Putting the Fun Back Into Fundraising

Does your organization have a hard time rounding up volunteers? Studies show that people who donate their time to charities are getting harder to come by. It’s probably because of an increasingly uncertain financial outlook that families have to spend even more time trying to look after themselves. Let’s take a look at ways to run a fun fundraising campaign and transform volunteers into a strong fundraising team for years to come.

Sales incentives: your best fundraiser

This is a win-win situation for the organization and the volunteers who help you raise funds. Give a token prize to the best fundraiser, the person who sells the most amount of chocolate bars or brings in the largest total during the fundraising campaign.

Keep it fun

This one is simple and cheap thing to do. During the fundraising campaign, you can post pictures of your fundraisers on the street or doing different activities. Post some of the photos in the sales room. Buy some donuts for the phone workers. Another way to set a fun tone for the fundraising campaign is to keep things light while discussing the campaign. Just because you’re keeping things humorous doesn’t mean you’re not taking the campaign seriously, your just keeping the intensity down.

Provide Feedback to Your Fundraising Team

Volunteers work as long as it changes a thing! Let them know their results. Use a Free Fundraiser Thermometer on your web site. It's a great way to provide feedback to your fundraising team and donors on the success of your fundraising campaign. It'll motivate all of them to keep raising funds until the goal is reached!

Listen to your fundraisers

You might want to even get feedback from your volunteers in regards to what they liked about the fundraising strategy and what could be changed. There’s nothing like feedback from the front-line troops to keep your fundraising sharp. This also lets your fundraisers know that you’re listening to them and that their feedback is important to the success of the fundraising effort.

Make it about personal development

Research psychologists such as Daniel Yankelovich have documented the fact that in the job market "job incentives are so unappealing that employees are no longer motivated to work hard. As a result, they withdraw themselves emotionally." Researchers Patricia Penwick and Kedward Lawler took a survey from 28,008 readers of Psychology Today and found that money and status were not motivational, but the top motivational factors were personal growth, a sense they are worthwhile and a feeling of accomplishment.
 
Show Appreciation
 
After the campaign is over, spend some time and a little money if it’s in the budget to send out thank you cards to each member of your fundraising team. Another alternative is to send out the cards through email. It’s not about extravagance but letting someone know that their effort was much appreciated and contributed to the success of the fundraising campaign.
 
McKee, Thomas W, Nov. 4, 08

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