Fundraising Tips and Ideas Show Me the Money! Fundraising Tips and Ideas

Let’s agree… It takes $ to support a Church Mortgage or Rent Payments Utilities (phone, water, power, internet) Insurance (both General Liability & Property, Auto) Supporting Ministries (SS, Youth, Children, Pathfinders, etc.) Outreach Activities (Evangelism, Visitation, Elderly/Widows, Needy Families, etc.) Office Supplies, Postage, etc. Extras (Signs, Repairs, etc.)

Why Fundraise? Budgets are cut or non-existent Church members are taxed with requests for special offerings. Family financial situations don’t allow for contributing to every cause in the Church’s program. Expenses/costs on the rise but incomes not following suit. Great variety of needs all around us.

How Much? How active is your Church during the year and what is the size of your Church? What Outreach and Evangelism activities does your church engage in? What services does your church provide? Does your church have a food pantry?

Unexpected benefits Allows the participants or other recipients of the funds (or what they purchase) to feel some pride of ownership. Creates awareness in individuals that they are part of a community, and that this position entails a certain amount of responsibility and also self empowerment.

Doing It Right Set clear goals & Establish a plan Definite $ Amount What specifically are you raising funds for? Funds needed for fundraising products or services The cost of the fundraiser and needed supplies The size of your volunteer group (to determine how large a fundraiser your group can reasonably handle)

Doing It Right Set clear goals & Establish a plan How much time is available to raise the funds Increases in program costs over previous years No need to reinvent the wheel

Who’s your Target Audience?

Who’s your Target Audience? Profile Potential Donors The size of your project will help define audience Know your community Know your potential volunteer mix

Choose the Right Fundraiser Based on your potential donors and potential volunteer group, you’ll be able to define which type of fundraiser to use for your approach.

What are your sources? Pledges and Donations Product Fundraisers Businesses Friends and family Colleagues and Co-Workers Door-to-door solicitation Email & Social Media contacts Product Fundraisers Purchased products from a reputable supplier Local Businesses Donations of resalable items Craft or Bake Sales

What are your sources? Events Bake Sales Spaghetti Dinners Café & Movie Night Car Wash Flea Markets Walk-a-Thon/Bike-a-thon Carnival Rent a Pathfinder/Youth

Recruit Volunteers YOUR YOUNG PEOPLE Parents Friends Church Members

Execute the Plan Begin on time Avoid mistakes Don’t spread yourself / team too thin. Be liberal with encouragement and recognition. Craft your appeals properly Use appealing material, proofread carefully, be polite, don’t be vague, be brief and to the point, be grateful!

Execute the Plan Remember the 80/20 rule 80% of income comes from 20% of clients Remember the quantity-vs-quality argument. Rather than doing too much, plan for high impact events/fundraisers and do them well.

Feedback & Thank you! Don’t forget to extend notes of gratitude to key people: Donors Volunteers Your young people Don’t skip the recap session

Word of Caution About $$ Where to keep it? How do we account for it? Who accounts for it? Have a dedicated person to account for fundraising income and expenses. Be sure to follow best practices for handling funds.

“One who thinks that money can do everything is likely to do anything for money.” — Anonymous As hard and frustrating as raising funds can be at times, let’s not forget the huge impact it can make for generations to come!

“The money that we refuse to invest in the work of the Lord will perish. On it no interest will accumulate in the bank of heaven.” — Ellen White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, p 131.