1. Look at a donation in terms of how it will benefit the donor

This is always a good idea, but especially in a recession. When the chips are down and money is tight, it helps when approaching businesses to show them the benefits of investing (read: donating) in your organization. Can you offer publicity? How about free advertising? Their name on a banner, website or t-shirt? Are you asking for donations for a large event? Could you find a way to work their name into the event right from the beginning of the promotional stage?

Wise organizations capitalize on these opportunities by offering sponsors increasing benefits for increasing sponsorship amounts — say $100 gets your name into the program, while $500 gets you a large advertising block with graphic in the program and your name on a banner during the event. And be sure to mention that donations to your organization may be tax deductible, assuming your organization has 501(c)(3) status.

2. Relationship, relationship, relationship

In real estate the most important thing is location. In the non-profit industry, the most important thing is still relationship. Did someone donate to your cause last year? If they’re not able to do so this year, don’t make them feel guilty; keep in touch with them throughout the year and ask them if it’s alright if you contact them about donating again next year – they will probably say yes. Don’t forget that the way you handle yourself and treat others during tough times will have a lasting impression on your relationships with your donors for years to come.

Also think about creating new relationships, like collaborations with businesses that would have a tangible benefit from a relationship with your organization. For example, an organization dedicated to fighting diabetes and the local grocery store – eating a diet that includes lots of fresh fruits and vegetables helps decrease your chances of diabetes.

3. Ask professionals for their time

During a slow economy, there will likely also be plenty of skilled, competent people out of work or not fully employed. Suggest to professionals who aren’t able to give financially that they can also help the cause by donating their time and expertise. You’ll be able to put their skills to use, they’ll be able to expand their resume, and you will meet a need in the community at the same time.

For example, an unemployed grant writer might be worth more money to your organization than a donation by helping you apply for a grant. Or, how about a web designer? Chances are your website could use a some sprucing up. Be sure to help out as well by writing letters of recommendation when asked, and adding mentions in your on- and offline publications.

4. Ask for in-kind donations

This may apply more to businesses than to individuals, but store closures, manufacturers’ surplus and restaurant leftovers (for food banks) are all realistic sources for valuable in-kind donations for charitable groups. Getting in-kind donations takes more time to process, sort or sell, but may be just the ticket to take you through tough times. More ideas for getting in-kind donations.

5. Change your expectations

No, you’re not giving up, but there comes a point when you have to be realistic about what you can expect during a recession. This will be different from group to group and from person to person (paid and volunteer). And maybe you just have to lower your expectation from a particular way of raising funds and fill in the gaps with some new, or long forgotten ways of raising funds?

For example, maybe you have to lower your expectation for simple cash donations for a while and try to fill in the gaps with other fundraising drives, like recycling electronics for cash, or pushing your spent ink jet cartridges fundraising more than before. Don’t forget, people still like to help, but they just may not have the extra cash that they’ve been able to give freely before.

6. Use your resources for a new project

Assuming your fundraising activities have been slow and you have plenty of time and volunteer resources available; what can you do with these unused or underused assets? Depending on your resources, you could start a creative project on a site like Kickstarter.com or IndieGoGo.com, that could make good use of your current time (and your volunteers’ time) and greatly help in supporting your cause in the long run by creating an income source. What are Kickstarter.com and IndieGoGo.com? In short, these sites let you raise funds for all kinds of creative projects. IndieGoGo.com also lets you raise funds for charitable purposes, but Kickstarter doesn’t.

People go on Kickstarter and IndieGoGo to fund an art project, a new gadget, a new game, a music album, a documentary etc. View the currently most popular projects on Kickstarter here and see just how much money people are donating to help these projects come to fruition.

Are your creative juices flowing yet?

The key to getting projects funded on either of these sites is to have a project that has wide appeal, a well organized campaign, a good video and/or description explaining your project and possibly some perks.

7. Remain confident and don’t take shortcuts

This means you still have to stay on top of all your paperwork and filings and maintain your level of charitable work. Now is not the time to slow down. In fact, maybe you can take the time to analyze the way you’re doing things currently and work on making them more efficient. If you are in fact able to run certain aspects more efficiently and save money for your group, be sure to report this fact on your blog.

Also, refrain from sounding too desperate. That may sound to others like you’re truly worried about your group surviving. Remain confident in your cause and keep up your sound marketing practices as much as you’re able to.

Finally, look at it this way: Your group is still alive. Others may have already given up. And sometimes, it’s enough just to make it through another day, always remembering that it won’t always be like this. Recessions do end and there will come a time when you will look back, and say “Remember when…” Until then, hang in there, don’t give up, and don’t lose heart!

But how can you convince donors to give more than just a few dollars? What kind of information should you make readily available and how should you present it? What would donors like to know before they’re willing to make a larger donation?

Relevance:

Is your group relevant in a way that it makes a real difference in society? Unless you’re raising funds for an individual or a specific short term goal, does your group affect a larger group of people? If a potential donor feels that your cause isn’t really needed they will not come forth with support.

If the group benefiting from your cause is somewhat limited, it is especially important to lay out all the good that you’re doing in a way that shows how your cause doesn’t just benefit a seemingly small group of people, but how it benefits the community as a whole. In other words, spend some time explaining the big picture. After all, helping the disadvantaged or needy within a group doesn’t just benefit them, there is always a domino effect whereas others are helped and supported as well, directly or indirectly.

Activities and people:

Does your group have a blog? Do you regularly report about your activities and how you make a difference in your community and in the world? This plays right into the previous point: if you continuously report on your activities and the good you do, your cause will become much more relevant to potential donors. And don’t think you should only report on successes. By also writing about the challenges you face every day, your cause goes from being just words to becoming a group of individuals working hard to make a difference in the world.

If you do have a blog (or other website) make sure you include proper terms of use and a privacy policy which includes information about how you manage names, email addresses, and other information collected through the site. Your website is also an excellent place to add information about your board members, staff and volunteers.

A well run website or blog with lots of information about your activities, staff and volunteers will give your supporters a broad picture of what your group is all about. Be sure to continuously update your site.

(If you need a website with or without a blog, read Create A Website.)

Financials:

Are you clearly stating your financial information on your website and in print documents meant for interested parties? If your financial information is too hard to find or to decipher and a potential donor feels that you might not want to share them, it will be a turnoff. Make your finances easy to access and explain your numbers. Also display and link to your most recently filed IRS Form 990.

If some expenses seem high, explain why they’re high: maybe you’ve incurred a higher outlay because of a major repair. If you explain that donor money wasn’t wasted, but why some program, administrative or fundraising expenses turned out higher than expected, most donors will appreciate your honesty. If the extra expenses are justified, they will still give.

If your group is a registered non-profit, have all your reports been properly filed? Can supporters go to a third party website to find out more about your group if they choose? Simply staying on top of tasks you’re supposed to do anyway will make a difference and will give you an edge over others who don’t have their accounting in order.

Your to-do-list:
Maybe you already have some or most of these points in place – congratulations! Then you could simply make a to-do list of what kind of other information you’d like to add to your website and marketing materials and how you’d like to change the way your information is currently presented. Be sure you add information about what you’d like staff and volunteers to say when prompted about your cause. What are they currently telling potential and current supporters? Is the information they have about your cause up-to-date and relevant?

Also think about your own giving: Which organizations have you donated to in the past and why? Or why have you decided not to give a specific group? Take these clues from your own behavior and consider them in your group’s strategy.

By making sure you offer enough and sought-after information about your cause you instill a sense of trust in your supporters and assure that they feel comfortable and confident giving to your cause now and in the future.

Related posts:

• Motivating Volunteers & Donors: Show What You’re About
• Motivating Volunteers & Donors: Get The Word Out And Increase Profits
• Let It Be Known… Recognizing Charitable Donors
• How to Encourage People to Donate to Your Cause
• Tweak Your Group’s Website To Attract More Visitors

No Time To Be Discouraged

There are a host of reasons why fundraisers don’t yield the income you need them too. Your task now is to find out why, and take steps to recoup your losses. After all, you had a mission and a goal, and unless something major has changed, your need for funds has not.

You’ve probably earned the right to a momentary self-pity party. Allow yourself that moment, but keep it short and sweet and not too negative – you still have work to do!

Appreciate that everything is not always in your control, see what you can do to make the best of the situation, and brainstorm some ideas that can help save your fundraising project.

Tips For Recovering From An Unprofitable Fundraiser

Placing blame is pointless and entirely counterproductive. Finding out what went wrong and taking positive steps to remedy your situation will give you the chance to save your fundraising program so that you can find the profit you need now and in the future.

• First, try to pin point exactly why your fundraiser didn’t generate enough income. Was the problem with the product? Organizational? Not enough help? Is your fundraiser dated and stale? Was your timing off?

• Next, work with your group of volunteers to fix your problem. Make this a group effort, get member input, and work cooperatively.

• Optimize your volunteer base. Maybe you’ve assigned jobs to volunteers based on availability only, which will work to a point. But you would lose out if you have a volunteer with excellent communication skills making poster boards, when they could be helping writing letters or recruiting other volunteers.

• Look for other ways to either cut costs or organize mini fundraisers. Hold on-hand sales at area events if you have been left with costly inventory, downsize your project so that you can do with less, ask area donors for in-kind donations of supplies rather than cash.

• Make changes to your funding schedule so that you don’t need as much cash now and you can take the time to put on a really good fundraiser next time.

• Realize your own limits and make sure you and your group are working within them – don’t burn yourselves out!

• If you are convinced your fundraiser is good, save the ideas and materials and put off the project until a better time.

• If the fundraiser just isn’t worth the effort, scrap it and move on to something more promising!

Whether you are a leader or a group member, stay positive and keep your eye on your goal. Remind yourself and your group that you are doing a great thing trying to raise money for this good cause. Be confident, and reflect that to your peers and supporters. And as the old saying goes…try, try again!

Related posts:

• Put The Fun Back Into Your Fundraiser!

It’s important to look for the warning signs that might tell you that it’s time for a change. Fundraising leaders (and members) should remain on the lookout for these red flags that might be signaling a problem with a fundraiser or organization.

Volunteer Interest Is Waning

This could be your number-one indicator that your fundraising profits will suffer, because without your volunteers and sellers, you won’t have a means of reaching buyers. Your volunteers might be losing interest in your fundraiser if

• Few participants in selling or running events
• Committees can’t be filled
• Negative attitudes abound (‘this is boring’ ‘not again’)
• Meetings and fundraising events are poorly attended

Fundraising Goals Can’t Be Met

If you can’t reach the financial fundraising goals you’ve set, take it as a red flag that a change needs to be made, and look for a reason why. Some common reasons for not meeting fundraising goals include

• Decline in sales: which can exist for a variety of reasons from lack of interest in product to lack of outreach to buyers
• Vendor participation is declining: as in craft sales and hosted events; if you can’t get sellers to come in, they probably think your event isn’t profitable
• Public participation is non-existent: consumers find your event boring or just don’t need what you are selling
• Goals are unrealistic: did you set too lofty a monetary goal?
• No one feels there is anything in it for them: either buyers or sellers – everyone needs a good reason to participate!

Consumers Are Supportive, But Still No Cash Flow

This happens more often than you might think; the public is willing to give, and may actually be giving, but still you aren’t turning a profit; this points to an organizational defect. It might be time for an internal change, rather than a change in fundraising tactics. If you are noticing any of the following, consider reassigning responsibility, or restructuring your group:

• Disorganization: there is no plan for who is doing what
• Wastefulness: unnecessary expenses, because of a lack of leadership and oversight
• Poor bookkeeping: no exact records for expenses and profits are available

The reasons that fundraisers fail are varied and highly individualized to each organization. The only way to correct a problem, or better yet, prevent one, is to recognize the signals that are pointing towards fundraising failure, and correct the problems at the heart of the matter.

Related posts:

• Put The Fun Back Into Your Fundraiser!
• Dealing With Problems: This Fundraiser Is Just Too Stressful!
• Tips For Dealing With Problems Within Your Volunteer Fundraising Group
• Tapping Community Volunteer Resources
• A Reason To Sell – Incentive Ideas For Fundraising Projects

What Is A Fundraising Consultant?

A fundraising consultant is an individual (or company) whom your organization can contract with to run the fundraising campaign for you. The exception to this would be if your organization is investing a salary into a full- or part-time employee whose position is created expressly for fundraising (possibly incl. grant development), should your organization have such a need. A fundraising consultant can analyze your organization’s needs, suggest appropriate fundraisers, and/or conduct the entire campaign, including marketing your fundraiser. Consultants do not help with the actual fundraising; they simply direct the volunteers who carry out the fundraising efforts. Typically fundraising consultants are paid a fee for their work. (The fee paid can be a percentage of the campaign’s profits, but this may raise ethical questions.)

What Are The Advantages Of Hiring A Fundraising Consultant?

Fundraising consultants are experts at raising funds; that is the number one advantage they have over lay-volunteers. In addition, your organization will benefit from:

* Having an unbiased, professional assessment
* Being able to clearly set realistic goals
* Vast knowledge of fundraising options
* An experienced professional who can help volunteers make effective phone calls, draft letters, and more
* Streamlined volunteer assignments which promote efficiency
* Fewer mistakes which may translate into higher profits
* Well-designed campaign materials
* Targeted marketing techniques
* Skilled negotiations with product or service suppliers
* Education and direction that can be passed on after the consultancy has ended

What To Consider When Hiring A Fundraising Consultant

Be aware that your fundraising consultant will be quite visible to donors, group members, and companies involved in the fundraising campaign. Your consultant will be a face for your organization – hire accordingly.

When choosing the right consultant for your group, take several factors into consideration:

* What size, type, and scope of fundraiser can the consultant handle?
* Does the consultant have a good reputation (talk to references and other groups)?
* What ideas do they have for your group? Do they have suggestions for your specific situation? (For ex., what if your main supporters aren’t giving at the rate you have counted on?)
* Can they back up their claims with financial data from past campaigns?
* Is the consultant insured or bonded?
* Does the consultant check out with state, federal, or better business agencies?
* What is the bid on the job?

Of course, your first concern is whether a consultant is really needed or financially feasible: On the one hand, a consultant will cost you a portion of your proceeds, but on the other, a failed fundraising campaign may not earn you anything at all. Decide if your group can handle the task ahead. If your situation indicates that you can make money by spending money, hiring a fundraising professional may be just right for your group!

Related posts:

• Fundraising And Affordabilty
• Common Fundraising Mistakes
• Accounting For Fundraising Efforts: Keeping Good Fundraising Records
• Structure And Motivation – Fundraising Rewards Programs

According to this analysis online giving is growing rapidly with many donors still giving offline as well. Well-designed non-profit websites are very useful for attracting new donors and encouraging ‘small-scale impulse giving’, but less effective at sustaining long-term donor relationships. So how can you make sure you attract as many new donors as possible, collect some funds at the same time and get the most out of your group’s website?

According to the study, only 43% of sites that were analyzed prominently displayed the organization’s mission, goals, objectives, and work. Having your mission, goals, objectives easily found by the visitor will create instant trust. Take a look at your website: can the visitors to your website easily find this information?

Also according to the study only 4% of the websites analyzed had information about how donations and contributions were used displayed in a way that was easy to find by the visitors. Again, this information will create trust when a potential donors is trying to decide if they should donate through your website. Make it easy for them!

In addition to analyzing what factors successfully resulted in user contributions, the study also analyzed the turn-off factors that caused visitors to leave without donating, even if they had spent considerable time on their websites.

The donation-killers:

- 47% were usability problems relating to page and site design, including unintuitive information architecture, cluttered pages, and confusing workflow.

- Amazingly, on 17% of the sites, users couldn’t find where to make a donation. You’d imagine that donation-dependent sites would at least get that one design element right, but banner-blindness or over-formatting caused people to overlook some donation buttons.

- 53% were content issues related to writing for the Web, including unclear or missing information and confusing terms.

Websites of Local Chapters of a National/International Charity

The study also found that bad user experience was caused by inferior integration of local chapters with the higher-level organization.

When users were seeking information about a non-profit’s activities in their communities, usually local chapter websites looked completely different than the organizations’ main sites, often not even following the same color scheme as the main website. If you run a website of a local chapter of a major charity, be sure to integrate the same colors for unified look-and-feel easy brand recognition.

Other key findings from the 2008 donorCentrics Internet Giving Benchmarking Analysis include:

- Online giving still represents a relatively small portion of donors and revenue at most organizations, but it is growing rapidly and is becoming an important source for new donor acquisition.

- Online donors are younger and have higher incomes than traditional direct mail donors. These are important constituents that nonprofits very much want to attract and keep, given the older average donor age in many files.

- Online donors give larger gifts and, as a result, have a higher overall long-term value than donors to more traditional giving channels like direct mail, but they are less loyal in terms of repeat giving. Higher average gifts mask the lower retention rates of online donors, which may present an opportunity for improvement at many organizations.

- The online giving channel must be an integrated part of an entire direct marketing program because although offline donors do not generally migrate to online giving, online donors do migrate to offline channels in large numbers. In addition, online donors tend to downgrade when they move offline, further evidence that online donors are not cultivated to their full potential.

If you feel your group’s website hasn’t been very useful or hasn’t attracted the amount of donations you’ve hoped for, maybe now is the time for a usability makeover. Take an honest look at the site or page, get third party opinions and decide if you can make changes yourself, or you should maybe even hire someone to build the site from scratch.

Going forward, a well built site that’s easy for the visitor to navigate and contains all the crucial information will elicit trust and result in more donors and funds for your group. (Tip: you might be able to partner with a webdesign company to do the website for free in turn for free advertising. Read Free Web Services For Your Non-Profit for more info.)

Related posts:

• Tweak Your Group’s Website To Attract More Visitors
• Ideas For Your Fundraising Website
• Raise Funds Online – With Or Without Your Own Website! Part 1
• Raise Funds Online – With Or Without Your Own Website! Part 2
• What Donors Want to Know Before They Give

Trim budgets
Take a look at your budget from last year’s events, and look for ways to cut costs. Consider, for example, hosting a dessert celebration rather than a full dinner. Or, consider increasing the cost of attendance to reduce the funds required from your operating budget.

Apply for grants
It costs very little to apply for grants from foundations who give regularly to non profit organizations. Research the foundations that have typically supported organizations such as yours and then research their grant requirements. Many simply require a grant request letter along with a copy of your 501c3 letter and your financial statements. If you spend your time wisely – applying only to those organizations that have shown a pattern of giving to causes like yours, you’ll find that this can be a simple way to bring in additional donations.

Hire a grant writer
Hire a grant writer who can create a template grant letter for you if you don’t have one. In many cases, one basic grant request letter can be modified over and over again for multiple grants. You can offer the grant writer a bonus (not based on grant monies), but it is considered unethical for grant writers to accept a percentage of donation brought in. (see comments)

Renegotiate with vendors
Go over your event items with your vendors to see if you can get lower prices. If your organization has grown since you last negotiated prices, you may be able to get a break simply because your attendance numbers have grown. If you can’t get lower prices from your current vendors, you might consider shopping around to see if it’s time to change vendors on some items.

Trim your newsletter
If you’re spending money distributing a monthly mailed newsletter, consider moving your newsletter, and other communications vehicles online. The costs of maintaining a website are far less than that of sending out paper mailings. It’s also more environmentally friendly. Simply get your website going, and then use all your communications vehicles to let people know that you’re going online.

Consider joint fundraising ventures
Partner with a compatible organization to host a fundraising event. Of course, you’ll receive only half the contributions, but you’ll also incur only half the costs. Partnering with another organization can mean the difference between having the resources to host an event and not having enough resources. It can also expose your organization to other donors, and your partner organization to your donors, which can increase your both of your donor bases.

There are lots of ways to be creative and cut costs while keeping your important programs running. It requires a little ingenuity, but your organization can continue and even thrive during a down economy.

Related posts:

• Finding The Right Grant Opportunities For You
• Guidelines For Using Grant Money
• The Secret Source for Grant Money
• Grants: Find Free Government And Foundation Money For Your Non-Profit
• What Grant Foundations Are Looking For

What happened? More often than not, a lack of communication is to blame. If you take an objective look at your fundraising effort and your volunteers, you’ll see that your group can move beyond the difficulties – and that there is still hope for a great and successful fundraising campaign!

Communicate – Communicate – Communicate!

Putting extra effort into thoroughly communicating your groups goals, anticipated problems, expectations of volunteers and more at the beginning and during a fundraising campaign will help a great deal in avoiding problems in the first place. Should problems arise,

• Talk to other committee members for a consensus of the issues
• Address the group as a whole, through a letter, a meeting, or both
• Be positive – a few kind motivational words can go a long way!
• Ask each volunteer for a commitment to a specific task
• Explain to everyone the importance of doing their share
• Regularly talk to individual volunteers to get updates. Maybe there is too high a workload, personality conflicts or poor organization. Ask how you can help.
• Follow up with phone calls
• Talk to individuals who are causing problems, and offer some solutions; if you really have to, thank the person politely and let him or her go.
• Prepare a plan B

In many cases, problems with volunteers can be diffused by building a sense of camaraderie. Try making meetings and work sessions more enjoyable by enjoying refreshments, setting aside a half an hour for coffee and talk, or going out together for dinner or drinks. If you are running a large group, consider whether a motivational speaker might be helpful.

Above all, bring a spirit of progress and cooperation to every dealing with fundraising volunteers, and refrain from negative thoughts and gossiping. Keep the focus on the goals of the group and the fundraiser. Remind everyone that you are working together for a larger cause; your good attitude in itself is sure to go a long way towards creating a productive, cohesive, successful fundraising group.

Related posts:

• Dealing With Problems: This Fundraiser Is Just Too Stressful!
• Tips For Running A Successful Online Magazine Fundraiser
• The Advantages Of Being A Fundraising Volunteer When You Work From Home
• Drafting Volunteer Job Descriptions
• Using Swipe Files For Your Fundraising Group

Insufficient planning:
- Be sure to thoroughly identify and then delegate every single task. Everyone should know exactly what they’re expected to do. Set realistic goals and deadlines and put it all in writing for everyone involved to see. If it’s too hard to pinpoint a task or goal at this time, do the best you can to define it anyway. You can always change it if needed. Just don’t leave any tasks or goals open. (For help with planning, use our fundraising checklists.)

Not knowing your supporters:
- If you expect too much or too little, you might underestimate donations and not maximize contributions.

Using the same fundraiser year after year:
- Be sure to keep supporters interested by offering a variety of useful and good quality products with every campaign. (Read about different fundraising ideas.)

Choosing the wrong fundraising method:
- This is related to the previous mistake, but goes a step further. Product or catalog sales may not be your best bet this year. It might be that your donors would rather just write your organization a check; your group could earn more through a simple mailing or telephone donation campaign. Maybe an ongoing or online fundraising campaign can supplement or even replace your seasonal fundraising campaign.

Not taking advantage of fundraising resources:
- Few groups are lucky enough to have access to a fundraising professional, but there are free online resources (like FundraisingIP.com!) and books that provide lots of information. If your group has kept records of past fundraising campaigns, use this information to decide on future fundraisers. Good record keeping about what kind of fundraisers worked or didn’t work well for your group and why are a valuable resource for future volunteers.

Not enough help:
- Maybe you need to recruit more volunteers, or lower your volunteer turnover. To run a successful fundraiser, you need as much help as you can get. (Read more about volunteers.)

Poor merchandise:
- Most fundraiser products cost more to consumers than they would if purchased in a store. Buyers are willing to pay a little extra to support a local group, but that doesn’t mean they will continue to buy products of poor quality. Before choosing a supplier, ask for product samples.

Poor timing:
- Product sales have to be timed. That could mean selling when people are shopping for specific items, but it could also mean not selling when everyone else is. Donors only have so much to give.

Poor publicity:
- If people don’t know you’re looking for support, they won’t know to offer it. Visibility, ease of donation, and good publicity are elemental to successful fundraising. (Read more about marketing your fundraiser.)

Fundraising success doesn’t always come easy and it does involve some effort. Make sure that effort is well-placed in education and planning, and your fundraiser will be a smashing success!

* * * * *

To easily receive updates on new articles, fundraising ideas and more subscribe to FundraisingIP.com today.

Related posts:

• Fundraising And Affordabilty
• Accounting For Fundraising Efforts: Keeping Good Fundraising Records

Even if you are the leader of a fundraising project, you have to defer to the opinions of others.  In many cases, reaching a consensus on any matter is very difficult; often, a plethora of ideas – even really great ideas – just leads to disagreements and arguing.  People become fixated on getting their way, and lose sight of the bigger picture.

Having a room full of disagreeing fundraising volunteers can make it seem impossible to pull off a successful fundraiser, but if you hone your leadership skills, you can pull your group back together and still have a very successful fundraiser.

Don’t Take It Personal

Most fundraising volunteers have a personal stake in the group they are fundraising for.  So it’s natural that they might get emotionally invested, and possibly slip into disagreement.  Usually, the problem is that too many people are taking things personally, fighting more for their own ideas than for the best ideas.  If you can make your fellow fundraising volunteers see that that is what’s happening, you might strike a chord and get things back on track.

When making your point, though, be careful not to be too judgmental or accusational.  Speak in general terms to all, offer a few motivational words to remind people why you are all in this, and ask people to keep an open mind about the ideas of others.

Also, don’t let yourself take things too personally.  Accept that disagreement is part of the process, not always a reflection of poor leadership, and take confidence in the fact that your fundraiser should come off better for taking the time needed to make good decisions.

Take a break and re-focus.

Some Tips To Ease Fundraising Disagreements

The big task is to bring everybody back to a common ground.  Show them the problems that are facing your organization, as well as the problems the disagreements are creating within the group.  Hold a meeting or send out a letter and appeal to everyone’s good nature.  Then, open up the conversation and follow the majority rule.

•    Poll the group to put all the ideas on the table
•    Open up the conversation, but insist in civil discussion.  No personal attacks are to be allowed.
•    If someone really can’t participate in a civil manner, ask them to leave the group; you do not need that kind of ‘help’.
•    Take a vote to make major decisions, and go with the majority vote (not necessarily a majority of voters, but a majority of votes)
•    If all else fails, pull a hat trick and randomly choose your fundraiser.

For a really divisive group, consider enlisting the help of a neutral third party.

•    Ask a respected community or organization member to come in, listen to the group, and make a decision in the best interest of the group.  Explain to the group who is coming in and why, and explain that the decision of the mediator is final.
•    Consider hiring a professional fundraising consultant
•    Defer to the opinion of your fundraising company.  Explain the many options, details about your group size, membership, volunteer base, and your financial goal, and ask what the fundraising company recommends.

Dealing with a much divided group of fundraising volunteers is not easy, but with good management of the situation, you can save your fundraising program.  The key is to always aim to keep the focus of the group on the needs of the group, and not on the egos of individuals.

Related posts:

• Your Work At Home Experience Can Boost Your Child’s Fundraiser

No one does. Unfortunately, some small amount of stress may be part and parcel to running a fundraising campaign, or even to just participating in one. But no fundraiser should be so stressful that it overtakes the life of you and your volunteers. When that starts to happen, you have to cut yourself some slack and find a way to reduce fundraising stress.

Tips For Dealing With Stressful Fundraising Problems

There could be any number of reasons that you and/or your volunteers are finding your fundraiser to be too stressful. You might be involved in a fundraiser that your group doesn’t have the skills and resources to manage; you might not have the time to do what needs to be done; you might not have enough help (an all too common occurrence in fundraising!); or you might just no tlike the fundraiser.

These are all very real, very reasonable reasons why you might feel overwhelmingly stressed by your fundraiser. But these are manageable situations, too. Together with your group, identify the sources of fundraising stress, and then find ways to correct the problem or problems. The following tips and suggestions can help.

• Relax
Your effort in itself is a good and selfless thing. Take pride in yourself that you are selflessly giving of your time and energy, take a deep breath, and allow yourself a moment to relax.

• Recruit more help
A lack of hands is often the only reason fundraisers become stressful. Put effort into recruiting more volunteers rather than trying to spin your wheels doing everything yourself. That’s time really worth the investment!

• Delegate
Once you’ve built your working staff, decrease your workload and that of the others in your group by delegating and sharing the work. Free up your time and find enjoyment in your fundraiser!

• Simplify
If your fundraiser is just too complex and unmanageable, find ways to simplify it. Don’t try to do so much with one event or sale. Find ways to cut the workload down, even if it means downsizing the fundraiser. Hold a few fundraisers rather than one large, unwieldy campaign.

• Scrap it!
If the fundraiser is really not worth the effort and stress, scrap it and put your energy into something worthwhile!

• Meet
Meet with your group and brainstorm how this fundraiser can be made less stressful; plan ahead to make the next year easier.

• Hire some help
The best route for you to take may be to spend a little money on some professional help. In most cases, groups find the increase in funds from a manageable, successful fundraising consultant pay for themselves.

• Work your fundraising company
Fundraising companies are experts in the field and they have many resources designed to make your life in fundraising easier. Take advantage of everything they offer and let them earn their commission!

• Hit the boards
Join an online fundraising support group, chat, or forum. You’ll find others to there boost your confidence and offer creative solutions to common fundraising problems.

As a last piece of advice – have some fun! Fundraising is not supposed to be a drag and a drain on you personally. Connect with your fellow fundraisers, take some time to relax and enjoy each other, and build a support system. All by itself, finding someone to share your misery with can be a great solution to reducing the stress of a burdensome fundraiser.

Related posts:

• Tips For Dealing With Problems Within Your Volunteer Fundraising Group
• Put The Fun Back Into Your Fundraiser!
• Wanted – Volunteers: Recruiting Volunteers For Your Fundraiser
• Recognizing Fundraising Volunteers
• Is It Time For A Fundraising Change?

Consider Your Supporters

You have to consider that if you and your volunteers are bored with your fundraiser, the odds are better than good that your supporters are, too. Lack of interest is probably the top reason why fundraisers don’t bring in enough money. After all, if you can’t stand selling it, how do you expect your supporters to want to buy into it?

Add Some Spice To Your Fundraising Life

Sure, it’s a bit stressful knowing that your fundraiser is not very exciting. But when you look on the bright side, you’ll see that it may be just an opportunity to do something new and different. It’s a great opportunity for a fundraising leader to light a new fire under a group of volunteers and motivate supporters, and that is exactly how you need to sell it to your group.

Realize, though, that not everyone is eager to accept change. Often the reason that a group becomes saddled with a boring fundraiser is that it is easy because everyone knows exactly how to run it – a lot of the work is already done. But fundraisers should not be burdensome; they should be fun! And if your supporters are sick of your fundraiser, there’s really no saving it unless something changes.

To fix a boring fundraiser, you have two basic options.

1. Scrap it! Start fresh with something else – either an entirely new fundraiser, or something that’s shown promise in the past that could be built up into a great fundraiser with a bigger, better effort.

2. Spin it! Find a new twist to add excitement to an old stand-by. Instead of having a pie sale, have a pie and pie throwing sale! Instead of a fashion show, a fashion show with male models! Instead of a pizza night, a make your own pizza night! Anything that makes your fundraiser fun and interesting while motivating fundraiser volunteers – a standout among fundraisers.

Likewise, add some spice to the behind-the-scenes of fundraising. There is no reason that meetings and work sessions have to be all work. Bring in some treats, take a night off for cocktails, or just spend some time visiting and getting to know each other. When you enjoy your company, even the most boring of fundraising tasks can come to life.
Partners In Marketing: Planning Joint Fundraising Events

Related posts:

• Dealing With Problems: This Fundraiser Is Just Too Stressful!
• Is It Time For A Fundraising Change?
• Relay For Life Fundraising Ideas
• A Reason To Sell – Incentive Ideas For Fundraising Projects
• Wanted – Volunteers: Recruiting Volunteers For Your Fundraiser