Low Cost Fundraising that Works

From Jill
Borkowski, a Special Events Consultant formerly with the Toledo Area Humane
Society “Give a Buck to Change Their Luck” – it’s a paper card with this message and a bone printed on it. Vet offices, pet supply stores and other local businesses sell them for $1 each, the person who buys the bone writes their name or their pet’s name on the card and the business displays them in the window. We develop a list of the places we’re going to sell the bones and assign a volunteer to each location who is responsible for dropping off the bones to the business and picking them up at the end of the promotion (we usually sell them for a 4 – 6 week time period). We give each business a little sign (which we make on the computer and print on 8 1/2 x 11 paper) to display and help in their selling efforts. We have five Pet Supplies Plus stores in Toledo and about 20 vets that participated. We raised over $7,500!

One key is that we got our local Pet Supplies Plus area manager to support the program, and he really pushed the fundraiser on all five of his local stores making a competition between each of his stores. This was so successful when we did it in the springtime that we repeated it again during the holiday season and made another $5,000 or so. You can have a local ad agency design a square card with a bone on it (pro bono of course!) or you can probably do something similar on your own computer.

Another super easy and profitable fundraiser for us was the “Hogs for Dogs” Harley Davidson motorcycle raffle. Our local Harley Davidson/Buell dealer agreed to let us purchase a motorcycle at cost (about $10,000) and sell raffle tickets for $10 each. We promoted the fact that we would only sell 2,000 tickets so chances of winning were better. We also promoted the fact that if we did not sell enough tickets to cover the cost of the bike, that the raffle would become a 50/50 raffle instead of a motorcycle raffle. Harley did not make us buy the bike upfront, so this way, there was really no risk if we did not sell enough to cover the cost of the bike. A big factor is that the Harley Davidson employees really got behind this and sold tickets on our behalf at different bike nights around town and other events they were involved with. We sold almost 2,000 tickets during a six-month time-span, which covered the cost of the bike and made almost $10,000 for our local Humane Society to keep.

Do you have a minor league baseball team in your area? (We do, right? Whoever plays at the Dell Diamond?) If so, suggest they have a “dog days of summer” event and pick a game where people can bring their dogs. Each dog has to buy a special dog ticket ($5 each), and all of the proceeds from dogs’ ticket sales benefit your cause. Our minor league team likes to do this on a weekday in late May or early June when kids are still in school, because it draws people to the ballpark during the week when they don’t normally come. We even did a silent auction of autographed sports memorabilia at the game (we contacted different pro sports teams and asked them to donate something). That, coupled with dog ticket sales, raised over $3,000!

Suggestions for getting things pro bono:

1. Have the right person do the asking. It really helps to have someone who is energetic, upbeat and excited about the cause, as well as outgoing and good with people. Not everyone is good at doing this; so make sure you select this person carefully. You could also see if any of your volunteers have connections to the companies and can make introductions for you.

2. Ask the right person at the company. It’s always best to approach a manager or key decision-maker so you don’t get the run-around.

3. Ask in person, if at all possible. This may take some additional time, but it will be worth it. It’s harder for the company to turn you down face-to-face than on email or phone.

4. Approach the company with the attitude that you are going to help them feel good about helping you, not that you are desperate and are begging for their help. We’ve also found that sometimes a humble attitude helps, such as “I’m not a professional but a volunteer, and I’m calling to take a chance that you might be interested in contributing to our cause.”

5. It helps to have literature with you, as well as information about what the money raised from the event will be spent on, if it is a fundraiser. If the event is not a fundraiser, be prepared to explain the purpose of the event (i.e., we want to find new homes for 100 animals). It gives them something tangible to associate their donation with.

6. If you are a non-profit, be sure to let them know that, and remind them that their in-kind donation will be tax deductible.

7. Tell them exactly what you would like them to do, rather than “anything you could provide would be great.” This makes your request more meaningful and tangible to them. If what you are asking for isn’t doable, then you can ask them what they would be able to help you with.

8. Be sure to tell them what you are offering in return, if anything. Think about different types of publicity and sponsorship opportunities you can give them. Tell them what kind of attendance you expect at the event and what kind of people will be there. At our last event, we received free pizzas from Papa Johns to sell at our refreshments stand. Everywhere we promoted the pizza sales at the event; we promoted it as “Papa Johns pizzas” rather than just “pizzas.”

9. Sometimes letting them know about other companies who have donated makes them feel comfortable about doing their part. It’s groupthink and a bit of peer pressure at times that makes them want to join in.

10. Some of the phrases our volunteers have used in the past to secure pro-bono items have been: “If you knew you could help decrease the 80% companion animal euthanasia rate in Tampa, might you consider helping our cause?” “In what ways might your company be able to partner with us in our goal of saving every animal in our community?”

How do you decide if an event is worthwhile or not?

From Megan Newman at No More Homeless
Pets in Hillsborough County It’s important to manage your volunteers’ time well so they don’t get burned out and feel like their contribution isn’t worthwhile.

One thing to think about is how large your group’s budget is and what other opportunities you have to raise funds. For instance, if your group is still relatively small and new, you may be more likely to consider events that will raise a few thousand dollars, even if it means a lot of work. However, a larger group that is more established in the community might consider opportunities more carefully. Do you have other ways to raise $2000 that require less work and volunteer time? What percentage of your budget is $2000? Is it guaranteed that you will make $2000 on the event? If so, that is an important consideration as well. A lot of events don’t have any kind of monetary guarantee, so they are more risky.

Another thing to consider is how many volunteers you have and how easy it would be to get that many to participate. Could you ask them to work in shifts, so one person isn’t giving up a large amount of time?

Another important consideration for events is what other benefits they will have, other than fundraising. A lot of experts have said special events are not necessarily the best or easiest way to raise funds, but they are necessary because of the other benefits they provide. Some of these benefits include getting your name out in the community and marketing your organization’s goals.

What kind of audience will this music event have? If they are people who probably haven’t heard about your organization, you may consider it more of a marketing opportunity than a fundraiser. Would you be allowed to hand out literature about your group at the event and/or bring signage to let the participants know who you are? Will your group’s name be included in any of the promotional literature for the event?

We recently did a fundraiser where we sold beads for people to throw from floats in local parades. It took a good amount of time and brought in under $1,000, but more importantly we were able to get our spay/neuter message out to a target audience we wouldn’t have been able to reach otherwise.

Another way to try and gauge your group’s interest in the event is to ask your volunteers what they want. I’m a big proponent of getting feedback from as many constituents as possible before making a big decision. Perhaps you could ask your volunteers if they would be willing to put in the time if it meant raising only $2000 for the organization, or if there are other things they would rather do that might bring in more money.

DO’s:
1. Try to get as much as possible donated.
2. Collaborate with other animal groups in your area for shared resources and contacts.
3. Get free publicity whenever possible, utilizing all available resources.
4. Plan, plan, plan!
5. Have a contingency plan for when things go wrong.
6. Be sure to thank everyone involved in the event – before, during, and after. This includes committee chairs, volunteers, donors and sponsors.
7. Set reasonable, measurable goals.
8. Remember your organization’s mission, and make sure all decisions made about the event support it.

DON’T's:
1. Sell yourself short when asking for donations. You have a wonderful cause and a lot to offer potential sponsors.
2. Underutilize your available resources, especially volunteers.
3. Hesitate to get started.