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Are There Careers In Fundraising?

hendri — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 05:36:06 +0000

We’ve heard people say they want to be in the medical field, military, academe, business, entertainment, and other more popular career fields. Interestingly, hardly can we hear someone wanting to pursue a career in fundraising. The word fundraising in the first place automatically draws a picture of someone asking for money with great and systematic effort. Some even equate fundraising to a perennial state of financial drought. But how many of us know that isn’t the actual case and that careers in fundraising are in fact promising?

A number of fundraising volunteers assumed fundraising jobs after long years of experience. They find that doing fundraising event is not just a momentary passion, but a lifetime calling. And like any other job in the world, their fundraising job provides for them a great avenue for career growth and job fulfillment. Besides, careers in fundraising are not all about asking for money. There is a great deal of communication skills, organizational deftness, and analytical and assessment abilities involved.

Possible jobs

The growth in the number of organizations and companies doing fundraising events also spelled growth in the number of possible fundraising jobs. Fundraising today has become even more organized and methodical, thus requiring professional attention and supervision.

This need consequently gave birth to the position fundraising consultant. This job is usually focused on either of these two: to oversee the whole fundraising activity or to assess the effectiveness of the existing fundraising team. The fundraising consultant is responsible to make a comprehensive analysis and assessment of the organization or company and evaluate whether their current fundraising efforts are leading toward the goal. On most occasions, he needs to perform feasibility studies and tests, which can identify the organization or company’s potential in conducting a fundraising event.

The fundraising consultant would also have to check all databases and records, which include expenditures, list of supporters, and donations. Additionally, he has to make sure that all persons involved are functioning according to their assigned roles. This is why he also has to work closely with them and provide timely and relevant support. It is as well his responsibility to coach team leaders and heads to make sure that the fundraising plans are executed well.

Fundraising representative is another potential job. This job includes working for a company and offering its products to those other that are hosting a fundraising event. If the fundraising rep gets the project, he works with the company or organization for the duration of the fundraising event. He makes sure that orders are taken, the products delivered, and the money collected. Fundraising rep is paid on a commission basis, so the more project he gets, the more money he earns.

Because he has to deal with a lot of details, the fundraising rep must be good in organization and analysis. He also has to have exceptional communication skills since he would extensively work with a lot of different people. Most times, he as well has to do presentations before an audience. Money is hugely involved in the job, so it is very important for a fundraising rep to be reliable and credible. Fundraising reps work at home, where they have a mini-office with the basic necessities: computer, phone, fax machine, and office supplies.

There are other jobs available in fundraising. Some with even good titles: Charity Campaigners, Corporate Fundraiser, and Director of Fundraising. Now, who says there are no careers in fundraising?

How To Conduct Church Fundraising Effectively

hendri — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 05:36:05 +0000

When it comes to the causes of the church, people are natural givers. Their tithes and offerings constitute their biblical obligation, and church members give without demanding explanations. There are times, however, that simply tithing and offering can’t cover some of the church’s expenses. Other times, the church is supporting other charitable works and group of individuals that can’t fit into the projected expenditures of the church. In these cases, having financial sources other than the regular tithes, offerings, and donations is necessary. To create these sources, church fundraising events get into the picture.

Unlike other groups, the church has some limitations in its fundraising options. Foremost, it has to uphold its image as a sacred organization and maintain the modesty of its activities. There is also a need to avoid any window for compromise. Therefore, church fundraisers have become more family-oriented, examples of which are sponsored dinners, carnivals, bake sales, garage sales, and concerts. There is no doubt these kinds of activities reflect the integrity of the church, but how can the church effectively utilize their potential and generate funds without the slightest hint of force?

Start by letting the members know just why there is a need for a fundraising activity. Though the church members are likely to support any fundraiser, it is still important to extensively explain to them what you are fundraising for. Is it for repairing a broken window? Is it for an upcoming church event? Does the church have a foundation that sends hundreds of young people to school? This way, the members will have a realistic perception of the church’s financial abilities and realize the need for extra funds.

When you lay down the purpose, make sure not to generate guilt. There is a very thin line between generating compassion and guilt. The goal is to let the members see the need and call them to action. Just generating guilt makes giving a little coerced.

There will always be members who won’t be able to help financially, so emphasize that sharing their time and energy is as valuable as sharing their money. Ask if they can do some of the legworks instead. Maybe they can help bake, man the garage sale, or perform in the concert. There are some other ways by which people can help, so create avenues for them.

Don’t underestimate the power of reward. You can send out little gifts to volunteers who have performed well. Or maybe you can treat them all to dinner. When people are motivated, they have more energy and will to perform better. And most likely, they will volunteer again for the next fundraiser.

Encourage the whole community to get involved. People are sometimes uninterested in religious causes, but are drawn to charitable works. In this case, emphasize only the charity part and leave out everything that has to do with religion. Don’t talk them into conversion, as this will only widen the gap. Instead, respect their spiritual beliefs and allow them to help as far as they can.

If you deem it fit, produce a report on how the fundraiser went. Church members will be interested to know the impact of their helps and service not only on the church but also on other beneficiaries, if there is any. If they see that their money and effort have helped the church accomplish its goal, sent children to school, or fed people, they will be more motivated to participate again in the future church fundraising activity.

How To Publicize Fundraising Events

hendri — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 05:36:01 +0000

The most successful fundraising events are those with huge attendance and active participation. Success, however, is sometimes elusive. You might have the noblest cause, like funding chemotherapy for a neighbor cancer patient, but fail to draw fundraising participants. The kids fundraising for a jersey uniform down the street, however, are accumulating large sums of dollar. Why is that?

Publicity efforts spell the difference between successful fundraisers and big-time flops. At the preparation level, attracting people to support your fundraiser and actually causing them to donate are two of your primary concerns. In other words, you should build awareness within your community and sphere of influence.

To do that, you should carefully devise your publicity plan. The following guides might help you.

1. Write a press release. It should have the basic who, what, why, when, where, and how. But remember that news outfits are perennially looking for stories with interesting elements, so make sure to highlight the most newsworthy angle of your fundraising event. For instance, write if there is a celebrity coming or unique raffle prizes. It’s much better if you can also include photos. Then, start sending the press release to your local news organizations. Make follow-up calls if necessary.

2. Use your website extensively. If you don’t have an official website, make one, although this can be a little pricey. You can, however, make use of blogs or social networking sites. The idea here is to get the most out of the online media since people are most reachable through the Internet. Again, post all the details of your fundraising event. You can create mini-articles that detail your cause and how you specifically intend to use the money. The latter is important because donors are interested to know where their money would go. You can also use your site to post regular updates and thank you notes. Over time, you can build an online community of supporters and donors.

3. Make flyers. You can pay someone to create them for you, or you can resort to do-it-yourself flyers. Fortunately, there are available templates on the web. You only have to choose which type and design fit your event, but just make sure the general appearance calls attention. This time, the details should be presented concisely and could be read at one glance. Avoid putting lengthy sentences; get to the point at once. Then, distribute the flyers where there is large passerby traffic.

4. Send newsletters. This requires an e-mail list though, so you have to work on building one. You can always start with your online community supporters, and if you’ve effectively made some noise through other publicity tools, it’s easier to gather e-mail addresses.

5. Distribute bumper stickers. You can give them to supporters, sponsors, and volunteers. They need not be loaded with details; a brief but strong statement will do. For instance, if you support an education foundation, you can put “I help send a child to school.” Then, put your fundraiser or organization logo. Be creative. Think of a statement that will ignite attention and recall.

6. Make some more noise. Call your family and friends. Attend other events that can be your platform to advertise your cause. Make sign roads, statement shirts, and bookmarks. Use all possible means. This is a time to be assertive, proactive, and creative. In the end, you wouldn’t regret a single second of having to support a noble cause through your fundraising events.

Support A Cause, Launch A Cancer Fundraising Event

hendri — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 05:35:58 +0000

Cancer is such a devastating disease. It deteriorates its victims steadily, and after leaving them in a vegetative state, it eventually sends them to their deathbeds. Researches are still underway to define a probable cure. But while these researches are ongoing, many families all over the world are losing a father, mother, spouse, son, or daughter to cancer. Every day many victims lose their fight. Yet there are others who, though weakened both physically and morally, continue to battle with the disease. And this—the ongoing fight—is what cancer fundraising events are for.

The rise of cancer cases gave birth to the many cancer organizations, which have become the predominant force behind huge cancer fundraising activities. These organizations are dedicated to change the grim picture cancer leaves in their respective communities. They allocate the generated amount to help fund cancer researches, provide patients with proper medical care, advance awareness, and educate more people.

Cancer has always been a heart-gripping issue, which is why any cancer fundraising events end up well received and attended. In fact, there are organizations that hold fundraising activities in many parts of the country almost daily. The breast cancer awareness campaign, which is widely made popular by pink ribbons, is also a national success.

But cancer fundraising is not only limited to big organizations. As an individual, you can also express your personal battle with cancer not only by attending cancer fundraising events, but also by staging your own fundraiser for the benefit of cancer victims that might be living in your circle—a friend, an officemate, a distant relative, or a former boss. Small it may seem, but its impact is as wide and great as any huge and highly publicized fundraising event’s. Cancer requires sophisticated treatments, and perhaps through hosting your own cancer fundraising events, you can extend generous amount of help.

Make your cancer fundraising interesting
You can do a fundraising event as a group or family project. And like any big fundraising event, you need to have active participation from those who believe in your cause. Engage your co-workers, friends, and other family members, and explain for whom you are fundraising. Most people are moved by cancer cases, and it’s very likely for you to gain support.

But because there are already a number of cancer fundraisers, it’s best to launch a new fundraiser idea that can distinguish yours from the others. The challenge is to be unique, but at the same time to be profitable.

You can, for instance, tweak traditional fundraising ideas and incorporate fun and exciting elements. Why not do an art fundraiser? This time, however, replace donated artworks from local artists with framed doodles, sketches, and seemingly abstract drawings of pre-school children. Children artworks are natural magnets, and they can help you reach your target sales easier.

You can also involve the cancer patient. If he writes, sell a booklet of his poems. If he does photography, you can set up a photo gallery. Make use of his talents and hobbies, and think of events in which they can be utilized immensely. Doing so can make the patient feel good about himself and take his mind off his condition, if only for a moment.

In the fight against cancer, no fundraising is small. Each of the cancer fundraising events is significant just by providing the patients hope and a chance to live longer.

A Word on Fundraising for The Church

hendri — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 05:35:56 +0000

An excellent idea for conducting fundraising for the church is to organize a yearly ‘Church Festival’ which is a combination of good food, carnival games, and family entertainment for the purpose of generating funds. This way, you will be able to get the attention of a broad range of the local population by offering something for the community.

There are various benefits that can be obtained from doing such endeavor as it could bring about a positive impression of your organization and facilities that can eventually lead to a bigger congregation. The event can also provide you with wonderful options with all the money that will be generated.

The first thing that you need to do is to make arrangements for the carnival games, inflatable amusements, live music, and other things that will be needed in the event. You can designate the major responsibilities among the members of the team to make sure that each member will not be burdened with too many responsibilities.

Solicit the help of local businesses as well as prominent members of the congregation for food products such as barbecue, shrimps, and others. By having these food donated, you can get considerable savings for the event. For the live music, you can work with a booking agent to provide you with the best talent for your event.

You can consider various activities to generate funds for an event like Church Festival. You can organize a bake sale, cake walk, selling of crafts, face painting, and others. You can organize an auction in order to obtain some income if you have goods on tap for selling. You can pack smaller items into larger gift baskets and market them as silent auction bids.

For items that have huge dollar values, you can do a live auction style and a professional auctioneer. Since people usually donate unusual and important items for charity, so announce it in advance so friends and local businesses will be informed about the activity.

In order to attract a huge audience, you can advertise the event in advance. If you have a newsletter or e-mail list, you can send reminders to your friends or loved ones so they can be reminded of the event and create a sense of anticipation. Use fliers, roadside signs, or posters to catch attention. You can tickle the curiosity of potential customers by placing carnival rides where they are visible in traffic.

Another way of advertising your fundraising event is by creating a press release and disseminating it to all newspapers, television, and radio stations. Place the newsworthy aspect of your event as headline. You can place pictures and announce the event in radio stations.

You can make the Church Festival a yearly event by making it an exciting and enjoyable activity as much as possible. Give enough time for making the activity known to the public. You can likewise provide information on how you can donate goods and services.

For safety reasons, you need to secure a contract for carnival rides and inflatable rentals. Aside from that, make arrangements for live entertainment and huge amounts of succulent food. The best time to hold these events are during weekends when people can have enough time to enjoy the day.

Fundraising for the church can be worthwhile and profitable as long as you bear in mind the tips mentioned above.

Helpful Suggestions for Fundraising Activities

hendri — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 05:31:01 +0000

Holding fundraising activities is the most popular method of generating income for your projects. You can get the involvement of the neighborhood and can surely help in achieving monetary benefits. Getting the community involved can bring more fun and result to more income. If your group or organization has minimal funds, considering suggestions for fundraising activities can give you maximum profits despite minimal efforts. However, there are some steps that you need to undertake to ensure a successful fundraising venture.

Advertise Your Event

Ensuring the success of your event entails getting the whole neighborhood involved for your project. Using fliers and advertisements can help ensure that everyone in the community will be aware of your project. Provide information such as target audience, the date, purpose of the event, location, and how you will go about with the event. There are many medium you can consider for advertisement such as newspapers, school and church newsletters, or radio and TV stations.

Find an Accessible Location

In looking for a venue where you will hold your event, search for a location that is accessible to all. The location determines whether or not your event will attract an audience. Make sure that the venue can accommodate the number of guests you are expecting.

Set The Appropriate Day

The best time to hold your event is during the weekends as this is the time most people are at home. Just make sure that your selected day will not coincide with another event or holiday.

Get Trusted Volunteers

When getting the members of your team who will help you out, choose those who can commit themselves during the event. You will fall short of your expectation if the people chosen to help you out are not trustworthy. Make sure you have support team in case there are absent members of your team.

Select A Fundraising Event

There are many fundraising events that you can consider for generating needed income. Breakfast/lunch/dinner events can be excellent fundraisers as long as it is kept simple. Serving hotdog for breakfast can be a great idea. Likewise, you can borrow a BBQ boiler for cooking. You can generate more funds by selling them at a lower cost.

Another activity you can consider for generating funds is car wash. In exchange for cleaning their vehicles, you can ask for a donation from the owner instead. Set your activity in a location known for traffic congestion. The many cars you can wash, the more income will be generated. While waiting for their cars to be cleaned, you can sell some refreshments for additional income.

Offering baked goodies in exchange for donations is the idea behind a bake sale. For additional income, you can sell brochures of popular cookie dough. In addition, you can go around the community and solicit old books from your neighbors and sell them for a good cause.

You can also organize a rubber duck race and get the attention of the children in your community. You can sell the tickets to interested participants. Just make sure that the event gets enough publicity to get the turnout you expect. Award prizes to the best racers.

Finally, another popular fundraising event that you can organize is a bingo night. You can hold the event in your local sports club. As a prize, you can use local business items and hand out recognition certificates after the event.

There are many suggestions for fundraising activities that you can consider that can help generate income for your project.

A Quick Guide on How To Organize Fundraising Activities

hendri — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 05:30:58 +0000

Organizing fundraising activities can provide numerous benefits for both the organizer as well as the participants. There are plenty of reasons for generating income as there is a wide range of fundraising activities available. Here is a quick guide on how to organize fundraising activities.

Carefully planning fundraising events is not an easy job at all. However, a clearly planned venture can ensure success as well as generation of the desired income. There are certain steps that you need to undertake that should be followed to the letter.

The first step in conducting and planning a fundraising activity is to set clear goals and determine the recipients of the money. As much as possible, be specific with the individuals or organizations that you will raise funds for. For example, if your intention is to generate income for breast cancer, trim it down to breast cancer research in a certain location in the country or for the families of terminally ill victims of breast cancer.

Once you have established your goals and the recipients of the proceeds, the next step is to determine the type of event. Activities such as car wash, pancake breakfast, or bake sale are excellent activities. Casino night or auction may require more planning, time and effort, or even capital. The most inexpensive method can be through letters asking for donations which can be distributed to families, friends, or acquaintances.

The next step in organizing a fundraising event is to assemble a team of volunteers who might be willing to offer their talents, donations, or connections. Delegation of tasks is essential so you can set up committees or sub-committees for other tasks. You can set meetings for monitoring the progress of the event. Select a spokesperson or an honoree who is a member of your organization or cause as representative.

In addition, pick a date for holding the event. Make sure that it will give you enough time to make preparations and is not in conjunction with a local or national event. Determine your budget so your operational costs can be at a minimum. Consider the expenses for each individual as well as the ticket price.

In addition, you can request for seed money from businesses, stores, or corporations. Likewise, you can ask for their support in exchange for being listed in the souvenir program or advertisements. Prepare a letter presenting the nature of the gifts, cash value, or tax deductible information to be distributed to your prospective donors.

Finding a location where the event will take place is a vital step in planning the activity. Scout for every possible venue for the event and be prepared to make an initial deposit. Likewise, determine the legality and your financial liabilities because your event could be subjected to taxes.

Distribute invitations and prepare a program for people whom you want to be present during the occasion. Offer them a booklet that will create an opportunity for them to sell ads and acknowledge the help of sponsors.
After the event, follow up with your sponsors by sending them thank you letters. You can add them to the mailing list of your organization. Compute your gross income and thank the various committees who provided valuable support to the success of the event.

Following this simple guide on how to conduct fundraising activities can ensure a successful venture for generating the needed income for your organization.

A Quick Guide to Corporate Fundraising

hendri — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 05:30:55 +0000

Corporate fundraising requires creativity and excellent time management skills. However, if all the employees will do their part and some kind of plan, you can generate sufficient amount of money for donating for charitable institutions or community outreach. Whatever is the purpose of the fundraising activity, you can make the most out of the experience by bearing in mind the following guidelines.

Determine Your Needs

Before proceeding with the activity, the first thing that you need is to determine the amount of money that you need to generate for the event. Establish a concrete and solidified goal to work with because it can affect the kind of activity that you will implement in order to achieve the goal. Likewise, this will help in the organization of the event as well as in the compilation of the necessary materials required to commence the activity.

By determining your goal for raising the funds, you can also move ahead with planning the basics.

You need to be aware of possible hidden costs that may be incurred during the activity as it can affect your goal as well as the amount needed to proceed with the venture. Hidden charges may include the cost for setting up the materials or shopping for prizes can have a bearing on the overall cost of the activity.

Making Room for Preparations

Having enough time for preparation for the fundraising event is a crucial step. Set the event at the earliest possible time so there is sufficient interval between the projected date of the event and the current date. You will need sufficient time for collection of materials, selecting assistants, and advertising the activity. Posters and advertisements in schools, church, community centers, and other venues can help in your promotional efforts as well as in ensuring that you get the maximum number of participants.

Be Optimistic

As the date of the fundraising activity draws near, it is vital to maintain the motivation of your team. Keeping your members optimistic is important as any sign of weakness or tapering off can have an impact on the outcome of the activity and may create a negative image of your company. To keep your members motivated, you can offer incentives or provide sufficient time for breaks or time off.

If the fundraising activity will require several days and requires taking orders, have a substitute team on standby in order to avoid fatigue. For best results, the taking of order should be limited to 10 to 12 days.

Communicate Clearly

In this kind of activity, communicating with your team is crucial. Make sure that the information is accurate and timely, especially between the members of your team and potential customers. Make your purpose known to potential clients. Be clear as to where the proceeds will go otherwise they might not be generous with the amount they will donate. By providing clear and concise information to your client, you will be able to generate the needed amount as well as make the entire process easy and exciting. At the same time, you will be building a good reputation for your company.

Have A Wide Range of Options

If your fundraising activity involves selling items or auctioning goods, make sure that you give potential clients a wide range of items to choose from. For family-oriented activities, selling dollhouses, rocking horse, or toys can be an excellent choice. You can also auction timesaving items or vehicles.

Corporate fundraising may require a little effort from you. In the end, however, it can be worthwhile especially if you are able to surpass the goals of the activity.

All You Need To Know About Fundraising for The Church

hendri — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 05:30:50 +0000

Making their intentions known to other people in support of church activities has been practiced by various ministries and church groups regardless of their religious belief. Fundraising projects provides organizations or individuals an opportunity to show their support for a worthy cause. Fundraising for the church involves groups or individuals seeking to generate a certain amount of money to push for their worthy cause.

Various fundraising activities have been a major part of church programs as well as those who organize them. Contributions from churchgoers and other sponsors are not sufficient enough to sustain the projects and needs of the church. The amount generated from collections and tithes are intended for continuing ongoing projects of the church, so there is a need to generate more money in order to carry out the mission of the church.

However, the biggest dilemma of people who want to pursue fundraising ventures is how to start and ensure that they will succeed. There are many organizations or individuals who are willing to help out and commit their time and effort, but their biggest problem is they do not know how to plan and go about with such kind of projects. Since most religious groups and affiliations in a church community are almost tied up with their own respective projects, the task of raising funds have been designated to youth groups or elders who might not have an idea on how to plan a fundraising activity.

To ensure the careful planning, implementation, and success of a fundraising venture, the following checklist can help individuals or organizations raise funds for church activities.

Set your goals and objectives for conducting a fundraising project
The first thing that you need to determine when planning to conduct a fundraising event is your purpose or objective for holding such activity. There are various reasons for generating income for funding your event. You may need the money for facilitating current renovations in the church, provided assistance for the poor, additional funds for an upcoming activity. Whatever it is, you need to make sure that it is outlined in your plan.

Once your purpose and objectives is in place, you need to find out how much money should be generated. The desired amount of money should be properly discussed and has the consent of most of the members of the committee.
Most fundraising ventures would involve programs for donors and guests who will attend the event.

For example, the church may organize a concert or bingo night wherein the proceeds of the ticket sales will support the ongoing projects of the church. If your organization is tasked with planning a fundraising campaign, you should have a secondary activity that will benefit the supporters as well as the community.

Promoting the activity is also an important aspect in the planning stage. How would you attract people to the event is a question that should be answered in the plan. You can distribute fliers, place banners or posters in the church grounds, or announce the activity during the mass. The number of people who will attend will have an impact on how much you will generate.

Finally, whatever fundraising activity that your project is planning to organize, the important thing is to make sure that it would be appropriate for the purpose and objectives that you have set forth as the reason for conducting fundraising for the church.

Easy And Simple Fundraising Ideas

hendri — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 05:30:46 +0000

For some people, the thought of organizing a fundraising activity seems complicated enough to halt any effort of launching one. Questions like, “Where would it be held?” “Who would do this and that?” “How can we effectively manage it?” “And what service or product would we offer in the first place?” They get nervous with all the details, and when panic takes over, the fundraiser becomes a total nightmare. To avoid such blunder, it is wise to start first with easy and simple fundraising ideas. This is especially helpful for first-timers, who are still learning the nitty-gritty of fundraising.

Following are some of the easy and simple fundraising ideas your group can accommodate. You can twist them a little or do modifications to excite your participants and customers.

Garage Sale
Time has proven that garage sale generates funds successfully in the most modest ways. All you need to do is collect stuff that are still usable and in relatively good condition, and set them up in your garage nicely and neatly. The more things you sell, the more people are likely to come, so make sure you have a lot of things on display. Look for people who might be willing to donate some stuff.

Aside from the members of your organization, your family and friends are potential contributors. But make sure that whatever you put on display is clean and functional—no dust, no grease, no missing parts. Fix your items as much as you can. They maybe junk for you, but for buyers, they are only old items that work just fine.

Car Wash
Car wash doesn’t project costly overhead, so you can keep a good percentage of what you earn. You only need to have loads of soap and washing tools like buckets and water hoses and people who are willing to get wet and dirty. Though there are organizations that choose to partner with a local car wash to have ready place and tools, it’s wiser to work on your own. This way, you do don’t have to share the earnings with someone else. Car wash is very popular among student organizations, as it also encourages team work while having fun.

Raffle
Perhaps the simplest fundraiser, raffle requires you to prepare coupons or tickets and sell them for relatively cheap price. Your buyers are entitled to prizes, if their coupon or ticket numbers are drawn. Make sure the prizes are safe, practical, and useful. All the proceeds then go to your organization.

Walkathon and Marathon
Host a walkathon or marathon in your community, school, or church. Not only are you generating funds for your organization, you are also promoting health and fitness among your participants. Find sponsors who are willing to finance an exercise-based fundraiser such as these two to help you accumulate funds. For additional funding, you can also ask for participant’s fee or sell running gears and shirts. Launching a walkathon or marathon may seem daunting a task, but if you consider how much it can help both your participants and your organization, you will find that your cause is worth all the effort.

Rule of thumb: Never bore your participants. Make sure that you put in elements that keep the excitement. For instance, give your customers “thank you” stickers if they purchase, say, five or more items, from your garage sale. Or you can ask your school soccer team to do the car wash, all dolled up like girls.

In other words, be creative to turn these simple fundraising ideas into thrilling activities.