Fundraising Tips and Fundraising Ideas

Any group that has ever had to raise money knows that it is hard. Where to begin? What event will be the most lucrative?

The first priority of a fundraising group is to set a financial goal. It sounds great to work at earning "as much as possible" but every member may have a definite idea of when to stop. Designating a goal helps everyone to see an end.

The amount required will determine the event need. A few hundred dollars can be earned in a day with a bake sale or a raffle while a larger sum may take a few events or a big and time consuming event.

Groups sometimes put off fundraisers because they lack volunteers or funds to get started making fundraising the last priority on their list. Fundraising cannot wait until the situation is dire. Choose a few events to become annual fundraising projects and then everyone will know the event is on the calendar. This helps members who have busy schedules to plan ahead and it allows for donations or staggered budgeting.


When organizing a fundraiser remember to keep your fundraiser time short. Many event organizers make the mistake of thinking the longer an event last the more money it will generate but often it is exactly the opposite because it forces event cost to increase. For the best fundraising results, the organizers should keep the event moving at a quick pace and generating energy. If you have several activities planned stage them in incriminates so that everything keeps moving ending the event with the biggest draw.

Organizers should try and gather some incentives for the volunteers. The incentives can be as simple a “thank you” bag or t-shirt of the event but they can also be as generous as a cash reward or paid vacation for the highest earning volunteer.

Always try to generate a contact or database of volunteers and donors at events because it will make preparing the next one that much simpler.