Dr. J.T. Houk, JD, PhD, CPhD, whom everyone calls “Dock,” is the CEO of the
National Heritage Foundation (NHF). The NHF, is one of the largest charities of
its kind in the world and has brought all the advantages of a public foundation
to family donors. Since Dr. J.T. Houk
has been apart of the charity world for years, he understands the importance of
planning a charity event and all the details involved. If you are a business
owner and you are interested in planning a charity event for a worthy cause,
here are five unique fundraising ideas for you to consider to raise money for a
worthy charity.
5 Fundraising Ideas
1. The Low-End Event
This
is a unique fundraising idea that turns the usual
fancy-schmacy fundraising event on its head. Instead of holding
a fashionable cocktail party at a high end hotel, hold a hot-dogs and beer
event at the Holiday Inn. Tell your donors that this year is such an
important year for your organization, you want to spend most of the money you
are raising on your program or mission, instead of the event. This only
works if you still charge the full amount (whatever you used to charge for the
fancy event) and are willing to get a little campy with the theme.
2. The Reverse Raffle
Are
you planning to hold a raffle at your next fundraising event? You may
want to try the reverse raffle instead. With this raffle, instead of
buying tickets, every attendee gets one free raffle ticket when they come in
the door. Only instead of winning a prize, the person whose ticket is
drawn will win a “gag” prize with some level of light embarrassment, like
having to dance with a group of clowns, having to kiss the club’s four-legged
mascot, or having to wear a funny wig and march with the band.
People
can then “sell” their ticket back to the organization in return for a donation
(so they won’t have to be part of the drawing). For an even more creative
raffle, you can set it up so that people can sell their tickets back on a
sliding scale… the first 10 will be taken back for a $1 donation, the next 10
for $2, the next 10 for $4 and so on.
3. Direct Action Fundraising
Unique
fundraising ideas work best when they are directly tied to the mission of your
organization. That’s the idea behind direct action fundraising.
Rather than ask people to simply make a donation to your group, tie your
request to a specific direct action your organization will be taking as part of
its work. For example, ask people to donate $25 each to buy school
supplies for needy children, or $50 to pay for 25 bricks in the new shelter you
are building.
4. Pay to Work
Many
people like to roll up their sleeves and get to work – they like to feel more
involved in your non-profit than simply writing a check. If it makes
sense for your organization, hold a “pay to work” event that combines
fundraising and volunteerism into one great opportunity.
With
this idea, you ask people to make a donation in return for a position as part
of your volunteer day. For example, let’s say you are painting a school.
You could find 30 volunteers who are willing to pay a “reverse salary” of $50
each in order to be on the paint team. You might even be able to find
someone to donate $500 to be the “foreman for a day.” Be creative.
5. The Certified Mailing
If you’ve
got some really big news to share and want to break through the clutter and
reach your biggest donors, think about doing a certified mailing
campaign. This is one of my all time favorite unique fundraising ideas,
but it needs careful planning and the right list, as your mailing will only be
done to big-time donors who already support your organization.
Send
out an e-mail to your top donors letting them know that you’ve got big… huge…
monumental news (this assumes that you have such news, like “We’re moving” or
“We’re raising money to start a new program” etc.) Tell them to watch
their mailboxes.
Then,
a day or two after the e-mail, send your top donors a letter by certified mail
that tells them the news, and why it is so important. Tell them why you need
money, right now, in relation to that good news, and include a return envelope.
People
almost always open certified mail and read it carefully. If you’ve got a
good list, great news, and a good reason why you need the money, this might
just be a great way to raise money for your non-profit.
To
read the full article click here: 5 Unique
Fundraising Ideas
Image www.telegraph.co.uk
