When I decided to install IKEA curtains at my house I severely underestimated the task at hand. It seemed super simple, but in fact it was so much more complicated than I thought. And it’s sort of similar with fundraising. Some people think that with Fundraising you just:
- Pick something to do
- Get some people to come along
- Have some fun
- Run a few raffles and
- Make some money
In essence, it’s sort of true, and I really shouldn’t laugh cos that’s exactly what I did with my Ikea curtains… but the truth is, that is so far from reality it’s not funny.
What typically happens with fundraising is you think it’s going to be easy, then you get too far down the track to abandon your plans, and now you are stuck with this fundraiser. You spend all your waking hours working on it, and all your sleeping hours thinking about it.
Then at the last minute, you rope in your partner, your friends and anyone else you can get to help and they spend all their waking hours working on it too.
You stress off your nut the whole time and collapse in a heap at the end going “OMG I am NEVER doing that again”. (And if you don’t say that, your partner and friends probably will.)
Then a few weeks later…
when you recover from your exhaustion, you think to yourself
“Actually, next time we should do this, and next time I’ll do that different!”
Well, you know what? There isn’t always going to be a next time. If you are doing a Fundraiser to participate in a personal trek or adventure… how many times do you plan walking the Great Wall of China or the Kokoda Trail? If you are doing a fundraiser to help out a family in need, how many times do you want to try and get it right while they wait for the much-needed funds?
I’m guessing the answer is just once.
So you need to get it right the first time!
There is no doubt that it is worth doing Fundraising; I don’t want to put you off completely; but wouldn’t it be nice to make a more informed decision before you get started? If I had known there were 47 individual steps to putting up the bedroom curtains, I would have had much different expectations and given myself a lot more time to complete the task. So the million-dollar question is (or in this case the $5000 question), how do you avoid the Ikea Syndrome, run a successful fundraiser and get it right the first time?
To avoid all the pitfalls of organising a fundraiser you need to:
- Make sure you have a plan
- Make sure you are organised
- And get some help right from the start.
It’s also a good idea to follow a system and get some good advice from people like me who have done it many times before.
Over the last 15 years, I’ve worked with many schools, clubs and individuals who have done fundraisers. I know it can be a lot of work. And there is a lot on the line too.
If you don’t get it right, you don’t make money!
If you don’t make money, the cause misses out.
Is it really worth doing all that work if you don’t make a difference?
I’ve met a lot of wonderful people just like you who are involved in Fundraising. Over the years I’ve
noticed that Fundraising organisers, even with the best intentions, often make it difficult for themselves. They:
- find it challenging to get helpers involved,
- work longer and harder than they should,
- do a lot of work on their own,
- constantly annoy people by pressuring them to get involved,
- don’t make as much money as they could’ve and
- stay awake at night worrying about it all.
That doesn’t sound like much fun to me!
Therefore, to help make your fundraising stress free and enjoyable, (yes it’s possible!) I’ve written Hit Your Target, to help you create a fundraiser that’s supporter-friendly, committee-friendly and (most importantly for you) organiser-friendly!
