We’ve all experienced the joy of fundraising. At one point in time, you’ve been faced with the pressure of buying cookies from the Girl Scouts, so that they could go on their big camping trip; or maybe it was buying chocolate from the neighbor’s kids, so that the drama club at school could afford costumes. And there’s the other side of it: Maybe you are the mother or father of the kid being asked to sell something different every few weeks for this team or that group. Chances are, if you or your child is involved in a choir, you’ll participate in a fundraiser or two. But don’t roll your eyes just yet; there are many things that can make your fundraising program soar.  Setting focused goals, choosing the right fundraiser, teamwork, and communication make the difference between success and failure. The more you treat fundraising like a small business, the more effective you will be. Here are a few ways to turn your group’s yearly fundraising program into a high-powered entrepreneurial extravaganza:

Ah, the joys of fundraising...

Setting focused goals
Figure out how much money you need to raise. It may be tempting to just say “as much as possible” and move on to the next step. But doing the math will pay off. People need to feel like they are an important part of the team. So giving people numbers to aim for, and specific goals, will motivate them to sell more products, rather than just giving them a few boxes of candy and telling them to do the best they can. Also, setting time limits on the fundraiser will push your group to get going on their assignments more quickly. Communicate these goals to your group. Encourage your team by being excited about reaching and exceeding these goals. It is also important to make everyone aware of the consequences of failing to reach the goals. Maybe the choir won’t be able to go on their trip to Europe next year. Or maybe the tuition fees will increase. Instill in the members of your group a determination to succeed and a fear to fail. Stay on top of the goals. If you discuss the goals and deadlines at only the first meeting, they may not seem important. Make phone calls throughout the process of the fundraiser to find out how everyone’s work is coming along. Make sure to keep spirits high. During your meetings take breaks, laugh, have fun! Enjoy each other’s company.

“Quality, not quantity”
 A common misconception that organizations have is that more fundraising programs mean more money.  This is not always true. Many times, multiple programs drain your members of energy, especially the “really involved ones”. Also, when you do too many fundraisers, your supporters may grow tired of contributing. Sometimes cutting back on the number of programs allows a group to squeeze the most profit out of each program. Treat fundraisers like small businesses. Rather than starting several small fundraisers with small goals, start one or two large fundraisers with big dreams. Get excited! Use your brains! The more entrepreneurial you become the better. Don’t walk around the same block every month selling something new. Cut back on the number of fundraisers, and beef up the good ones. Put up posters in local shops, schools, and community centers. Look into advertising in the newspaper, or on the city television channel. Your fundraiser can be as big as you need it to be.

Finding the right fundraiser
When it comes to choosing a fundraising program, many times, organizations have a tendency to do what was done the past year or maybe every year for that matter. Now, if the success of last year’s program blew you away, go for it again. But don’t be afraid to break away from tradition and go for something bigger and better. Don’t settle for mediocrity. You don’t need to pull your hair out with a new fundraiser every couple of months. Nowadays, fundraising is an entire industry. There are fundraising companies that sell candies, candles, t-shirts, magazine subscriptions, baked goods, scrip, and even custom engraving. Different companies have different guarantees, profit margins, and policies. Read all the fine print. Make phone calls. Ask questions. Find out who really wants your business. The most important thing when it comes to choosing the right fundraising company is finding someone who is willing to help you. You don’t want to work with a company that is only trying to make a buck. The fundraising company should be an experienced, helpful member of your team. They should be full of endless ideas on finding new customers, making a good impression, and closing the deal. Even if the company tells you their product is guaranteed to sell like ice cream on a hot summer day, you are going to need more than just boxes of their products. It’s not a bad idea to ask for references, and make the phone calls. Find out how successful other groups were with the company. And don’t limit yourself to just fundraising companies. You can turn jobs into fundraisers. The 21st Century Chorister is actually a fundraiser project in itself. The Los Robles Children’s Choir, of Thousand Oaks, California teamed up with The Link newspaper to do research, write and edit articles, find advertisers, and work on the distribution of this publication, in order to raise money for a trip to Austria in 2006.  You don’t have to choose between selling knick-knacks or candy. Get creative!

Building your team
If you were starting a small business, you wouldn’t want to send out a group of new employees to advertise, without any training, knowledge of their product, or people skills. In the same way, it’s not enough to send out your fundraising group with nothing more than a brochure. They should know the products they’re selling, and should be able to answer questions about your group and the reason for the fundraiser.  If necessary, they should receive coaching on how to sell products. Having a positive attitude, confidence, an articulated presentation, and all the necessary information will lead to higher sales and happy customers. You don’t want to use sympathy or guilt to pressure support from your customers. The most important thing throughout the entire fundraising process is the attitude of your group. If you have that determination and teamwork, you can dream big and achieve your goals.

“Many hands make light work”
Sometimes when working with a group, especially if the group includes children and teens, it’s hard to get volunteers for various jobs. But a big fundraiser is too much for just one person to handle. It’s often hard to get people to volunteer in a group setting. Most people are either shy, afraid of taking on a lot of work or afraid of standing out. Take the initiative and assume that the members of your group are ready and willing to work. Sometimes calling out specific people for specific jobs works better than just “who wants to do research on the computer?” If you know someone is good with computers, you could ask them personally to do research. Let them know that you’re asking them specifically because you know that they are gifted with computer skills.  Sometimes making phone calls works even better. Emails and flyers get overlooked, or thrown away, but phone calls are harder to forget about, or ignore altogether. People are less likely to make excuses when someone is actually on the phone, asking for their help.