How To Fundraise: Advice From Our Community Of Rockstars

Now that the weather looks a lot more summery, fundraising season is in full swing. Good weather encourages people to get out and pound the pavement for good causes of all kinds. But just asking for contributions to your fundraising campaign isn’t good enough; you need a strategy to maximize your impact. We talked to some of the most successful changemakers featured over at On Purpose and asked them for one tip to help our community build a better plan to raise more money in the future. Here’s what they told us:

Eyoalha Baker, Jump for Joy Project

“Include people in the project, partner with organizations/groups/people that believe in the cause to help spread the word. And contact the media to let them know what you’re up to, they may like what you’re doing and help share the word too.”

Zeke Blumenkrans, Generocksity

“Anyone and everyone can become a philanthropist regardless of their age or income. Philanthropy means love for your fellow person and there are many different ways to accomplish this besides simply donating money. Young people can make a huge impact on the lives of those around them by mobilizing their time, skills, passions, compassion, spheres of influence and social networks. Expanding your understanding of philanthropy will allow you to realize that we are all capable of becoming philanthropists.”

Michael Schwartz, The Jewish Museum & Archives of BC

“I was recently at a conference where a rep from a major organization remarked, ‘Philanthropies* must be understood as partners, not ATMs.’ It’s easy to forget that philanthropies are run by real people who really care about specific things, whether it be community, art, health, or so forth. Our job as fundraisers is to find the places where our goals and their goals align, and work with them to accomplish those goals. By meeting with them and making an effort to get your head around their essential goals, you can build an enduring relationship that works out for all involved.”

*i.e. philanthropic individuals or institutions

Rachel Kelly, lipserviceYVR

“Share your fundraising goals and plans with everyone around you. Seriously, everyone.”

Sarah Shandl, Dreamers + Doers

“This is something I learned by watching Howard Blank, a talent booker and gala auctioneer. If an event is doing a live auction and they have a closing high value item that two bidders are going head to head on, find out in advance if there’s a way to get two of these items, and once the winner is announced, ask the winner if he or she would be ok if the second bidder also received the same item for that price if they wanted to increase their final bid to match. If they say yes (which they usually do because it’s for a good cause and they already have theirs secured), and the second bidder also says yes, you’ve just doubled your highest fundraising item. Use it sparingly and when appropriate, but done properly it’s very effective.”

Kate Gustafson, Run to Give YVR

“Connect people around a passion; reach out to likeminded people to make a difference through the simple act of doing what they love to do in support of a cause.”

Adam Aziz, Freekicks.org

“Rise up early, pray, get dressed to impress and close your front door. Life moves only when you move.”