Fundraising has been around for an eternity. Organizations have come up with different ideas for fundraising all of which are great and help raise money for the poor & homeless, schools & churches, sick and unfortunate amongst our people. Some of the traditional fundraising ideas are:

• Telemarketing
• Direct Mail Fundraising
• Donation Boxes
• Door to Door Collecting
• Fundraiser Events

How will a non-profit know which method to use? Which of these will raise more money, require less effort and expense, and raise funds quickly?

All of the abovementioned fundraising ideas are great. Each of them has its specialties and finer points. While Telemarketing might be a great way to pick up a quick donation, Donation Boxes might be just the right method for no-hassle donations. Continue reading to learn more about the fundraising options that are available to your organization.

Telemarketing For Fundraising:

Telemarketing is used for fundraising by purchasing lists and phoning potential donors and soliciting donations. Telemarketing can raise a lot of money if the right people are targeted and phoned, all of which give their credit card to the unknown party at the other end of the line. However, in reality only a small percentage of calls actually turn into a donation. Many people are skeptical about donating money over the phone, and may consider the call as fraudulent, others simply dislike telemarketers for intruding and calling them during family time and bothering them when it is inconvenient. Other people, are more spontaneous and will pledge to donate more willingly. Telemarketing requires financial input of purchasing lists, and manpower to call donors and solicit donations.

What is Direct Mail Fundraising and How does it work?

If you have the funds to invest in your fundraising project, Direct Mail might be your best option. Direct mail fundraising, which receives larger donations at a time, has many expenses involved: You'll need to purchase mailing lists, design an attractive brochure, print your literature, purchase postage, stuff the envelopes, and mail them out. This involves high cost as well as a lot of work. Many recipients open their mail and their wallets and mail back a check to the organization. Others consider fundraising mailers as junk and discard them without giving it a glance. So with Direct mail fundraising, your fundraising costs are high, but if successfully planned, and targeting the right donors, you will receive large donations.

Donation Boxes For Fundraising:

Donation box fundraising raises charity for non-profits efficiently, without too much hard work and expense involved. Charity boxes are inexpensive, and the process is simple: You simply purchase a couple of locked donation boxes, place them in stores, shopping centers and visitor areas where donors will notice them easily, and you have done your part. Next you can divert your efforts to different tasks at your non-profit organization. While each donation may consist of only small change and spare dollars, they add up to large sums after a short while. Every so often you drop by to check on your charity boxes and you will surely find a lot of cash in them. Very economical and easy to manage. With donation boxes, it sounds like the fundraising is doing itself.

How Does Door to Door Collecting Work?

Door to Door Collecting is an old-time method for fundraising. Although not efficient or practical, fundraisers who go door to door collecting, impress on neighborhood residents the needs of their organization or cause and receive donations accordingly. Nowadays, many schools and organization use children as volunteers to do fundraising for them by providing them with sealed donation boxes and offer them incentives if they return the donation cans full. They prompt elementary school children as well as high-schoolers to collect charity from their neighbors and family members. The children receive attractively labeled donation containers which they take door to door to neighborhood residents who are happy to donate to the amateur volunteers.

Planning Fundraiser Events:

Fundraiser Events work very well as a community project. If trying to raise funds quickly, one can consider inviting friends, community members, and neighborhood residents to an event hosted by any volunteer. Some events are hosted at private houses or backyards, others take place in schools or community centers. All Fundraisers have the same goal: Donors attend, meet other donors, and each of them leaves behind a donation. Food is usually served at fundraisers and often a short program is lead where a guest speaker is invited to speak about the cause. If carefully planned in a good location, and individuals who are passionate about your cause are invited, fundraisers can be very successful in raising cash quickly for organizations at little expense.

 

Finally, whether your organization decides to go with direct mail fundraising, a fundraiser event, donation can fundraising or any other way to raise money, we hope you are successful in collecting charity to help the needy individuals and causes in your community.