Step Outside the Box with Creative Fundraising

By Steven Roberts

Creative fundraising is great, but it's only effective if you understand how to make a profit. Creative fundraising requires you think outside of the box and plan an event or fundraiser that will stand out from the crowd. Everyone knows how to put together a bake sale or a church rummage sale, but not many people think about having a quarter walk or community raffle.

Coming up with something unique will make your fundraiser stand out from the dozens of other fundraisers going on in your area. This in turn, will create a large audience. But, you're not going to make any money if you don't abide by some basic fundraising guidelines.

Successful Fundraising Tips

For starters, you need to choose something that is of interest to other people. For example, if you're group is a non-profit knitting group, you shouldn't put together a creative fundraiser that focuses on knitting. Think of something that will draw your entire community together regardless of their individual interests.

If you're group has a large following, you can incorporate your interest into the event. For example, if you're a running club and you're trying to raise money to travel to marathon, put a 5K run/walk together. To get the entire community involved, advertise the event as a day in the park for the family and set up some activities for the kids. The broader your audience, the greater your chances of reaping a large profit.

Next, make sure that you set a budget for your project. You should be able to put together a fairly decent budget if you host three or fewer fundraisers a year. Creative fundraising experts recommend limiting your fundraising events to three a year. If you put together too many fundraisers, you'll tap out your resources. People hesitate to continually give money if they're asked too frequently.

Getting Creative

One good creative fundraising idea is what some refer to as a "quarter rally." It requires the people fundraising to create a double tape track around an enclosed, busy area such as a mall. Each section of the quarter walk represents a different cause. For example, if you're an environmental group, one area might be for wetland protection and another might be for reducing carbon emissions. Then, as people walk by, the put a quarter on the tape in that section. It looks really cool when the entire path is covered in quarters.

This event as well as any other large public event, will be more successful if you can get the local media out to promote it.

Another creative fundraising idea is a raffle. This takes some time to plan, but it will get your community involved. Ask different groups and businesses to donate items to the raffle. Sell your tickets for $5 to $10. Use some of the money to set up entertainment, such as a band. Get a local caterer to provide coffee and dessert and invite those who buy tickets to a nice evening concert.

Creating an event will make people more compelled to buy the raffle tickets because it will make them feel like they're a part of something. Creative fundraising should result in something that makes the participants feel good.

There are a lot of options for creative fundraising. Visit http://www.redhotfundraising.com/ to learn about online fundraising and other ways to raise money.

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