Scrubbed and polished… all set for the fundraiser

Scrubbed and Polished‌ All Set for the Fundraiser

For the inexperienced and naĂŻve, setting up a fundraising activity might just sound and seem to easy, especially if you are riding on the wave of confidence that whatever fundraising activity you may have just thought to undertake is just a piece of cake.

Well, fundraisings may seem simple at first but when you look at it, the very simplicity of the undertaking is deceptive. Be wary of this simplicity and charm of fundraisers. Not doing your homework before you undertake any type of fundraiser, whether it be a bake sale for your local church, a bazaar for previously owned and loved items, a benefit for a beloved personality, a telethon or fun run will only devalue not only the time, resource, and effort of everyone involved, but it will most likely attract the wrong investors you may have had in mind for your fundraising.

Yet, you may continue to argue that it is only a simple fundraiser. Just put up a sign, hand out leaflets, bring in a couple of people, make a sales pitch and pass the hat afterwards, and voila, you have a fundraiser. Right? Wrong.

Consider this‌ Have you designed your fundraising blueprint down to the last detail?

Have you given enough thought as to how much you really need and why you need the money?

This is perhaps the biggest question or the biggest part of your blueprint that needs careful planning. It may just be a statement if you write it down but many fundraising activities have been flops simply because the people behind it have not given this one or two sentences careful planning and consideration.

Just by keeping these two sentences first and foremost in your planning activities for your fundraiser will keep you from going astray from your plans. The methodology that you choose, if it is the fun run, bake sale, fete, concert, or even rummage sale will not matter as long as you have a central vision or mission tying the whole thing together.

Identifying the actual beneficiary of this undertaking and the impetus behind the organization of the fundraising will make your donors more reason to consider why they should back you up on your fundraising. Make these two things clear and you have a starting point for your sales pitch without going off-tangent. You avoid lengthy presentations and keep prospective donors happy since you need to capture their interest in a very short span of time. Your choice of words for your sales pitch can all revolve around these central themes making your convictions more solid and more grounded for your intended audience. Who knows, they might really get behind your cause and that invaluable support is what will propel them to help spread word about your fundraising or cause to other people in their network. You therefore grow your network exponentially as well.

With the solid reasoning behind your fundraiser firmly tucked away, you would not have any problem recruiting staff and “investors� to rally behind your cause. Building a solid case for your project will make half the work done. With that squared away, the rest of what you need for your fundraiser will follow fluidly.

With just the right presentation and speaking skills, undoubtedly, you will be able to convince even the stingiest or most cynical of your prospective investors to your fundraising to get into the core of their charitable nature and really dig deep into their pockets, whip out their flashy signature fountain pens and write that check to make your fundraising a success.