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You can raise money and awareness by selling goods and services
We’ve seen how public assets can be funded through taxes, doing the “same-or-more for less,” and charges. What
about all of the ways in which wider civil society can raise funds of their own volition? The most active way
in which this occurs is through non-profit asset support groups, such as Friends groups, which sell goods and
services (everything from “cakes and bakes” to a “chef at your disposal for the evening”) and tickets for events
(for everything from discos to quiz nights). Though there is donation and voluntarism involved since goods and
services usually come from existing supporters, fundraising ultimately involves encouraging people to buy things
they can use rather than asking them to give money and time to something that maybe is not (at least not yet)
of huge importance to them. Such fundraising also shows commitment of the groups to external funders and
supporters, raises awareness of the assets and often involves plenty of fun and enjoyment (some see it as “funraising”
as much as fund-raising).
Sales and event-hosting
The term fundraising is used here to refer to activities that organizations do and that people pay for. Such
activities include selling, renting, or auctioning various goods or services and hosting various events.
Organizations have raised funds for pretty much every activity they undertake, including:
• the printing of the Enoch Pratt Library newsletter in Baltimore
• funds for a skate-park project in Detroit
• supporting summer reading programs in public libraries
• maintenance of park facilities (as with People for Parks’ fundraising for the Lake Harriet Bandstand
in Minneapolis)
• funds for equipment and building improvements (as at the St. Anthony Park branch library in St. Paul)
This all requires a capacity for fundraising which can either be:
• Hired — external consultants;
• Recruited — for example, the Enoch Pratt Library in Baltimore now has a full Development Office;
• Borrowed — through skilled volunteers; or
• Developed — through volunteers learning by experience of fundraising and self-study.
Fundraising methods from sales have taken a range of forms that are set out in Table 3.7. Clearly the size of a
group and the scale of its need will have a bearing on the scale of fundraising required. Similarly, organizations
may be constrained by the types of talent and offers at their disposal.
Raising Money | 94