Fundraising tips

Fundraising can be hard work, but should be fun, and is a lot easier with many hands! There are many factors that go into planning and implementing a successful fundraising effort and part of the key to fundraising is coming up with ideas for events that people will support.  We’re happy to share our fundraising tips and work with you to fundraise on our behalf.       

​Set your fundraising goals

Talk about why you want to hold a fundraiser, how much money you feel you can realistically raise, and who will benefit from your efforts.  If you fundraise for The Rob Branham Foundation, the funds will be used to help families facing leukemia and other blood cancers. 

​Decide what type of fundraising event you’ll hold.  At RBF, we believe that fundraising should be FUN – we’ve compiled a list of suggestions, which we’ve grouped into three main categories, that might get your thoughts in gear!

selling products

Whether you sell a product that is commercially-produced or have something designed especially for your group or cause, the successful sale of any product depends, in part, on how many people will do the selling, and how good they are at selling the product. Some products you might consider selling including candy bars, tins of assorted candies, lollipops, flowers, potted plants, wreaths, decorations, coupon books (created with local businesses), wrapping paper, greeting cards, stationary, calendars, collectibles, or anything you may have created especially for your group.  ​

social Events

Holding a successful social event is often determined, in large part, by the effectiveness of the publicity of the event (which we will help you do if you fundraise for us!). Some event ideas include dances (1950’s sock hops, big band style music, holiday-themed events), dinners, wine tasting or winery tours, bowling & arcade nights, craft beer tastings, ‘cook-offs’ (such as chile, pasta, cheesecake or other dessert, macaroni & cheese, etc.), ice cream socials, chocolate-lovers feast, pancake breakfast, movie events, or music events (such as Battle of the Bands or Karaoke night).

athletic events

You don’t have to run marathons to raise money for a good cause! A wide variety of both competitive and non-competitive athletic events are often held to raise money. Some ideas include 5K walks, 5K runs, rollerblading, bike riding, canoe or kayak paddling, team sports such as basketball or baseball, individual sports such as tennis or racquetball, or even intellectual sports such as chess or Scrabble. Also, friendly competition between two community groups is always fun!   

Online fundraising

With many of our fundraising ideas, we can work with you to use our online fundraising platform to handle event registration and management, peer to peer fundraising and crowdfunding, and communicating with your participants.  By working with The Rob Branham Foundation (a registered 501(C)3 public charity), the donations your participants make to your event are tax deductible!

Fundraising Tips

1. Form a fundraising team composed of people who will oversee different aspects of the process, as well as a team captain who will coordinate everything. 

2. Create a Task and Timeline chart.  Organizing and keeping track of all the tasks that have to be done, and when they have to be done by, can be a lot easier if you chart it all out.  Think of all the things that have to be done concerning the event venue, event sponsorships, ticket pricing /registration, activities that will take place during the event, event publicity, day-of-event set up and running the activities, and event follow-up.  The more you can clearly identify the tasks and chart them out, the more likely you’ll be to get them all done, and the easier it will be to ask people to help.
    
3. Identify support you’ll need and who you can ask for help.   Does your fundraising team have members who are good at using social media?  Will you be looking for sponsorships to help cover costs of putting on the event?  If so, what will encourage potential sponsors to help? Do you need a graphic designer?  An event photographer? How will you find good support (especially if they’ll volunteer their services)? 
    
​4. Celebrate and debrief after your event.  We learn so much from the process of planning and holding a fundraising event that it’s a good idea to debrief shortly after it’s over to discuss what worked well and what you might do differently if you hold another fundraising event.  Just as importantly, it’s good to celebrate the efforts of all those who contributed! ​