Most Successful Fundraising Ideas
Some of the most successful fundraising ideas have ended in failure because of improper planning or from lack of information. Whether you are trying to raise money for a charity, a school event or for any other cause, becoming informed about what works and what doesn't work for a fundraiser can tremendously increase your chances of success.
What Makes A Successful Fundraiser?
The top-performing fundraising charitable events in the country tell you a lot about what makes a fundraiser work, as well as what doesn't. Charity Navigator defines an inefficient fundraiser as one in which more than 50 cents is spent to earn a dollar. The website publishes a list of the ten most inefficient fundraisers based on this criterion.
The most successful fundraisers, therefore, are those that raise the most amount of money for a cause by spending the least amount of money by the charity. Each year, the Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council publishes a list of the top 30 fundraisers. The top 10 highest-earning fundraising charities for 2010, their most successful event and the dollar amount they earned rounded to the nearest million are:
| Charity Name | Event | Amount Raised |
|---|---|---|
| American Cancer Society | Relay for Life | $416 |
| Susan G. Komen for the Cure | Race for the Cure | $121 |
| March of Dimes | March for Babies | $102 |
| The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society | Team in Training | $97 |
| American Heart Association | Start! Heart Walk | $90 |
| Susan G. Komen for the Cure | 3-Day for the Cure | $89 |
| Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation | Walk to Cure Diabetes | $86 |
| National MS Society | Bike MS | $85 |
| American Cancer Society | Making Strides against Breast Cancer | $60 |
| American Heart Association | Jump Rope for the Heart | $57 |
Most of the events above raised the funds in a single day and in one location. What is interesting is the fact that several charities appear multiple times in the top 10. This indicates that these charities have discovered the key to good fundraising: spending less to earn more. In these events, the charities relied on participants to raise donations. In doing so, they reduced the amount of money they spent to earn a dollar.
The Top Local Fundraising Events
According to an article by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), most local fundraisers experienced more financial success with planned giving, major gifts or foundation grants, while the least successful relied on phone, Internet or email solicitation. The article treats sponsorships as a form of planned giving, thereby explaining why athletic sponsorship events usually perform quite well.
If you don't have the time, skills or energy to put on a large race or biking event another popular and successful fundraising tool is the use of novel fundraising opportunities, such as designing special thank-you cards or other products, in which the majority of sales go to the charity. EasyFundraisingIdeas.com lists the top fundraising ideas by profit. Many of the site's ideas are simple to implement. By distributing the products among team or organization members and letting them sell the products to their friends and family, your organization will acquire funds to donate to its cause.
The success of this technique derives from the power of networking. When compared to the most successful fundraising ideas listed by Run Walk Ride, it becomes apparent that those charitable fundraising events also relied on the power of networking: participants called upon friends, family, coworkers and employers to donate for their efforts.
Tips for Successful Fundraising
Whenever you run any fundraising effort, it's easy to become disappointed or lose motivation along the way. There are a number of ways that you can help to ensure that your fundraising work reaps the most reward.
- Set Realistic Goals: At the very beginning, it's important that you sit down the entire team and come up with a realistic amount of money to raise. After identifying that number, your group can plan for what it will take to successfully reach their goal.
- Plan Ahead: The more time you have to prepare for all of the tasks that your group needs to accomplish, the more chance of success you'll have. Another benefit to having more time to raise funds is that you can spread your efforts over time, distributing reminders through newsletters and other events along the way.
- Create Mile Markers: The way that you know you're on schedule and within budget is by creating specific objectives along the way. If you're able to meet those objectives within the timeframe you established, then you know you're on schedule for success. If not, you'll need to ramp up your efforts to catch up. It's best to know that you're behind earlier rather than later.
- Seek Business Support: One of the most powerful ideas that helps fundraisers raise the most money is when members of your group network with not only other people they know, but also businesses they may have connections with. Often, businesses will dedicate a certain percentage of funds every year for local community donations, and they're always looking for good uses for those funds.
Organizing a Successful Fundraiser
There is no specific type of fundraising event that guarantees success, but the ones that rely on networking appear to do better than others. However, whether or not you raise the amount of money you sought, the important thing is that you dedicated your time and efforts to an important cause. At the end of your fundraising efforts you can feel proud that the funds you generated are going to a cause that you support.
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