Four Fundraising Pitfalls Every Newbie Organiser Must Avoid

Organising a fundraiser can be overwhelming when you lack experience running fundraisers and you're having to learn everything on the fly. The good news is, you can hold a successful fundraiser and and boost your school's financial resources even though you're new to the task. How? By researching the tried and tested formulas for fundraising, and by steering clear of the things that cause fundraisers to flop. Here are some common mistakes you should try to avoid when setting up your very first fundraising project.

1. Lack of planning - Planning for a fundraiser has to be done a year in advance because it entails a lot of work. Create a list of all the tasks that must be done from day one right up to the actual date of your event. Assign volunteers to accomplish each of these tasks so that you won't get tempted to do everything. Stick with your plan but be ready to make changes to it when needed.

2. Poor communication - Problems arise when you're unable to communicate well with your team members and other important people outside your team. Make an effort to update everyone and have them all on the same page as you carry out your fundraising game plan. Apart from sending daily or weekly updates via email, create social media accounts where you can post every detail of the progress made on your project.

3. Lack of volunteers - Gather a core volunteer group to head up your project. Then, define the less important, but necessary positions and all the other roles and responsibilities that are needed in order for the fundraiser to be a success. Filling in these less important positions with able and interested people lightens the load of your core volunteers. But how can you find extra volunteers for your team? Circulate flyers or post a sign up ad on your social media accounts, then move on to the selection process from there. Good people who are willing to support your fundraiser without pay are hard to find, so don't overwork them.

4. Insufficient promotion - Contrary to popular belief, communities don't support fundraisers automatically, despite the fact that they're held to support a good cause. Get the attention of your target audience by giving out flyers, letters and posters in your area. Send emails and post the details of your fundraiser on your social media wall. Create a countdown type of ad on your wall to entice more people to sign up for your fundraiser.

Familiarise yourself with these fundraising mistakes and these solutions. This will help increase your chances of meeting your financial goals and building good relationships with your volunteers and the community.

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