On www.21forHaiti.org, you can buy 21-year-old University of Tennessee student Katie E. a virtual drink to help her fundraise $21,000 to build an orphanage for the Haiti Outreach Program (a member of the She's the First network!) Now that's creative!
[I wear a few different hats here at She's the First. You may know me as the summer-intern-turned-graphic-designer for STF, but I also act as a liaison to our member organization the Haiti Outreach Program (HOP), and I am the president of the HOP's college campus club Give Haiti Hope at the University of Tennessee.]
A few weeks ago a quote was posted on the She’s the First Facebook page. It has stuck with me since I first read it and has inspired a few fundraising tips, each with an inspirational quote to match. As a college student who loves to plan events, I have gained some experience in what makes a successful fundraiser, so I hope these tips can serve as a guide for our STF*{Campus} chapters that are just getting started!
1. Do something different. “When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you’ll command the attention of the world” – George Washington Carver
This quote seems to embody everything we want in a She’s the First fundraiser (that’s why it was posted, no doubt). A great example of this is a fundraiser I’ve been planning at my own school. Give Haiti Hope, a student organization at the University of Tennessee that supports the Haiti Outreach Program, has been working on a very uncommon campaign based around a very common event: your 21st birthday.
Every college girl looks forward to their 21st birthday. It’s the last big birthday for quite a few years and we all know how to make it special. Why not use such an important birthday to make a difference as well? One UT student is doing just that, with Give Haiti Hope’s 21 for Haiti campaign. For junior Katie Erpenbach’s 21st birthday, you can visit www.21forHaiti.org and buy Katie a virtual drink at the bar. Purchases are processed through PayPal and all of the proceeds will be used to build an orphanage in Boucan Carre, Haiti.
Take something that everyone knows about and add a twist. The idea of doing something just a little bit differently catches peoples’ attention and will surely make them want to support!
2. Think big. “Reach for the moon, because if you don’t make it you’ll land among the stars.”
One of the hardest parts about planning a fundraiser is the fear of setting a goal too high and not reaching it. It’s time to throw that fear out the window. If you sell yourself short and think there’s no way you can possibly sponsor one student, then you certainly won’t sponsor five. If you start out with a huge goal there will be a chance that you don’t meet it, but it will push everyone to try even harder than if you begin settling for less.
3. Think small. “Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.”
I know I just finished telling you to think big, but not every single fundraiser has to be an extravangant event. Some smaller projects can do just as much to raise awareness without overloading your audience.
Penny War = easy, effective
A great, fun example of a simple fundraiser is a Penny War. This is especially successful within groups such as sororities, dorm floors, or anything with a team setting that will have a high level of competition. How it works:
- Determine the groups that will participate, and get one jar for each. For example, if there are 10 floors in your residence hall you will need 10 jars.
- Each group will compete to fill their jar with the most change. Here’s the twist: in a Penny War, pennies are good but silver coins and dollar bills are not!
- Competing teams will want to put pennies into their own jars, and all other coins into other teams’ jars. This will subtract from the other team’s total. For example, if you have 50 pennies and one quarter in a jar, it only counts as 25 pennies.
- Set the time period for the war (one or two weeks is best) and prepare some sort of reward for the winning team. A home-made banner or trophy would be fine. Get creative!
- Sit back and watch the competition begin! You’ll be surprised at how quickly those jars fill up! Of course, don’t forget to let the teams know what an amazing cause their pennies are supporting.
4. Promote promote promote.
Enough said. Post/hand out those fliers, get coverage in the newspaper (or She’s the First blog!), and make Facebook work for you! Don’t forget to tweet it up too!
Have any of your own fundraiser ideas to share? Let us know in the comments!
