Initiating a fund-raising campaign serves to do more than simply raise money for your organization. Any fund-raising effort plays a crucial role in drawing attention to the work your organization has accomplished as well as gaining public support for your cause.

General Tips for Fund-Raising:

1. Collecting money from donors before spending or committing to spend it, where possible, minimizes the financial risk to your organization.

2. Compile a list of your members, if applicable, that clearly states: (a) the resources each one is willing to offer your organization and (b) under which circumstances they can be asked for assistance.

3. Always give donors something in return for the financial assistance they have provided or time they have volunteered to your organization. Research the individual or group that gave the donation and select an appropriate gift.

Two Methods of Fund-Raising

"Like little drops from a bucket, eventually all the little drops together will fill a bucket. So even though what I am doing may be a little drop, together as we fight this disease, we will someday fill the bucket."

-- A 16-year-old African-American young man who advocates HIV/AIDS education and awareness in Dade City, Florida

The first method of fund-raising involves initiating campaigns that serve to secure monetary donations from individuals, businesses and other organizations. This approach eliminates the expense of hosting an event and can be accomplished in a number of different ways. Although fund-raising campaigns require extensive planning and preparation, a few tips with which to begin are:

• Prepare a written statement that can accompany any request you make to prospective donors. These statements include a clear and detailed description of the work your organization does, an explanation why you need to raise funds, what you plan to do with the money you raise, and the benefits of spending the money in this manner.

• Since you only require funds, not time or attendance of the donors, choose a form of request that is simple and straightforward. Successful campaigns have used donation receptacles, organized letter-writing campaigns, or personal visits to homes and businesses for donations.

• When requesting donations from any business, it is important to note that you may not be able to receive a monetary gift. Be prepared to ask each merchant for donations that reflect the nature of their business such as airline tickets from an airline, food for your next event from a restaurant, or printing of educational materials from a printer.

The second and more complex type of fund-raising is hosting a charity/benefit event. This type of fund-raising allows an organization to receive large amounts of financial support at once. However, planning fund-raising events requires considerably more money and assistance of many people than a campaign. Some tips to keep in mind while organizing a fund-raising event are:

• Choose an event that appeals to as diverse an audience as possible. The more people that your activity appeals to, the better your chances of raising funds and increasing local support. The target audience for your event may include: members, prospective members, donors, the business community, other organizations, and various members of the local community.

• Prepare a list of everything you will need for the event and attempt to have as much of it donated to your organization as possible! If donations are not possible, rent or buy on consignment (only buy what you use and return the rest) from commercial suppliers.

• Be patient and donÕt be afraid to ask for special discounts, deals or treatments.

• Ask local businesses to offer tickets for sale in their stores.

For more information on fund-raising, visit www.foundationcenter.org on the Internet.

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