Jan
5
5 Steps to Build an Effective Fundraising Campaign
January 5, 2008 |
On December 23 of this year, one of my favorite coaches from high school passed away. He had been struggling with a weak heart for over three months, and after going through months of ups and downs, his body finally decided to shut down. He was a great man, passionate about life, rarely ever complained (he complained about the complainers… hey, we all have our faults), and an extremely hard worker. One of the best lessons I learned from him during track season is, “Always be content, but never satisfied.” As a sign of my appreciation for the impact he had on my life, I decided to consult with a bunch of people about potentially starting a scholarship in his memory. Drawing on an experience I had earlier in high school (that eventually helped me get into Stanford), I mapped out a plan of action.
1. Consult with Contacts in their respective field. The first person I talked to was a scholarship foundation administrator about the process of setting up a scholarship. I knew her from when I applied for my “Gap Year” after high school in order to defer my scholarships a year. She was very helpful and informative and sent me relevant information within minutes of getting off the phone with her.
2. Attract media attention. After I learned how to set up a scholarship, I called a former high school teacher of mine who has since retired and is working at the local newspaper. I asked her if she would be willing to help write up an article as well as get it published, and she responded with a resounding “yes.”
3. Get key community players to endorse your plan. Once I knew I would be able to utilize the press, I then talked with a mentor of mine who is also the most prominent lawyer in my hometown. He has set up many scholarships and is the go-to person about raising money and doing something for the community, and I asked for his feedback on the most effective fundraising method. In our case, because my coach had touched thousands of students lives, he recommended that we develop a grassroots-like campaign.
4. Set up easy locations to donate. Because my coach had also been a teacher for 23 years, I thought setting up collection locations in the office of both the high school and elementary would be a good place to start. I felt that students who had been touched by this amazing man as I had would be more than willing to give some money if they could. Another idea suggested by my key contact was to get a list of contact information for high school graduates from that timeframe. A third method of providing an easy way to collect donations is to set up a simple bank account with your local bank and point individuals who read the newspaper article to it.
5. Shoot for an ambitious goal. By setting up a $20,000 foundation, a $1000 scholarship could be given every year. Out of a town of 1500 people, that’s about $13 per person. If we consider all of the students/families/friends touched by him over his teaching career, that number could easily be greater than 3000 people (making it almost $7 per person). Also, given that when I collected donations for a summer camp at Stanford my junior year I raised between $25-$200 per commitment, the goal could be reached much easier. After two months of work, I could see the project easily raising $20,000, which in my mind, leaves an amazing legacy for an amazing coach, friend, and mentor.
Comments
1 Comment so far
Thanks Travis, really useful tips for fundraising. They make the fundraising task much simpler.