Non-Profit Organizations Must Find Creative Ways to Raise Money
IÑ• уþur nþn-Ñ€rþfÑ–t þrgðnÑ–zðtіþn, ÑÂhurÑÂh þr Ñ•ÑÂhþþl Ñ–n nõõd þf rðіѕіng fundÑ• fþr a worthy Ñ€rþjõÑÂt? Rðfflõ ticket sales are õffõÑÂtÑ–võ (and Ñ•Ñ–mÑ€lõ) fundraisers!
“ImрðÑÂt a LÑ–fõ†ÑÂþllõgõ Ñ•ÑÂhþlðrÑ•hÑ–Ñ€ essayist Jennifer Rasco dþõѕ a Ñ•Ñ€lõndÑ–d jþb Ñ–n outlining thõ many bõnõfÑ–tÑ• and a formula for hþldÑ–ng a successful rðfflõ fundrðіѕõr.
Jennifer is a Psychology major at Liberty University. Thanks and best of luck with your studies Jennifer!
“Impact a Life†Scholarship contributor: Jennifer Rasco
Yþu ÑÂðn hõlÑ€ Jennifer Rasco’s pursuit þf a scholarship award bу ÑÂlÑ–ÑÂkÑ–ng the “sharing Ñ–Ñ• ÑÂðrÑ–ng†buttþnÑ• bõlþw.
Nonprofit organizations must find creative ways to raise money since they are unable to take a profit. One of the greatest ways for NPO’s to raise money is through the sale of raffle tickets. If done correctly not for profit organizations can drastically increase their revenue and help more people.
The most important part of any raffle is providing a gift to raffle off that people will want. This can be done many ways so some considerations should be made before hand. Many small organizations will raffle off items such as guns, ATV’s, quilts, etc. Before the NPO gets started the board should determine what type of items they would like to raffle and will promote a positive reputation for the NPO. While hunters would be interested in firearms, other individuals may be off put by such a raffle. Also, some organizations would look poorly if their members do not support their choices.
The NPO should also consider who their members would be selling to. While certain people would be glad to receive a homemade quilt, a student organization might rather have an electronic device such as an MP3 player or tablet. When the members have determined these types of answers they will be able to begin looking for items to raffle off.
It is great if an organization has a benefactor or a company who can make a large donation to raffle off. For instance, many companies who sell off-road vehicles may be able to help with the purchase of an ATV or four-wheeler. Firearm shops may be able to offer a weapon at or below cost. However, there are other options available but the NPO will need to begin working towards their raffle early.
One option is to give away a weekend family outing. The organizer should look at entertainment venues within a short drive. He or she can then contact local hotels, restaurants, and even venues such as water or theme parks requesting a donation or discounted tickets depending on the budget for the raffle. The more that an organization can get donated the more profit they will make.
After contacting the donors by mail it is important to follow up with a phone call or a personal visit. It is best to contact several hotels, restaurants, and entertainment venues. Not all will respond with a donation, but if several do, it will give extra prizes to be won or even awards for top sellers.
The prize value being given away will help to determine the cost of each ticket. This will also be determined by the amount of money the organization spent on items and the intended buyers. For instance, if the NPO has purchased a discounted ATV the raffle ticket price must make a profit after covering the cost of the purchase.
Moreover, the cost of the tickets will limit the number of buyers. Something like an ATV or a firearm has a select group of people who will be interested in buying tickets, e.g. farmers, ranchers, hunters, etc. Such individuals, may be willing and able to pay for a high-priced raffle ticket. However, a trip to a theme park and a hotel stay for a night would offer more wide spread sales. It would appeal to a greater number of people.
Also, to determine the price of the ticket the organizer should consider the cost of marketing. Larger NPO’s with a greater budget may pay for a TV or radio commercial, billboard, or other larger media dissemination. Nevertheless, for many NPO’s flyers and posters may be the only marketing attempts. It may be a benefit to have the posters printed professionally, but most cases the NPO will choose to print their own. No matter which choice is made, the organizer should make the posters and flyers eye catching and easy to read at a quick glance. Using catchy slogans and large bold words like “Free†and “Win†will catch the eyes of potential buyers.
Fortunately, NPO’s have many venues to sell tickets and maximize their potential. Many retail and department stores are willing to let Non-Profits set up outside of the store if they will schedule it in advance. By doing this, every customer of the store is a potential buyer. Moreover, it promotes community awareness. Some smaller stores and businesses will allow employees to sale tickets to other employees and customers with prior authorization.
Another way to maximize potential sales is to offer proper training and support for members. This could be as simple as a briefing before sales begin to discuss ideas and techniques. Then a debriefing after sales are complete to hear recommendations and grievances for future raffles. Additionally, if children or youth are involved it would be beneficial to teach them safety practices and etiquette before sending them out as sales people. Every person selling tickets represents the organization and his or her actions and appearance can have negative effect on the NPO.
A final way to increase participation of members and maximize sales is to offer prizes or awards for the sales team. The purchase of awards would ultimately come from the sales, so the organizer needs to be creative. As previously mentioned, if there are multiple donations given by restaurants or theme parks, extra prizes could be given to the top salesperson. Other prizes could be collected from local businesses such as gift cards for lattes, drinks, ice cream cones, etc. Some businesses may even be willing to offer free promotional items to award sales people.
Ultimately, the greatest way to increase participation of members is to help the members buy in to the cause for the raffle. If the members of the organization are sold out on the need to raise money, they will work harder to sell tickets. A cause that someone believes in will produce a greater return in the end. People will only support something they can believe in, so it is the part of the NPO to help them believe.