Whether you organize a nonprofit fundraiser to help a local disadvantaged Virginia community, or to contribute to a large scale social cause, people will definitely thank you for it.
There are so many good causes that deserve more attention. Unfortunately, they get insufficient funding from various public authorities and might have low public awareness so miss out on the support of regular people.
However, organizing a fundraiser, like the UVA Children’s Hospital did for example, is no easy task. The purpose of the event needs to be clear from the very beginning, organizers have to specify how people can contribute and how the money will be used. Apart from that, the fundraising event will need to have some serious marketing behind it and organized in such a way as to raise peoples interest in the community and engage donors.
Here are ten, tried and tested, nonprofit funding ideas that can help any organization spark its donors enthusiasm and try even get some attention from the media outlets.
1. Charity auctions
People love taking part in auctions. There’s something about the excitement of purchasing a unique item or an interesting piece of history that makes them raise the price to compete with other auctioneers – and this is precisely what makes charity auctions so great. Apart from the satisfaction of buying something great at an auction, participants also get the satisfaction of contributing to a noble cause, so everyone wins. To organize a successful charity auction, make sure you include a wide range of items for all pockets, so that you cater to the entire community and earns as many funds as possible. Unlike conventional auctions, which usually cater for only one category of buyers, charity auctions should be for everyone: those with a $5 budget and those with a $5,000 budget.
2. Online donations
Although organizing a fundraiser in a brick and mortar location remains an efficient strategy, the option of supplementing it with an online donation option is even better. Nowadays, many people don’t always carry cash on them. So if a possible donor were to stop by your donations stall with a wallet that only had cards, that would be an easy missed opportunity. However, by allowing people to make online donations before and after the event, you could raise a higher amount. Besides, there are so many platforms that streamline the fundraising process, from dedicated fundraising platforms to large social networking sites like Facebook. This way, those who can’t come to your fundraising event can donate online and share the link with their friends to spread the word.
3. Custom merchandise
If people are committed to supporting a certain cause, they will love displaying it in various ways. What better way to do that non other than through the clothes or accessories they wear. Adding custom merchandise to buy such as, T-shirts, shopping bags, bracelets, and caps to your fundraiser and offering them to participants is a great marketing strategy. Plus it is a beautiful reminder for those who contributed and creates ongoing awareness. If you don’t have enough funds, you don’t have to buy the merch upfront; instead, you can sell it via an service like Teespring that makes and delivers it on order and payment.
4. Peer-to-peer fundraising
The main idea behind peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising is to create a widespread reach for the cause by engaging participants to spread the word amongst their friends and family. As opposed to crowdfunding, which is addressed to a large segment of the population, peer-to-peer funding starts with a smaller group. This later on, becomes larger as contributors get others to donate as well. P2P fundraising works for many types of fundraising events, but they’re particularly effective in the online sphere. For example, the Giving Assistant peer to peer fundraising service allows nonprofits to get donations from supporters who get cashback offers from big brand names online stores.
5. Crowdfunding
If P2P fundraising focuses on the sharing power of a small community, crowdfunding is based on the power of large groups. Popularized by platforms like Kickstarter, crowdfunding focuses on small donations from a large number of users and the projects based on this model often go viral. Crowdfunding started out as a way to gain funds for social causes, but today crowdfunding platforms also have a second utility, that of helping independent creators or entrepreneurs raise revenue and bring to life creative projects and business ideas.
6. Charity walks/runs
According to a recent survey, charity walks and runs have the highest return on investment because they’re fun to take part in and people love working out for a good cause. The 5K walk or run seems to be the most popular option, because it’s long enough to attract athletes and jogging enthusiasts, but reasonable enough so as not to intimidate beginners. People who participate in charity walks also tend to bring their friends and families with them, so you could earn quite a lot of money from entrance fees.
7. Trivia Tournament
Contrary to common belief, trivia tournaments aren’t reserved only for schools. On the contrary, adults love taking part in them as well, especially if you include cool themes such as pop culture and sports. Trivia tournaments are just as exciting as charity walks and they will help you gather quite a large crowd. To maximize the reach of your charity trivia tournament, make sure you split it into several categories for more age groups.
8. Yard sales
Yard sales aren’t just a way to clear out your garage and make room for new things, but also an effective nonprofit fundraising idea. However, it’s quite difficult to earn enough just from selling your personal belongings, which is why fundraising yard sales work best when they are organized by a larger group, such as a school or a local business: for example, an event of the scale of the state-wide Virginia yard sale would be more likely to earn funds compared to a small independent garage sale.
9. Children talent show
Parents always love seeing their children perform on stage, which is why a children’s talent show/fundraising event is always a hit. Children can sing, dance, do a magic show or organize a play, and their money obtained from selling tickets to their parents can be donated to a noble cause.
10. Charity fashion show
Organizing a charity fashion show is not that difficult. All you need to do is rent a large enough space and the clothes can be modelled by local volunteers. As for donations, you can either get them from charging an admittance fee or from putting the clothes up for sale. Apart from helping those in need, charity fashion shows are also a great idea for new, independent designers, because they can get more publicity and build their personal brand.
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