Organizing Your Fundraising Drive : Volunteers

Organizing a fundraising drive does not have to be stressful or difficult. If you've been asked to organize a fundraiser or event, keep in mind that the whole point of raising this money is to help your organization. Burning out volunteers, stressing group members, or creating rifts in the organization is not going to help your group; making the fundraising campaign fun and interesting is your basic goal.

Beyond that goal, though, is a more obvious and crucial one: WHY are you raising money? What is the point of your fundraiser?

Before you start any attempt to raise money, make sure you've taken these basic steps:

1. Hold a meeting to clarify the fundraiser's purpose. Something as simple as Learning to Give's lesson plans for kids can help adults, too (check it out at http://www.learningtogive.org/). If half your group thinks the money will go to improving you building while the other half thinks it will go to upgrading computers, your fundraiser will fall apart. Make sure everyone knows exactly what the purpose is for the fundraiser.

2. Identify who is in charge. If two different people in your group think they are both in charge, conflict is bound to happen. Appoint a chairperson for the fundraising drive.

3. Inform all members how you plan to raise the money, give them advance notice, and make sure your plans make sense. Holding a car wash and giving people 5 days notice is not productive. Neither is creating a $100 a plate dinner for an organization of people who make less than $20,000 a year each.

4. Give everyone a role. Some people are natural "people leaders," while others are natural "task leaders." Others enjoy behind-the-scenes work, while some folks enjoy being the center of attention. Work to peoples' strengths at all times.

5. Communicate. Use email, letters, telephone calls, meetings--whatever it takes. Don't leave your volunteers out in the cold. Always keep them informed every step of the way.

Getting people to volunteer: asking for just one hour

If you've been appointed the chairperson of a fundraising effort, it's amazing how people will stop making eye contact with you. They're always in a hurry and don't have time to chat. They're avoiding you, because they don't want to get sucked into the volunteering black hole.

You know that black hole--the one that takes every spare second of your time for the two months leading up to a fundraising event or campaign. And your task, now that you're the leader, is to convince others to join you in the black hole!

Fortunately, there's a simple way to get volunteers. You don't need to lie or cheat. Just ask for one hour.

One hour.

The average American volunteered 81 hours in 2000 (http://www.irs.princeton.edu/krueger/02_07_2002.htm). That's about 1.5 hours per week. Asking someone to give your fundraising drive one hour--to set-up, make phone calls, fold letters, or put up flyers--isn't really asking for much.

Most people have a hard time saying "no" to one hour. And if they want to donate more time after that initial hour--great! They probably will. Psychologically, though, asking for just one hour gets them involved, and gets you in the door into their life.

Make it easy for them. Suggest some of the following easy ways to volunteer:

• Make a few phone calls
• Post flyers
• Send an email to everyone on their email list
• Buy items needed for an event on their next grocery store trip
• Make copies

Anyone can find the time to do these things. And as anyone in fundraising knows, "many hands make the work light."