What’s the quickest way to send church members or church school parents scurrying in every direction? Say: “We need to do a fundraiser!” Immediately, images of day-long car washes and never-ending bake sales come to mind—events that require hard work but bring in little cash.
The good news is that the “fun” is back in fundraising! An exciting array of programs and products and excellent support from firms specializing in fundraisers makes it easier than ever for church groups to raise lots of money.
Getting Started
Fundraisers have a proven ability to bring significant external support to church initiatives. But where do you begin? Start by asking a few key questions; the answers help identify the products and programs that make sense:
- How much money is needed?
- When is the money needed?
- How many people will help with the fundraiser?
Be Sold on It!
Fundraising success requires that people doing the fundraising be sold on the project they’re supporting and love the product they’re selling. Think about what your church group would like, and get several options. Fundraising companies will often ship product samples, especially of new or unfamiliar food products, so that the “salespeople” can taste and enjoy the product. If the products are tote bags, pens, safety kits, or other tangibles, people can say truthfully that they’ve used the products.
Recruit and Train
The “sales force” must be recruited and trained. For example, to put together a cookbook, the coordinating committee needs a team to gather recipes, a design team, and a sales team to sell the cookbook in the congregation and through external channels (such as local shops, restaurants, or on the church’s website). A fulfillment team can be useful, too, insuring that orders are completed and cookbooks are delivered and paid for.
Something for Everyone
What kinds of products are there? Products are essentially divided into the following four categories.
Food Products
Candy and chocolates are popular fundraising items. The following companies offer a variety of popular candy products:
- Fundraising.com
- Spirit of America
- e-Fundraising
Passive Fundraisers
Passive fundraisers are programs that do not require people to sell a product, but rather to “invest in an opportunity.” An example of a passive fundraiser product is the scratch card. The following companies offer the cards:
- First Way Fundraising Group
- Fundraising.com
- Skratchers
- ve-Fundraising
Here’s how they work: Donors are asked to uncover a donation amount by scratching one or more spots off a card with 50 spots. The amount they uncover is the amount they donate, never more than two or three dollars. If they scratch two or more spots and complete their donation, they receive a coupon page with up to $50 worth of product discounts. Because the coupon pages are inexpensive, the profit margin on these fundraisers can be up to 90 percent.
One other passive method is a donation box that can be left at a local restaurant or retail shop, and people can put their loose change into the see-through plastic container.
Promotional Products
Promotional products include tote bags, pens, pencils, plastic cups, and paperweights—anything that can be printed with the church’s logo. Consider these options:
- Crestline: offers a wide range of promotional products
- Fundraising.com: offers bottled water for resale, with imprinted label
- Oenick: suggests sponsorship of the sale. “Get individuals and businesses to donate money to buy boxes of bottled water. Then every bottle you sell is pure profit.”
Novelty Items
Novelty items include a wide range of other products. For example, in addition to a broad line of candies, Spirit of America offers many easy-to-sell products such as safety kits, small fire extinguishers, specialty candles, inspirational planners, and patriotic products.
Recipes for Success
The good news for churches where volunteers might be hard to find is that much of the work can be done through the fundraising firm. According to Omtvedt, cookbook fundraisers are great for these situations. “A church only has to collect the recipes. We have stock materials and designs to help them put together a book quickly, or we can custom design the book. The cost averages between two and three dollars.”
Cookbooks also make a terrific commemorative fundraiser. Omtvedt says that even churches that might not ordinarily use a cookbook fundraiser might do a book for an anniversary. A commemorative cookbook can sell for $10 to $15, much more than a typical cookbook sells for. And they will sell. “Our rule of thumb is for every person who submits a recipe, three cookbooks should sell, because they will buy a copy to share with friends and family,” says Omtvedt.
Leverage the Sale
One neglected key to success with fundraisers is to leverage the sale by advertising or sponsorship—which means finding distribution channels to sell to many more people. Fanning at Fannie May Candies encourages churches to leverage candy sales through friendly local businesses. “Most churches have an ad page in Sunday bulletins, so contact your advertisers. These businesses—funeral homes, insurance agents, banks—buy in bigger quantities at holiday times to give to their associates and customers, and they can conveniently buy top-quality candy right through your church.”
Remembering and Rewarding
Trees of life and donor plaques are timeless tributes that are integrated into an overall capital development effort. Another benefit to commemorative fundraising is that people are willing to purchase leaves or birds for the tree of life in tribute to a person, or as a memorial. For example, a commemorative tree of life might be installed in a rehabbed church wing to honor contributors. Initially, it may be small and expand as more money is raised, or large enough to cover 22 feet of wall space at once.
Steve Sandler, vice president of W & E Baum, a recognition products manufacturer, stressed the importance of properly determining the recognition levels. “If they have it, I want a donor history to know about previous giving levels. Then I help them break down giving levels to include everyone at any amount, so that they don’t have to turn anyone away. A leaf offers the most basic donor level, at $100, $150, or $200—whatever the market will bear. Large donors could fund rocks or birds, and a rock might be priced at $2,000. A church can offer several options at different prices, yet all can participate in the same tree.”
With so many products and methods from which to choose, it is possible for several fundraisers to be going on at the same time in a local church. Fundraising products and promotions can generate needed income for special capital projects and congregational ministries and programs—and they can publicize the church to people in the community, too. But there are greater benefits from a super fundraiser. This work can bring people together for a good time while advancing the cause of Christ and gaining financial support from friends and neighbors.
—John Throop is a management consultant. This article first appeared as “Fun with Fundraisers” in the November/December 2003 issue of Your Church.