How to Organize a
Fundraiser Campaign

Below you will find some brilliant guidelines on how to organize a fundraiser campaign. But please remember, they are just that... GUIDELINES...

Every fundraising campaign will be different and will need its own personal approach.

So use these guidelines but remember that there will always be other unpredictable circumstances that you will need to watch out for and to plan for.

This is how you organize a fundraising campaign... Let us begin...

How to Organize a
Fundraiser Campaign:

Plan And Prepare:

The first thing you must decide to do is to plan and prepare properly... from planning your entire campaign to planning each individual fundraiser!

You must know what you want, what you have to do, and you must have a plan on how you're going to do it!

Sit down with your committee / your helpers and volunteers / or your friends and family, and draw up a full and complete plan for your fundraising campaign! Make a to-do list and designate jobs out evenly amongst your team.

This is your most important how to organize a fundraiser campaign point. It's the first step to having a successful campaign.

Bottom line is... YOU MUST HAVE A FUNDRAISING PLAN!

Some fundraising books that will help you with this are...

Another eBook that is a MUST READ if you're going to be requesting grants from foundations is Pamela Grow's, "Writing Grant Proposals".

Build A Fundraising/Organization Website - Plus Social Media Presence:

Almost every single fundraising cause should have a fundraising website. It will open up so many fundraising ideas and opportunities from magazine fundraising to Google Adsense.

Read the internet fundraising ideas page to find out more about fundraising online off your website.

It will give some great ideas on how to organize a fundraiser online.

A organization website also provides an easy way for people all across the world to learn about you cause and to donate to you!

If you don't have a website already you really should set one up. Read the fundraising websites section to learn how to build, design and market your fundraising website!

Or if you don't have the time to do it yourself I would highly recommend you use Sitesell's Services.

And as for Social Media, if you haven't already, you should begin building a presence there and engaging with supporters and potential supporters.

Set Up Methods For
Accepting Donations:

This is another really important how to organize a fundraiser campaign point. Donations will be one of your best fundraising methods!

So you must set up a few different methods for accepting donations both online and off.

For single campaigns you should setup a page for FREE here.

Of course there is still a lot of work you'll need to do to make sure you're successful, so make sure you read the 'how to organize a fundraiser online'!

It's extremely important!

For general online donations DoJiggy provides a brilliant and reliable method for accepting donations...

Read the accepting online donations page to find out more.

Another great option is to use a Supporter/Donor wall on your website where supporters can sponsor a block on the wall and receive exposure from it.

Offline Donations:

For offline donations you will need to arrange ways of accepting cash and checks from supporters. Always have your bank details available for people who would like to give direct deposits or who would like to make an EFT to you.

A great way of gaining donations offline is by using donations sheets which you print and hand out to all your supporters, friends and family...

They then go to all their friends and family (and strangers if they want to) and request donations from them, taking down their name and contact details. It works really well if you have an enthusiastic team!

Another option would be to do the 'Taking to the streets free fundraiser idea'! With the right approach it can be a real winner!!!

Decide on What Fundraisers you'll Run:

The next step of how to organize a fundraiser campaign is to choose the fundraiser that you will run.

Read through all the ideas on this website and brainstorm with your fundraising committee... then decide on the fundraisers that will best suit your organization and its supporters.

Pick the right Fundraisers when Organizing Your Fundraising Campaign. The Custom Water Bottle Fundraiser is always a great option...

There are a few points I want you to consider when deciding on what fundraiser you will do...

Choose a good variety of fundraisers – You should have a nice set of different fundraisers that you hold throughout your campaign... For example have two events like a Taste Test fundraiser evening and a golf day...

Then have a few non-event fundraisers like a cookbook fundraiser (which will fit perfectly with the Taste Test evening), a candy bar fundraiser, flower bulbs and a fundraiser raffle is always a winner...

And you should always incorporate as many internet fundraising ideas as possible too!
Keep your options open – Always be adjustable and ready to either change a fundraiser or to add a different fundraiser to your campaign. You never know when an excellent opportunity to hold a profitable fundraiser may come up.

If circumstances change you must always be capable of running a different fundraiser from the one that you planned to have! Be adaptable.
Cover all bases – By that I mean you must always have a few different options for people to contribute to your cause...

So if you're running a calendar fundraiser you should also have another product (or a few others) for people to buy, like candy bars or popcorn. That way if someone doesn't want to buy a calendar they may want to buy a candy bar and therefore you still raise some funds out of them!

Use A Quality Fundraising
Product Company:

Fundraising companies are focused on delivering fundraising products and solutions that will make your fundraisers as profitable and convenient as possible.

So using a quality company is of the utmost importance and will really help your fundraising campaigns!

For example SSA is the perfect company to use for Apparel Fundraising, both online and offline. Find out more about SSA here.

Or for different fundraising products, like Cookie Dough or Magazines, I would suggest GA Fundraising. Find out more here and grab their free info kit.

Or you can do a local Google search for an appropriate fundraising company for your fundraisers through the search block below...

(A Tip: Type the name of your local area or country with a plus sign before it, and then add your search query with a plus sign before it as well. Ex. +australia +fundraising product supplier)

Set Goals:

Once you've decided on what fundraisers you'll hold you should set some goals for all your individual fundraisers and for your campaign as a whole.

Having goals will set benchmarks for you to work towards... It will also be motivation for you and your team as you'll want to accomplish those goals!

Recruit Help & Volunteers:

No matter how big or small your fundraising campaign is you will need some help and you will more than likely need a few volunteers!

So take into consideration what fundraising ideas you have decided to do and then decide on how many helpers you will need... Your volunteers could come from your committee, be your family, your school students, your church members or any stranger that would like to help out a worthy cause.

You may not need volunteers for your whole campaign but for only certain fundraisers... In that case plan ahead and be ready to recruit your volunteers when the time arises!

Read the charity volunteers page to find out more.

Flyers are a great way of Promoting a Fundraising Campaign but can sometimes be a waste of money. Make sure they are effective and necessary! (Photo by Ed Yourdon off Flickr)

Promote & Market:

The last step of how to organize a fundraiser campaign is to market and advertise your campaign and your individual fundraisers thoroughly!

To raise funds you will need people to attend your events, buy your products or visit your website...

So essentially you need traffic of people to your fundraisers! And to get this traffic, people need to know about your fundraisers...

And that's why you have to promote properly! You have to let people know about your fundraisers. The more traffic you receive, the more opportunity to raise funds you'll have!

You'll find some great ideas on Promoting a Fundraiser here, but...

Here are a few ways of how to organize a fundraiser campaign's marketing and advertising...

Set up promotions on your website, your social networking pages (Facebook) and through your newsletters. Also look for other forums and websites where you could advertise on.
Use press releases both online and offline.
Use Posters and Fliers...
Newsgroups and classified adverts. (Always try and get your advertising done for free... Emphasize the point that you are worthwhile charitable cause!)
Email and letter campaigns. (But just remember that although letter campaigns can be effective, they can also become somewhat costly! So make sure they're viable with what you're trying to do.)
And remember to always be creative and imaginative with your advertising... There are always other ways of advertising so look to come up with your own ideas.

Read the Promoting a Fundraiser page for more ideas!