My partner, Sandra Sims, and I have just published a brand new e-book, called Raffle Secrets. This is a thoroughly comprehensive and step-by-step guide on how your organization can plan and execute the most successful raffle fundraiser your group has ever had.

Here are just a few of the topics covered in great detail in our new e-book:

• How to decide if a raffle is right for your group (includes checklist)
• How to keep your raffle legal
• The top 5 most attractive prizes and how to get them at low -or no- cost
• 5 ideas to add revenue with ticket-buying incentives
• How to set the ideal length of time for ticket sales
• Create an event schedule so you’ll stay on track (includes a sample!)
• How to set the price for the tickets
• How to estimate costs (includes sample budget)
• The formula for creating the perfect ticket price
• Where to get your raffle tickets printed
• Promoting your raffle: advertising and publicity
• The #1 way to sell the most tickets
• 10 tips for selling tickets at a public booth
• Incentives and contests to motive volunteer ticket sellers
• Marketing techniques to build excitement
• How to give away the raffle prizes with a big event

In addition to the fifty page e-book, we are also including three FREE bonus e-books. These are:

• 18 Unusual and Amazing Raffles You Can Do to Raise Money for Your Cause
• Drive into Fundraising Success with a Car Raffle
• House Raffles – The Big Time Prize

Regular readers of FundraisingIdeas.org have gotten to know me over the past 6 months through my posts here, on TopSchoolFundraisers.com, and on StepbyStepfundraising.com. I have taken the same informative and practical approach to RaffleSecrets as I have with all my blog posts here.

I would ask you to take a moment and check out our information page at RaffleSecrets.com. We even have a special introductory offer that won’t last long, so there are savings to be had! Check us out!

1. Study what has worked and what hasn’t worked for that organization in the past. I’d want to know what the fundraising history for this group was, so I could learn what was possible with the foundation they had already built. Every non-profit community is a little different from one another, so I’d want to know what the expectations and reputation of my new employer has been over the years.

2. Introduce myself to past donors and let them know I am the right person for the job. Since past donors are the usually the best place to start looking for new donations, I’d want to schedule meetings with all the top contributors. I’d want to get to know their personalities and their thoughts about what this organization could be. I’d tell them as much about myself as they wanted to hear, but I’d be sure to do a lot of listening to them and to their ideas.

3. Repair or strengthen any damaged or weakened relationships in the local area. If there weren’t disgruntled people in the organization’s past, it’s probably not a real non-profit! Every group has had people who got upset with it in the past. As a newbie to the organization, I wouldn’t know any of the history, so why not start fresh and bring everybody back. (By everybody, I mean more or less reasonable people who simply disagree with something the organization did- not people who have been fired for cause or who are generally unstable.) Most of the time, these disagreements/feuds are silly and can be resolved with some quality mediation. Now, you’ve got more donors!

4. Give a massive boost to marketing and advertising. I would want to get people talking about our organization again. Most times when a new fundraiser is hired on, that means there has been a prolonged lull in raising money. That probably means that the organization has been in a rut for a while and could do with a fresh image makeover. So, use the local media to reintroduce your organization to the community. Hold some free events. Do whatever it takes to make the community realize YOU’RE BACK! Of course, being “back” means that you’re ready to accept generous donations!

5. Come up with bold plans for the future. I would defiantly want to get people excited about the direction our organization was headed in. So, I’d work with our board of directors to chart an exciting path with attainable goals that can be shared with the community at large. People won’t donate to you if they don’t believe you have a road map to the future and an excellent plan on how to achieve those goals. I would show how visionary our organization could be.

Some people may just check out one or two of these three sites on a regular basis, but we think all three have sound advice to share. Hopefully, you’ll take a few minutes to check these other blogs out.

Thank you all for spending your time with us. As always, if you are ever in search of great ideas for your fundraising needs, please visit FastTrackFundraising.com. They have a wide selection of proven fundraising products. You are sure to find just the perfect item (or items!) for your non-profit organization.

Thanks for reading!

Jim Berigan

Top School Fundraisers

Enough with the Playground Fundraising!

6 Strategies Schools Can Learn From NPR Pledge Drives- Part I

6 Strategies Schools Can Learn From NPR Pledge Drives- Part II

Micro vs. Macro Fundraising

Is it a Bad Idea to Use Teen-agers as Volunteers at Your School Carnival?

Should You Use Incentives to Recruit Volunteers?

Are Fundraisers Holding Our Children Hostage?

Make Regular Communication with Teachers and the Principal a Top Priority

A Micro-Fundraising Extravaganza

A Sure-Fire Tip to Trick Parents into Opening Your Emails

Brilliant Fundraising Strategy at the School Play

Step By Step Fundraising

5 Ways to Make Sure Board Members Aren’t Bored, by Amy Eisenstein

Open Letter from a Potential Donor, by Maureen Carruthers

What is 21st Century Fundraising?

Delivering the Goods: Use This Crafty Corporate Marketing Concept to Present Your Auction Gala Gift Bags, by Sherry Truhlar

When a Non-profit Collaboration Just Isn’t Enough…

Fundraising is like a Waldorf Salad, by Marc Pitman

Is Your Non-profit More Deserving of Donations Than Others?

3 Tips for Award-Winning Grants, by Betsy Baker

Nonprofit communications jobs: What to expect, by Gayle Thorsen

You’re not the boss of me – board chairs and CEOs, by Gayle Gifford

Major Gifts – Step-by-Step, by Kirsten Bullock

Embarrassed by a Non-profit. What Would You Do Differently?

There were times when a grant we had been working on for months was rejected, and there were times that a stranger unexpectedly dropped by our office and handed us a check for $10,000. It’s really hard to predict how things are going to go for a non-profit.

But, when times are tough, it’s pretty easy to start pulling out the excuses for why this program didn’t work or why that funding source dried up.

Intellectually, we all know that excuses don’t do anyone any good. But yet, we still make them. And, if we make them often enough, excuses have the sneaky ability to turn into something that people start to believe as true and unavoidable.

It is tricky, because excuses usually are based on something that did, in fact, happen. So, excuses are necessarily lies. Rather, it’s our response, over time, to what happens that decides if that situation becomes an excuse or not.

Here are five statements that have a lot of truth to them, but they have been co-opted by struggling non-profits and regularly used as a way to explain why they haven’t had success. See if you agree with me on these:

1. The economy is down. This is perhaps the most common from the last few years. This is used to excuse all sorts of things- decreased donations, fewer paying clients, fewer volunteers (because former volunteers have to work now), and so on. It is true we have had a protracted downturn in our national and state economies, but it is not fair or right to pin every failing on that alone. Sure, we might have to work harder to stay even with past years, but many non-profits (as well as for-profits) have done very well during this time.

2. There are too many other non-profits taking away from our donation pool. It is true that there seems to be a non-profit on every corner these days. And every one of them is trying to raise money. So, yes, there is a lot of competition for people’s fundraising dollars. However, competition can also be a great strength building tool, if looked at with the right perspective and attitude. In fact, there are many instances when two so-called competitors actually team up to do something amazing, that they could not have done individually. But, if you’re only going to look at other non-profits as an excuse, you will eventually end up being beaten by every one of them.

3. Nobody volunteers anymore. I hear this one a lot from the school fundraising realm. It’s so hard to get parents to volunteer on the PTO or PTA. Everyone is too busy these days to get involved. Again, there is truth to this statement. However, it is by no means a reason to just give up and pack it in. If you are struggling to find parent volunteers, look for volunteers from other walks of life. There are loads of people wanting to give of their time and talents. You may just have to work a little harder than in the past to find them.

4. Our staff is stretched too thin. Due to budget cuts, many non-profits have had to reduce their number of employees. This has caused many non-profit managers and their staffers to throw up their hands and cry, “It’s too much!” Or something along those lines. Well, I can not believe that these organizations have done absolutely everything they could to streamline their job descriptions to be more efficient. There are always ways to do things faster and better with less people. The only groups who can’ t manage this re-organization are those who get blinded by the loss of fellow employees.

Photo by: Denver Official Guilty! Dog Video

That’s all well and good. But there is a different kind of donation people can make to a non-profit, which can be just as beneficial. It’s called an “in-kind” donation. Basically, this is a gift of a product or a service to a non-profit instead of money. These are great, because the value of the product (or service) is usually more than what the person would have or could have given to you in cash.

For instance, one of your clients/supporters happens to own a lumber yard. You want to build a new storage shed. Brand new, a storage shed at the lumber yard costs $500. But since your supporter owns the store, he can donate it to you for what it cost him, which is less than the $500 price tag.

The same thing goes for a person donating a service. Let’s say you need a building painted. A professional painter may charge you $1,000 for the job. But, one of your clients/supporters is a professional painter and he feels moved to donate the labor cost for the job and only charge you for the materials. Which you could get donated from the lumber yard guy!

So, in-kind donations are great. Here are three ways to get more of them for your non-profit.

1. Create a wish list and publish it widely. People have to know what you need. So, go and have some fun creating a long list of all the things you would like to improve. These can be physical things or business-related services. Write them all down. Then, prioritize them. Then, once you think the list is well though-out, complete, and in the right order, publish it. Put in on your website. Put it in a newsletter. Tack it up on your facilities’ bulletin board. Just put it in front of people’s eyes. They won’t know if you don’t tell them. I would also suggest asking your accountant to give you the proper wording to let people know that their in-kind donations may or may not be tax-deductible.

2. Create a client/supporter survey that asks people to tell you (among other things) what their occupations are. You may not know that you have a professional web designer in your community, who would be happy to donate a brand new website to you, if only she were asked. There could also be a contractor who would be willing to donate some time now and again, but he just didn’t think about offering it. Once you know what people do for a living, you can start cozying up to them and seeing what you can shake loose!

Photo by: Muffet

But, for good or for bad, a board of directors can set the mood and the director of an organization. So, the non-profit manager needs to make sure there is more good going on than bad.

Here are five suggestions for developing a good relationship with your board.

1. Play to their strengths. Don’t ask a board member to do something or get involved in a project that he or she doesn’t like or isn’t good at. A board of directors is not the place for a person to learn new skills- it’s a place for people to do what they are really good at. Don’t ask your accountant to plan a community picnic, unless the accountant is a party planner on the side. By asking a board member to step out of his or her comfort zone, you are only frustrating this person and making him or her ineffective. Board members don’t have the time to learn new tricks.

2. Over-communicate with them, but realize this may be a one-way communication. When a non-profit manager shows up at a board meeting, the board members should be very well-prepared to talk about what’s going on in the organization. That means the manager (or director) should be feeding them a steady diet of email updates. However, the manager shouldn’t expect a rely from every member each time he or she sends out an email. This is often a one-way communication, which is fine. If a board member has a question, he or she will ask.

3. Keep problems separate from one another if possible. In my experience, it is always better to only include one topic per email. People, including board members, are more likely to understand and remember problems if they are separated from each other. Of course, if you have multiple questions about the same problem, you keep those together in one email. But if the problems are distinct form one another, keep them segregated. That way you’ll never have to ask a board member, “Don’t you remember? It was question number 17 of 31 in my May 25 email.”

4. Be sure to give them as much good news as possible. Many times, board members feel like their garbage cans- they’re the place people dump their problems. This can cause them to grow weary and depressed about serving on your board. That’s only human nature at work. Therefore, you need to keep them propped up as much as possible. I suggest regularly sending them quick, good news stories about something positive that happened. It doesn’t have to be monumental, just something they can feel good about. After just a little while of board service, board members need to be reminded why they wanted to join in the first place. Help them remember.

5. Be certain board members know what you want from them. These volunteers are busy people. They usually have a business they are involved with and a family to take care of. Some even have other boards they serve on. Therefore, you have to be crystal clear every time you talk to them and ask a board member for something. If you leave a conversation with them and you haven’t specifically nailed down what the next step is, it will probably get lost in the haze of time. I would even suggest writing down on a log what your conversation was about and when. You could even follow up with an email to the board member saying something like, “Hey, great to talk to you about the budget on Thursday. I greatly appreciate your offer to get a couple of different bids on our health insurance policies. Please let me know if I can help out with that in any way.” This positive, upbeat note reinforces the plan and covers your backside in case the board member forgets to follow through.

Photo by: US Army Africa

Today, I will add three more thoughts to this discussion.

The third sign that you need a new fundraiser is that the local media has taken to talking about your event like “It’s time to put the snow tires back on your car. Again.” You know, no excitement in their voices, no buzz in the air. It’s just that we’ve looped back around the calendar once again and it’s time for your same old, same old golf outing. Or carnival. Or whatever. Pull out the decorations. Pull out the raffle ticket drum. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. If the people who are paid to drum up excitement on the airwaves can’t even muster any enthusiasm, then you should connect the dots and figure out that NOBODY is fired up for your fundraiser. Time to shake things up a little, wouldn’t you say?

The fourth clue you should recognize as a sign it’s time to plan a new fundraising event is that you find yourself daydreaming about other ways to raise money and feel guilty for doing so, sort of like you’re cheating on your old fundraiser. Come on! You wouldn’t have ascended to the lofty position of authority that you have now, if you weren’t a little bit of a dreamer. Had just a smidge of vision. You know, in your gut, that while your current fundraiser is good and all, you wish you had something that packed more of a punch. Something that made the community stand up and take notice of your cause and make them want to open their wallets wide. You’ve got to listen to that inner voice that’s talking to you. Follow your day dreams. You never made a vow to love, honor, and obey a golf outing, so divorce it! Write it a “Dear, John” letter. Sip out the back, Jack. Make a new plan, Stan!

The last sign that I’ll mention is that you see other non-profits in your area kicking your butt by how original their ideas for fundraising are. Just recently, I wrote about an organization that held a Zombie kidnapping of their town’s mayor. They got pledges and took donations for this amazingly clever and original fundraising idea and made lots of money in the process! I’d hate to be a non-profit in the same town as that group. I’d feel stupid and uninspired. And you should, too, if there are non-profits zooming by you in the creativity department. If this is happening to you, it’s time to go back to the drawing board and come up with some fresh, new ideas.

Photo by: Photos in a Jar

Well, all this is true, no doubt. But, that doesn’t take into account human nature. Human nature is restless and entrepreneurial. It is always looking for the next big thing.

This is true for non-profit fundraisers, as well. If we feel, in our gut, that our fundraiser can be improved upon, we’re just not going to let that hunch go.

So, here are my five warning signs that you are about to screw around with your perfectly good (but probably boring) fundraiser.

Your staff doesn’t have any new ideas for how to tweak your long-standing fundraising event or sale. When you begin the planning process for your fundraiser, and everyone sits down around the conference table to talk about it, you notice that nobody is kicking around any radical new ideas to make the event better. It’s more a discussion about who does what and when. No emotion, no passion, no arguing. They’ve done this so often, they’ve got blinders on and can’t see anything but what is exactly in front of them. Yuck. If you see this happening at your meetings, this is a clear indicator that you all could be doing a lot better.

A second red flag that your fundraiser is on it’s way out is the income levels for your event or sale have basically been the same for the last four or five years. When you sit down to analyze your income and expenses for a particular fundraiser, and you realize that it’s not getting any better or worse, you should be worried. I say this because if it’s not going up each year, it probably never will again. It will only go down. And if you can guess that a decline is in your future, you should act now to avoid that eventual and inevitable drop. Why go through a few years of downward motion? Why not just come up with something bigger, better, and more exciting right now? I think I heard this quote in the movie “Shawshank Redemption”, “You either you get busy living or get busy dying”.

To read the rest of this article, please click here.

Photo by: Steve Kallestad

But, even if you are one of these nervous Nellies, you still have to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard to run a successful non-profit. Whether it’s a newsletter article or a fundraising solicitation letter, your organization is counting on you to be able to produce a well-thought out and well-written piece of writing.

But, even if writing is not your strong suit, here are a three ideas that will help you learn more about the craft of writing.

First, you’ve got to learn what good writing looks like. You need to know what you’re shooting for. It doesn’t do much good to try and remember your high school comp classes, so I suggest becoming a regular reader of popular writing blogs on the Internet. Personally, I am an avid follower of Copyblogger.com, MenWithPens.com, and DailyWritingTips.com. All three sites offer daily tips on how to write well. The posts are often funny and entertaining, while doling out great advice on written communication. Best of all, these sites are both updated many times per week, so the information you’re getting is totally up-to-date.

Another way for you to improve your writing is to become a regular reader of other non-profit materials. By doing this, you will encounter both good and bad examples, but after a while, you will be able to tell the difference. It won’t be long before you can spot bad writing from a mile away. Look for these materials anywhere you go. You might find brochures and newsletters from other non-profits in places like your public library. Also, sign up online to get on the mailing list for all kinds of non-profit organizations. Feel free to copy some of the writing ideas or styles you come across. It’s not wrong to steal good writing tips, as long as you’re not plagiarizing the exact copy. I’ll admit to emulating the writing on the television show “The West Wing”. I’ve used their pacing, cadence, and rhythm in my writing for years, but never actually copied the exact words from the show.

A third way for you to become a much more confident writer is to write everyday. To do this, I suggesting starting a blog for your non-profit. There are plenty of articles online on how to start a blog, so I won’t go over all of that (except to say that starting a blog can be free and simple to do). As far as content goes, I’m sure you could talk about your non-profit for hours. Just jot a few of these ideas down, which will become your post ideas. Then just tackle them one at a time. Write about 300 to 500 words everyday (or at least three times per week) and publish them. Since it’s a blog, and blogs are meant to be a little more informal than a newspaper, you won’t feel the same pressure. Once you do this for a couple of weeks, I promise that you will build up your “writing muscles”. Your confidence will increase, your style will improve, and the speed with which you think of ideas and get them out on paper will accelerate.

Writing is a vital part of leading a successful non-profit organization. It doesn’t have to be scary. Keep reading what other people write, emulate styles that appeal to you, and practice, practice, practice!

Photo by: lowjumpingfrog

That was so 2000’s. Now, the Artwell Gallery in Torrington, Connecticut, has added a creative touch that plugs into a national preoccupation- Zombies. According to the Republican American online newspaper, the non-profit Artwell Gallery conceived an idea to recruit volunteers to dress up as Zombies and kidnap their town’s mayor. The goal was to raise money to offer scholarships for their summer art classes.

So, the group contacted the mayor, told him of their idea and got his permission to “abduct” him. They then collected pledges from the community for their operation. In all, they raised $1,500 for the scholarships, which the group was very happy about.

Here a few things I really like about the what this group did.

First of all, they did something unique. I can guarantee no other local group had conducted a “Zombie” abduction of a political figure for a fundraiser in recent memory, if ever! These days, in order to get people’s attention and their participation, a non-profit organization needs to do something noteworthy. If a group settles for the same old boring car wash or silent auction, the public is going to issue a collective yawn. But a Zombie abduction? This got people off their couches to see what was going on. Everybody loves a Zombie parade down Main Street!

Second, if you look at pop culture lately, there seems to be a national obsession with Zombies, Vampires, Werewolves, and the like. You can’t go down to the local Cineplex without seeing at least a couple of these movies on the screen at any given time- usually in 3D, to boot! So, to add that popular twist to a fundraising twist was a brilliant idea and great marketing of their fundraiser!

Third, due to the creative nature of this fundraising event, it was bound to get serious media coverage. Dozens of zombies parading down Main Street on their way to kidnap the Mayor? That’s a lead story on every television station, radio station, and the front page of the paper. All free. What non-profit wouldn’t want that kind of publicity?

And the last thing that impressed me about this event, was that now, this non-profit has a reputation for serious creativity. Their event has set the bar for every other non-profit in their town- as far as originality and fun. They shot themselves straight to the top of the non-profit heap. This kind of positive attention will pay off for them well into the future.

If you are thinking about ways to hold a creative fundraiser for your organization, be sure to put this kind of creative thought into the planning process.

Photo by: moggs oceanlane