One of the biggest obstacles faced by non-profit organizations on a regular basis is – you guessed it – fundraising. We’re all aware of the most basic and common fundraisers since we see them all the time; carwashes, bake sales, dinners, raffles, and the list goes on. Isn’t there a better alternative? Read on…
Depending on the size of the organization, these can be relatively profitable. A private school in my area held a holiday dinner, with a turnout of about 500 people. Factor in a donation of about $20 per person to eat, and $10,000 is not a bad evening’s work. The school has also done such things as buying pizza coupons at a discount, or even free, and selling them to their members/parents. What’s the alternative? Read on…
There are many great fundraising ideas out there. The problem is, once the dinner/raffle/bake sale/car wash is over, so is your fundraiser. If you want to raise more money you have to start all over again; organizing a group, choosing a free fundraising sites, choosing a day, advertising it, etc. Lather, rinse, repeat… It takes a lot of time and energy, and there a lot of good causes out there that deserve better.
What would be ideal for a non-profit organization is if it could set up a continuous stream of funding. So as opposed to working on setting up a fundraiser only to see the money stop when the work is done, in this scenario the money would continue to come in long after the work is done.
Compare it to how an artist records an album once, yet continues to get paid for years as the album continues to sell. Elvis’ family is still receiving royalties!
Many organizations understand this already, but they just can’t think of a way to set up continuous fund. Well, the most logical way is to provide a service to the community that they will continue to purchase on an ongoing basis. There are many ways to do this, but one idea would be to sign up the non-profit as a distributor for a certain product or service. It would have to be something that is commonly used and that people are already looking for. That way, the organization would act solely as a middle-man as opposed to a salesperson.
As a distributor, a portion of the sale – and possibly the ongoing bill in the case of a utility – would be paid back to the non-profit organization.
For example, A private school or church or museum – you name it – would be signed up into this program and given a distributor web site. Their members and others would purchase whatever product or service they were shopping for through the non-profit’s web site instead of buying it from another site, or a store. The same name brands that we’re all familiar and comfortable with, just at a discount and through the non-profit organization.
The non-profit gets to offer the majority of these at a discount, so the members benefit by saving money, and they get to help their organization by knowing a portion of their sale is being donated (monthly, in the case of offering a utility.)
By creating a continuous stream of funding, the non-profit’s extra work will increase their funding as opposed to starting over. They’ll be able to budget better because they’ll have a cash inflow they can depend on, and many other benefits.
I tried to keep this basic, but I’m sure it’s still confusing. For more information and clarity, do some research online or feel free to contact me directly for ideas.
This will truly revolutionize the way fundraising is done! It will allow also those in charitable and non-profit positions to be more effective, and maybe even earn a more appropriate income for their efforts.
