Fundraising.com
Let Your Volunteers Have Some Fun!

Let Your Volunteers Have Some Fun!


Standard fundraising techniques are effective, but also predictable. Maybe that's why they work. For instance, who doesn't know the drill when it comes to buying chocolates for a local church or school fundraising drive? The supporter hands over a few dollars in exchange for a chocolate bar. End of story.



But have you ever noticed the shroud of gloom that falls upon kids' faces when the sales aren't going as expected? It's a hot day, they're standing in the local mall with a carton that's still nearly full of chocolate bars, and you sense that they lost interest a while ago when it occurred to them that they would never sell their stock at this rate. They look bored - they'd rather be playing.



Maybe it's time to pull something new out of the hat: what about scratchcards?The idea is simple, however, since it's outside the box (of chocolates), both the volunteers and supporters may need a second to re-orient themselves. Not to mention us! So, here's how it works: Each volunteer gets a scratchcard. It is an attractive card that folds in half like any greeting card. On the outside, a graphic image identifies and promotes your group. It can be a logo or a photograph of your group along with whatever text you choose. You send us the cover you want and we'll customize the scratchcard for you. Or, if you want, you can choose one of our standard graphic designs and we'll just print the name of your group on the cover.



So far, so good? Inside the card, there are a number of dots. There are two formats of cards: you can choose a card with 30 or 60 dots. You scratch the wax off the dot to expose a hidden dollar amount, ranging from $1 to $5 for cards with 30 dots. For the cards with 60 dots, the hidden dollar amounts range from $0 to $2.50, so that both 30 and 60 dot cards have a total of $100 under the dots.



Each volunteer is given one scratchcard and a sheet of coupons for savings at popular national brands that will be given to each supporter (or player, rather) - 30 sheets for a 30-dot card and 60 sheets for a 60-dot card. The volunteer gets a supporter to scratch one dot to determine how much he or she contributes to the fundraising campaign. In return, each supporter gets one sheet of coupons. Usually, supporters will scratch more than one dot - especially for the 60-dot cards where the hidden amounts are smaller. For instance, if the first dot scratched uncovers a zero dollar amount, the supporter still gets a coupon sheet. However, they are likely to scratch another couple of dots to contribute to the campaign.



The fun lies in the game of chance. How much is under the dot? The supporter takes a risk, hoping to luck onto a $1 dot or, in the best of all worlds, a $0 dot. Who doesn't like getting something for nothing? The anticipation builds until the amount is exposed, for they may have chosen a $5 dot. One way or another, the coupons are worth far more than the supporter contributes to the campaign by playing the game. The little game is regardless worth the fun for both the new owner of an awesome sheet of coupons and the volunteer.



When it comes to fundraising ideas, scratchcards can be lucrative. You pay $20 for a card and receive the number of coupon sheets corresponding to the number of dots that, in turn, correspond to the number of supporters - or players! When the volunteers find players to scratch off all of the dots, they take in $100, leaving you a net profit of $80 for your campaign.





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