Everybody Hates Fundraising

How to Get More People to Attend Your PTO Meetings

by Jim Berigan on February 2, 2012

Here is something very cool you can use at your school. This highly-informative slideshow was made by the US Army, but it’s general enough for any group to use it.

If you are tired of holding meetings that nobody attends, this might be one awesome solution. Transform your tired old PTO meetings to a Facebook Town Hall Meeting. Your families and supporters can attend from the comfort of their own living rooms or even on their smartphone wherever they are.

Your meeting attendance could jump from five or six lonely people to dozens and dozens of actively engaged folks. If they won’t come to you, you can go to them!

Check this out!

Social Media Roundup – Online Town Hall Meetings

View more presentations from U.S. Army

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Will Your Non-Profit Survive a Families’ Budget Cuts?

by Jim Berigan on January 24, 2012

Many families that make charitable giving part of their monthly or annual budgets have either a formal or informal priority system they use to determine how much to donate to each cause.

For instance, some families may allocate $100 per month for charitable causes. However, that $100 may have to be split in a few different ways, to accomodate all of the groups they wish to support.

One family’s priority list may look like this:

Homeless Shelter- $25
Humane Society- $25
Kids’ School- $25
Kids’ Sports team- $12.50
Meals on Wheels- $12.50

Another family’s list might be:

Church- $50
Kids’ school- $25
Women’s Resource Center- $10
Public Radio pledge- $5
Misc. – $10

Every family establishes different priorities according to their values and beliefs.

But, what happens when there is a downward adjustment to a family’s budget? What gets cut if they are only able to give $50 per month or even nothing at all, instead of that $100 they had previously set aside?

I think if a family has a commitment to giving, they will always find a way to make some kind of a contribution, but the actual amount of the gift may fluctuate.

So, in this scenario, which non-profits will get cut? Will it be your group that is left out in the cold?

Here are five suggestions that every non-profit should follow to make it harder for a family to cut your group out of their funding priority list. I’m be ensuring you are doing these things, you are putting yourselves in a better position than if had done nothing at all.

1. First, make sure your organization has a great web presence that is updated every day- this shows your group has life. Whether it’s a blog, Facebook, or Twitter, people need to know that you are out there and interacting with the world. If you go months without updates, maybe that says something about how vital a group you actually are. [click to continue…]

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“Product Fundraiser Hall of Shame” Inductee #1

by Jim Berigan on January 23, 2012

If you’ve checked out my website before, you know I HATE product sale fundraising. (Click here and here if you don’t know why.)

I have actually worked for a couple of these companies before, and I’ve seen all the crap that they pull.

Many of the people who run these companies will say anything to you, just to get you to buy their products. I’ve seen it happen over and over again. They’ll make grand claims that selling products like cookie dough is the “KWIK & EZ way” to make lots of money. (Gag me with a spoon of cookie dough!)

I’ve also been a principal and administrator at a private elementary school, so I’ve been on the inside of this issue for a long time.

I keep an eye on these fundraising companies, just to see what they are trying to pull.

Here’s an email I just received last week that really hit a nerve. In fact, I have decided to create a “Product Fundraiser Hall of Shame” and I’m going to put this email in as the first inductee.

The email came from a company called BelieveKids.com. (That’s a very misleading and confusing name, I think.)

BelieveKids.com sends out a daily email blast, with what they claim to be helpful tips on school fundraising. Trust me, they are not so helpful. Not in the least. They are short, shallow, not insightful, and totally self-serving. Many times, I just can’t believe the guy actually had the nerve to send out what he did!

I’ve been reading these messages for a couple of weeks now, and my blood pressure has been steadily rising. But this one email from them just blew my mind. I had to share this with you. If you had any doubt that fundraising companies aren’t snake oil salesmen, this should convince you beyond any shadow of a doubt.

Here’s the email:

School Volunteer Hours Returns $2 – $3 Per Hour…

Posted: 20 Jan 2012 09:00 AM PST

This video I ran across from MSN points out that volunteer hours return only $2 – $3 per hour! That’s crazy!

If that’s true, schools should really not be doing any volunteer driven fundraisers – period.

Use that time inside the classroom or on other improvements and host an organized fundraiser that earns probably 1000 times more per volunteer.

Ok, until next time!

ARGH!!!

[click to continue…]

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My Free School Fundraising e-Course is Really Sizzling! Check it out!

by Jim Berigan on January 20, 2012

Hi Everybody!

I wanted to give you an update about my free school fundraising e-Course. I am writing the class as we go along, so I’m just a week ahead of the first people who signed up for it.

I just finished up Lesson #7, which will be delivered to the first group of students this coming Monday, January 23, 2012. Everyone else will get it in the sequence they signed-up in.

Lesson 7 is the second part of my chapter called “The Secret Language of School Fundraising & How to Speak It”. It’s all about how to get parents to read and respond positively to your various fundraising messages throughout the school year. I’m really excited by all the great information I was able to cram into it.

It’s my longest lesson to date- this one clocks in at over 2,500 words. I know this is a lot to digest, but I think it will be very much worth your time and effort to read. And again, it’s free (at least for now) so grab it while you can!

Thank You for Your Response on the Long vs. Short Emails

To all the e-Course subscribers who responded to my email question of whether they prefer long emails with the entire article in it or short emails with just an intro paragraph and a link, I greatly appreciate the time you took in responding.

The results were pretty surprising in how evenly split you all were. And, most people expressed some pretty strong opinions.

So, I have decided that going forward, I’m going to split the difference. That is, I will do both. From now on, I’ll start each email with an introductory paragraph, then post a link to the entire article reprinted on my website (although hidden to non-suscribers). From here, you can print out a nicely formatted version of the article.

But, after the link in the email, I will post the remainder of the article for those who prefer to get it all in one spot. I was reminded that many people read their email on their phones, so it’s easier NOT to click around.

If you are not an e-Course Subscriber…

Please sign-up for the class today. We’d love to have you. I’m working hard to provide my readers with top-notch school fundraising advice that avoids all the product fundraiser non-sense. (In case you didn’t notice, I’m Mr. Anti-Cookie Dough).

Signing up only takes a second and you can unsubscribe anytime, if you don’t find the information useful.

Thanks for considering it! I hope to hear from you soon!

-Jim Berigan

Photo: SaucyGlo

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5 Tips to Avoid Becoming an Annoying Fundraiser That Nobody Likes

by Jim Berigan on January 5, 2012

When you decide to take up fundraising as a profession or even as a volunteer endeavor, you are entering a world with lots of room for controversy and even hard feelings.

It’s very easy to offend someone without even knowing you’re doing it. Asking for money can be a very sensitive subject. There are lots of ways to screw it up. Over the years, I have found that there are a few cardinal sins that you should avoid committing, so that you don’t end up becoming someone your donors are repelled by. You, personally, never want to be the reason a donor decides not to give.

Here are a few of the things I’ve learned in my time raising money for non-profits. As always, I encourage you to add your own ideas in the comment section!

1. Perspective donors aren’t clear about what the purpose of the fundraiser is. It is not uncommon for a non-profit to just announce that it is “Having a Fundraiser”. The administration sends home a fundraising catalog or says it’s having a car wash, but isn’t very clear what the money it raises will go towards.

This doesn’t inspire a sense of commitment or passion in your target audience. You need them something to go on, a reason to show up and do the work.

I know that many times, a non-profit just needs to raise money for its general fund. That’s ok, but please be more creative than that when you are planning your fundraising. Look over your budget expenses. Find something fun or at least something that is directly related to your product or service. For instance, don’t just pick “phone bill” or “garbage disposal”. Once you’ve found something you think people can get behind, make that the target of your fundraiser. So, instead of simply having a “Car Wash”, you’ve now got “Car Wash for Kick Boards”. (Catchy name for all equipment needed for a swim team, for example). Now, you can take the money that you normally would have spend to buy equipment and put it on something else, less appealing to your supports, like the phone or garbage removal bills.

This also leads into a better way to repeat this fundraiser annually. Your group will remember that last year, around the same time, you had the “Car Wash for Kick Boards”. [click to continue…]

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6 Practical Ways to Keep Your Organization’s Spirits High During a Challenging Fundraiser

by Jim Berigan on January 1, 2012

When you get involved with a major fundraising campaign, you’ll hear lots of clichés. One of the most frequent you’ll hear is that a fundraising campaign is like a marathon. Pace yourself. Save some energy for the back half of the race.

There’s wisdom and truth to that statement, which is probably why it became a cliché in the first place. However, because a marathon and a fundraising campaign are both very long, there are many opportunities for good weeks and bad weeks. Your emotions can rise and fall many times before you cross the finish line.

Unfortunately, when emotions fall, people, even those on your fundraising team, can become discouraged, and that discouragement can eventually morph into pessimism. That can put an end to your fundraising dreams.

So, as a non-profit leader, you need to focus some of your energy on making sure your core fundraising team doesn’t get down in the dumps. Here are some suggestions for keeping their spirits high and their efforts productive, if you find yourself going through one of those dry spells.

1. First, before you even launch your fundraising campaign, make sure you set realistic goals. I mean, it’s alright to think big, but if your goal is unrealistic, you are almost setting your team up for failure. That can lead them to feel bad about their chances for success. So, while you want to push and stretch and challenge your people to achieve the impossible, make sure you don’t set the bar so high, that they’ll get discouraged three-quarters of the way through the campaign and effectively quit. [click to continue…]

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School Fundraising e-Course First Three Lessons are Live!

by Jim Berigan on December 24, 2011

Hello! I just wanted to let you all know that I have completed the first three lessons of our free, year-long school fundraising e-Course.

These lesson are in the first 13 week unit I’m calling “School Fundraising 101″.

So far the topics we’ve covered are:

How to calm down and see the job in front of you clearly
How to find out who’s supporting your fundraising efforts
How to determine the expectations of you as a school fundraiser
How to figure out if your school is welcoming to donors
How to protect your school from embezzlement

If you haven’t signed up for this free e-Course, please take a second to do so now. Again, there’s no cost to you and if you don’t like it, you can unsubscribe at any time. You really can’t lose!

Thanks for visiting us here at Everybody Hates Fundraising. I hope to see you inside the class!

Jim Berigan

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Want to Make More Money at your School’s Raffle in 2012? Read This First!

by Jim Berigan on December 22, 2011

Hey! I have great news! My partner Sandra Sims and I have just finished writing an awesome e-book about how to organize, plan, and run a successful raffle fundraiser.

The e-book is called RaffleSecrets: The Complete Raffle Fundraising System. It’s 50 pages long and is stuffed with excellent step-by-step advice, with the ultimate goal ofhelping you make more money for your non-profit.

Whether you want to hold a raffle as part of a larger fundraising event or your raffle is big enough to stand on its own, this book has loads of great information.

In addition, when you buy the e-book, you also get three bonus books:

18 Unusual and Amazing Raffles You Can Do to Raise Money for Your Cause
Drive into Fundraising Success with a Car Raffle
House Raffles – The Big Time Prize

Each one of the three bonus books delves deeper into these popular raffle topics. The bonus books are available at no extra cost!

Here are just a few of the things you’ll learn in RaffleSecrets:

[click to continue…]

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Can We Really Trust What Fundraising Companies are Telling Us?

by Jim Berigan on December 22, 2011

I recently came across an article online entitled “Product Fundraisers: The Smart Choice”

When I first read the article, I wasn’t sure who wrote it or where it was actually coming from. But, I dug into it a little deeper and found that it was written by a fundraising company that sells products to schools for use as fundraisers.

So, immediately, I was a little suspicious.

Now, I’m not totally against product sale fundraisers, but I do think we need to question the assertions made in this case.

Here’s the first claim from the article that I wonder about:

With the need for school fundraisers at an all time high, there are many websites and blogs popping up out there for “new” and “creative” fundraising ideas. But, do these innovative ideas actually raise any money? Sure, you might run across one or two success stories where schools have had an online fundraiser and raised a million dollars, but take heed, this is not the norm.

Maybe it’s just me, but I think that “new” and “creative” are good things. I think that “same old” and “same old” turns people off and lowers the participation rate. Haven’t we all had enough frozen cookie dough to last a lifetime? Are YOU excited to ask you friends, family, and co-workers to buy yet another tub of oatmeal raisin? [click to continue…]

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Beware Fundraising Companies that Want to Pick Your Pocket!

by Jim Berigan on December 15, 2011

One of the things that really bugs me about fundraising are product sales that take too high a percentage from the school.

Case in point: I just came across an ad for a company that looked pretty cool. They are running a typical brochure fundraising scheme, but the product they are selling is licensed sports memorabilia. T-shirts, caps, posters, pennants, dog leashes, mouse pads, anything you can throw a sports logo on from your favorite team.

To me, that sounds like a fundraiser I can get behind. It’s not junk-food, it’s not scented candles, it’s not stuff I’ll never use. I like sports, and I’m sure a lot of dads people out there do too. So, it’s a pretty good fundraising hook.

But then I looked into the percentage that the school or non-profit gets to keep from each sale. (Insert fail sound effects: wah-wah-wahhhh)

40%. For the school. That’s it.

They even did the math for me. If the school sold $5,000 in merchandise, it would get to keep $2,000.

Ugh. [click to continue…]

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