When we work with our non-profit and business clients to create custom fundraising bracelet programs, our first question is how will you use them and what is your goal? Does our product match your fundraising mission? 

All of our clients are very mindful of budget and ROI, and I thought this article from Eric Miller at donate.net was an excellent way to avoid “Mission Failure, and an Outcome Failure.” with any of the fundraising programs you consider.

Enjoy, 
Kay

Avoiding Fundraising Pitfalls: Making Money Match Your Mission

A common problem in fundraising for any athletic team or booster club is working in a Mission Failure, creating a fundraising plan and project that runs counter to your real goal and doesn’t bring in the funds you need. As a volunteer, board member chairperson or even president, you repeatedly come up against some of the same challenges you find yourself in today.

In shifting economies, we have to raise sufficient dollars to advance our mission. Working in organizations which are largely volunteer driven and have limited resources, how do you maximize the funds you can raise?  How do you juggle the multiple roles that are necessary to run it efficiently?  And, how do you focus your message to help your donors give more to your bottom line?

By focusing on some fundamentals of fundraising we can identify strategies to avoid mission, system and outcome failures in your fundraising efforts. After all, asking for donations is an important challenge for an organization, and one must think things through, to come up with a better, more innovative way to invite donors to be a part of your team.

Think for a moment… What is the Mission of your organization? Are you a Soccer team; a Band; a Student Council?

What is it that you want to teach your participants and partners? Teamwork, Commitment, Citizenship?

Let’s do a case study:

The traveling baseball team needs to raise $1000.00 to attend a regional tournament. So…The team decides to sell candy bars.  15 players sell 40 candy bars each, that’s a total of 600 candy bars, each candy bar is $3.00, so you collect $1800.00.  Now, each candy bar cost the team $1.50, so your real income is $900.00.

Not bad… but did you meet your goals?  Did you raise the funds you need?  Who earned the most in the program; you or the candy company?  And what did you teach your athletes about healthy choices and good nutrition?  Is the quality of the program matched by the products you sell?

Does your fundraising match your mission?

This is what we call a Mission Failure, and an Outcome Failure.  Not only did you not raise the money you needed, but you became distracted from the goal of your program.  Is this how you want to spend your time, your energy, and your resources?  It is labor intensive, costly, and it offers a poor ROI (Return on Investment).

What you may need is an innovative approach that works for you to create and manage new programs to develop more funds and more friends.  What is important is to focus on is your mission:  be it Academics, Athletics, Cultural Arts or Community Service. You will achieve better results with careful INNOVATION.

What would it mean if, you spend less time selling, spend less money on products and spend more energy on your mission?  You would raise more money, you would have more supporters, and you would make more friends.

Just one idea for a baseball team:

In regular practice, there are many baseballs. Each week you cycle through the good ones and the ones that need to be retired.  Now, instead of throwing out the used practice balls, you offer to sign the baseball and offer it to your donors to help you practice.  Each ball can raise up to $100.00 just because you signed it.  How about we use the game ball that you won in the tournament and offer it up for $500.00?  Your family and friends get to be involved in your team.  They are rooting for you.  You get to tell them how baseball makes you more healthy and focused and more confident.  You and your family and friends are more engaged… everyone wins!

This is a fundraising appeal that matches your mission.

So, what is the bottom line?  You have a choice.  Stick with the same program you have been running year after year. Spend your time, energy, and money working as a part-time sales rep for a candy /popcorn /pine straw company to fund your program or use your Imagination fueled with Innovation and Automation to create a new path to better fundraising.

Eric Miller is the President of Donate.net, Inc., a fundraising technology company launched in 1997. After years of professional experience in marketing and development, Eric found a way to merge his passion for community service with his business skills.  By using a state-of-the-art website, donate.net helps organizations maximize technology and social media as a fundraising tool.