When people are worried about putting food on the table, paying rent, or keeping their own companies open during this trying time, they are hardly in a position to keep up with the monetary contributions they would usually make to help out the motives that they know need them to keep their doors open. Nonprofit organizations and community-based programs play a vital role in building healthy communities by providing critical services that contribute to economic stability and mobility. They also strengthen communities in other important ways, such as to improve individuals quality of life, not make a profit. Nonprofits provide services such as food, shelter, education, healthcare, legal aid, therapy, and training. Frequently, nonprofit leaders are the voice of the people they serve. Due to the combination of strong community relationships and intimate local knowledge, nonprofits often understand better than anyone else their communities’ needs and the best ways to meet them. Therefore, if we want to continue to build into our communities, some of the best ways are to support the already functioning nonprofits that are within them. Fundraising is vital for programs/nonprofits that are important to a community’s support network, sustainability and growth; however, it can be a task that is quite overwhelming and stressful. There are many different styles of fundraising, each with their own structure and formula that
leads to bringing in a sizable amount of financial aid, as well as the awareness of the program/organization itself. In order to provide tools to those of you who would like to host a fundraiser for your nonprofit/program (or one you are passionate about helping), here are 7 tools that will aid you in having an outcome that is impactful. First and foremost is the ‘why’. ‘Why’ is the most important message that a fundraiser can communicate with its audience. It is what is inspiring the event in the first place, and it will be what inspires others to join you in your cause and call to action. When the reason behind what you are asking people to do is strong, it will even go as far as to bring people to a participation level in the fundraiser who would not normally do so. For example, if you are hosting a concert as a fundraising event, and the genre is rock n’ roll, people who might not necessarily buy a ticket to that concert if it wasn’t a fundraiser for this cause, are more likely to do so. They believe in your ‘why’ so much that they step outside their comfort zone in order to support it. Now, how are you going to go about gathering the people you need to to bring this fundraiser to life? The first step to doing this is understanding who those people are. The ‘why’ that you have, ‘who’ is going to be the demographic of people who will most likely resonate and support it? Being able to know this will help you cater the fundraiser to a what’ that will be exciting to
that group of people. If the demographic that is more likely to be supporting your cause is ages 50+, throwing an EDM style party with DJs, dancers and a really late night is something that will be hard for them to get behind; but perhaps for that demographic they would enjoy a 1920s themed event that has some music, dance, and entertainment; but in a style they appreciate. Plus, that theme is also an attractive one to the younger demographic as well, which broadens the ticket sale ability. Perhaps the ‘how’ is an online event rather than a live event. Put time and research into who you want to get this fundraiser into the hands of and how they are most likely to positively respond. After you have sorted the ‘who’ and the ‘how’, the fun part of creating the ‘what’ comes into play. After you have built your ‘why’ and ‘who’, ‘how’, and ‘what’, the next step to creating an event that will bring in the most financial impact is to get sponsors on your side. Building an attractive and informative sponsorship package becomes your greatest tool! Make this something that is eye-catching. The individuals who end up reading your sponsorship package are those in positions that have time limitations, so putting yourself in their shoes when you are creating this document is a great asset. What would make this interesting to look at and give the vital information (the ‘why’ & ‘what’) in a concise way. When choosing sponsors to approach, throw your net wide! Do research to see who is out there
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