The Practical Fundraising Handbook
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<strong>The</strong><br />
practical<br />
<strong>Fundraising</strong><br />
<strong>Handbook</strong><br />
for school and club volunteers<br />
+ 101<br />
fundraising<br />
ideas<br />
Mandy weidmann
About the Author<br />
Mandy Weidmann is in a unique position to write <strong>The</strong> <strong>Practical</strong> <strong>Fundraising</strong><br />
<strong>Handbook</strong> for school and club volunteers.<br />
She is the fundraising coordinator at her childrens’ school – so she<br />
understands fully the everyday challenges and triumphs in working with other<br />
volunteers to raise funds for a good cause.<br />
She is a small business owner – she knows a good idea when she sees one,<br />
and how to bring out its best advantages. She also knows how important it is<br />
to have a great plan in place.<br />
She is a qualified lawyer – she is good with detail, negotiation and solutions.<br />
She is the publisher of the <strong>Fundraising</strong> Directory – she is at the forefront of<br />
Australia’s fundraising activities, latest ideas and hottest trends!<br />
She is a media commentator – she knows how to answer the big questions<br />
about fundraising.<br />
She is a mother of four children - she knows all about trying to manage<br />
chaos!<br />
Mandy loves to hear ideas and stories from volunteers in the community.<br />
You can:<br />
• reach her on Facebook at facebook.com/fundraisingdirectory<br />
• subscribe to her tips and newsletters at fundraisingdirectory.com.au<br />
• send her email at mandy@fundraisingdirectory.com.au
Copyright © Mandy Weidmann 2013<br />
<strong>The</strong> author asserts her moral rights in this work throughout the world without<br />
waiver. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,<br />
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means,<br />
electronic, mechanical or photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the<br />
prior permission of the publisher.<br />
Published by Mandy Weidmann<br />
PO Box 1516 Coorparoo DC<br />
Queensland Australia 4151<br />
Email: mandy@fundraisingdirectory.com.au<br />
Website: www.fundraisingdirectory.com.au<br />
ISBN 978-0-646-59414-9<br />
Categories:<br />
1. <strong>Fundraising</strong><br />
2. Clubs and societies for special causes<br />
3. Charity organisations and practices<br />
4. Volunteerism<br />
5. Philanthropy<br />
Edited by: Heather Grant<br />
Printed by: Digital Print Australia<br />
Cover & Book Designed by: Vanessa Cook<br />
Illustrated by: Mathu Martin
<strong>The</strong><br />
practical<br />
<strong>Fundraising</strong><br />
<strong>Handbook</strong><br />
for school and club volunteers<br />
First Edition<br />
by Mandy weidmann
This book is dedicated with love to the memory of Helen Creswick,<br />
the original ‘Queen of <strong>Fundraising</strong>’.
Contents<br />
Introduction 11<br />
Part 1: Strategic Planning 13<br />
1. <strong>The</strong> Grassroots <strong>Fundraising</strong> Strategy Map TM 15<br />
Key message ..........................................................................................18<br />
Target .....................................................................................................18<br />
Outcome drivers ....................................................................................19<br />
Supporter base .......................................................................................19<br />
Action ....................................................................................................20<br />
Resources ...............................................................................................21<br />
2. A <strong>Practical</strong> Guide to Creating Your Strategy 25<br />
Pre-meeting tasks ...................................................................................26<br />
Survey ............................................................................................26<br />
Gather information ................................................................................28<br />
Spending and investment history29<br />
<strong>Fundraising</strong> history29<br />
<strong>Fundraising</strong> research29<br />
Organise meeting logistics30<br />
Strategy Meeting ....................................................................................31<br />
Establishing purpose ......................................................................32<br />
Establishing goals ..........................................................................33<br />
Establishing a target .......................................................................36<br />
Creating a statement of attainment ................................................39<br />
Template: Example survey of community ........................................................42<br />
Template: Strategy meeting agenda ..................................................................43<br />
3. Mapping a <strong>Fundraising</strong> Calendar 45<br />
<strong>Fundraising</strong> plans with benefits .............................................................46<br />
Three essential starters ...........................................................................47<br />
Your fundraising history ................................................................47<br />
Available resources ........................................................................48<br />
Your fundraising tools ...................................................................50
6<br />
<strong>The</strong> practical <strong>Fundraising</strong> <strong>Handbook</strong><br />
Brainstorm fundraising ideas .................................................................53<br />
Top 10 practicalities ...............................................................................54<br />
1. Reference your goals ...............................................................54<br />
2. Work targets backwards ...........................................................54<br />
3. Put a figure next to each activity ..............................................55<br />
4. Go for tried and true (most of the time!) .................................55<br />
5. Mix it! ......................................................................................55<br />
6. Select a supplier .......................................................................56<br />
7. It’s not always about the money ..............................................56<br />
8. Always leverage .......................................................................56<br />
9. Check timing ............................................................................57<br />
10. <strong>The</strong> best laid plans ...................................................................58<br />
Part 2: Action 63<br />
4. Running a <strong>Fundraising</strong> Drive 65<br />
<strong>The</strong> must-do’s of fundraising drives ......................................................67<br />
1. Run your fundraising drive like a business ..............................67<br />
Budget for profit67<br />
Cash flow67<br />
Return on Investment (ROI)67<br />
Leftover stock68<br />
Sell-out68<br />
Creeping costs68<br />
Commitment68<br />
Accountability68<br />
Track to goals69<br />
2. Plan ..........................................................................................69<br />
Timeframes69<br />
Paperwork / logistics69<br />
Volunteers69<br />
3. Insurance and risk management ...............................................70<br />
4. Incentives .................................................................................71<br />
5. Keep on top of the admin .........................................................74<br />
<strong>Fundraising</strong> drives’ shifting gears ..........................................................75<br />
Pre-launch ......................................................................................76<br />
Launch ...........................................................................................77
Contents 7<br />
Midpoint momentum shake-ups ....................................................78<br />
Driving it home ..............................................................................79<br />
Distribution ....................................................................................80<br />
Wrap-up .........................................................................................82<br />
Template: Example <strong>Fundraising</strong> Drive Newsletter Content .............................83<br />
5. Fetes and Outdoor Events 85<br />
Set a goal ...............................................................................................87<br />
Make a date ............................................................................................87<br />
Dream themes ........................................................................................89<br />
Appoint a fete committee ......................................................................90<br />
Fete Convenor (Chief Event Organiser – CEO) ............................90<br />
Fete Secretary ................................................................................91<br />
Fete Treasurer ................................................................................92<br />
Meeting for the first time ...............................................................93<br />
<strong>The</strong> Fete file: A fete convenor’s bible ....................................................95<br />
Your pre-fete check list ..........................................................................96<br />
1. Location ...................................................................................96<br />
2. Entertainment ...........................................................................98<br />
3. Insurance and risk management .............................................102<br />
4. Utilities ..................................................................................103<br />
5. Hire a generator .....................................................................104<br />
6. Equipment hire .......................................................................104<br />
7. Money matters .......................................................................105<br />
8. Stalls ......................................................................................107<br />
9. First Aid .................................................................................108<br />
10. Publicity .................................................................................108<br />
11. Photography ........................................................................... 110<br />
12. Fete Program .......................................................................... 110<br />
13. Sponsors ................................................................................. 111<br />
14. Volunteers .............................................................................. 114<br />
<strong>The</strong> day before the fete ........................................................................ 115<br />
It’s show time! ..................................................................................... 116<br />
Clean-up and wrap-up ......................................................................... 117<br />
6. Special Events 119<br />
What is a special event? .......................................................................120
8<br />
<strong>The</strong> practical <strong>Fundraising</strong> <strong>Handbook</strong><br />
Successful fundraising special events’ key criteria .............................120<br />
Choosing the most appropriate fundraiser for your special event .......122<br />
Trivia nights .................................................................................123<br />
Casino night .................................................................................125<br />
Gala dinners .................................................................................127<br />
Sit-down comedy dinner ..............................................................128<br />
Planning your special event .................................................................128<br />
Key points needing attention ...............................................................130<br />
<strong>The</strong>ming .......................................................................................130<br />
Invitations ....................................................................................130<br />
Master of ceremonies ..................................................................130<br />
Cashing in on your night out .......................................................131<br />
Thanking sponsors ...............................................................................133<br />
Will there be a next time? ....................................................................134<br />
7. Sponsorships, Grants and Strategic Partnerships 137<br />
Sponsorship .........................................................................................138<br />
Who to ask ...................................................................................139<br />
1. Corporates139<br />
2. Local businesses140<br />
3. Politicians141<br />
What to ask for ............................................................................142<br />
Cash 142<br />
Prize donations142<br />
In-kind support143<br />
<strong>The</strong> benefits of being a sponsor ...................................................143<br />
A pro’s guide to proposing...................................................................145<br />
Community partnerships......................................................................147<br />
Grants...................................................................................................148<br />
Types of Grants ............................................................................149<br />
1. Government grants149<br />
2. Corporate grants149<br />
3. Philanthropic grants150<br />
Your grant application .................................................................151<br />
What your grant application will need ................................................151<br />
NEVER take grants for granted ...................................................152<br />
Template: Example of Fete Sponsorship Proposal .........................................153
Contents 9<br />
8. Communication: spreading the word, getting it heard 159<br />
<strong>The</strong> who, what and why of communication ........................................160<br />
Internal audiences .......................................................................161<br />
External audiences .......................................................................161<br />
Purpose of messages ............................................................................162<br />
Getting your message out there ...........................................................164<br />
Publicity officer ...........................................................................164<br />
Your communications plan ..........................................................165<br />
Channels of communication ................................................................166<br />
good old-fashioned face-to-face talking! .....................................166<br />
group assemblies or gatherings. ...................................................166<br />
group newsletters – electronic or printed.....................................167<br />
eBlasts. .........................................................................................168<br />
website. ........................................................................................168<br />
social media. ................................................................................169<br />
go viral. ........................................................................................169<br />
community newsletters. ...............................................................169<br />
local community newspapers. ......................................................169<br />
local radio stations (AM and FM) ...............................................169<br />
online ‘what’s on’ columns. .........................................................169<br />
the “big media”. ...........................................................................169<br />
Top tips for writing a media release ....................................................170<br />
Timing ..........................................................................................171<br />
Significance .................................................................................171<br />
Proximity .....................................................................................171<br />
Prominence ..................................................................................172<br />
Human interest .............................................................................172<br />
Template: Example 1: Media Release .............................................................174<br />
Template: Example 2: Media Release .............................................................175<br />
Template: Example Event Communications Plan ...........................................176<br />
Part 3: Resources 179<br />
9. People: Leadership and Volunteers 181<br />
Leadership ...........................................................................................183<br />
<strong>The</strong> ‘political power-player’ ................................................................184<br />
Guidelines for receiving the gift of time .............................................186
10<br />
<strong>The</strong> practical <strong>Fundraising</strong> <strong>Handbook</strong><br />
1. Establish your need ................................................................187<br />
2. Agree on standards of behaviour and create an ..........................<br />
inclusive culture. ....................................................................188<br />
3. Break it down and recruit ......................................................192<br />
Include a form seeking member/parent/carer details193<br />
Create a highly-visible volunteer sign-up board194<br />
Don’t forget the newbies! 194<br />
Get busy and get personal195<br />
Be an early bird196<br />
Embrace micro-tasking196<br />
Virtual volunteering197<br />
4. Value your volunteers ............................................................198<br />
Patience and understanding198<br />
Stay in touch198<br />
Do what you say you are going to do199<br />
<strong>The</strong> Volunteers’ Appreciation Society199<br />
5. Avoid ‘fundraising fatigue’ ....................................................201<br />
Succession planning ............................................................................202<br />
Template: Example of ‘Just One Thing’ Letter ...............................................203<br />
10. Knowledge: Skills and Handover 205<br />
Skilling up............................................................................................207<br />
Handling the handover .........................................................................208<br />
Finding wisdom in the wind-down ..............................................209<br />
Going for goal ..............................................................................210<br />
What could we have done better? ................................................ 211<br />
Seeking opinions ..........................................................................213<br />
Putting it all on paper...........................................................................214<br />
Now you’ve written it, what do you do? .............................................214<br />
Let’s do it all again ..............................................................................215<br />
Template: Handover Report Template ............................................................216<br />
11. <strong>The</strong> Completed Grassroots <strong>Fundraising</strong> Strategy Map TM 219<br />
101 <strong>Fundraising</strong> Ideas 223<br />
Acknowledgments............................................................................256
Introduction<br />
To begin with, THANK YOU: YOU ARE A LEGEND! Volunteering for<br />
a community organisation attracts a special type of person, and you must<br />
be one of them if you are reading this book. I know you aren’t in it for the<br />
thanks, but you still deserve to hear it.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Practical</strong> <strong>Fundraising</strong> <strong>Handbook</strong> is the result of years of my own<br />
involvement in grassroots fundraising as well as the collective wisdom of<br />
a virtual community created through the <strong>Fundraising</strong> Directory readership<br />
and its Facebook page. Nothing has been held back in these pages — all<br />
the lessons learned (for better and worse), the tips, stories and experiences<br />
that make fundraising a positive, rewarding and more straightforward<br />
experience are here.<br />
When you volunteer for your organisation, you sacrifice your own time<br />
and opportunities so you want to make certain that you get more ‘bang<br />
for your buck’. Success breeds success, increasing the engagement<br />
of supporters, sponsors and volunteers,which in turn improves future<br />
fundraising endeavours. It is a cycle that any community group can move<br />
towards, starting with some of the simple strategies contained in this book.<br />
Dealing with thousands of fundraising volunteers over the years, I have<br />
identified five ‘secrets’ common to the most successful fundraisers:
12 Introduction<br />
1. <strong>The</strong>y create a strategic plan.<br />
2. <strong>The</strong>y always communicate expectations.<br />
3. <strong>The</strong>y create an inclusive culture.<br />
4. <strong>The</strong>y have effective leadership.<br />
5. <strong>The</strong>y retain and pass on knowledge.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Practical</strong> <strong>Fundraising</strong> <strong>Handbook</strong> addresses these five elements as<br />
well as so much more.<br />
When it comes to planning, I have developed a new framework, the<br />
Grassroots <strong>Fundraising</strong> Strategy Map TM . This framework clearly sets out<br />
all of the elements needed for successful school and club fundraising.<br />
You don’t need to have the resources of tertiary-trained fundraisers. Your<br />
cause does not need to be a household name. You do not need to have a big<br />
budget. It does not need to be your full-time job. Rather, my Grassroots<br />
<strong>Fundraising</strong> Strategy Map TM is designed for everyday volunteers who are<br />
looking for some structure to bring them improved fundraising success.<br />
Yes, there might be words in this book like ‘outcome drivers’, ‘strategic<br />
partnerships’ and ‘succession planning’. I make no apology for talking<br />
about ‘strategic plans’ and ‘marketing plans’ and ‘handover notes’ (in fact,<br />
I harp on about the latter a lot!) because these are all so critical to success.<br />
<strong>Fundraising</strong> is not easy, but it can be easier – if done right. And when<br />
‘done right’, there’s a much higher probability of seeing your goals<br />
realised. At the same time, you will be putting a bit more FUN back into<br />
fundraising.<br />
I hope you find what you need in this book to raise more money and have<br />
more fun!<br />
Happy <strong>Fundraising</strong>!<br />
Mandy Weidmann
Part 1:<br />
Strategic<br />
Planning<br />
1Part<br />
Without goals, and plans to reach them,<br />
you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.<br />
Fitzhugh Dodson, child-rearing expert<br />
Few people have time — or energy — to waste, so make certain your<br />
fundraising doesn’t.
14<br />
Part 1: Strategic Planning<br />
Chapter 1 takes you through the Grassroots <strong>Fundraising</strong> Strategy<br />
Map TM to clarify the process needed to create an effective strategic plan.<br />
Chapter 2 takes you step-by-step through the strategy creating process,<br />
including templates to make the whole process easier.<br />
Chapter 3 shows you how to break your target down into individual<br />
fundraising activities, and set a workable fundraising calendar.
<strong>The</strong> Grassroots<br />
<strong>Fundraising</strong><br />
Strategy Map TM<br />
Chapter<br />
1<br />
In the corporate world, strategic planning is an organisation’s way of<br />
defining its strategy or direction, and making decisions on allocating its<br />
resources to pursue that strategy.<br />
For some unfathomable reason, strategic planning is rarely a priority<br />
in community-based fundraising. Perhaps the idea just smacks of big<br />
business too much: perhaps committees see it as a waste of time when<br />
they have so much to do and so little time to do it in. Perhaps volunteers<br />
feel they do not have the necessary skills.<br />
I’m here to tell you, it can be done! I am so convinced about the<br />
difference strategic planning makes to fundraising outcomes, I have<br />
developed an intuitive planning tool to make it more straightforward:<br />
the Grassroots <strong>Fundraising</strong> Strategy Map TM .<br />
Before revealing the Grassroots <strong>Fundraising</strong> Strategy Map TM , let me<br />
summarise why - ultimately - this is worth your time:<br />
• Setting goals and priorities provides a focus that will bring<br />
out the best in your volunteers and supporters.<br />
• It assists in the selection of fundraising options and<br />
strategies.
16<br />
Part 1: Strategic Planning<br />
• Having clarity around your message and purpose improves<br />
outcomes for the recruitment and engagement of volunteers<br />
and supporters, leading to improved fundraising revenue.<br />
Now let me introduce you to the Grassroots <strong>Fundraising</strong> Strategy<br />
Map TM .<br />
Maps get you to destinations. My Grassroots <strong>Fundraising</strong> Strategy<br />
Map TM is no different.<br />
Every block represents a logical next step in your ‘big picture’ planning.<br />
It’s a visual reminder of:<br />
• why you are doing what you are doing – your purpose and<br />
goals<br />
• how you are going to achieve it<br />
• who is going to help you get there<br />
• what actions you will need to achieve your goal<br />
• what specific resources need to be made available.
Chapter 1: <strong>The</strong> Grassroots <strong>Fundraising</strong> Strategy Map TM 17<br />
Grassroots <strong>Fundraising</strong> Strategy Map TM<br />
Key<br />
Message<br />
Purpose<br />
Goals<br />
why<br />
Target<br />
$XXX,000<br />
Outcome<br />
Drivers<br />
Revenue Costs<br />
how<br />
Supporter<br />
Base<br />
Existing Supporters<br />
New Supporters<br />
who<br />
Action<br />
<strong>Fundraising</strong> Activity<br />
Communications Plan<br />
what<br />
to do<br />
Resources<br />
People<br />
Knowledge<br />
what<br />
we need<br />
© Mandy Weidmann, Grassroots <strong>Fundraising</strong> Strategy Map TM
18<br />
Part 1: Strategic Planning<br />
As we work though this book, each of the map’s building blocks will<br />
become clear but let me take a moment to explain it in a nutshell.<br />
Key message<br />
Organisations have a purpose. To borrow again from the corporate<br />
world, it might also be called a ‘mission statement’. It answers the<br />
question: ‘why do we exist?’ In its purest form, it is one memorable<br />
sentence — concise, active and positive — that answers the ‘why’ of<br />
your group’s being.<br />
In having a clear understanding of why your group does what it does,<br />
you are able to establish goals — physical outcomes you wish to<br />
achieve through your fundraising efforts that reflect your purpose. Your<br />
goals are the tangible investments that will be made possible through<br />
your fundraising.<br />
Together, the purpose and goals form the key message. Your key<br />
message serves as the cornerstone of communicating your need to<br />
your immediate community — whether that’s the families that make<br />
up a school or a sports club or the members of a historical association<br />
or church congregation — as well as the wider community. <strong>The</strong><br />
key message offers a glimpse to the story behind your organisation:<br />
and it needs to be referred back to throughout the planning process.<br />
Everything your group does must uphold your key message, particularly<br />
your fundraising activities.<br />
Target<br />
Knowing what you want (and why) is one thing. Knowing what it will<br />
take to achieve is another. You might have a whole lot of small goals<br />
or one super-sized objective. Either way, you need to know the dollar<br />
value, all up. That becomes your target.
Chapter 1: <strong>The</strong> Grassroots <strong>Fundraising</strong> Strategy Map TM 19<br />
Chapter 2 takes you through the process of establishing your key<br />
message and target.<br />
Outcome drivers<br />
You have a target. How will you reach it? When a company looks<br />
at how it can improve its bottom-line (being profit), it considers its<br />
incomings and outgoings. Community fundraising groups need to do<br />
that too. Examine your spending and investment history. Look at ways<br />
you can increase revenue (for example, hiring out your hall to another<br />
group on the days that it is unused or making different fundraising<br />
choices) and reduce costs (such as paying for a canteen coordinator<br />
only and using volunteers as serving staff). <strong>The</strong>se are what I refer to as<br />
outcome drivers.<br />
Supporter base<br />
To use the corporate analogy again, a company looking at improving its<br />
bottom-line will look at its customer base: who it is reaching and who<br />
it should be reaching. <strong>The</strong> same goes for community fundraising. Your<br />
group needs a clear understanding of its supporter base and a plan to<br />
engage and leverage existing supporters while looking for ways to<br />
source new supporters.<br />
Think outside the box with this one. If your existing supporters feel they<br />
are being ‘hit up’ too often, think laterally about who else can become<br />
engaged with your community. For example, you could:<br />
• move your auctions to an online system so the broader<br />
public has an opportunity to bid<br />
• put your spell-a-thon online. Now Grandma in Scotland<br />
can become a sponsor
20<br />
Part 1: Strategic Planning<br />
• get involved with local businesses through loyalty<br />
programs<br />
• pursue grants.<br />
While this book concentrates on the three core elements of ‘strategic<br />
planning, action and resources’, outcome drivers and your supporter<br />
base are important elements to keep in the back of your mind<br />
throughout your entire planning and execution process.<br />
Action<br />
Identifying your supporter base — or market — helps inform the next<br />
building block. Action is all about ‘what will we do?’ In this phase,<br />
your group executes its fundraising activities, aligned to your purpose,<br />
and with your goals and the ultimate target in mind. <strong>The</strong>re are so many<br />
different fundraising options to consider. Just look at the 101 ideas<br />
at the end of this book: they are off the top of my head! But no one<br />
fundraiser suits all. Your supporter base is a critical influence, as is your<br />
key message.<br />
For example, a custom-labelled wine drive would not be appropriate for<br />
a support group for families affected by alcohol dependence.<br />
In chapter 3, I explain how to map out a fundraising calendar that meets<br />
your goals, and is timed to maximise support.<br />
But what good is a fundraising calendar if no-one knows what’s<br />
happening? That’s where communication comes in. Again, I’m not<br />
just talking ad hoc ‘happened to mention it’ communication: I’m<br />
talking planned. A marketing plan is as critical to your Action phase<br />
as running your fundraising activities. It relates back to another of the<br />
five fundamental elements of successful fundraising I mentioned at the<br />
outset — the importance of communicating expectations.
Chapter 1: <strong>The</strong> Grassroots <strong>Fundraising</strong> Strategy Map TM 21<br />
With messages bombarding our lives every which way every day, your<br />
key message needs to rise above the white noise and gain the attention<br />
of volunteers and supporters from the get-go. Planned communication<br />
involves a dialogue with your community so that everybody knows<br />
your key message — what you are about (purpose) and where you<br />
are heading (goal). This is where goal setting sessions will really pay<br />
off!! A marketing plan ensures communication is planned, strategic<br />
and clear: not haphazard, reactive or last-minute. Well-executed, your<br />
supporter base will be left in no doubt of the value and benefit that your<br />
organisation provides. If the community understands and identifies with<br />
your goal, your ‘ask’ — or fundraising request — will have a context<br />
and a more positive reception. If you are going to have a very active<br />
fundraising year, let everyone know in advance (and explain why) so<br />
that they are prepared — and that means making allowances in their<br />
budgets as well as their schedules.<br />
Chapter 8 is all about communication, including how to develop a<br />
marketing or communication strategy.<br />
Resources<br />
Last, but certainly not least, comes the identification of your resources.<br />
In plain terms, what (or who) is needed to realise your target. You need<br />
to have the capacity to deliver or your goal will remain a pipe dream.<br />
You need people and knowledge. Let me explain briefly.<br />
People refers to your workforce. <strong>The</strong>re’s the inner sanctum or your<br />
committee (a president, convenor or chair, secretary and treasurer<br />
making up the core); specific critical leadership roles for individual<br />
activities (such as fete coordinator); key positions that tie all activities<br />
together (like the publicity officer or a volunteer coordinator) plus the<br />
many hands who make light work, your volunteer army.
22<br />
Part 1: Strategic Planning<br />
Recruiting and retaining volunteers is possibly the most common<br />
challenge faced in grassroots fundraising. Various strategies can<br />
be implemented but I cannot emphasise enough the importance of<br />
developing a culture of inclusion — the third of my five ‘secrets’ to<br />
successful fundraising.<br />
An inclusive culture is one in which everybody feels accepted without<br />
negativity; where newcomers feel ‘safe’ and welcome; where all<br />
members feel confident to contribute ideas and energy in a positive<br />
environment and are encouraged to participate.<br />
Leadership is another ‘secret’ I have observed in successful committees.<br />
A leader sets the tone for the committee. This may seem like a lot<br />
of pressure but it’s not as hard as it sounds. <strong>The</strong> best leaders I have<br />
witnessed within community organisations are those that recognise<br />
the value of an inclusive culture. <strong>The</strong>y are not leaders that ‘do it all’<br />
themselves. In fact, the less they ‘do’, the better, leaving the space for<br />
everybody else to make a valuable contribution.<br />
All this and more in chapter 9.<br />
Knowledge is the other resource factor that must be considered. It is<br />
my final ‘secret’ to successful fundraising and one that is too often<br />
overlooked.<br />
<strong>The</strong> first part is about your volunteers having the appropriate skills for<br />
the task in front of them. Most often, your volunteers will rise to the<br />
task with the skills they bring to the table, but consider the value that<br />
skills training can add to them personally and to your organisation.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are plenty of free/ low cost options for training which we cover in<br />
chapter 10.<br />
<strong>The</strong> second (and most important!) part is handover. Imagine a<br />
multinational company allowing its staff to leave without any handover<br />
or system in place to train their replacement. It’s incomprehensible!
Chapter 1: <strong>The</strong> Grassroots <strong>Fundraising</strong> Strategy Map TM 23<br />
Yet it happens time and again with fundraising committees. When it<br />
comes to the revolving door of volunteers, some may stay for many<br />
years while others drift in and out. Without a system of record keeping,<br />
valuable knowledge is likely to be lost, trapped in the minds of<br />
volunteers past.<br />
Knowledge loss wastes valuable time and impedes the ‘evolution’ of<br />
fundraising outcomes. Without the tools to evolve and improve over<br />
time, fundraising becomes a guessing game and strategic growth is<br />
impossible. Yet simple systems can be established to capture this<br />
knowledge and ensure that every experience becomes a learning<br />
opportunity. All is revealed in chapter 10.<br />
So, that, in a nutshell is the Grassroots <strong>Fundraising</strong> Strategy Map TM .<br />
Believe me, taking the time to plan in this methodical way will put an<br />
end to haphazard, ineffective, half-baked activities involving the same<br />
people who inevitably run out of time — and puff!<br />
This book is divided into three main parts. Part 1 - Strategic Planning<br />
goes through the strategic planning part of the map. Part 2 - Action<br />
helps you map your activity. This is where I share the how to’s and<br />
lessons learnt from years of grassroots fundraising. Part 3 - Resources<br />
is all about volunteers and knowledge, including the all-important<br />
handover notes.<br />
I then share my 101 top fundraising ideas!
A <strong>Practical</strong><br />
Guide to<br />
Creating Your<br />
Strategy<br />
Chapter<br />
2<br />
In real life, strategy is actually very straightforward.<br />
You pick a general direction and implement like hell.<br />
Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric<br />
In this chapter you will learn:<br />
• practical steps to prepare for your strategy session<br />
• how to conduct a strategy meeting<br />
• simple ways to define a goal that’s SMART<br />
• how to document your goals and strategic plan<br />
• ways to inspire your committee so that you all work<br />
together towards a unified goal.<br />
We have established that your group sets itself up for success by<br />
developing a sound fundraising strategy.
26<br />
Part 1: Strategic Planning<br />
Your strategy will allow your group to take a long-term view, plan,<br />
prioritise and resource your fundraising and, ultimately, increase and<br />
diversify your fundraising income.<br />
A strategy doesn’t just ‘happen’, however.<br />
Just as you would be unlikely to turn up at an important work meeting<br />
unprepared, some homework is needed before holding a strategy<br />
session. Time spent now in the pre-meeting stage will enable your<br />
committee to make informed decisions.<br />
Pre-meeting tasks<br />
Your team has agreed that it is best to prepare a plan for the coming<br />
year. It is time to ‘get your ducks lined up’ to assist the planning<br />
process.<br />
Survey<br />
A survey is a great first step in putting your strategic plan together.<br />
It means you don’t have to do all the thinking on your own, plus you<br />
engage with your community.<br />
Even if the response is limited, you have at least offered your<br />
community the opportunity to have their say.<br />
You may also be surprised at the innovative, creative and ‘out of the<br />
box’ suggestions that emerge.<br />
A well-constructed survey will gather information in three key areas:<br />
• ideas and feedback on goals and spending priorities<br />
• ideas and feedback on fundraising<br />
• available resources, including those all-important<br />
volunteers.
Chapter 2: A <strong>Practical</strong> Guide to Creating Your Strategy 27<br />
TIP<br />
About surveys<br />
A survey can be a totally blank canvas. Or it can list specific<br />
ideas about which you are seeking feedback. If you have<br />
priorities in mind already, then ask respondents to place them<br />
in order of importance.<br />
Surveys can be carried out in three formats:<br />
• Paper. If you have a small group and are not confident<br />
with the latest technology then the tried and tested paper<br />
survey can be a good option<br />
• Email. No great technical know-how is needed for this<br />
— although you do need email addresses. Email out a<br />
list of questions to your committee and members of the<br />
broader community. You can follow-up with a quick email<br />
reminder to encourage maximum response<br />
• Online. For larger groups or those keen to embrace new<br />
methods, I recommend going online. A number of free<br />
survey websites make it easy to distribute questions,<br />
collect responses and collate information. For example,<br />
surveymonkey.com offers a free basic plan allowing 10<br />
questions and 100 responses per survey. Higher throughput<br />
attracts a fee.<br />
Survey websites generally allow you to load in your<br />
questions, nominate the type of answer required (e.g.<br />
descriptive, multiple choice, true/ false) and then distribute<br />
the link to potential respondents. <strong>The</strong> link is usually<br />
emailed. It can also be put on a website or blog as well as<br />
social media sites.
28<br />
Part 1: Strategic Planning<br />
It is worthwhile seeking input from staff, coaches and teachers too. This<br />
may mean inviting them to answer your general survey or preparing<br />
a specific survey for them. If you are a parent body within a school,<br />
your spending priorities must be made in consultation with the school.<br />
You may invite the principal or other key staff members to attend your<br />
strategic planning session. Likewise volunteer fundraisers for a sporting<br />
club will be guided on investment needs by the club itself.<br />
A simple survey is included at the end of this chapter.<br />
TIP<br />
If you haven’t yet collected email addresses within your<br />
community, circulate the survey and ask for respondents’ email<br />
addresses to keep them informed of progress. This forms a<br />
starting point for your email database.<br />
Gather information<br />
In addition to the ideas you glean from your community, you need to be<br />
armed with information about the past as well as future options. Hunt<br />
out:<br />
• spending and investment history<br />
• fundraising history<br />
• fundraising research.
Chapter 2: A <strong>Practical</strong> Guide to Creating Your Strategy 29<br />
Spending and investment history<br />
I highly recommend auditing investments and expenses over the<br />
previous couple of years. This exercise helps to reflect on the<br />
appropriateness of the expenditure, a process that can offer guidance<br />
for future spending and goal setting. Gathering this information<br />
about past investments also helps when it comes time to prepare your<br />
communication plan: your supporters need reminding of the value your<br />
group has provided over the years.<br />
<strong>Fundraising</strong> history<br />
You need to find out as precisely as possible the profit information of all<br />
previous activities. This may prove difficult if past treasurers rounded<br />
every profit into one lump sum. Search for:<br />
• handover notes recording a profit figure<br />
• invoices<br />
• meeting minutes which refer to profits<br />
• notes taken from discussions with previous organisers<br />
• anything else you think will be relevant!<br />
Identify activities that did well and put a question mark next to the ones<br />
that didn’t. Consider ways that each can improve or evolve.<br />
<strong>Fundraising</strong> research<br />
Hopefully your survey asked for some fundraising ideas. In the<br />
lead-up to your strategy meeting, have a quick brainstorm and request<br />
information packs from suppliers. In Australia, the <strong>Fundraising</strong><br />
Directory website (fundraisingdirectory.com.au) makes this easy.<br />
Information can be requested from various suppliers from this one site.
30<br />
Part 1: Strategic Planning<br />
Organise meeting logistics<br />
Time and place<br />
<strong>The</strong> process of developing your strategy takes time. It could take half<br />
a day to do thoroughly in one go. This is not something you want to<br />
rush (forget about it being on a weeknight, starting at 8pm!). If one<br />
big session is daunting, break the planning into two separate meetings:<br />
the first to define your key message (purpose and goals) followed by a<br />
session that creates the action plan.<br />
Whether done in one hit or over two sessions, your planning requires an<br />
atmosphere that is business-like yet congenial, in a location that allows<br />
undisturbed focus in a relaxed manner (coffee, tea or wine may help!).<br />
This is an opportunity for team-building, to form trust and encourage an<br />
open sharing of ideas.<br />
Assemble stakeholders<br />
Developing your overarching strategy, including its absolute<br />
foundations — your key message — is best done with the entire<br />
fundraising team in one room together. This has dual advantages:<br />
• Diverse perspectives and experiences are brought into, and<br />
aired in, one session.<br />
• Participants who are engaged in the goal-setting process<br />
from the outset have an investment in seeing the end result<br />
achieved.<br />
Having said that, don’t think of this as ‘secret squirrel business’. In<br />
fact, I would encourage you to seek involvement from some of the<br />
‘big brains’ in your community. By that, I mean community members<br />
with business acumen and experience who can deliver fresh insights,<br />
challenge thoughts and help you set some solid goals but who might not<br />
have the time to regularly contribute to your organisation.
Chapter 2: A <strong>Practical</strong> Guide to Creating Your Strategy 31<br />
Circulate agenda<br />
Agendas are essential. Without, meetings are like rudderless boats,<br />
capable of drifting off course. An example agenda is included at the end<br />
of this chapter.<br />
I recommend circulating the agenda as early as possible to all involved<br />
in your planning session. This allows participants to give some<br />
considered thought to the items to be discussed. Keep agenda items<br />
simple and add anything that will specifically require a resolution.<br />
Strategy Meeting<br />
What is our purpose? What are our goals?<br />
<strong>The</strong> Grassroots <strong>Fundraising</strong> Strategy Map TM begins with the<br />
establishment of your key message – a combination of your purpose<br />
(or mission statement) and goals (the tangible investments that will<br />
result from your fundraising efforts). I suggest a couple of hours is time<br />
well-spent on getting this right.<br />
Key<br />
Message<br />
Purpose<br />
Goals<br />
© Mandy Weidmann, Grassroots <strong>Fundraising</strong> Strategy Map TM<br />
This workshop will bed those goals down and do so much more.<br />
Goal-setting within a strategic plan is the first step towards moving<br />
a fundraising committee from hoping, wishing and dreaming about<br />
an amount of money that needs to be raised towards achieving that<br />
objective via a well-structured, clear and tangible strategy.
32<br />
Part 1: Strategic Planning<br />
Establishing purpose<br />
Strictly speaking, defining your group’s purpose — or mission<br />
statement — is not absolutely necessary in order to define tangible<br />
goals. Indeed some may see this is a self-indulgent waste of time. But I<br />
strongly recommend investing in the process for these reasons:<br />
• It is very important to know in simple terms what your<br />
organisation stands for, allowing you to communicate it<br />
effectively to your community and supporters.<br />
• Discussing your group’s mission engages the team. I’ve<br />
been surprised by the level of debate it can stimulate.<br />
• Narrowing your mission can provide a clear focus for<br />
future activity. Conversely, a broader purpose adds scope<br />
for variety.<br />
• A mission statement simplifies the process of defining<br />
your goals. For example, if a school parent group has a<br />
mission to ‘support the academic, sporting and cultural<br />
learning of the children in our school’, this would exclude<br />
raising funds for charities outside the school. However<br />
if the statement included ‘teaching children about social<br />
responsibility’, the scope widens and raising funds for<br />
outside charities would clearly support this outcome.<br />
Once your purpose is decided upon, keep it top of mind, reiterating it on<br />
your strategic plan and linking your fundraising communication back to<br />
it, time and time again.
Chapter 2: A <strong>Practical</strong> Guide to Creating Your Strategy 33<br />
TIP<br />
It took us a little while to put together our mission statement.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re was a lot of input and a bit of arguing but by the end of<br />
it, we had a ‘mission’ to adhere to and we were all singing from<br />
the same hymn sheet. It also helps to remind ourselves why we<br />
work so hard!<br />
Deborah, ACT<br />
Establishing goals<br />
Experienced fundraisers in your group will undoubtedly have their own<br />
expectations and opinions on what goals are achievable and realistic<br />
for the group. <strong>The</strong>se perspectives and experiences are useful, but they<br />
can also be limiting. Certain opinionated and hardened volunteers can<br />
inadvertently diminish the energy and expectations of the rest of the<br />
committee.<br />
Using the SMART goals model tests and validates preconceived ideas.<br />
Specific<br />
Measurable<br />
Attainable<br />
Realistic<br />
Tangible<br />
Let me walk you through these elements step-by-step:
34<br />
Part 1: Strategic Planning<br />
Specific<br />
Goals need to be straightforward, outlining exactly what it is you want<br />
to happen. <strong>The</strong> more specific, the greater your team’s focus on what<br />
needs to be done to achieve the goal.<br />
To get specific, ask:<br />
• What is it you want to do? Are you raising funds for a new<br />
after-school program? Help students to travel interstate<br />
for sport? Improve the library? Why is it important to do<br />
this? In answering this question, you create the story used<br />
to ‘sell’ your goal to supporters and sponsors in the wider<br />
community. It also helps rally the ‘true believers’ to your<br />
cause.<br />
• How are we going to do it? This will become apparent as<br />
your strategic plan evolves.<br />
Measurable<br />
If you don’t set the bar, how will you know if you achieve it? With a<br />
measurable end goal, your fundraising team has something to aim for,<br />
against which progress can be tracked. <strong>The</strong> end result can celebrated<br />
once reached.<br />
Attainable<br />
Goals that are too hard, too big or too difficult to understand can<br />
destroy your chances of success before you even begin. Volunteers, for<br />
example, must understand their part in achieving the group’s goals. If<br />
the bar is set too high — or too low — you risk a pack of demotivated<br />
helpers.<br />
A team needs stretching, slightly. Too much, and members will soon<br />
feel hopeless and helpless; that their efforts are for naught.
Chapter 2: A <strong>Practical</strong> Guide to Creating Your Strategy 35<br />
TIP<br />
Our P&C has a target to air condition the whole school and it<br />
is broken down into stages. This is very important as we can<br />
monitor and publicise which level we are up to.<br />
Kara, Qld<br />
Realistic<br />
After your group has decided that a goal is ‘attainable’, you then have<br />
to agree if it is ‘do-able’. Does your committee have the time, resources,<br />
skills and knowledge to achieve the goal?<br />
Don’t dismiss a goal as ‘unrealistic’ just because some capabilities<br />
are lacking within the team. Rather, note the gaps and raise these as<br />
discussion elements during the strategic planning phase.<br />
Timely<br />
What is the timeframe within which you want this goal achieved? Some<br />
goals will be long-term, such as rebuilding a scouting den. Others will<br />
be more immediate: within the next month, term or semester. Clear<br />
deadlines give everyone a target to work towards.<br />
<strong>The</strong> difference between fundraising with or without a SMART goal is<br />
rather like weight loss. One person may say ‘I need to lose weight’.<br />
Another says ‘I want to lose 5 kilos over the next four months’. That<br />
person has a goal that is much more specific, measurable, attainable,<br />
realistic and timely than a good intention.
36<br />
Part 1: Strategic Planning<br />
Establishing a target<br />
Whole books theorise about goals and targets. Let me just touch on<br />
three principles I believe are most relevant to fundraising groups:<br />
1. <strong>The</strong> Big Picture. Any business will do better when its focus is on<br />
a specific end result. Whether you believe in the ‘secret’ or other<br />
theories about visualisation, having a clear goal mindset does<br />
provide everyone involved with something to aim for and keeps<br />
everyone moving in the same direction.<br />
2. Your volunteers will benefit. Specific goals will motivate the<br />
‘troops’. Your foot soldier fundraisers will be more motivated when<br />
they know what part they are playing in achieving the end goal.<br />
This kind of motivation will stretch to whatever target you have<br />
and, in turn, will increase the overall level of energy within the<br />
volunteer team. <strong>The</strong> simple act of having a goal-setting process is<br />
beneficial in itself. When supporters have confidence in your plan<br />
and the capacity to carry it out, they are more likely to support your<br />
fundraising and go that extra mile to ensure its success.<br />
3. Your ‘ask’ becomes easier. When you have a specific goal and<br />
it is relevant to the supporters, your ‘ask’ moves from the realm<br />
of general charitable support into the dimension of real benefit.<br />
Potential sponsors can prioritise your need in the ‘cluttered world of<br />
needs’ as well as in the scheme of their own demands.<br />
In bedding down your group’s goals, or ‘wish list’, also consider these<br />
factors:<br />
• Review previous expenditure/ investment. Now is<br />
the time for a critical discussion. Were past investments<br />
worthwhile and value for money? How could you reduce<br />
costs? What are your group’s achievements? When the plan<br />
is distributed, the community needs to be able to readily
Chapter 2: A <strong>Practical</strong> Guide to Creating Your Strategy 37<br />
understand your current plans in the context of past benefit.<br />
It’s an opportunity to ‘sell’ your benefit and needs.<br />
• Question your focus areas. For example:<br />
a. capital (e.g. playground, air-conditioning, electronic<br />
whiteboards)<br />
b. academic (e.g. computers, subscriptions to tutoring soft<br />
ware)<br />
c. environmental (e.g. educational programs, community<br />
garden)<br />
d. cultural (supporting clubs)<br />
e. social (e.g. guest speakers, funding support for<br />
disadvantaged families, community awards)<br />
f. sporting (e.g. equipment, financial assistance for travel),<br />
identifying these will help prioritise.<br />
• Priorities. Many spending priorities will be evident from<br />
the outset. Others will emerge from your discussions and<br />
survey process. Brainstorming can help clarify these.<br />
Encourage all participants to bring along their own ideas<br />
and throw them into the mix. This process can take most of<br />
your goal-setting time.<br />
<strong>The</strong>ory aside, when establishing your target, I recommend incorporating<br />
smaller goals that will serve to motivate and keep momentum in the<br />
group.<br />
You may also need to consider whether to take a long-term view or<br />
meet needs as they arise. This will influence your targets: whether you<br />
invest in ‘capital works’ or a ‘future fund’ account; what percentage<br />
of raised funds will be allocated to this account; indeed, whether you<br />
establish a separate capital investment policy. If so, the annual amount<br />
to be set aside will need to be included on your goals list.
38<br />
Part 1: Strategic Planning<br />
Remember to set aside provision for ad hoc requests.<br />
You will then need to set out these goals and the dollar amounts<br />
required. <strong>The</strong>se add up to your target figure.<br />
TIP<br />
Think about ‘selling’ the message, the message being the value<br />
you provide to your community. Your goals need to be things<br />
that your support network can ‘get’. <strong>The</strong> more your goals relate<br />
to your community, the greater the potential for buy-in.<br />
Think laterally about how you can benefit families or members<br />
in low-cost or no-cost ways such as establishing community<br />
awards or funding low-cost projects that engage children, be<br />
it a photography club (fund the cameras and recruit a parent<br />
volunteer to run a 10 week program) or a Lego ® club (with a<br />
spare room and donated unused Lego ® , a weekly lunchtime can<br />
be dedicated to Lego ® building).<br />
TIP<br />
We have not set specific goals previously, which have resulted<br />
in a scattergun, haphazard approach. Specific goals mean<br />
focus, but it’s hard to change entrenched attitudes.<br />
Sue, Qld
Chapter 2: A <strong>Practical</strong> Guide to Creating Your Strategy 39<br />
Creating a statement of attainment<br />
You now know what your group’s goals are. Depending on the<br />
complexity of your goals and target, you could phrase the goals in such<br />
a way as to excite and unify supporters and sponsors by:<br />
• phrasing the goal statement in the current tense.<br />
Phrasing it in the future tense separates you from the goal<br />
• being precise. If your goal is to raise $25,000 for a specific<br />
purpose, declare it. If it’s simply to improve on last year’s<br />
efforts, still put a measure around it<br />
• sharing your goal statement. You can never say it too<br />
often! <strong>The</strong> more times it’s heard and read, the more real<br />
and believable it becomes. This ensures it is at the forefront<br />
of everyone’s mind.<br />
TIP<br />
Case study: $4 billion reasons to set goals<br />
Amercia’s Ivy League university Yale finished the largest<br />
fundraising campaign in its 300+ year history in 2011, when it<br />
raised almost $4 billion amid some of the toughest economic<br />
times that the world has seen.<br />
<strong>The</strong> $3.88 billion helped to fund planned expansions of the<br />
world-renowned university’s facilities.<br />
<strong>The</strong> core elements underlying the campaign’s success were<br />
Yale’s ability to:<br />
• develop a clear fundraising target (a goal)<br />
• understand the need of their community and alumni
40<br />
Part 1: Strategic Planning<br />
• craft a fundraising message that told donors how they<br />
could help the university change the world by making<br />
contributions.<br />
I know that $4 billion may be more than your school<br />
or community needs! However, the lessons from Yale’s<br />
astounding fundraising campaign can be adopted universally.<br />
At this stage, your workshop discussions will have enabled you to fill<br />
out the following sections of your Grassroots <strong>Fundraising</strong> Strategy<br />
Map TM. Here is an example:<br />
Purpose<br />
Goals<br />
Key<br />
Message<br />
Our P&C is passionate about<br />
supporting an excellent wellrounded<br />
experience for the<br />
students at Unicorn State School<br />
• Air-condition music block<br />
$14K<br />
• 3 electronic whiteboards plus<br />
software $16K<br />
• 25 iPads $12.5 K<br />
• Library racks $6K<br />
• Support athletes, district<br />
level and above $3K<br />
• Playground for Yr 3-4<br />
campus $35K<br />
• Provision for ad hoc<br />
expenses $2K<br />
Target<br />
$92,300<br />
© Mandy Weidmann, Grassroots <strong>Fundraising</strong> Strategy Map TM
Chapter 2: A <strong>Practical</strong> Guide to Creating Your Strategy 41<br />
TIP<br />
Having goals has given us a defined purpose. Our group knows<br />
exactly what we are doing and lets us share a little victory<br />
whenever we reach a milestone.<br />
Mary, WA<br />
Being mindful of the key messages will help your committee frame its<br />
thinking as you move into the next major phase of your strategic plan<br />
— the actions — and how you will best communicate your intentions<br />
to those who need to know.<br />
TIP<br />
While you’re in planning mode…<br />
An optional extra at this point is the development of a culture<br />
statement, defining a set of agreed behaviours. Smaller groups<br />
may consider this overkill. However, if you are making the<br />
time and effort to hold a strategy meeting, this is the time to<br />
address it. Why?<br />
A culture statement contributes to the building of an ‘inclusive<br />
culture’. This is one of the five areas that I identified at the<br />
outset as being critical to successful fundraising.<br />
Here is an example:<br />
<strong>The</strong> Unicorn P&C is committed to creating a culture that is:<br />
• inclusive<br />
• respectful<br />
• transparent<br />
• welcoming.
42<br />
Part 1: Strategic Planning<br />
Example survey of community<br />
Survey to the X community<br />
<strong>The</strong> committee would appreciate all families returning this completed form by<br />
. We would value your input into our strategic plan that we will be preparing shortly, and<br />
would also like to get an idea of your capacity to support our activities this year.<br />
Name:<br />
Children:<br />
Grade/s:<br />
Phone:<br />
Email:<br />
I am interested in being part of a committee.<br />
I am interested in assisting a committee but not taking responsibility.<br />
I can help out for short periods from time to time where a need arises.<br />
I can’t help during work hours but I’m happy to do some support work from home.<br />
I can’t commit now but please keep me up to date with opportunities to help out.<br />
I run a business or work for a business that might be interested in supporting our .<br />
1. Goals<br />
What do you think our should be spending money on this year and into the<br />
future?<br />
2. <strong>Fundraising</strong> Ideas<br />
What type of fundraising activities would you support this year?
Chapter 2: A <strong>Practical</strong> Guide to Creating Your Strategy 43<br />
Strategy meeting agenda<br />
Strategy Meeting Agenda<br />
Group Name<br />
Strategy Workshop<br />
<br />
<br />
1. Apologies<br />
2. What is our purpose?<br />
3. What is our culture? (optional)<br />
4. Goal Setting<br />
a. Review of previous expenditure/ investment (optional)<br />
b. What are our focus areas?<br />
c. Brainstorming session for goals and spending priorities<br />
d. How can we have an impact in ‘non-financial’ areas?<br />
e. Set out priorities and required dollar amount of investments<br />
5. <strong>Fundraising</strong> Plan<br />
a. Discuss fundraising history<br />
b. Brainstorm fundraising ideas<br />
c. Timing<br />
d. Set out fundraising plan with target amounts and allocate co-ordinators for each activity<br />
e. Make a commitment to a handover process<br />
6. How do we get the plan out there?
Mapping a<br />
<strong>Fundraising</strong><br />
Calendar<br />
Chapter<br />
3<br />
Don’t judge each day by the harvest but by the seed that you plant.<br />
Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish novelist<br />
In this chapter you will learn:<br />
• why it pays to have a 12-month fundraising plan<br />
• how to evaluate your resources to determine your<br />
fundraising capacity<br />
• how to choose the right fundraiser<br />
• how to formulate the timing of your activities and events<br />
• what to look for in selecting a fundraising supplier.<br />
<strong>The</strong> truth is that most community groups don’t have a ‘fundraising<br />
plan’. Rather, fundraising is a series of haphazard activities that are<br />
often a repeat of what was done in previous years. <strong>The</strong>y are almost<br />
always organised at the last minute by the same people who volunteered
46<br />
Part 1: Strategic Planning<br />
last year and typically there’s no target amount to be raised. How often I<br />
have heard fundraisers say “We’ll do our best and see what happens”.<br />
Great sentiment but it’s not going to get the results your group deserves.<br />
And if you’ve persevered this far, you’ll understand why.<br />
<strong>Fundraising</strong> plans with benefits<br />
To truly do your ‘best’, you need to formulate a plan (simple is fine)<br />
that sets out a course of action to achieve your goals.<br />
It is worth a modest investment of time that will pull all your<br />
fundraising together.<br />
Previous chapters have established that plans build confidence. When<br />
your supporters have confidence, they will have a greater involvement<br />
in your goals and your fundraising will be more successful.<br />
In establishing a strategic plan, you take a big picture view of your<br />
fundraising needs and the path required to achieve them.<br />
Mapping out an action plan enables you to:<br />
• readily identify the resources needed (this includes<br />
volunteer numbers)<br />
• avoid potential clashes or overlap that could otherwise<br />
burden your supporters and diminish your results.
Chapter 3: Mapping a <strong>Fundraising</strong> Calendar 47<br />
Three essential starters<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are a few important elements to take into account when mapping<br />
out your fundraising plan. Ideally, it should take account of:<br />
• your fundraising history (if it is available)<br />
• available resources<br />
• fundraising ‘tools’ you can draw on.<br />
But first, identify whether any of your goals can actually be achieved<br />
through lobbying, grant applications, in-kind donations (see chapter<br />
7) – or in-house (such as a working bee). In other words, what can be<br />
removed from your fundraising scope?<br />
Your fundraising history<br />
Forward planning is best done with hindsight. Get your hands on as<br />
much historical information as possible. If handover notes are available,<br />
you have a huge advantage.<br />
But don’t panic if not. Play detective and hunt down information from:<br />
• previous fundraising coordinators<br />
• suppliers of previous fundraising activities undertaken by<br />
your group<br />
• previous meetings’ minutes or financial reports.<br />
Bear in mind, results are not all about profit. Consider also:<br />
• effort required<br />
• return on investment<br />
• potential for improvement<br />
• community-building elements.
48<br />
Part 1: Strategic Planning<br />
Throw out any fundraisers you would not repeat, and leave the rest in<br />
play for later discussion and possible inclusion in your plan.<br />
If your group is absolutely new to fundraising, you will need to rely a<br />
lot more on guesswork this time but your record keeping will provide<br />
excellent groundwork for future efforts. You can also seek some good<br />
ballpark information:<br />
• Ask suppliers for rough estimates for a group of your type<br />
and size.<br />
• Seek the advice of similar groups and find out what works<br />
for them.<br />
TIP<br />
Bec from Brisbane set up a Flyball club, a sport that involves<br />
dogs. It was set up from scratch and nobody from the<br />
organisation had been involved in running a club before. Bec<br />
met with other Flyball clubs and was surprised how helpful and<br />
forthcoming they were. While the other club members would<br />
be competitors in tournaments, they willingly provided advice<br />
about sponsorship, fundraising and club management. “In<br />
general, I have found that people are happy to help, particularly<br />
people who volunteer – it’s like they are built out of kindness,”<br />
Bec said.<br />
Available resources<br />
<strong>The</strong> resources you have available include:<br />
• your volunteers – in terms of both time and skill<br />
• potential community support and strategic partnerships
Chapter 3: Mapping a <strong>Fundraising</strong> Calendar 49<br />
• assets that can be leveraged.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are a number of ways to determine the resources at your disposal.<br />
<strong>The</strong> simplest way is to include questions relating to skills, resources<br />
and connections in the newsletter or online survey that you use in<br />
preparation for your first goal-setting meeting (in the previous chapter).<br />
Alternatively, include the question as a standard inclusion in any new<br />
membership enrolment forms.<br />
Ask if members’ employers support volunteering. Many big businesses<br />
allow staff to take a predetermined amount of time off during the year<br />
to do unpaid community work. <strong>The</strong>se schemes are gaining in popularity<br />
and can be used to your advantage.<br />
TIP<br />
We get paid volunteering days each year through work so<br />
being able to get people to volunteer when they don’t lose<br />
financially helps.<br />
Kelly, WA<br />
Word of mouth is always helpful, especially when it comes to potential<br />
strategic connections within your community. Get your committee to<br />
brainstorm this area in a planning session.<br />
Assets that can be leveraged, such as the community hall or the school<br />
grounds, are easy to identify.<br />
Think how to maximise use of these resources. For example:<br />
• A school hall can be rented out to other groups for<br />
additional income, provided you have permission and a<br />
volunteer to coordinate.
50<br />
Part 1: Strategic Planning<br />
• If you have an abundance of volunteers, go crazy with<br />
larger events.<br />
• Get a grant application prepared over two days by a highlyskilled<br />
volunteer as part of their employer’s volunteer<br />
scheme.<br />
• Ask a printing or graphic design contact within your<br />
community to update your branding and collateral.<br />
Your fundraising tools<br />
Not-for-profit organisations use many methods of fundraising, from<br />
substantial philanthropic bequests to the humble pie drive.<br />
Degrees are available in the study of philanthropic fundraising and,<br />
while there is much to be learned from this field about becoming more<br />
professional and strategic, this book focuses on those methods that are<br />
commonly used by grassroots volunteer-based organisations.<br />
But which options are right for your group? From my years of<br />
experience, I’ve learnt there is no one right way to set up a fundraising<br />
plan: nor does one fundraising activity apply universally. While<br />
there are no quick fixes, certain fundraisers can raise money fairly<br />
quickly. Treat every activity as a learning opportunity. Once you<br />
have experienced a full cycle of fundraising, you will be much better<br />
positioned for a successful fundraising year going forward.<br />
TIP<br />
When I started fundraising for the scouts group, I started with<br />
ideas from my son’s school but found they didn’t work in this<br />
environment. So I needed fresh and new ideas.<br />
Alli, Scouts SA
Chapter 3: Mapping a <strong>Fundraising</strong> Calendar 51<br />
<strong>The</strong> best approach is to start with a mix of fundraising options and to<br />
‘try and test’ over time until you have a suite of ‘proven’ fundraisers.<br />
With proper record keeping, you will learn what works for your group.<br />
<strong>Fundraising</strong> tools to consider are:<br />
• services. Think facilities that generate money such as<br />
canteen, uniform shop, book shop and after school hours<br />
care. Sometimes, a sub-committee or a member of the<br />
executive oversees these facilities. Could the profitability<br />
of these services be improved?<br />
• membership fees. <strong>The</strong> primary revenue for many clubs,<br />
particularly sporting organisations, does the fee charged<br />
adequately cover the lion’s share of your expenses?<br />
• grants. Often put in the ‘too-hard’ basket, grants are<br />
waiting to be applied for. If you do not have a volunteer to<br />
cover this position, keep recruiting until you do! For more<br />
information see chapter 7.<br />
• donations. Donations, or voluntary contributions, are an<br />
important part of any fundraising campaign. ALWAYS<br />
ASK. If you don’t ask, you don’t know what support is<br />
out there. If you send a donation request out each year, be<br />
certain to include a ‘tick box’ option for those who would<br />
like to donate but may not be in a position to do so at that<br />
particular time. You can then send out a separate request at<br />
a later date.<br />
• fetes and festivals. <strong>The</strong>se events are wonderful community<br />
builders. <strong>The</strong>y also require a lot of planning and an army<br />
of volunteers over an extended period. Done well, they<br />
have the potential to bring in a great deal of money. Fetes<br />
and festivals are so integral to grassroots fundraising, I’ve<br />
dedicated an entire chapter to the subject (see chapter 5).
52<br />
Part 1: Strategic Planning<br />
• special events. <strong>Fundraising</strong> events such as charity balls or<br />
trivia nights are also wonderful community builders. Take<br />
a look at what’s involved in chapter 6.<br />
• direct sales fundraising. A direct sales fundraiser involves<br />
selling stock that is on hand. A classic example is the<br />
old-fashioned chocolate drive. You buy the stock to sell<br />
and you make profits from the sale. This sort of fundraiser<br />
can make money quickly. Another community fundraising<br />
winner, see chapter 4 for the low-down.<br />
• order form fundraising. This form of selling has the<br />
benefit of not risking profit: you only order what is<br />
sold. But it has its own challenges, requiring meticulous<br />
administration and the round-up capacity of a sheep dog to<br />
get those orders in on time. It’s also dealt with in chapter 4.<br />
• a-thons. A-thons involve an activity that challenges<br />
participants to collect sponsorship for their efforts. Popular<br />
a-thons include walk-a-thons, spell-a-thons and fun runs<br />
but why limit your thinking to these? Any activity that can<br />
be measured and sponsored can become an a-thon. A-thons<br />
are increasingly run online.<br />
• raffles. Raffles are the fundraising staple of many groups.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y range from a major draw for a substantial prize,<br />
such as a car, to a themed raffle held once a year (such as<br />
Father’s Day or Christmas) or smaller raffles run in tandem<br />
with a fete or trivia night.<br />
• online fundraising. This is an evolving form of<br />
fundraising worth investigating. Some online stores offer a<br />
code that provides a group with a percentage of sales.
Chapter 3: Mapping a <strong>Fundraising</strong> Calendar 53<br />
• loyalty programs. <strong>The</strong> benefit of loyalty programs is that<br />
they ‘sit in the background’, requiring little administration,<br />
occasional publicity and some coordination for the<br />
collection and redemption process. Many large retailers<br />
offer loyalty schemes and they can add up to a nice side<br />
bonus. Major grocery stores often run campaigns where<br />
coupons or dockets are collected over a set period of time<br />
and redeemed for prizes. Other retailers have a system of<br />
collecting points, lids or labels, which turn into cash or<br />
prizes.<br />
Brainstorm fundraising ideas<br />
This is the fun part! Be creative. Working in a group is the best way to<br />
‘go crazy’ and think outside the square.<br />
<strong>The</strong> #1 rule of brainstorming is NO IDEA IS STUPID!<br />
Not every idea will be realistic or achievable but everybody needs to<br />
feel safe to voice their thoughts. Otherwise you risk missing out on an<br />
absolute gem of an idea.<br />
You already will have loads of ideas from your pre-planning research<br />
(including the online <strong>Fundraising</strong> Directory: fundraisingdirectory.com.<br />
au and the 101 ideas included in this book). Now is the time to put it all<br />
out there!<br />
Amid all the excitement, make sure discussion includes voluntary<br />
contributions, grants and other non-traditional forms of fundraising as<br />
well as cost-savings: a penny saved is a penny earned.<br />
And look at your target market. Are you hitting up the same people<br />
over and over? Can you engage support from outside your immediate<br />
community?
54<br />
Part 1: Strategic Planning<br />
Top 10 practicalities<br />
1. Reference your goals<br />
You have spent time beautifully documenting your goals. This is where<br />
they come into play!<br />
Having a concrete dollar amount that needs to be raised will really<br />
inform your fundraising plans.<br />
You now have a fundraising target for the year.<br />
2. Work targets backwards<br />
Successful business and sales professionals will tell you that targets are<br />
effective in driving results. Setting targets does not mean putting undue<br />
pressure on your committee and volunteers, even if you have decided<br />
to go bolder and bigger this year. Quite the reverse is true! All that is<br />
needed is a plan to generate the revenue required. You might not reach<br />
it, but you will do better than if it did not exist in the first place.<br />
TIP<br />
We were all out to impress and make this year’s fete the best<br />
and most profitable in our school’s history. We all knew what<br />
we had to do and when. It was so successful and we are all<br />
looking forward to making it even better next year.<br />
Julie, NSW
Chapter 3: Mapping a <strong>Fundraising</strong> Calendar 55<br />
3. Put a figure next to each activity<br />
If past results are available, let these guide your targets. Otherwise, a<br />
supplier might be able to give an indication of what could be expected<br />
by an organisation of your size. Factor in expenses. Don’t be afraid to<br />
push targets out, based on previous results.<br />
4. Go for tried and true (most of the time!)<br />
<strong>The</strong> best starting point is what you know. But there’s a fine line between<br />
‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ and ‘variety is the spice of life’.<br />
While it is often easier for a committee to run the same schedule of<br />
fundraisers over and over again, you need to put sentimentality aside.<br />
Is the ‘golden oldie’ a ‘signature’ event or fundraiser, could it do with<br />
a makeover or a rest altogether? If support has dwindled and there’s<br />
a noticeable loss of interest and enthusiasm — even among your core<br />
supporters — it is definitely time to spice up life. Don’t wait to hear ‘Oh<br />
no, not that again’!<br />
Mind you, the saying ‘don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater’<br />
applies to fundraising too. Make a commitment to try one new thing<br />
each year. That way, your fundraising stays fresh and you end up with a<br />
very solid base of ‘tried and true’ fundraisers that work for you.<br />
5. Mix it!<br />
Do you go for a big bang or multiple fundraisers?<br />
From my experience, one major fundraiser per term works best for a<br />
school. Smaller fundraisers, such as disco nights and free dress days,<br />
can be dotted around the major fundraisers.<br />
A sporting club might look at two major fundraisers in their season: one<br />
event and a raffle or order-form fundraiser.
56<br />
Part 1: Strategic Planning<br />
6. Select a supplier<br />
Researching supplier options is an important part of planning. If you are<br />
in Australia, the <strong>Fundraising</strong> Directory website (fundraisingdirectory.<br />
com.au) provides an extensive list of potential suppliers.<br />
When requesting information, provide suppliers with the following<br />
information:<br />
• type and size of your organisation<br />
• possible timing of the fundraiser<br />
• guidance regarding suggested quantities (if applicable).<br />
Once the fundraising calendar is set, advise the chosen suppliers: they<br />
can help you manage timeframes.<br />
7. It’s not always about the money<br />
When setting your fundraising calendar, try to find a balance between<br />
activities undertaken purely for profit and ‘community-building’<br />
activities. For example, a welcome barbecue may not be a fundraising<br />
exercise but it is a community builder, opening doors to new members<br />
who, feeling welcomed, may be predisposed to joining your group’s<br />
volunteer army. Similarly, a trivia night may be about community<br />
building first; fundraising second.<br />
8. Always leverage<br />
Never put all your fundraising eggs in one basket. Rather, look for<br />
opportunities to leverage your activities to maximise profits. Running<br />
silent auctions at gala nights and raffles at events are obvious choices<br />
but with a little bit of creativity, you can do so much more:<br />
• Provide order forms for custom-labelled wine available for<br />
tasting or consumption at an event.
Chapter 3: Mapping a <strong>Fundraising</strong> Calendar 57<br />
• Take photos of the artwork at art shows (with permission,<br />
of course!) and run an order-form based fundraiser such as<br />
calendars, mugs or t-shirts.<br />
• ‘Name the teddy bear’ competitions are easy and always a<br />
hit with children.<br />
• Find a cookery writer willing to give signed copies of his/<br />
her book in return for a fundraising cooking demo.<br />
9. Check timing<br />
In real estate, location is everything. In fundraising, the same might<br />
be said for timing! It is so important to know what other fundraising<br />
groups within your area are doing.<br />
TIP<br />
Our daughter’s Open Day always coincides with the local<br />
boys’ school walkathon – and we’re not the only parents with<br />
children at both schools. Trying to support both means we’re<br />
frazzled and clockwatching on a Sunday and the kids are being<br />
rushed from one place to another. No one really enjoys their<br />
event.<br />
Sandra, Qld<br />
Mapping out your plan on an annual calendar will help you to identify<br />
the optimum timing for your fundraising activities. It will help you see<br />
where there is overlap, and where things can be nudged a little to avoid<br />
volunteer and supporter burn-out.<br />
For events in particular, check that there are no sport finals or other<br />
major events happening in your area, on that day.
58<br />
Part 1: Strategic Planning<br />
Product drives (chapter 4) are meant to be short and snappy — two to<br />
three weeks of frenetic marketing, allowing an extra week for latercomers.<br />
Do not schedule your fundraising drive to finish on the last<br />
week of term!<br />
10. <strong>The</strong> best laid plans<br />
No matter how well prepared and calculated your plans, something out<br />
of your control may interfere. That’s why you need contingency plans<br />
and risk assessments. Read more about risk assessments in chapter 4.<br />
Likewise there are times when opportunities come from left field. For<br />
example, a snap election is called. Could your committee cope with an<br />
Election Day sausage sizzle or cake bake? By having your fundraising<br />
plan set out, you know if you have the capacity.<br />
Share these plans with your committee and other aligned groups,<br />
such as sub-committees, so they can be aware of your plans and avoid<br />
conflict.<br />
Applying our knowledge<br />
Congratulations! Having made it this far, you are ready to fill in the<br />
blanks for your fundraising calendar!<br />
Take a look at the following example that I use for my school, which<br />
enables us to see how everything fits together.
Chapter 3: Mapping a <strong>Fundraising</strong> Calendar 59<br />
Term 1 Term 2 Term 3 Term 4<br />
<strong>Fundraising</strong> • Election BBQ • Spell-a-thon<br />
• Mother’s Day<br />
Stall<br />
• Bi-annual<br />
Chocolate<br />
Drive<br />
• Father’s<br />
Day Stall<br />
• Book Packs<br />
+ Voluntary<br />
Contribution<br />
• Christmas<br />
card packs<br />
Social<br />
• Welcome<br />
BBQ - prep<br />
families<br />
• Trivia Night<br />
• School<br />
Dance<br />
• School<br />
musical<br />
• School<br />
Dance<br />
• Gala<br />
Volunteering<br />
Opportunities<br />
• Mother’s Day<br />
Stall – help<br />
on day<br />
• Father’s Day<br />
Stall –<br />
co-ordinator<br />
plus help on<br />
day<br />
• Book Packs<br />
Business<br />
Donations/<br />
Sponsorship<br />
• Trivia Night –<br />
Prizes<br />
• Spell-a-thon –<br />
Prizes<br />
• School<br />
musical<br />
sponsorship<br />
Ongoing<br />
Partnerships<br />
Local shopping centre, local greengrocer, sports shoe store, milk<br />
caps, shopping docket fundraiser, school banking<br />
Grants/<br />
Sponsorships<br />
Services<br />
Find grants/ sponsorship co-ordinator<br />
Tuckshop, Uniform Shop, Book Shop<br />
We then turn our calendar into an action list that can be inserted into the<br />
‘<strong>Fundraising</strong> Activity’ section of our Grassroots <strong>Fundraising</strong> Strategy<br />
Map TM .
60<br />
Part 1: Strategic Planning<br />
Annual <strong>Fundraising</strong> Plan<br />
When What Who Target profit Actual Profit<br />
Term 1 Trivia Night Anice Person $3,800<br />
Term 2 Spellathon Another<br />
Niceperson<br />
$25,000<br />
Term 2 Election BBQ Legen Dery $2,000<br />
Term 2<br />
Mother’s Day<br />
Stall<br />
Cham Pion $3,000<br />
Term 2 School Dance Wonder<br />
Woman<br />
$2,000<br />
Term 3<br />
Term 3<br />
Chocolate<br />
Drive<br />
Father’s Day<br />
Stall<br />
Anice Person $17,500<br />
Cham Pion $2,000<br />
Term 4 Book Packs Fabu Lous/<br />
Outstan Ding<br />
$20,000<br />
Term 4<br />
Voluntary<br />
contribution<br />
Fabu Lous/<br />
Outstan Ding<br />
$15,000<br />
Term 4 School Dance Wonder<br />
Woman<br />
$2,000<br />
TOTAL $92,300.00<br />
© Mandy Weidmann, Grassroots <strong>Fundraising</strong> Strategy Map TM<br />
Plan in hand, it’s now time to do two things:<br />
• Commit to a handover. Proper handover is one of the<br />
secrets to successful fundraising and you have shown your<br />
intent to get serious by reading this far. A whole chapter on<br />
handover, with easy-to-use templates awaits (chapter 10).
Chapter 3: Mapping a <strong>Fundraising</strong> Calendar 61<br />
• Circulate your plan. It’s not a state secret! You may<br />
decide to set up a formal consultation session with your<br />
community and volunteers to take note of any input.<br />
Alternatively, you may load a draft copy onto your website<br />
and invite people to comment. Communication is king as<br />
far as I am concerned. I believe the more people know,<br />
the more they will want to be involved. <strong>The</strong> more people<br />
involved, the more successful your fundraising will be.<br />
Communication strategies are detailed in chapter 8.<br />
TIP<br />
Our group sets a fundraising plan and then invites the school<br />
community to attend a special session at our P&C meeting<br />
where we explain our plan and ask for feedback. We then<br />
finalise it and make it available on the website.<br />
Rebecca, Qld<br />
Remember, you don’t need a Masters’ degree to make your fundraising<br />
strategy work. You just need the right tools, the right advice, some help<br />
and the passion to make it happen.
To purchase the entire book,<br />
please visit fundraisingdirectory.com.au/handbook