Leaving Money on the Table at Your Next Fundraiser

It is that time of year again: time to plan your next fundraiser for your nonprofit organization. Given the economy, the stakes are high for many nonprofits as they have seen their financial giving decrease for the past two years. Yet, often fundraisers make very little profit or even show a loss without financially breaking even. So, what is the deal? Why do so many events have the best planning, yet still fail to raise money?

As a fundraising committee, here are 5 ways to give away money at your next fundraiser:

1. Plan everything but the Ask. As you plan your fundraiser, pay attention to all the important details. Have you checked with the caterer? Is the setting trendy enough? What about the centerpieces and places settings? Do they color coordinate? Remember, the Ask will come together one way or another. Who cares about pledge cards and pens when they have a beautiful centerpiece they could win

2. Bring up everything you need in the Ask

At your next fundraiser, be sure to tell your attendees about absolutely everything you need for your nonprofit, rather than just the single goal of the fundraiser. If you are raising money for tuition of a school, then be sure to mention that your attendees can also donate soup labels to help your school. This way, their minds will not be on the specific need to raise money for tuition, but on how many cans of soup they have in their pantry. Why give cash when you can give soup labels!

3. Be nearsighted when it comes to the Ask

At your next fundraiser, be sure that you only set out collection baskets and nothing else. The attendees will have no desire to make monthly donations, so why even bother to ask? Here’s a fundraising riddle: “What’s better than giving money away at your fundraiser?” “Letting it walk right out the door!”

4. Make the Ask extremely difficult for your attendees

You actually have a choice between two different methods to make the Ask difficult! First, do not have any writing instruments on hand at your fundraiser. Second, forget about credit cards because merchant accounts are too expensive. Forget about the cost of doing business, and only accept cash from responsible attendees that have brought their own pens.

5. Have the janitor do the Ask

At the end of the fundraiser, just randomly select a person who is remotely affiliated about your nonprofit to do the Ask. It is simple: all they have to do is tell everyone how much they love what you are doing and the sit down. Do not worry about those meaningless details of financial goals and needs. Why end the night on such a downer!

For additional help with your fundraiser, call The Grable Group at 615-283-0039.