Copyright (c) 2009 AIM Fundraising
Have you ever noticed how some fundraisers tend to run smoothly and meet their goal? What is it about those fundraisers that make them different than others? When a campaign runs smooth as silk and everyone is delighted you can bet that it was because the organizers took the time to develop a plan and followed a few simple rules.
Use this set of ground rules when planning your school fundraising campaign and you might save yourself a great deal of frustration.
Set Goals
The first thing that you should be doing when planning your fundraiser is setting your financial goals. How much do you need to earn? Once you have your goal in mind it is time to figure what your expenses will be. Now that you have both your goal set and your expenses tabulated simply add them up and you will have the final goal to shoot for. Plan on adding about 10% to your final goal to cover any unforeseen expenses.
Make a visual representation of your goal such as graph, chart, or maybe one of those big things that look like a thermometer. This will allow to keep track of where you are in your campaign.
Set Time Limits
Set a time limit to achieve your goal. With the correct type of events and incentives you should have no trouble reaching your goal in the allotted amount of time.
Another thing you might consider is breaking your final goal up into mini goals. This gives your sales force as well as yourself a sense of accomplishment.
Organize, Organize, Organize
To be honest you can never have enough organization. Set your fundraising schedule early in the year. Plan each fundraising event allowing 4 to 6 weeks per event and at least three weeks to a month between them. You don't want to burn out your sales people.
Set up a Contact List
Set up a contact list with the contact information for all of your volunteers as well as those who donated prizes and rewards, as well as those who donated cash. This list will prove invaluable in upcoming events.
Reward your Team
Your goals may be important to you, but they are not all that important to many of the students or the parents of your students. You really only have one tool at your disposal to change that. Prizes! If you leave awards out of your planning, you are planning for an inferior fundraiser.
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Here are some simple
fundraising ideas and a simple set of rules to follow that will make your fundraising experience pleasant and enjoyable. Go to Aim Fundraising's website to learn how to have the best school fundraising program that you can possibly have.
