Organizing a fundraiser is an underutilized way to secure funds for a worthy cause; especially among the younger generation. If you’ve ever championed a cause, or lent your time to a non-profit for the general betterment of the world, then a fundraiser for additional capital to further your cause might be a good idea. The most important aspect of this, of course, is the pool of candidates you have that can help you get money. Soon after you start building this database, you’ll probably find that keeping it organized is the hardest part of all – there are so many people from different walks of life willing to aid you. It will be necessary to append phone numbers as they come in, into their respective slots, so that you can efficiently get to all those prospects and ultimately have a successful fundraising campaign.
Obviously, you’ve got to get all the relevant details about the charity or other good cause for which you’re raising money, so that you can properly inform your potential donors why they’re giving you money. Choose your venue, as well as the specific method via which your fundraiser will attract the majority of givers. All this requires is a bit of research on what has historically been popular; for example, people gravitate towards sports and entertainment, so finding a way to incorporate these can almost guarantee you a large turnout. As the great variety of people show up to support your cause, be sure that you’re as organized as possible; be ready to take contact numbers, accept donations, account for the necessary legal requirements (you can get these easily by approaching your state law enforcement or simply doing an online search), and resources to append the phone numbers you get for later contact. Dotting your i’s and crossing your t’s are the underlying elements of all successful fundraising campaigns.
You needn’t stop with offline methods to obtain donors for your campaign; the web-space is highly amenable to promotion. You can get donors by to your campaign by setting up a website, for example; or, by writing articles for major publications like Technorati or Examiner.com, if you think the subject is both timely and considerable – such as a fundraiser for Diabetes or for the Women of Iran. Something that’s a bit more significant than for your local softball team (unless they’re disabled children, etc.). Regardless, you can set up an actual webpage for any fundraising campaign, whether you feel it would be significant on a national/global level or not. Just keep in mind that organization is the key to a successful campaign, from which all your other efforts will spring.
Patrick Whalen is a part of an elite team of writers who have contributed to hundreds of blogs and news sites. Follow him @2patwhalen.