Every non-profit organization is looking for the ideal fundraiser or more likely a series of ideal fundraisers. What are the characteristics of an ideal fundraising event or program?

Step 1 – Money Raising Capability

First, obviously that it is capable of being able to raise a considerable amount of money.

Step 2 – Can Use Every Year

Second, that it is reproducible year after year – that it can be a template fundraising event that can almost be done on automatic pilot.

Step 3 – Raises Increasing Amounts of Money Each Year

Third, if possible, it is a fundraiser capable of raising more and more money each time it is used – the kind of event that almost automatically earns the same amount of money as the previous year and then newly generated income from this year’s efforts.

Step 4 – Variety of Donors

A good fundraising program solicits money from a variety of people instead of hitting up the same people over and over. Multiple sources of fundraising income allow more frequent fundraisers and the possibility of ever increasing fundraising “profits.”

Step 5 – Template Fundraisers

We call these types of fundraisers template fundraisers. The template aspects of a fundraiser refer to the making a fundraiser reproducible from year to year even if there are significant personnel changes in the organization.

Step 6 – Document Every Step

Everything for each successful fundraiser should be documented for the next year so that the fundraiser can be repeated. The steps to running the fundraiser should be recorded so running the fundraiser the next year is simply a matter following the checklist.

Step 7 – Follow the Plan

When a fundraiser has been documented, it becomes so much easier to run that attention can be concentrated on improving the fundraiser instead of reinventing the wheel. This can allow you to increase the amount of funds raised each year from every fundraiser you run allowing you to improve your program.

Get Started!

If you have not been documenting your fundraisers, then it is time to begin now.

If you are interested in a list of fundraisers from which you can fund all the expenses for your entire gymnastics team, get our Fundraising Report.