can be placed on a tabletop, t...
Print this page