How to Organize the Easiest Fundraiser Ever
If it’s your turn to organize the annual fundraiser this year, it can be intimidating to know where to begin. Whether you’re coordinating it for a school, team, or community organization, your goal is likely the same—to execute an effective fundraiser that is also fun and engaging.
We want to help you organize the easiest fundraiser ever. That’s why we put together this list of tips for organizing a simple, quick, and effective campaign.
If just the idea of running a fundraiser makes you sweat, don’t worry. We’re here to help. With decades of experience, we’ve seen it all—and we know all the best tricks for coordinating the easiest fundraiser ever.
Organizing the Easiest Fundraiser Ever: Everything You Need to Know
Here’s what you need to know to run an easy fundraiser that’s fun, effective, and simple to put together. Whether it’s a food drive for a community pantry or a campaign for new band equipment, these easy fundraising ideas should help.
Keep the Timeline on Track
You might be surprised to learn that an effective fundraiser doesn’t need to be a months-long affair. In fact, in our experience, the best campaigns only run for about two to three weeks.
To keep your timeline on track, establish a clear start and end date from the beginning. Then, be sure to send plenty of reminders to make sure your volunteers know what to expect. If you’re selling products that require preorder (such as cookie dough), make sure you factor in delivery time into the schedule.
Keeping the timeline short and sweet is not only helpful to you as an organizer. Volunteers also appreciate it, and it keeps the momentum up.
Pick a Winning Fundraiser
Not all fundraisers are created equal. Some fundraising options can be more trouble than they’re worth (looking at you, bottle drives). Make sure you select a fundraiser that will bring in a high profit margin without extensive legwork on the part of you and your volunteers.
We might be biased, but we believe that cookie dough sales are one of the easiest fundraising ideas for schools and community groups. Not only is it delicious, but Indeygo makes it simple order and distribute.
Not into cookies? No problem. We also offer easy fundraising options with coffee, tea, and artisan soap.
Get Help
Just because you’re in charge doesn’t mean you have to go it alone. Make sure you’re enlisting support from others to spread out the workload.
What does that look like in practice? For starters, we always suggest deputizing a few lead volunteers to spearhead specific portions of the process. For example, in a school fundraiser, another parent or teacher could be placed in charge the promotion of the fundraiser or the distribution of supplies. If you’re working with older kids, they can even take on leadership roles in many cases.
Promote, Promote, Promote
In the digital age, it’s never been more essential to promote your fundraiser effectively, online and off. With so much advertising bombarding people constantly, it takes extra effort to ensure that people hear your message above the noise.
We recommend using a combination of methods to promote your fundraising campaign. Social media messages play an important role, as do email campaigns to your mailing list (if you have one). However, good old-fashioned posters can also be effective, especially in small communities and schools. Don’t forget to add a QR code to your poster that will take viewers right to your fundraising page.
If you have young volunteers, advertising can be a great way to get them involved. Invite youth to spearhead poster making and encourage them to brainstorm unconventional ways to share information about their fundraising efforts.
Put Processes in Place
What makes for an easy fundraiser more than anything else? Great organization. With the right processes in place, you can make the experience completely turn-key and straightforward.
We work with groups personally to ensure they are set up for success, from e quipping them with social media and poster templates to advising them on how to run an effective order pickup. When you keep things organized and communicate expectations effectively with volunteers, you can easily execute a flawless fundraiser from start to finish.
Get Everyone Pumped Up
When your volunteers and team members are excited about what they’re doing, your fundraiser is more effective. We see it happen all the time. Plus, it’s more fun for everyone when your community is enthusiastic about raising money for a great cause.
That’s why it’s vital to focus on getting everyone pumped up to fundraise. One of the most effective ways to get your team excited about the work ahead is to remind them of what it’s all about. Make sure to provide frequent updates about the cause they’re fundraising for, whether it’s new softball jerseys or renovations to the community theatre.
For an extra boost, read our top ideas for increasing engagement in school fundraisers.
Launch Your Easiest Fundraiser Ever
It’s simpler than you might think to run an effective school, team, or community fundraiser. It starts with selecting an easy fundraising idea that your volunteers will enjoy, setting a realistic timeline, and putting the right processes in place. Then, it’s essential to engage volunteers and encourage people to take on leadership roles. Finally, don’t forget to promote, promote, promote! Work together to come up with creative ideas to share what you’re doing.
Raising money doesn’t have to be intimidating. If you do it right, it can be a fun and exciting experience that brings your community together. Consider it an opportunity to get everyone pumped up and engaged in a great cause.
Looking for easy fundraising ideas this year? Indeygo provides a range of stress-free fundraising options for schools and community groups of all sizes. With same-day activation, it’s simple to start fundraising today. Get started now.
