10 Must Have Things In Your Fundraising Set

When raising money for anything from a disaster relief fund to a band camp trip there are somethings you need to include in your campaign. There are a multitude of ways you can collect money, though we’re going to focus on direct mail fundraising (however, most of these things can be applied to email, SMS, or door to door fundraising).

Here are 10 things you must have for a successful fundraising campaign:

1. A Story. You can’t just walk up to people and start asking for money. You need a story to explain why you’re asking them to donate to you.
2. Compelling Imagery. Images can make or break  your fundraising campaign. Use high quality, on target imagery to help make your point.
3. An Elevator Pitch.  An elevator pitch is just a quick 1-2 minute presentation of something. It can be as short as, “My band is trying to raise $700 to go to Florida,” to something more emotional such as, “We’re raising money to help feed and shelter the people who were hit by the massive tornado last week. They are without food or fresh water and they need our help now.”
4. Facts. You need facts about what you’re fundraising for. You can use studies, images, the news, formal documents, etc. Something removes any doubt in the possible donator’s mind that this is a legitimate cause.
5. A Targeted Audience. Yes even fundraisers need to have a targeted audience. If you’re raising money for your school in competition with other schools in your area, you probably won’t receive a lot of money from neighborhoods near competing schools.
6. FAQs. If there are certain questions that people routinely ask you before they will agree to donate, go ahead and give prospective donators a list of those questions and the answers to them to help speed the process.
7. Goal and Goal Progress. Let people know what the goal of your fundraising campaign is (X amount of money, X number of food cans, X number of blankets, etc.) and about how close you are to reaching that goal so they know they won’t be throwing money into a bottomless pit.
8. Donation Return Stub. When collecting funds through direct mail you’ll need to include a stub for the donator to tear off, fill out their information and donation amount, and be able to return to you.
9. Stamp or Pre-Paid Return Envelope. You want to make donating as quick and easy as possible for the donator. Either include a stamp for them to use to return their donation (since some people no longer keep stamps on hand) or a pre-paid envelope.
10. Mailers and Envelopes. Finally, of course, you’ll  need fundraising mailers and envelopes. If you have a fundraiser with a lot of information you may have to use two mailers per envelope.

What else do you think you need for a successful direct mail fundraising campaign?

Image: elainevigneault

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