by Tatya H.P.
Cheerleading fundraisers are the ultimate in small group fundraising. Cheerleaders possess boundless energy, determination, and loads of contacts (for potential supporters).
Harnessing all this energy and enthusiasm can be a challenge,but having the right cheerleading fundraiser is a great start. You want to leverage their skills by giving them an exciting fundraising product to sell.
So, what cheerleading fundraising ideas will generate excitement?
In this article, we'll consider three types of cheer fundraisers. Each involves doing something a little different, each of them are easy to do, and each fundraiser packs a profit punch.
Cheer Fundraiser #1
One unique approach for a cheerleading fundraiser is offering custom posters of school sports teams or of the cheerleaders themselves.
For instance, feature the team photo of the football team, or use a series of action photos. Each can be turned into a wall-sized poster or a fundraising calendar.
Add some allure to these cheerleading fundraisers by including your game schedule or team slogan printed on it in a contrasting color.
You could also design one to celebrate your championship teams, commemorate your previous titles, intensify a cross-town rivalry, recognize all of your school's sports teams on a spirit poster, or feature the cheerleading squad in action.
Any of these items is sure to be popular with a wide range of students. Local businesses will often buy one to put in their front window. Players will want a souvenir copy suitable for end-of-season autographs. Proud parents and grandparents will want their own keepsake copy.
The posters can be sold easily at pep rallies, sporting events, through the school store, and by the cheerleaders themselves via a merchant table at a high-traffic location on a weekend.
Think of creative ways to design and market your own unique set of cheerleading posters. Consider adding merchant sponsor logos to reduce the cost. You could also cross-promote with another school on a rivalry poster and double the overall market.
Cheer Fundraiser #2
Another idea for cheerleading fundraising is selling customized Holiday Greetings CD's. This is a brochure or order-taker sale of a personalized selection of holiday music favorites.
One of the nice things about this product is that a purchaser selects their ten favorite holiday songs by checking off boxes on a list of thirty classics.
Included in the choices are favorites such as Let It Snow, White Christmas, Jingle Bells, and Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.
These are licensed copies of the original recordings by the original artists, assembled on a personalized CD that costs your group a mere $4 each.
A retail price of $10 coupled with the ability for the customer to order a personalized message on each copy, make these a great cheerleading fundraiser.
The CD's are available in six basic designs - Singing Snow Men, Rudolph, Christmas Tree, Peace On Earth, Kwanzaa, and Happy Hanukkah.
There is room for a holiday greeting of up to thirty characters on each design. For example, the Christmas Tree version has the phrase "Merry Christmas" in green and red, with space below it for a "From the XYZ Family" greeting.
Shipments are sorted by salesperson and customer, making your delivery a very simple task indeed.
Cheer Fundraiser #3
A third type of cheerleading fundraiser that creates an air of excitement is selling flowering "airplants."
Airplants, or more properly, Tillandsias, are unique, soil-free plants that absorb nutrients and water through their leaves. All they need is air, water, and light.
Tillandsias are attractive and fascinating members of the pineapple family (Bromeliaceae). Their native habitat is the southern United States, Mexico, and Central and South America.
Bromeliads - Tillandsias - can be placed in anything: rocks, shells, pottery, driftwood, around water fountains, fish tanks, etc. They like bright, indirect lighting, and a heavy spraying or soaking two or three times a week.
They have a growth cycle starting with one plant growing to maturity, then blooming. One to two months after the blooming has finished, new plants form around the base of the "mother" plant. Each will continue growing and reproducing if given the proper care.
A cheerleading fundraiser Airplant package consists of a beautiful example of the Bromeliad family, comfortably ensconced in a natural seashell holder.
Your group pays $3 per Airplant, including the seashell holder, shipping and handling. Each Tillandsia retails for $6, so your cheerleading fundraiser is ensured a good profit margin.
You can organize your sale as a special event or as an add-on to a regular gathering. Set up a table with your sales display and place a colorful Tillandsia poster on the wall behind to let your prospective customers see how beautiful these Airplants are in full bloom.
You can also conduct your cheerleading fundraiser as an order- taker from a sales brochure. Each brochure contains colorful pictures of these exotic, but easy to care for, plants.
Simple text explanations are included describing the simple steps involved in nourishing these fabulous specimens.
Summary
All three of these fundraising products will add some excitement to your next cheerleading fundraiser.
When all the participants are enthusiastic about offering something new and unique, it packs a powerful profit punch.
Heres to making your next cheer fundraiser a resounding success.
Cheers!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Car Wash Fundraiser Ideas
by Tatya H.P.
Car wash fundraisers are a proven money-maker in virtually every community. All you need are willing volunteers, a high-traffic location with good visibility, and some attention getting signs.
You can put a car wash fundraiser together on short notice, but they work best with a little planning. Here's how to get started...
Things To Do List
1- Line up a location with good main road frontage
2- Ensure it has suitable water access
3- Assemble supplies list – hoses, buckets, wash towels, dry towels, squeegees
4- Assign each volunteer an item from the supplies list
5- Make 8-10 poster board signs in high-contrast colors
6- Arrange your volunteers in 2-hour shifts
7- Get advance publicity, if possible
How To List
1- Organize your group into teams - Promotion, Sales, Wash, Dry
2- Promotion team attracts new clients with signs
3- Sales team explains offer (use flyer for quick info) and up-sells clients
4- Wash team soaps, scrubs, and rinses each car
5- Dry team gets water residue off, vacuums, does tires, etc.
6- Have at least two lines so you can wash two or more cars at once
7- Wash cars for six to eight hours (Saturday 9:00 to 3:00 preferred)
Your fundraiser’s success will depend on the weather. If you can wash 12 cars an hour (one every 10 minutes in each line), you can raise $500- $1000 in one day.
Remember to put together a quick flyer that includes the reason why you’re raising funds and clearly states the price. You can even offer some extra services such as providing high-gloss tire treatment or vacuuming interiors for an additional fee.
Car Wash Fundraiser - Success Tips
1- Location, location, location!
2- Sell car wash fundraiser tickets in advance
3- Use a flyer that clearly explaining why you're raising funds
4- List all prices concisely in large, bold type
5- Up-sell to include additional services
6- Partner with another group if your head count is low
7- Increase revenue with an extra offering such as a 2-for-1 pizza savings card
Alternatively, you can advertise a free car wash and just ask for donations for your cause.
Often, this can raise more cash than stating a specific price, because people will see a group of volunteers working hard and having a good time, and may part with their money more easily.
Final Advice
Make sure to keep the event fun for all your participants and your customers. Play upbeat music. Provide soft drinks and snacks to keep the energy level up.
Keep safety in mind. Be sure to get volunteers to hold and wave signs toward passing traffic, not just volunteers to wash cars.
If you have time, get your car wash fundraiser some publicity coverage in the local newspaper, or by posting signs a day or two in advance.
Car wash fundraisers are a proven money-maker in virtually every community. All you need are willing volunteers, a high-traffic location with good visibility, and some attention getting signs.
You can put a car wash fundraiser together on short notice, but they work best with a little planning. Here's how to get started...
Things To Do List
1- Line up a location with good main road frontage
2- Ensure it has suitable water access
3- Assemble supplies list – hoses, buckets, wash towels, dry towels, squeegees
4- Assign each volunteer an item from the supplies list
5- Make 8-10 poster board signs in high-contrast colors
6- Arrange your volunteers in 2-hour shifts
7- Get advance publicity, if possible
How To List
1- Organize your group into teams - Promotion, Sales, Wash, Dry
2- Promotion team attracts new clients with signs
3- Sales team explains offer (use flyer for quick info) and up-sells clients
4- Wash team soaps, scrubs, and rinses each car
5- Dry team gets water residue off, vacuums, does tires, etc.
6- Have at least two lines so you can wash two or more cars at once
7- Wash cars for six to eight hours (Saturday 9:00 to 3:00 preferred)
Your fundraiser’s success will depend on the weather. If you can wash 12 cars an hour (one every 10 minutes in each line), you can raise $500- $1000 in one day.
Remember to put together a quick flyer that includes the reason why you’re raising funds and clearly states the price. You can even offer some extra services such as providing high-gloss tire treatment or vacuuming interiors for an additional fee.
Car Wash Fundraiser - Success Tips
1- Location, location, location!
2- Sell car wash fundraiser tickets in advance
3- Use a flyer that clearly explaining why you're raising funds
4- List all prices concisely in large, bold type
5- Up-sell to include additional services
6- Partner with another group if your head count is low
7- Increase revenue with an extra offering such as a 2-for-1 pizza savings card
Alternatively, you can advertise a free car wash and just ask for donations for your cause.
Often, this can raise more cash than stating a specific price, because people will see a group of volunteers working hard and having a good time, and may part with their money more easily.
Final Advice
Make sure to keep the event fun for all your participants and your customers. Play upbeat music. Provide soft drinks and snacks to keep the energy level up.
Keep safety in mind. Be sure to get volunteers to hold and wave signs toward passing traffic, not just volunteers to wash cars.
If you have time, get your car wash fundraiser some publicity coverage in the local newspaper, or by posting signs a day or two in advance.
Candle Fund Raisers Are Highly Profitable For Your Organization
by Tatya H.P.
Fund raisers are a great way to raise money for your school, sports team or other type organization. What’s also nice about them is that they are a very sociable way to earn money for a good cause because you’re out there meeting the community. For younger participants, fundraisers can even be an early lesson in sales and marketing.
A very high-profit fundraising item right now is candles which are fun and very easy to sell because of their popularity. Candles are a much better choice than food or over-priced novelty items that tend to generate lower profits. They are a rapidly growing option that is more appealing to the public because they are a non-junk food alternative to fund raisers.
Candle fund raisers can also be very lucrative because they come in so many different varieties of size, color and scents creating a great earning potential. For school fundraiser such as band or sports teams, you can purchase and resell candles in your school’s colors. For any type of organization, especially religious congregations, think about holiday themed candles for those times of the year.
If your group has decided to embark on a candle fund raiser, a plan of action is a very important step for reaching your fund raising goal. You should start by determining the amount of money you want to raise. Next, figure out how many people in your organization are willing to take part in the campaign and then set your deadlines by deciding on when your group is planning to start and stop the fundraiser.
Research the candle manufactures that get involved with fundraisers and supply these types of items for that purpose. You’ll want to start comparison shopping so that you can ensure the most profit. Once you’ve got your partnership in place, the next step would be to determine the ‘new’ sale price of each candle and the number of candles each participant in the fund raiser will need to sell in order to achieve your goal.
Be sure to let everyone involved know what the expectations are and encourage them to use their best selling skills. Also, if you’re using brochures to sell the candles, you’ll want to supply your sellers with everything they’ll need to make meeting your fund raising objective as organized and easy as possible. Give them plenty of order forms and make them aware of shipping and delivery time periods so that they can let their customers know when to expect their items.
By following a few guidelines and setting a fair, but profitable pricing structure, your organization should be well on its way to reaching its fund raising target! Good Luck!
Fund raisers are a great way to raise money for your school, sports team or other type organization. What’s also nice about them is that they are a very sociable way to earn money for a good cause because you’re out there meeting the community. For younger participants, fundraisers can even be an early lesson in sales and marketing.
A very high-profit fundraising item right now is candles which are fun and very easy to sell because of their popularity. Candles are a much better choice than food or over-priced novelty items that tend to generate lower profits. They are a rapidly growing option that is more appealing to the public because they are a non-junk food alternative to fund raisers.
Candle fund raisers can also be very lucrative because they come in so many different varieties of size, color and scents creating a great earning potential. For school fundraiser such as band or sports teams, you can purchase and resell candles in your school’s colors. For any type of organization, especially religious congregations, think about holiday themed candles for those times of the year.
If your group has decided to embark on a candle fund raiser, a plan of action is a very important step for reaching your fund raising goal. You should start by determining the amount of money you want to raise. Next, figure out how many people in your organization are willing to take part in the campaign and then set your deadlines by deciding on when your group is planning to start and stop the fundraiser.
Research the candle manufactures that get involved with fundraisers and supply these types of items for that purpose. You’ll want to start comparison shopping so that you can ensure the most profit. Once you’ve got your partnership in place, the next step would be to determine the ‘new’ sale price of each candle and the number of candles each participant in the fund raiser will need to sell in order to achieve your goal.
Be sure to let everyone involved know what the expectations are and encourage them to use their best selling skills. Also, if you’re using brochures to sell the candles, you’ll want to supply your sellers with everything they’ll need to make meeting your fund raising objective as organized and easy as possible. Give them plenty of order forms and make them aware of shipping and delivery time periods so that they can let their customers know when to expect their items.
By following a few guidelines and setting a fair, but profitable pricing structure, your organization should be well on its way to reaching its fund raising target! Good Luck!
Being Creative With Your Fundraising Ideas
by Tatya H.P.
Have you realized just how much fundraising is going on these days? There is fundraising for little league, school fundraisers, and the college fundraiser, as well as church fundraisers. Day cares need more funds, hospitals need new equipment, and cheerleaders need to fundraise for their costumes. And to think up new fundraising ideas that will be successful is becoming more challenging every day.
On a good note, it shows that people do care how others live and cope with their lives. However, it also means that, because we are always being asked to donate to one good cause after another, we are not always able to help. Despite our best intentions, our own funds simply will not stretch that far.
However, if we request the donation of items instead of cash, that is often a relief to a potential donor. People will often gladly donate a can of food for a food drive, or a kitchen item they have never used for a sale, whereas they would not donate cash. And there are many kinds of fundraising ideas you can use to hold sales based on items collected.
For example, you could hold a toy drive that would give your organization toys to sell to support your work. Or what about a gardening sale? If you have some volunteers with green thumbs, they could easily grow some plant cuttings or start some seeds or bulbs growing ready for a plant sale in the spring or early summer, when the general public is looking to restock their garden after the winter.
Book sales are always well attended, but of course you will need to collect a lot of donated books to make this a success, as books do not generally sell for a high price. You could approach local publishers to see if they have any books that they could donate to support your cause. If they do give you some books, don't forget to write them after your event to thank them and also to let them know how successful you were and how much their donation helped you. Donors like to be thanked, and they are more likely to support you in the future if they know their gift has been appreciated in the past.
Some groups like to ask for donated items and then they use these to make up some themed gift baskets which they then raffle, usually at another fundraising event. For example you may make up a bath basket containing some soap, hand towels and bath salts from your donated items. The trick here is to keep raffle tickets affordable, especially if you are expecting those that donated the items to be buying the raffle tickets!
You may find that some people are willing to volunteer their time rather than funds. For example an electrician may prefer to spend a half day checking the wiring in the new offices your non-profit group just moved into, rather than donate cash. As long as this benefits your non-profit organization, any donation is welcome, whether it is time or money, but make sure your donors know what the goal of your organization is, and how their assistance will help you. They may then mention it to their circle of friends, and this kind of promotion is very valuable.
Have you realized just how much fundraising is going on these days? There is fundraising for little league, school fundraisers, and the college fundraiser, as well as church fundraisers. Day cares need more funds, hospitals need new equipment, and cheerleaders need to fundraise for their costumes. And to think up new fundraising ideas that will be successful is becoming more challenging every day.
On a good note, it shows that people do care how others live and cope with their lives. However, it also means that, because we are always being asked to donate to one good cause after another, we are not always able to help. Despite our best intentions, our own funds simply will not stretch that far.
However, if we request the donation of items instead of cash, that is often a relief to a potential donor. People will often gladly donate a can of food for a food drive, or a kitchen item they have never used for a sale, whereas they would not donate cash. And there are many kinds of fundraising ideas you can use to hold sales based on items collected.
For example, you could hold a toy drive that would give your organization toys to sell to support your work. Or what about a gardening sale? If you have some volunteers with green thumbs, they could easily grow some plant cuttings or start some seeds or bulbs growing ready for a plant sale in the spring or early summer, when the general public is looking to restock their garden after the winter.
Book sales are always well attended, but of course you will need to collect a lot of donated books to make this a success, as books do not generally sell for a high price. You could approach local publishers to see if they have any books that they could donate to support your cause. If they do give you some books, don't forget to write them after your event to thank them and also to let them know how successful you were and how much their donation helped you. Donors like to be thanked, and they are more likely to support you in the future if they know their gift has been appreciated in the past.
Some groups like to ask for donated items and then they use these to make up some themed gift baskets which they then raffle, usually at another fundraising event. For example you may make up a bath basket containing some soap, hand towels and bath salts from your donated items. The trick here is to keep raffle tickets affordable, especially if you are expecting those that donated the items to be buying the raffle tickets!
You may find that some people are willing to volunteer their time rather than funds. For example an electrician may prefer to spend a half day checking the wiring in the new offices your non-profit group just moved into, rather than donate cash. As long as this benefits your non-profit organization, any donation is welcome, whether it is time or money, but make sure your donors know what the goal of your organization is, and how their assistance will help you. They may then mention it to their circle of friends, and this kind of promotion is very valuable.
About Non Profit Fundraising
by Tatya H.P.
Did you know that 85% of Non Profit Fundraising every year is acquired from direct individual donations?
That 85% consists of large and small donations but it is the steady stream of small donations that keep most nonprofits afloat.
One should plan and forward his or her steps careful if the organization is new and they are not sure about the process of Non Profit Fundraising.
Ideally, first step should be to cultivate donors in the local community and than move on to Internet Fundraising.
How does one raise funds?
One can raise your funds through grants, product sale and special events and by phonathons. Online fundraising is very popular around the world these days.
Primarily one has to find one or two donor who will make a large donation (known as major donors).
Let us discuss some simple steps to get prospective donors interested and involved in the project.
1) Create a list of prospective donors who may get interested in organization’s activities.
2) Primarily one should concentrate on friend-raising activities rather than a
fund-raising one, like organizing some special events (a spaghetti dinner, carnival, concert, or some other fun activity) with several door prizes.
3) Now create a mailing list of those persons who are somewhat interested or may get interested about the organization. One should include the following points in the mailing list-
a) detailed address of office and residence
b) phone number
c) personal & detailed information
4) Within 3 days mail a nice letter to every listed individual. In addition, tell them-
a) how the organization is helping someone in the community.
b) that it is only possible with the support (monetary and otherwise) from
good people like them.
c) ask them for contribution and include a pre-addressed return envelope to make it easy for the donor.
5) Try to invite the prospect to come as a volunteer.
a) have a volunteer coordinator well prepared in advance to accept all calls, and to put them to good use.
b) the coordinator should introduce them to the staff, and make them feel to be a part of the organization. Once a volunteer feels to be a part of the
organization, he or she (and friends) is more likely to contribute.
6) Send letters and newsletters to those who did not volunteer. It may work to good effect if they are asked to speak to their civic groups, church groups about the organization. A good relationship always pays. .
7) Thank anybody and everybody whenever and however possible on whatever occasion.
Finally, maintaining donors’ involvement over time is indispensable. Try to get them excited about what you are doing with their kind help.
Remember: Non Profit Fundraising is all about building relationships.
Did you know that 85% of Non Profit Fundraising every year is acquired from direct individual donations?
That 85% consists of large and small donations but it is the steady stream of small donations that keep most nonprofits afloat.
One should plan and forward his or her steps careful if the organization is new and they are not sure about the process of Non Profit Fundraising.
Ideally, first step should be to cultivate donors in the local community and than move on to Internet Fundraising.
How does one raise funds?
One can raise your funds through grants, product sale and special events and by phonathons. Online fundraising is very popular around the world these days.
Primarily one has to find one or two donor who will make a large donation (known as major donors).
Let us discuss some simple steps to get prospective donors interested and involved in the project.
1) Create a list of prospective donors who may get interested in organization’s activities.
2) Primarily one should concentrate on friend-raising activities rather than a
fund-raising one, like organizing some special events (a spaghetti dinner, carnival, concert, or some other fun activity) with several door prizes.
3) Now create a mailing list of those persons who are somewhat interested or may get interested about the organization. One should include the following points in the mailing list-
a) detailed address of office and residence
b) phone number
c) personal & detailed information
4) Within 3 days mail a nice letter to every listed individual. In addition, tell them-
a) how the organization is helping someone in the community.
b) that it is only possible with the support (monetary and otherwise) from
good people like them.
c) ask them for contribution and include a pre-addressed return envelope to make it easy for the donor.
5) Try to invite the prospect to come as a volunteer.
a) have a volunteer coordinator well prepared in advance to accept all calls, and to put them to good use.
b) the coordinator should introduce them to the staff, and make them feel to be a part of the organization. Once a volunteer feels to be a part of the
organization, he or she (and friends) is more likely to contribute.
6) Send letters and newsletters to those who did not volunteer. It may work to good effect if they are asked to speak to their civic groups, church groups about the organization. A good relationship always pays. .
7) Thank anybody and everybody whenever and however possible on whatever occasion.
Finally, maintaining donors’ involvement over time is indispensable. Try to get them excited about what you are doing with their kind help.
Remember: Non Profit Fundraising is all about building relationships.
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