A Plethora of Non-Profit Fundraising Possibilities
Not long ago I made the mistake of doing an Internet search for fundraising solutions and requesting information from a number of companies.
Google returned over 35 million links for the search term fundraisers.
I grew weary after looking at the first couple dozen.
But, by the time I had finished clicking my mailbox was already bursting with an incredible array of fundraising possibilities.
It did not take long to come to the conclusion that most of them were probably put together by a really smart kangaroo, but I never did find one that I would waste my non-profit's time and resources on for a number of reasons.
There are a set of problems common to almost all fundraisers that make them less than worthy of your consideration.
They all involve kangaroo logic because they usually cause organizations to jump around trying one unsuccessful project after another year after year.
Most involve an upfront investment with no guaranteed returns and no refund for unsold product.
Most require a super effort in organization and sales for junk that no one wants or needs.
Many peddle unhealthful products that people may want but don't need such as cookies, candy, and pizzas.
Why try to kill your benefactors? With all of these negative factors in mind, let's take a hop around my email inbox to examine some of the fundraising "solutions" offered by company after company.
First there was the big buck training program that wanted $12,000 to train seven board members on how to hold events to ask people for money.
The training price didn't include airfare, lodging, or meals.
Everyone on our board hated that one.
Next came the kill them with sugar solutions that included ready-made probably half stale cookies, buckets of cookie dough, candies from chocolate to peppermint.
Then came the kill them with grease pizza sales.
Scratch cards seem to be a new entry into the fundraising solutions.
The deal I saw would cost the organization $2000 up front.
Then you had to sell 100 cards for an anticipated profit of $10,000.
The scratchers get a chance to win a "free" pizza or some other delectable item of junk food poison.
But, what if you had a hundred people support group that could generate the same amount of money, and you didn't have to sell them anything and it didn't cost them anything to create the contribution because it was something they were doing anyway? Then there are the cuddly teddy bears.
How any people need teddy bears? Raise your hands.
Now go in the corner and hibernate.
Let's not forget about magazine subscriptions, greeting cards, and Christmas wrapping.
Another healthful solution is nitrate infused beef sticks, or artery-clogging saturated fat laden popcorn.
Let's include those coupon books for more junk food treats and restaurants that aren't even in your town.
I kind of like the flower bulb fundraiser because the product would be pretty to look at for a short while, and it wouldn't give you a heart attack.
But it did involve upfront funding and getting a sales team going.
Mystery dinners can be a lot of fun if done properly or just deathly if not.
They are difficult to organize and often not all that profitable or worth all the effort.
I can remember working my butt off putting one of those together.
It was well attended and everyone had a great time.
I think we barely cleared a thousand bucks after all the expenses.
Well, we did have fun, which, after all, is of some value, but not the main objective of a fundraiser.
You can sell ready-made cook books or create your own.
You can create music CDs to your specification too.
But, again there's a lot of work, upfront expenses, and not much profit.
Who wants to be in the marketing business for a vanity publishing company that makes the bulk of the profit? You can do smelly fundraisers too with candles, incense, soaps, car scents, aroma therapy, and potpourri.
A more glamorous approach offers cosmetic makeovers and photographs of the results, which might be of some interest to a minute number of your supporters.
I almost got excited when one company offered an online shopping solution.
But, it turned out that it consisted of a catalog of about 20 items on which they offered a 50% profit.
I promise, it was a bunch of crap that no one in her/her right might could possibly want or need.
One that I must admit tickled my fancy was an outfit that would put together a monopoly type game tailored to your community with local businesses signing on.
This is way cool, but can you imagine the work and the expense upfront and the sales effort it would take with no assurance of success? One of my all-time favorites was this heart-attack special: Hand made Pizza and Italian Specialties (pasta, strombolis, cannolis, etc.
Geez, you'd think that these fundraising kangaroos would figure out that if you kill off your supporters, you're out of business.
Many companies offer Ts and Sweats with your logo at exorbitant prices.
Why not just go to your local computer store, buy some transfer printer paper, and sell a print? But then, who wants a T-shirt that says fundraiser 1997-as if it would be a collector's item? Some entrepreneurial companies assemble offers from other companies and put them all on a Website for you--a great convenience--but it's still the same old drivel, and don't' forget that these companies are getting a share of the profit that could be yours.
All right, enough kangarooing and hopping around my inbox.
I think you get the idea of the lousy fundraising offers available out there.
They all require effort, expense, and they are a one shot deal.
You have to put together a new fundraising program year after year for the same disappointing results after all the effort or probably diminishing returns in the current economy.
What's the solution? The answer is simple.
Find a fundraiser that offers a sustainable residual income without asking your supporters to dig into their pockets in a time of a tight economy.
Find a fundraiser that you set into motion with very little effort that just keeps pumping out money like a windmill on a windy day.
Find a fundraiser that doesn't require asking the same people to sell stuff to people who don't want or need it.
The problem is that in all the responses I received as a reward for my search for fundraiser solutions, none satisfied my simple criteria for residual income.
They all required upfront expense, lots of organization and sales to the same jaded audience.
This is hardly a formula for successful fundraising-especially in today's economy.
Google returned over 35 million links for the search term fundraisers.
I grew weary after looking at the first couple dozen.
But, by the time I had finished clicking my mailbox was already bursting with an incredible array of fundraising possibilities.
It did not take long to come to the conclusion that most of them were probably put together by a really smart kangaroo, but I never did find one that I would waste my non-profit's time and resources on for a number of reasons.
There are a set of problems common to almost all fundraisers that make them less than worthy of your consideration.
They all involve kangaroo logic because they usually cause organizations to jump around trying one unsuccessful project after another year after year.
Most involve an upfront investment with no guaranteed returns and no refund for unsold product.
Most require a super effort in organization and sales for junk that no one wants or needs.
Many peddle unhealthful products that people may want but don't need such as cookies, candy, and pizzas.
Why try to kill your benefactors? With all of these negative factors in mind, let's take a hop around my email inbox to examine some of the fundraising "solutions" offered by company after company.
First there was the big buck training program that wanted $12,000 to train seven board members on how to hold events to ask people for money.
The training price didn't include airfare, lodging, or meals.
Everyone on our board hated that one.
Next came the kill them with sugar solutions that included ready-made probably half stale cookies, buckets of cookie dough, candies from chocolate to peppermint.
Then came the kill them with grease pizza sales.
Scratch cards seem to be a new entry into the fundraising solutions.
The deal I saw would cost the organization $2000 up front.
Then you had to sell 100 cards for an anticipated profit of $10,000.
The scratchers get a chance to win a "free" pizza or some other delectable item of junk food poison.
But, what if you had a hundred people support group that could generate the same amount of money, and you didn't have to sell them anything and it didn't cost them anything to create the contribution because it was something they were doing anyway? Then there are the cuddly teddy bears.
How any people need teddy bears? Raise your hands.
Now go in the corner and hibernate.
Let's not forget about magazine subscriptions, greeting cards, and Christmas wrapping.
Another healthful solution is nitrate infused beef sticks, or artery-clogging saturated fat laden popcorn.
Let's include those coupon books for more junk food treats and restaurants that aren't even in your town.
I kind of like the flower bulb fundraiser because the product would be pretty to look at for a short while, and it wouldn't give you a heart attack.
But it did involve upfront funding and getting a sales team going.
Mystery dinners can be a lot of fun if done properly or just deathly if not.
They are difficult to organize and often not all that profitable or worth all the effort.
I can remember working my butt off putting one of those together.
It was well attended and everyone had a great time.
I think we barely cleared a thousand bucks after all the expenses.
Well, we did have fun, which, after all, is of some value, but not the main objective of a fundraiser.
You can sell ready-made cook books or create your own.
You can create music CDs to your specification too.
But, again there's a lot of work, upfront expenses, and not much profit.
Who wants to be in the marketing business for a vanity publishing company that makes the bulk of the profit? You can do smelly fundraisers too with candles, incense, soaps, car scents, aroma therapy, and potpourri.
A more glamorous approach offers cosmetic makeovers and photographs of the results, which might be of some interest to a minute number of your supporters.
I almost got excited when one company offered an online shopping solution.
But, it turned out that it consisted of a catalog of about 20 items on which they offered a 50% profit.
I promise, it was a bunch of crap that no one in her/her right might could possibly want or need.
One that I must admit tickled my fancy was an outfit that would put together a monopoly type game tailored to your community with local businesses signing on.
This is way cool, but can you imagine the work and the expense upfront and the sales effort it would take with no assurance of success? One of my all-time favorites was this heart-attack special: Hand made Pizza and Italian Specialties (pasta, strombolis, cannolis, etc.
Geez, you'd think that these fundraising kangaroos would figure out that if you kill off your supporters, you're out of business.
Many companies offer Ts and Sweats with your logo at exorbitant prices.
Why not just go to your local computer store, buy some transfer printer paper, and sell a print? But then, who wants a T-shirt that says fundraiser 1997-as if it would be a collector's item? Some entrepreneurial companies assemble offers from other companies and put them all on a Website for you--a great convenience--but it's still the same old drivel, and don't' forget that these companies are getting a share of the profit that could be yours.
All right, enough kangarooing and hopping around my inbox.
I think you get the idea of the lousy fundraising offers available out there.
They all require effort, expense, and they are a one shot deal.
You have to put together a new fundraising program year after year for the same disappointing results after all the effort or probably diminishing returns in the current economy.
What's the solution? The answer is simple.
Find a fundraiser that offers a sustainable residual income without asking your supporters to dig into their pockets in a time of a tight economy.
Find a fundraiser that you set into motion with very little effort that just keeps pumping out money like a windmill on a windy day.
Find a fundraiser that doesn't require asking the same people to sell stuff to people who don't want or need it.
The problem is that in all the responses I received as a reward for my search for fundraiser solutions, none satisfied my simple criteria for residual income.
They all required upfront expense, lots of organization and sales to the same jaded audience.
This is hardly a formula for successful fundraising-especially in today's economy.
