How to Fundraise for the Holidays
Fundraising for the holidays is as traditional as the holidays themselves. Nonprofit organizations, schools, service clubs and religious groups sometimes raise the most money from late November to early January than any other time of the year. People are known to be more generous during the holiday season and more willing to contribute to causes and organizations.
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Instructions
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Establish a fundraising committee. Ask for volunteers from your organization to help plan the event. Once the committee is in place, select a chairperson to run the meetings, a treasurer to oversee the budget and a secretary to take notes at the meeting. Committee members can then decide on a plan of action and write it down.
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Set a fundraising goal and a budget. Having a financial goal helps committee members measure their progress. In some cases, the larger organization sets the goal amount and establishes a fundraising budget for its committee.
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Decide what product to sell or special event to host. There are plenty of holiday-related products to consider selling: Gift wrapping paper, decorations, holiday greeting cards, poinsettia plants, candles, candy or cookies. Whatever will be sold, make sure the product is useful to people. Depending on the size of the organization and its budget, the committee can decide to host a special event such as a winter carnival, a holiday ball, a holiday arts and crafts show or a bake sale.
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Determine the costs of the products or putting on an event. Fundraising companies sell items in bulk and say up front how much profit can be made by selling specific products. Special events require more expenses. For instance, the committee has to determine the cost for renting a venue for the event, whether permits are needed from the city (especially if parades are involved) and paying for entertainment, food or decorations. From there, committee members have to determine how much profit will they make after paying for the event.
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Assign duties to committee members. There's plenty of work to go around during a fundraiser. If the committee decides to sell products, assignments can include ordering the products, overseeing the distribution of the items to people willing to sell them and keeping track of how many items are being sold. To motivate people to sell, consider giving prizes or awards to the top sellers. Assignments for special events include contacting the media to advertise the event, soliciting financial or in-kind donations from local businesses, printing tickets (if there is an admissions fee) and finding vendors to participate in the event.
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Schedule frequent committee meetings. Committee members can give updates on how the fundraiser is going. Meeting frequently also helps to resolve any problems that should arise.
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Assess the campaign's progress. If the deadline for the fundraiser is drawing near and the goal has not yet been reached, decide whether to extend the fundraiser, especially if products are still available to sell. If the special-event idea does not seem to be coming together, it may not be too late for the committee to shift gears and decide on doing a less-elaborate fundraiser.
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Tips & Warnings
Remember that other organizations will be hosting fundraisers and competing for the same dollars. It's best to plan a fundraiser months, or even one year, in advance. Getting an early start in selling products (as early as September, even) might give you an advantage over other organizations.
References
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