Last-minute fundraising
Do you have just a few days until you finish your fundraising year? Are you down on revenues? That’s the situation facing a friend and colleague, who asked me how to raise money at the last minute with just days left until the end of the fundraising year. Here’s what I told her she could do right now:
1. Visit major donors and ask for money — this is the most effective way and you can arrange appointments quickly
2. Hold a party on June 29 or June 30 and ask for money (I suggest using someone’s home, but you could also use the back room of a restaurant and ask them to donate hors d’oeuvres and have a cash bar; you can use www.evite.com to invite people quickly)
3. Drop an email and ask for money
4. Do a telemarketing campaign to ask for money
5. Drop a mailing to ask for money
6. Do a press campaign to ask for money
7. Auction things off on the internet (hard to put together at this point)
8. Ask the board to give and raise money
9. Ask the volunteers and staff to give and raise money — and ask anyone else who can help as well
There’s only two weeks until the end of her fiscal year, and this is true for many nonprofits. It’s hard to raise money in just a couple of weeks, but the urgency can also inspire people to help you.
If you have suggestions about other ways to raise money quickly, please post them in the comments section. If you have questions about fundraising and board development, you can write me, Katherine Wertheim, CFRE, at katherine@werth-it.com.