Philanthropy...how to make your event work for you!

Sometimes it is difficult to figure out how to go about fundraising. Whether you are doing a bake sale, shaving someone's head or walking around a field for 12 hours it can be cumbersome to detail how to efficiently raise money. There are a few great examples that have happened this week and are happening this semester that can give your group ideas about getting the most "bang for your buck"! Phi Delta Theta Fraternity did an amazing job on a Friday raising money for the Wounded Warrior project. Their display was nice, their members were outgoing and they raised in 7 hours $610 !!!! Typically groups are only turning in about $10 and $80 per day. Those groups also are coming day after day to sit at the tables for hours instead of making one day work for them by figuring out how to attract the most students, staff and faculty to their table in the shortest period of time. Phi Delta Theta members really jazzed their table up, were color coordinated and collected inside army fatigue hats to match their wounded warrior theme.

Today we have "Jail and Bail" going on in the atrium. Last year these student raised money through pre-sale of "warrants" and then day of "bail" was set for each member "arrested" and between "warrants" and "bail" the group raised almost $7,000 for Special Olympics. This type of event takes more pre-planning and a committee of student to work for a few weeks before to prepare for the event. However, you can see that one week of "warrant" sales and one day of atrium work got them $7,000 during the first year of "Jail and Bail" . You could say that St. Baldrick's is this type of event as well. Roller Hockey works with the Dean of Students office to recruit people to shave their heads to raise money for research in pediatric cancer. Not only is this a good cause but, they are raising almost $20,000 with online donations and day of contributions. 
The type of events that raise the large money have other "events" attached to them like Relay for Life where participants get to camp out at the Intramural Fields and there are performances throughout the event. This keeps the participants going while they walk throughout the night but, also adds the fun to the event that makes students want to participate (and raise $100,000) . Similarly, tonight is the She's The First dance-a-thon in Hofstra USA. Although the idea of the dance-a-thon is a classic for fundraisers She's The First has made it fun by pre-selling and getting teams formed ahead of time to come out in silly outfits and enjoy themselves while great music plays! 
Every dollar counts and students do an immense amount of work each year with fundraisers just like this to benefit our global community. I hope that students start to rethink their fundraisers and how they can get the most out of their event or atrium time. If you need more ideas or suggestions please seek out your program advisor to assist you - or, speak to another club or organization that you have seen shine at fundraising!