Planning Community Events Made Easy

by Terry L. White

A practical guide to organizing fund raising events. Stuck with planning the church Bazaar, the Cub Scouts Fund-Raiser, the local music festival? This book covers everything, from writing press releases, to recruiting volunteers, to finding an inexpensive clean-up crew.

ISBN 1-59431-428-4 Non-fiction / Self Help / How-to / Fund Raising

Cover Art by Maggie Dix



Introduction

This volume is intended as a handbook and guide for people who want to help small non-profit organizations raise funds for their own operation, scholarships, or other charitable activities. I will mention a number of different kinds of events from car washes to concerts and how to manage them from start to finish.

I won’t promise tell you how to plan a wedding, which is kind of personal and has lots of help and advice available from every bakery, dress store, and florist shop — or how to do a trade show involving Fortune 500 companies because I’ve never done that — but you should be able to plan all sorts of successful events using the information in this book, your imagination, and a little help from your friends..

I have taken part in fund-raising events for many years as a planner, volunteer, entertainer and vendor, and have arranged more than a few successful events, with and without the help of others. I have also been a newspaper reporter and an administrative assistant for a number of non-profit organizations, so I have learned quite a bit about fund-raising and publicizing events along the way.

While there can be a lot to staging a successful event, it always helps to have a plan. I will show you a number of plans, and share some management secrets one often doesn’t learn until they are in the middle of a big project with no idea of what to do next.

A great deal of my work has taken place in upstate New York and in Cambridge, MD, and instructions are based on my experience with agencies here. If you live in other states, these agencies may have different policies and procedures, however, I am sure all will be willing and happy to help make your event a success. When in doubt, give them a call.

I wish you well in your work as you help your organization fund its dreams. Good luck and happy planning.



Chapter 1

It Starts With an Idea

This is the deal: Your organization needs to make some money for disaster relief, to help a family with a dying child, for scholarships, to repair or replace some equipment, or to fund a new building. Money is always a problem for non-profits and other small organizations, but there are many things you can do to find the money you need, and to interact with, and to educate the public as you do so. Keeping in mind that not every event is a fund-raiser, here are some questions you need to address with your group when you decide you need to raise some money.

What do you want to do? Start by listing your assets and what you need:

•How much money do you need?

If you need to purchase a vehicle or fund a dozen scholarships, one bake sale might not earn enough money to make a difference – but a fishing tournament or downtown carnival with more income available for one day’s work – might generate the income you need.

•How many hands will you need?

Consider the pool of workers in your group, who can do what, and what sort of effort is involved. Once you assess your need, you can decide if you can get your people to do a big fund-raiser in one day or weekend, or if you would rather have recurring activities like a car wash or bake sale that repeat in various places over a longer span of time but needs fewer hands.



•How many people are available in your group to work on an event project?

Not every person in any group can or will work. Usually there is a core group of individuals who are free and ready to put out the effort to stage a successful fund-raiser or event. In Cambridge, the Lions Club puts out boxes to collect used eyewear for people who need them. The Salvation Army places one or two individuals near the biggest department and grocery stores with their collection kettle during the Christmas holidays. These groups have their collection mechanisms down pat and operate them with a minimum of manpower. The Salvation Army also runs a thrift store with a couple of paid employees and lots of volunteers in Cambridge.

Two or three people can do very well with a telephone campaign if that is all you have. Do try to offer a return the public can use in return for their pledges to your cause. I tend to hang up on people who just want funds — or those who call to sell me things. You may have to put people in the community to accomplish your goals. Manpower is often the a problem for small non-profits, so try to keep your available energy at hand and try not to bite off more than you can chew when you select the nature and elements of your fund-raising endeavor.