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Team Approach to Fundraising
Reston, VA, November, 2002 - Generate higher levels of participation in your next fundraiser by including your members in the goal setting a decision making process.
Fundraising activities are a fact of life for most student activity advisers. Unfortunately, motivating group members to actively support a fundraiser can be frustrating. With crazy schedules and an endless list of excuses , the much - needed fundraiser is often pushed to the bottom of your members' priority lists.
If your participation levels are on the decline and negative attitudes are prevailing, it's time to try a team approach ! Teams are successful because members work together to achieve a goal and everyone becomes responsible for the team's success. Essential ingredients in productive teams are communication, cooperation, effort, and reward.
How do you get started? First, determine the members of each team. Smaller teams are easier to meet with and motivate. If you are in a larger setting, such as an all-school effort, a good starting point might be setting up each classroom as a separate team.
Next, let each team brainstorm to develop a ''wish list'' for group goals, along with an approximate timelier to reach each goal. It's important that you let members share their ideas for the direction of the group they will become more motivated and more willing to actively support the decisions made.
Depending on the age of members, you might want to send the group's wish list home with students and give parents a chance to express their input. Let parents know that their opinions and ideas are important and be sure to publish the top 10 or 1 5 goals in a newsletter or on a website Since all families will be asked to support the group activities and participate in any fundraising, they should have a voice in expressing their priorities.
This same advice holds true for fundraising products. Request samples of various fundraising products that you are interested in. Set up a display of the products and have members vote on their favorites. If your school or group has a website, add a survey question to determine interest in fundraising products. You will be amazed at the difference in attitudes when everyone is given an opportunity to express their ideas!
After you have your teams in place and have decided on a fundraising product, you need to add some motivation. Free prize programs are available with many sales programs. it's easy to encourage friendly competition among teams by adding rewards for the top performing teams. If teams are not all the same size, base your rewards on the percentage of participation. Daily rewards to everyone who turns in an order are also great motivators.
If you'd like to add extra prizes but are unsure what to use, ask each team to come up with several ideas. These brainstorming sessions take little time and often generate creative ideas. Give each team 15 to 20 minutes to come up with six ideas:
1. Two ideas that cost no money (examples: homework pass, 10-minute early release)
2. Two ideas that cost $3 or less. (examples: candy, movie rental)
3. Two ideas that have a much higher limit, such as $500 (examples: stereo, color TV)
You can easily incorporate even the most expensive motivators by adding a clarifying statement that states if sales reach a certain level, you can offer that prize. The cost of the reward is simply deducted from the additional profits you'll make from the increased participation.
Let the teams decide if there is one best idea from each of the three categories or if they would prefer a choice. Watch their enthusiasm and motivation soar as they realize the motivators are real! If the money is being raised for something that benefits everyone (such as a trip), you may want to add a reward that will benefit everyone. Again, let the teams decide what would inspire them-an extra night's stay, visiting a famous landmark, stopping at the ocean, etc.
A team approach to fundraising is a win-win situation for you and your members. Your job as an adviser will become more rewarding because you will be an integral part of shaping and leading your group's inevitable success. Your members will learn valuable leadership and communication skills and the positive results of creative brainstorming. Together you will enjoy the inspirational effects of being able to set a goal and the excitement of the synergistic effort that makes it achievable. Go team!
-- Lauralee Oenick (Lauralee@FundRaising.Com)
is vice president of FundRaising.Com.
This story appeared in Leadership For Student Activities, Reston, VA - November, 2002.
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