Fundraiser Insight

All Aboard The Haunted Hayride Fundraiser

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Get ready for a screaming good ride

The traditional Halloween was a celebration of the harvest. Oftentimes, a family would assemble around a campfire to share ghost stories. Today, Halloween has morphed into a holiday celebrated by wearing scary costumes, trick-or-treating and haunted houses, but it still has roots in the harvest with events like the haunted hayride.

What you’ll need

No fundraising Halloween event is quite as spook-tacular without a haunted hayride. And even though it might sound like a lot of work, don’t let that have you running scared before you even get started. In reality, a Halloween hayride only requires 3 basic elements:

A Truck with a flatbed or a tractor with a flat trailer attachment

Hay bales

Decorations

Safety First

The thing that scares most people off having a haunted hayride as a fundraising event is the idea of insurance, but it’s really nothing to shriek about. All you need to do is call your insurance provider beforehand to discuss the type of coverage you’ll need. It’s really quite simple. If the haunted hayride is taking place on your property (if you’re a farmer or someone who owns a few acres), you can put the insurance under your home insurance coverage. If the hayride is operating off-site, you will need to secure insurance with the location owner’s insurance company. Either way, you will need a policy that covers liability and damage based on the approximate length of your haunted hayride.

How to get things rolling

Next, you’ll need to borrow or rent a truck with a flatbed or a tractor with a flatbed trailer attachment for your hayride. The flatbed and attachment should have rails so riders can enjoy a safe ride. You’ll also need to fill the flatbed with bails of hay for people to sit on. You might even choose to decorate your hayride with Halloween décor. Just make sure that you don’t use objects that can fall or roll onto riders, like pumpkins, unless they are secured tightly into place when the hayride is in motion.

Volunteer Ghouls (aka: helpers)

Seek volunteers to help you with the hayride. These volunteers might:

Sell and collect tickets

Act as rotational drivers

Help decorate your haunted hayride either the day of or night before so decorations don’t get ruined if it rains

Act as ghoulish face painters

Construct various stations along the hayride route—a haunted house, snack/refreshment stand, a faux cemetery, pumpkin patch, corn maze, etc.

And, to make your hayride truly haunted, volunteers to dress up and act as monsters to scare people and give out candy during the ride

Scream all about it

The last thing you’ll need to do is get the word out about your Halloween hayride fundraiser. To do this you can easily take advantage of social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and blogs and forums associated with your charity cause. You can also post and distribute print ads at schools, community centers, churches and local companies. Any printed or electronic advertisements should include the date(s), time(s), cost per person, the location, and directions, parking information and even recommending appropriate clothing wouldn’t be a bad idea. In addition, it’s wise to schedule a rain date so that your haunted hayride doesn’t get frightened away by bad weather.
This post originated at FundraiserInsight.org - the premier online magazine for fundraising.

Take A Swing At Car Smash Fundraising

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Charity giving + a little destruction = a smashing good time!

A certain unconventional fundraising event, the car smash, has always been intriguing for so many reasons. For one, you get to take a sledgehammer to an automobile and completely annihilate it. Secondly, when mixed with a charitable cause, a car smash is a great way for those who’ve fought a deadly disease in the past—like cancer—or those who have a loved one currently fighting an illness to vent their frustrations. After all, there is no better way to vent then to lay a serious beating in the name of charity.

So what exactly is a car smash?

As mentioned above, a car smash combines the best of two worlds: charitable giving and beating the heck out of an automobile. The success of this fundraiser is rooted in basic human behavior. When someone we love is suffering from a disease or illness, we often have nowhere to vent our aggression. A car smash not only gives us an outlet; it encourages us to use that anger for good (for example, to help pay for the treatment of a disease or to raise funds for research). As far as the smashing part goes, a car smash is an event-based fundraiser where people pay a nominal fee to strike an old car with a sledgehammer and other objects for a designated amount of time. For instance, you could allow each individual to take a swing at the car with a hammer for $2 for 1 minute. To further fuel the fire, oftentimes, the old wrecked auto is painted with positive slogans promoting the charity cause, for instance, “take a swing at fighting breast cancer”.

Prepare a car for smashing

It’s really quite simple—contact a local junkyard, automobile dealer or auto insurance company to see if they have a car in beatable condition. The car doesn't have to run, but it needs to be intact as far as the body goes (which means the motor, windshield and windows, any dangerous fluids and the guts need to be removed ahead of time). The great news is that many junkyards are more than willing to donate an old beater, and even drop it off, to your fundraising group in the name of charity. Your car smashing arsenal can consist of the following:

An assortment of hand tools

Bolt cutters

Sledgehammers

Bricks

Hacksaws

Spray paint

How to make a smashing good time safe

The car smash is a lot of fun until someone gets hurt. That’s why it’s imperative to put the proper safety measures in place to protect both participants and spectators. You can do this by:

Relocating the car to a safe location, such as large, empty parking area, for smashing

Ensuring all fluids and hazardous materials are removed from the car ahead of the smashing

Removing the glass, windshield and windows

Having all car smashers wear safety glasses, gloves and protective outerwear (you might also get them to sign waivers)

Situating your spectators a safe distance away from the car - and any flying metal debris

Marking a clear perimeter for spectators

Enlisting paramedics to stand by in case of any emergencies

Alerting your local police of your event

Ensuring the safety of everyone in attendance means that no car smasher gets smashed and no unsuspecting spectator gets hit by flying car parts during a smashing.

Promote your car smash

When inviting your community at large to help put the beats on a car—you really need no further encouragement. The easiest and cheapest way to promote your event will be to use social networking outlets like Facebook and Twitter. To make your car smash more than just a day of destruction, you could also invite local businesses to set up booths. To raise additional fundraising dollars, you could also ask them to donate door prizes or silent auction items to your charity cause. If your fundraiser is a charity event for say, drinking and driving, you could also invite members of the local fire department and police force to attend as guest speakers and promote your event further through those organizations.
This post originated at FundraiserInsight.org - the premier online magazine for fundraising.

Hot Apple Cider Fundraiser

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +0000

An event that’s sure to stir the heart and warm the soul

Nothing soothes the soul or warms the cockles of autumn better than a warm beverage. A mug of hot apple cider has become a time honored Fall tradition in our family and last year, we discovered that this yummy treat is easy to transformed into an annual fundraising event that no one can resist.

Combining hot apple cider with other fundraisers

You’re probably thinking that hot apple cider by itself does not a fundraiser make. Well, you’re right. The great thing about combining an apple cider tasting with a bigger, more elaborately event, like an open house or a bake sale, is that it can span an entire day or weekend if it’s promoted properly. In fact, an apple cider tasting can be combined with a fundraising open house, which gets guests there with cider, but places the awareness on your charity group and the cause that’s close to your hearts. Another fabulous way of combining your apple cider fundraiser into a larger, tastier event is to combine it with a bake sale themed around apples. Just think, a mug of hot apple cider accompanied by an apple fritter, apple crisps, apple sauce, apple crisp, apple tarts, homemade apple pie, caramel apples, or for the healthy at heart, fresh red and green apples. This is a combination that’s perfect for church, community center and school charity events. After all, hot beverages and baked goods really go hand in hand, and combined, this will bring in double the profits towards your charity cause. You can take on all of the baking yourself with the help of volunteers, of course. Or you could approach a local bakery and ask them to supply the baked goods in the name of charity in exchange for the free promotion of their small business. Then all you need to do is set up a baked goods display offering samples for tasting and slices of cake and pie, as well as squares and cookies for sale. You could also sell your baked goods in bulk for a higher price. If you are using the goods of a local baker, you could also offer to take bulk orders for pick up from the bakery and take a small percentage for your fundraising cause.

Finding your brew

If you’re not a farmer or cider maker, the first step will be finding a local apple cider producer that would be willing to share their wears with your guests. In exchange for the free promotion (a sponsorship title and details for where tasters can buy more), your cider source might even be willing to provide their homemade brew for free. If they have more than one cider available at their store, you could offer this opportunity as testing ground for their products to determine what flavors are the most popular (e.g., apple cinnamon, apple pear, apple spice, apple brandy, etc.). Think of it as free marketing research for the supplier who, in exchange for providing the hot apple cider, takes the tasting feedback from your fundraiser and uses it to stock up on the more popular apple ciders and refine the less popular brews—everyone wins! Now that you’ve decided on a hot apple cider fundraiser, you’ll need to have the following items at the ready:

Apple cider

Hot plates

Coffee makers

Kettles

Coffee, tea or hot chocolate(as alternatives)

Garnish - cinnamon sticks, cream, sugar, honey

Small sample cups (for samples)

Small coffee cups (for sales)

Napkins

Plastic cutlery

Baked good samples wrapped in cellophane

Bulk baked goods on paper plates or large trays wrapped in cellophane

Customer feedback and response cards

One last tip...

The key to securing the apple cider and baked goods for your fundraiser really is the promise of free customer feedback and business promotion. Go one step further for your suppliers when asking tasters to complete a feedback card. In addition, ask them for their email addresses on the comment cards so both the cider provider and the bakery can add them to their customer mailing lists.
This post originated at FundraiserInsight.org - the premier online magazine for fundraising.

Four BlackBerry Apps That Can Help Your Organization

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +0000

If your organization isn't already using smartphones, what are you waiting for? They might cost a bit more than traditional cell phone service, but they're becoming indispensable tools for planning and organizing. Effective organizations use them to their fullest. That means using them to coordinate events and tasks with all workers. It can also mean promoting the organization through social channels. Whatever your organization's goals, a smartphone can help further them.

The BlackBerry has come under fire in recent years, because it doesn't stack up to the iPhone and Android handsets as state of the art smartphones. But that means little to fundraising endeavors. What matters is simple communication and easy planning. The BlackBerry still performs those functions better than other platforms. Here are four applications that can get your organization rolling.

PowWow

Recently Research In Motion, the company that makes the BlackBerry, rolled out a new social initiative using its BlackBerry Messenger platform. BBM, for those not in the know, is an instant messaging platform exclusive to BlackBerry users. It is one reason that many people keep their BlackBerrys even though it seems as though the whole world has an iPhone. Those who stuck around now get a treat. Many applications integrate with BBM, which makes communication within an organization that much easier.

With PowWow you can create events and then update people in real time. You can invite not only your BBM contacts, but any contact. You can add contacts to the event, which will make central planning a bit easier. It can also help you keep track of anticipated attendance for the event. If you're ever planning something big, you'll need an app such as PowWow to help keep everything together. That it integrates with your BBM -- assuming your co-workers also have BBM -- makes the app that much more useful. You can get PowWow for $1.99.

GroupMe

While PowWow will help with planning an event, GroupMe comes in handy when you're planning an outing. One of the hardest things to do when traveling with a group is to keep everyone coordinated. By necessity not everyone will be at the same place at the same time. But for those times when you need everyone's attention, smartphones can come in handy. An app such as GroupMe can be the glue that holds your group together.

The main function is an in-app chat function. That allows anyone in the group to broadcast a message to everyone. Not sure where the next meeting place is? Just ask. Or, if you're the preemptive type, you can post the location to everyone beforehand, so there are no questions later. You can also share photos, showing other group members what they're missing. Each group gets a free phone number, too, which serves as a conference call. Just dial it to hook up with everyone else. Best of all, all of the GroupMe messages are integrated with your Blackberry messages, so it's difficult to miss one. You can download GroupMe for free.

Facebook

Who doesn't know Facebook these days? It has become as ubiquitous a platform as the internet has ever seen. All smartphone platforms, then, have their own Facebook apps. The BlackBerry is no different. In fact, they had a Facebook app all the way back in 2007, when it was conceivable that someone out there hadn't heard of it. Since then the app has gone through many upgrades, and is currently in line with the best mobile Facebook apps on the market.

How can Facebook for BlackBerry help you? For starters, it can help you manage your organization's page, even while you're on the go. See a picture that you want to broadcast? Snap it and upload it right from the app. Want to make a new wall posting? You can do that, too. While communication within your organization takes the highest level priority, communication with the public still counts for a lot. There might be no better way to execute this communication than through Facebook. You can get Facebook for BlackBerry for free.

FileScout

Sometimes mere communication with your staff isn't enough. There are instances where you'll have to send them materials on which they can act. When you're out of the office, though, that can become an issue. How can you get someone a spreadsheet, a document, or any other file from your mobile phone? The first step is to make sure that you back up all of your important documents onto your BlackBerry. The second is to get FileScout.

For years FileScout has been the most powerful file management system on the BlackBerry. It allows you to view all of your files in the same manner you would on your desktop PC. That makes it considerably more intuitive than the normal ways of browsing your BlackBerry. It also allows you to resize images, take screenshots, open media files, and more. That is, it takes file management to a whole new level. It too now contains BBM integration, so you can send any file from FileScout to a BBM contact. Wendy needs last month's budget report? If you backed it up on your BlackBerry, she'll have it in no time, no matter where you're currently located. You can get FileScout for $4.99.

This post originated at FundraiserInsight.org - the premier online magazine for fundraising.

Top Four Mobile Apps for Your Fundraising Efforts

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Fundraising has come a long way with the rise of new technology. Developers have brought some of this innovation to smartphones and tablets with inventive applications that boost the efforts of organizations that rely on successful fundraising to accomplish their missions. With people more connected than ever, accessing a group of potential donors and sharing a compelling story to encourage donations is easier than ever. These four apps are some of the best in the industry when it comes to recruiting supporters, taking donations, and tracking fundraising progress. Since each serves a different function, downloading all four will start you off with a dynamic mobile fundraising strategy.

PayPal

In a world of electronic payments, it’s rare to come across someone without a PayPal account. This convenient global e-commerce business allows payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet and can come in incredibly handy when used for fundraising purposes. The PayPal app, available on most smartphones, makes an already convenient system even more convenient. Donors can make a transfer from their smartphone in seconds, without the hassle of going to the bank or writing a check.

The benefiting organization can receive the donation, check its balance, withdraw money, and more from inside their account in the PayPal app. Even if a willing donor doesn’t have his or her own PayPal account to donate from, the app is designed to snap a photo of a check and add the money directly to the receiving account. But this isn’t the app’s neatest feature. Although still in the rollout stages, PayPal now offers NFC peer-to-peer transfers to all NFC-enabled Android phones, which at this point includes the Nexus S and Samsung Galaxy S II. This feature allows money transfers by tapping two equipped phones together.

Square

Square is a great alternative to PayPal for accepting donations from those without a PayPal account. Although Square is widely used by small businesses that often operate from multiple locations, it’s a strong application for nonprofits, organizations, and events with a bank account able to receive donated funds.

After setup, Square account holders can sign up for a free Square Card Reader with which to slide credit and debit cards to receive funds. The app works with Visa, American Express, MasterCard, and Discover and keeps 2.75% per swipe as a processing fee. Square has no contracts, monthly fees, or merchant accounts, so you won’t pay unless you actually use the app – a pretty safe bet for organizations. Funds are deposited into your bank account the next day. Built-in analytics allow for the tracking of sales, tips and tax, and send electronic receipts via email or text message.

Goba.Mobi

This app is fantastic for keeping volunteers and supporters in the loop about fundraising events and opportunities for your organization. Load your contacts into the Goba app and create an event to let them know what’s going on. Goba allows you to select and invite contacts to join you via web, email, and text messaging, so your contacts don't have to be "members" of Goba or even have the Goba app (although they will love it when they get it!). You can easily see who is attending your fundraising event and remind them beforehand to encourage more people show up.

Goba lets you spend less time organizing volunteers and more time planning an excellent event to raise money for your organization. This is definitely a must have for event coordinators.

JustGiving

All you need is a JustGiving fundraising page (built on www.justgiving.com) and you’ll be ready to start fundraising right from your T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S (or any other Android or iPhone powered operating system - sorry, it appears they do not have a BB app just yet) with the JustGiving app. This application lets you track your fundraising progress, connect with sponsors, and receive instant alerts of new donations, so you’ll know exactly who has donated and when they do it. You can view all donations, with the newest ones highlighted, and know at a glance who has already sponsored you and who you should still consider asking. And, with the JustGiving thermometer, you can see right from your phone how close you are to hitting your fundraising goal.
This post originated at FundraiserInsight.org - the premier online magazine for fundraising.

How to Host a Blood Drive Fundraiser

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Have you always dreamed of saving lives, but didn’t have the trust fund to go to medical school? Well there’s another way to give the gift of life without a scalpel. Your company, school, church or team can lend a hand, or rather arm, in the effort to save lives by hosting a blood drive fundraiser.

Doubt the benefit of a charity blood drive in your community? Well check out these hard facts from www.cancer.org:

One out of three people will require blood or blood products (such as plasma) at one point during their lives

Approximately half of Americans will need a blood transfusion

What about the people in your community? What are the odds in your group of family and friends? By hosting a fundraising blood drive or volunteering at one, you can help save lives and your donor contribution will take less than an hour of your time. Simply pick up the phone and contact a local blood services organization such as the Red Cross, or a look to local hospitals and medical centers that have staff on hand who are available to assist you in setting up your blood drive in your community.

Setting up a blood drive fundraiser in six easy steps:

Work with your blood services recruiter to set up a date, time, blood drive location and a blood drive fundraising goal. Consider a day of the week that will get the most donors out (if you are doing this through your workplace, pick a weekday lunch hour so donating blood is convenient for everyone on staff)

When choosing the location for your blood drive, choose a location with ample space to accommodate:

· Donors

· A mobile donor coach

· Nurses and support staff

· Refreshments (drinking fountains and restrooms)

· A lounging area for post-donations

· Parking

· Movable furniture, clear for blood technicians to come in and set up

· Good lighting in a safe, clean, comfortable environment

· Access to electricity

· Blood waste and storage

· A convenient ramp or loading dock that offers accessibility for donors, blood technicians and equipment

A quick telephone meeting with your blood drive recruiter will help to make your location decision easier and give you ideas for promotion, etc.

Erect flyers around your workplace to advertise your charity blood drive. This way, people will be well nourished and hydrated, and expect to give blood on that date. Note that your blood drive recruiting organization will bring posters and fliers with date, time and location of the drive to post and hand out to potential donors.

Be sure to keep your local blood services team updated on the number of donors you expect. This way they will set up a reasonable number of blood units

In the weeks ahead of your blood drive, post donor signup sheets, and also send out email reminders the day before the drive.

If possible, contact donors with a scheduled time to donate blood. This will cut down on high traffic times and ease any congestion for the safety of all donors

Additional tips for promoting your charity blood drive

Appoint a charity blood drive committee to go out and talk to people about recruitment and the importance of blood donations in your community

Reach out to the media to promote your event

Utilize your email contact lists and social media networks to reach out to potential donors, and be sure to remind them of the drive the day before

Post news of your blood drives in your internal office e-newsletter

Seek out blood donor incentives and advertise these to potential donors

Ask for a moment of time to speak about blood donation in your work cafeteria, in health and safety meetings, departmental meetings or team lunches

This post originated at FundraiserInsight.org - the premier online magazine for fundraising.

Custom Bracelet Fundraising

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Custom bracelet fundraisers are a hugely popular way to raise money for charity. Plus, they are very in demand with teens. These popular silicone bracelets can be customized for any fundraiser or charity cause by stamping them with a positive slogan that is impressed in the rubber using a machine. Silicon fundraising bracelets come in pretty much any color in the rainbow, with the brightest, most vibrant colors catching attention for many worthy charity causes.

For example:

· Pink silicone bracelets promote breast cancer events

· Blue bracelets are often used to raise money for sports team like football or baseball teams

· White fundraising bracelets are commonly used for church group and humanitarian causes

· Yellow charity wristbands are commonly seen on the wrists of animal supporters, and of course yellow is also the color of the very popular Livestrong charity rubber bracelets

Regardless of your cause, you can choose almost any color for your fundraising rubber bracelets, along with your phrase. If you are having trouble coming up with a positive phrase to go in conjunction with your fundraising cause, try one of these on for size:

· For cancer awareness organizations, try slogans like “Get Screened” or “Be Aware”

· For sporting team charities, try sayings like “Go Team”, “Get in the Game” or have the actual team name printed on your rubber bracelets

· For animal rights organizations, sayings like “I Love Fur” or “Animals Have Rights”

· For church groups, try slogans like “Got Peace”, “Go with Faith” or “WWJD?” (What Would Jesus Do?)

So what do you do need to do to get started?

Organize a peer group for feedback – The easiest way to gain input on your color and slogan choices is to put together a quick focus group for help with selecting the most effective bracelet color from your top three colors) and your most engaging slogan from your top three favorite slogans.

Choose a supplier - Charity bracelet fundraisers are really simple to organize, which explains their popularity and success. Once you’ve decided on the color and slogan to imprint on your rubber wristbands, you’ll need to select a supplier or wholesaler. You can start comparing distributor prices by conducting a quick online search (most online suppliers will offer pricing under $1 when you make an order for 300 bracelets or more). You will make your order online and have your charity bracelets shipped to you within a week. Please note that you will have to prepay your order so make sure you are confident about your color and slogan choices.

Recognizing quality - As far as fundraising bracelet quality, you’ll want to choose a supplier that makes their wristbands out of durable rubber that won’t break down if it gets wet. Other things to look for when ordering charity bracelets online:

· No visible seam with smooth edges

· Good depth of the imprint or debossing for the slogan

· Durable not stretchy elasticity (like a rubber band)

· Crisp and clear imprinted slogans

Do a comparison search online and you will soon start to recognize reputable companies that uses the best materials from those that don’t from the online reviews.

Tips for selling your charity bracelets

The most ideal place to make sales will be at a fundraising event that draws a large group of people. Just circulate sales reps during your event or set up a table adjacent to the entrance

If you don’t have an upcoming fundraising event planned, try selling your fundraising bracelets in a high-traffic location like:

· A mall

· Grocery stores

· School

· Library

· Community center

Just be sure to get permission before you start selling.
This post originated at FundraiserInsight.org - the premier online magazine for fundraising.

Get Sporty with Tournament Fundraising

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:00:00 +0000

The weather is fine—just the reason to take your fundraising outdoors and make it active. Theme your charity drives around a sport, such as golf, tennis, baseball or even beach volleyball—is an ideal way to raise money for charities with serious sports contenders as the draw!

If you decide to take on the role of tournament director yourself, you will be responsible for the following:

Secure the venue

Set the budget

Organize a simple sign-up process

Event publicity

Creation of a rules guide

And associated tasks to keep your sports tournament running smoothly

Organizing a charity tournament is not as big and stressful to do as it might sound. The good news is that there are volunteers out there willing to help you delegate tasks. So you’ll want to start off by taking committee volunteers to share in the responsibilities. Take to the web (social media sites like Facebook and Twitter) and send out a ‘call for volunteers’ to gauge interest in your fundraising tourney. Once the interested parties present themselves, you can ask members to join a small of committee organizers to get things going. This of people will be your biggest supporters. Delegate a few to contact potential sponsors, recruit sports teams for the tournament, and help you with planning, logistics and budgeting as well as the following:

1. Determine what charity or cause your fundraising sports tournament will benefit

2. Decide what kind of sport you'd like to theme your fundraising tournament around. Individual sports are usually best for tournaments because they encourage participation of businesses or teams that might already play in recreational leagues together (teams are harder to come by). If you know that baseball is popular in your community, sticking with a sport of interest will encourage more participation.

3. Organizing the details of the actual tournament, such as time, date and location. But first, step back and ask yourself:

How big will our fundraising sports tournament be? For example, do you prefer a team tournament or a singles’ event?

What is your ideal location? Second choice location? Third? If you have several choices, have a committee member make some calls to find out what each has to offer in way of space, facilities and etc, before choosing.

4. Put any necessary deposits down on your tourney location to ensure booking.

5. Marketing for your charity event should start as early as possible. Awareness is the best way to get athletes and sponsors signed up. You can spread word of your charity sports tournament via local news; flyers; community message boards; local organizations like churches, schools, fitness clubs, and at sporting events and recreational centers; and of course through social media. And finally, a special email list should be generated with contacts to the larger businesses in your area (you can attract players and sponsors) to discuss their involvement.

6. Determine the budget so you ensure you make adequate money for your fundraiser, of course. You need to decide if you will provide:

Snacks and refreshments

Team shirts

Prizes to award the winners

The good news is that you can approach sponsors to donate refreshments, trophies and giveaways such as charity T-shirts, sunscreen, sunglasses, sports equipment and food.

7. Finding referees or an officiating crew may or may not figure into your budget. For instance, if you choose a favorite local sport those who are familiar with the sport, but can no longer play may volunteer. However, professional officiators may demand payment. Regardless, a crew to enforce the rules of the game will help make your day successful, promoting healthy competition and safety for participants. If you can’t afford the professionals, you can also contact the athletic directors at schools and colleges to seek volunteers from their student population. As an alternative measure that might save you some money, you might also download free software that can help judges (maybe those less familiar with the rules of the game) track your tournament results. If software is nowhere to be found, an old fashioned chalkboard or white board with erasable markers will do the trick.

This post originated at FundraiserInsight.org - the premier online magazine for fundraising.

A Sizzling Labor Day Fundraiser

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:00:00 +0000

I can hardly believe that the dog days of summer are already upon us. With Labor Day just around the corner, we are about to celebrate the very last holiday long weekend of the summer. And if happen to be looking for a suitable summer fundraiser for your church, school, team sport or favorite charity organization a labor day cookout fundraiser is the ideal theme with minimal preparation time involved.

Enticing folks to your group cookout on a three-day weekend should be the least of your worries. After all, is there a better way to celebrate the summer than with eating and playing games—all raising money for a worthy cause?

Where to hold your fundraising cook out?

In most cities and towns throughout North America, the weather remains warm enough to enjoy the outdoors for cooking, picnicking, and swimming and water sports well into September. The first decision you will need to make is where to hold your barbecue cookout charity event. A local park or community center with an outdoor area is an ideal spot. The good news is that many of these public areas come equipped with tables and chairs and even hibachi grills. However, if they don’t, you may need to rent or borrow. If you’re planning big, save ample space for parking, cooking and eating, and, of course you’ll need the proper restroom accommodations.

A fundraising cookout on a nearby lake would compliment games, swimming, boating and water skiing after you eat. However, if you don’t have the luxury of a lake nearby, invite a smaller group of guests over for a fundraising barbecue and pool party.

What’s on the menu?

What food and how it will be provided should be one of your biggest decisions. There are a few different ways that you can provide food for a fundraising cookout, such as:

Assign a group to buy and cook the meat and other main grilled items themselves

Hire a caterer to bring in their own equipment for barbecued chicken and ribs

Make it a potluck affair, where the price of admission is a donation and everyone brings a dish or two to contribute.

To raise extra money, offer space for food vendors to set up shop for a nominal charity fee. Local businesses might be willing to set up a wagon selling candy floss, candy apples, baked goods, French fries, pizza or homemade preserves from local farms such as chutneys, jams and even apple cider.

As far as the menu food for your fundraising cookout, think about easy to whip up local summer favorites and options that can be prepared ahead of time, such as:

Corn on the cob

Char-grilled burgers, sausages on a bun and hot dogs

Mom’s chili

Chip wagon fries

Fresh peach cobbler

Strawberry shortcake

Just be sure to remain realistic. Keep the menu simple unless you have access to an indoor kitchen area with cooking appliances, warmers and electricity.

Bring in the entertainment

However, your BBQ cookout hardly has to stop at food. Be sure to include fun and games in your outing, such as:

Sack races

Agility for dogs

Face painting

Carnival games and rides

A clown

A petting zoo

Turtle races

Tug-o-war

Softball game

Water balloon fight

Depending on the crowd you expect to draw to your fundraising cookout, and if you think you might make additional funds or not, you might consider adding a summer concert to your fundraiser agenda. Everyone appreciates entertainment while or after they eat.

For larger crowds you can look to hire a local band or a disc jockey seeking to play for charity or a small fee and charge a nominal admission fee for concertgoers. Half the earnings might go to the band while the remainder goes to your charity. However, if you plan to limit the invite list to your closest friends and family, you can ask a band to play for free and leave a collections bucket, encouraging music lovers to drop coin donations in the name of charity.

Final tips to consider

Take the pressure off - If you’re expecting to make your cookout fundraiser a major affair, ease stress by organizing a committee, one that can share the responsibilities of the event planning, rather than taking it all on yourself.

Getting the word out about your fundraising cookout – Remember, if people don’t know about it, they won’t come. Make up flyers, newspaper ads, radio spots, word of mouth and email invites (also spread word on social networks like Twitter, Facebook, etc.) will all help spread the word.

Don’t leave out any details – On your fundraising marketing (see above) be sure to include all of the important details, including the fundraiser theme, where the money will go, what food and activities will occur, the location, how to get there, and the date and time.

This post originated at FundraiserInsight.org - the premier online magazine for fundraising.

Fitness for Fundraising

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Fitness for Fundraising

While people always make New Year's resolutions to get in shape, it rarely happens that way. That's because they don't have the support of a community behind them. Your organization can people pick up the slack from the winter months and start to get in shape for spring and summer. Having the encouragement of a big group will help everyone attain their goals.

Step 1: Have People Set Goals

It's tough to get in shape if you don't have concrete goals to reach. Of course, everyone is going to have different goals. Some people want to get stronger, some people want to get faster and run further, and some people want to lose weight. Holding an initial event will allow people to break off into groups with people who have similar goals.

Planning together not only opens up more ideas, but it holds people more accountable. If you have a goal and don't meet it, that's one thing. But if you're in it with someone else, there's further incentive. You not only have to be accountable to yourself, but to others in your group. That means a greater chance of success for everyone.

Step 2: Set Up A Website To Track Goals

This will require a little technical savvy, but once you find someone it should be easy enough. You can even use something as simple as Google Documents to create spreadsheets where people can enter in information about their workouts. Tracking data is one way to keep people motivated in completing their goals. Having that information available to the group further adds to the sense of accountability.

If you do use Google Documents, you can create a link from your home page to many different spreadsheets. Have people record the time and distance of their runs -- many smartphones these days have applications that will tell you your path, your distance, your speed, and your time. They can record weight and repetition information from their anaerobic exercises, too.

Step 3: Finish It With A Field Day

This might not come in March, but it's the perfect end to your fundraising event. When everyone has reached the end of the period, hold a big Field Day event where people can put their fitness on display. This can involved a Fun Run, a 5K, games such as Tug of War, and games for kids. Having this day will also motivate people to stick with their programs, since there is a fun payoff at the end.

This post originated at FundraiserInsight.org - the premier online magazine for fundraising.