Fundraising Fundamentals
When most people hear about the serious needs of our disabled veterans and
what Homes for Our Troops / Kids for Our Troops is doing to help them live more
comfortably, they always ask the same question: What can I do?
We have put together this information to help you, our grassroots volunteers,
to help our disabled veterans through the Homes for Our Troops effort. Here
are some ideas:
Organize A Fundraiser
Organize a fundraiser with your school, church or interest group
Round up three or four enthusiastic people to put together a successful
fundraiser. It does take a lot of work but it will be a success! Such events are
also important in that they bring people together to raise a collective
consciousness. Here are some points to keep in mind when organizing a fund
raising event. See complete list of fundraiser
ideas»
- Decide on the focus of your event
Some ideas are: a speaker, a video, a musician or performer, a poet or group
of poets, etc. Use this to highlight the needs of our severely injured and
disabled veterans to underscore the motivation behind helping Homes for Our
Troops.
- A speaker can simply be someone who is well read on the issue of veteran’s
issues / needs, handicapped accessible awareness, or has a story to tell
pertaining to a disabled veteran. It is important to highlight the plight of
our disabled soldiers in an introduction or during an interval so that donors
know what the cause is and what is expected of them.
- If you can't come up with a speaker or performer, one easy idea is to
simply collect a number of poems or readings by other people about what our
veterans service means to them or a story about a loved one who was severely
injured in a war and what life-altering changes they had to make to adjust to
their new life once they came home from war, or even a tribute to veterans of
war in general. The internet is very useful for researching topics of
discussion.
- How will you collect the funds?
Sometimes it is easier to ask for a set amount at the door rather than simply
passing a hat later. Remember to allow a sliding scale for low-income folks.
One effective strategy to coax more donations from your audience is to make an
impassioned plea immediately after the climax of the evening.
- The scale of donations requested should be determined by two things: the
average income of your audience, and the quality of your event (i.e. if a
famous musician agrees to play a benefit concert, don't hesitate to request
$20-30 at the door).
- Will people show up to my event?
Sure they will - the key is advertising. The cause of disabled veterans is
one that many people have heard about in the news and know is important even
if they don't know all the details. If holding the event at a school, church
or neighborhood community center, be sure and put posters up at least 8-10
days before the event. And don't underestimate the power of the internet.
Email all your friends co-workers. Also, send us an email so we can advertise
your event on our website “Events” page.
- Press Release
Type up a press release (use our Press
Release Template) describing the focus of your event and some background
information about a local soldier or any disabled veteran your fundraiser will
be helping (find that information on our website
www.homesforourtroops.org) and send
the press release to the local newspapers and radio stations for their
calendars and also to encourage them to perhaps cover the event. One very
important aspect of having fund raisers is to make available signup sheets
(asking for name, address, email address and phone number) for people who want
to stay in touch. That way the next time you organize a fund raiser, you can
mail all the people who came to your first one.
*Also, send us copies of the signup sheets for our database so that we can
keep a broad audience updated about the needs of our wounded veterans.
Organize a sale and donate the proceeds
This can be a very doable classroom or neighborhood project. You can even
just get a group of your friends who have special skills to set up a weekly or
monthly sale of products. It is also a great way to get a group of people
involved who really feel like they are doing something substantial. Here are
some points to keep in mind when you organize a sale:
What can I sell?
You don't have to be a master craftsman to make items to sell. Apart from the
obvious items like paintings, etc, here are some ideas: if you have a backyard
and have always wanted to grow your own vegetables but didn't know what to do
with the 50 tomatoes that sprang up each week in the summer, sell your produce
at a local farmers market and donate the proceeds to the Homes for Our Troops.
Get a bunch of your friends together and have a jewelry making, candle making,
or ornament making party and sell them at local craft fairs. Bake brownies and
sell them outside your local church or in your neighborhood. Print up T-shirts
that describe the cause and sell them for more than you paid. If you are an
artist, get your local coffee house to display your art and advertise where the
proceeds will go. And don't hesitate to advertise the fact that the proceeds
will benefit our disabled veterans. When people know that you are doing it for a
good cause they are apt to be more generous.
How should I price my items?
One good strategy is not to price them at all - tell your buyers what the money
will go to and ask them to donate whatever they can for it. Of course if they
offer too little money, refuse. Also, make sure you have flyers for the HFOT /
KFOT handy in case anyone asks for more information.
Run a Marathon (or walk, bicycle, swim, etc)
Some great tips on organizing a walk/marathon can be found at
www.stepbystepfundraising.com
If you like sports, one easy way you can help raise funds is to ask your friends
and colleagues to sponsor you for a marathon or other sporting event. Simply ask
potential donors to sponsor you by filling out a sponsorship/pledge form (see
attached form) and pledge a monetary amount contingent on your completion of the
event. When the event is over, collect the money and mail it to the Homes for
Our Troops. One of the simplest ways to do this is to ask you colleagues at work
to sponsor you - leave forms in a common area or email your friends/family about
the event and your fundraising efforts. Always make sure you have HFOT / KFOT
flyers ready in case anyone asks for more information.
Throw a House Party
This is easy, requires little preparation, and is usually fun. As long as your
home or a friend's home is big enough to hold all your friends, simply make a
small flyer advertising a house party to raise funds for disabled veterans and
mail them to all your friends. Encourage them to bring their friends and
checkbooks. Here are some ideas on having house parties:
Try asking your local bakery, grocery store, cafe or restaurant if they would
donate food for a benefit party at your house for disabled veterans. Most
socially conscious establishments will do it for the good publicity. This way
you can offer your friends some refreshments while asking them to make out large
checks. Have your HFOT / KFOT information ready to show if they ask about the
charity.
Or try asking a few friends to help you make some food or dessert - perhaps
even make it a potluck dinner.
Invite all your neighbors even if you don't know them. This issue is one that
most people are drawn to and it won't be too hard to convince them to give.
Make sure you hand out HFOT / KFOT flyers.
Set up an Informational Table
With little preparation (except making photocopies), setting up an informational
table can be easy and very effective. Here are some tips on making it a success:
Location, location, location.
Without a doubt, the most important aspect of tabling is to do it in the right
place. If you or a friend is enrolled in a university, set up a table on campus
during rush time: before, during and after lunch time for example, or between
classes. If you go to church, set up a table outside the church so that people
see it right as they exit (clear it with the church authorities before hand).
The post-service hour is one during which people tend to be more generous.
Another good place is your local supermarket, mall, or other establishment where
the managers allow you to set up a table. Make sure the table is set up close to
the busiest hour of the day.
What should the table have on it?
The simplest thing would be to download HFOT / KFOT general flyers,
volunteer forms, donation forms and the signup sheets and make as many copies as
you think you will need. Colored paper is eye-catching, especially when each
type of flyer is a different color. For a more effective response, download
photographs of disabled soldiers (from our photo gallery) and print them out on
a color printer (black and white will do too but color is best). Put them in
plastic sleeves for protection and display them in a binder or simply strew them
on the table.
Make a large sign saying something eye-catching - even as simple as "Help
Build Specially Adapted Homes for Our Disabled Veterans", or "Kids for Our
Troops", and place it in front of the table. Pictures are always more effective
so if you can blow up a photograph or paint a picture on your sign it can draw
people well.
Read about the issue well enough to be able to talk to strangers about it.
That way people who have never even heard of the crisis our disabled veterans
are in, they can learn something new and hopefully be moved enough to make a
donation on the spot.
Write a Personal Check
This one's easy. Make the check payable to Homes for Our Troops and mail it to
P.O. Box 615, Buzzards Bay, MA 02532 USA. We also accept credit cards. Download
the form from the website (www.homesforourtroops.org) and mail us the
information. Or simply write down your credit card type, numbers and expiration
date on a piece of paper, along with the amount of donation and mail it to the
above address. Please don't email us the information (for security reasons).
Tell all your friends about Homes for Our Troops / Kids for Our Troops
Forward this to all your friends who have email. Or print it out and hand it to
everyone you know.
Good luck and stay in touch with us! A special email address has been set up
just for people who are organizing fundraisers:
fundraising@kidsforourtroops.org
Or call us with any questions: 866-7-TROOPS
THANK YOU! TOGETHER, WE CAN SHOW OUR AMERICAN HEROES OUR GRATITUDE FOR THEIR
SACRIFICES |
