Share This Article
It’s understandable that there’s a lot of stress involved with planning and executing a fundraiser. But you need to remember why you’re doing it, who is going to benefit and how everyone is going to enjoy it.
There should be an element of fun in every fundraiser, from the organising through to the actual event. Supporters are very easily turned off by organisers and volunteers at a fundraiser who aren’t emotionally involved and look as if they’re doing a chore.
Remember why
Whether you are helping out a local charity, busking for an overseas hockey trip or starting the process of financing a recreational vehicle, you should always have your motivation close at hand.
This will keep your mind in a good space, even when frustrations during planning occur and it will keep your intentions true which will make people more inclined to support. You need to be clear on what your goals are for this endeavour. How much are you wanting to raise? How many events do you plan on carrying out? When and where will you host your event? How many people do you need to attend?
Layout what your goals are and break down everything that can be done on your side to achieve them before handing the reigns over to the people.
General struggles
One of the greatest struggles with any local fundraising event is attendance and support. It’s quite disappointing to put so much effort into an event and marketing strategies only to have half the needed support show up.
Think of a local charity fundraising event. There’s barely a budget to invest in traditional marketing, like printing flyers and advertising in the newspaper, and even moving towards social media marketing – you need to have already established followers to be able to spread the word. But it can be done and there are so many digitally interactive ways of getting people interested in an event.
Not setting aside enough time to plan, organise and order everything you need for an event is another struggle with personal fundraising, but there are ways to overcome these struggles and keep the fun alive.
Planning
This is where the fun begins. Having something to fundraise for means that there is something exciting ahead of you and this is a necessary step in achieving it. Keep the excitement throughout the planning process and use that to get others excited about the event and cause as well.
It’s easy to build hype around your fundraiser through social media and getting all your family and friends involved in spreading the word and contributing to the plan and resources. Even by sharing the planning journey with potential attendees will get them excited about supporting, which in turn will excite you more and you’ll want to make it the best fundraising event ever. It’s a nonstop cycle of excitement.
Don’t make your life difficult or stressful by putting something together that has a huge expense cost at the end of the day. Support local and local will support you too. Use all the connections you have to get deals on whatever possible and welcome donations for a prize raffle or volunteers to help keep the event going smoothly. Make the most of everything offered to you at the price of mentioning a sponsor – hardly a price to pay.
Be reasonable with your charging cost. Don’t let your supporters feel obligated to attend because you’ve asked them, but make them feel willing to pay the fee because of the experience you’re promising. And don’t forget to deliver.
Bring the people something that they want to take part in. Or bring them into your hockey world and get them directly involved in what you’re fundraising for. If you can make it personal and relatable, more people will actually want to attend and will really enjoy themselves. There’s hardly a limit to what you can pass as a fundraising event, so get creative!
The event
Knowing what kind of fundraiser you’re after and having everything organised for it, means it’s time for the event that everybody has been waiting for. Take all that hype and personal excitement and bring everyone together for a FUNdraising experience through a run, a movie night, a yard sale, a coin-a-thon, a performance, a raffle, a cake sale or whatever event it is you’ve decided on.
Get involved with your supporters and show them how much you appreciate their support. Make sure they know exactly what it is they’re supporting and keep them updated on how far they’ve helped you progress towards your goal. Document it and put it up on social media for everyone to tag themselves and share the experience in the hope that your next event may attract even more supporters.
Never show if you’re stressed or if you haven’t reached your intended target amount. Live in the moment of what you’re bringing to the community and acknowledge what you have gained from it and apply it next time.
Lastly, never forget to say thank you.