For our March Marketing Morsel, I am using an example – a Chicken BBQ Fundraiser on Saturday, May 14th at the American Legion Post 109 in Lickdale. The proceeds will benefit Compeer of Lebanon, a charity that helps local Veterans in need. So how do we make this fundraiser a success, and minimize the expense?
Here are some of the project elements. Use them as guidelines for your own fundraiser.
- Rule One – Match up every task with a responsible person (or small team) and attach dates to what they agree to do, Have occasional status meetings.
- A project manager takes responsibility for being the team leader and caretaker of deadlines. He or she must be the “squeaky wheel” that keeps everything moving.
- The Flyer – gives you all the details the public needs to know to support the promotion. It takes legwork, but get copies into the hands of organizations who will support the charity. The more bulletin boards the better.
- The Tickets – Recruit an army of volunteers to both sell and buy tickets. A distribution manager must control numbered tickets and collect the money as tickets are sold.
- Social Media – Everyone remotely connected to the charity should share the flyer file on their personal pages.
- Talk at Service Clubs – These are captive audiences of community focused business people. They are always looking for good speakers.
- Sponsorships – Paid sponsors gain exposure by being visible supporters of causes. Example – Presenting Sponsor Christman’s Funeral Home does a thorough and compassionate job with military funerals, and support military-focused charities like Compeer.
- Public Relations – News releases, radio PSAs, media interviews, and ad-supported newspaper flyers get the word out with little or no expense to the charity. Note - I used this platform to promote the Compeer BBQ!
View previous monthly morsels on our Free Marketing Advice page.
