Church Fundraiser: A Business-Like Approach
In a small non-affiliated congregation church fundraiser is life. In a large denomination you still need fundraisers to finance outreach ministries that are not part of the budget covered by the leadership. Every fund raising chairman knows that. People begin to stumble over two points: what to do and how to organize it. Whatever type of fundraiser you decide to go with, it will have to be well organized. Here are three tips to help you apply a business-like approach to your church fund raising event.
Keep Accurate Records
This is to help you and future fund raising coordinators keep track of what works and what doesn’t. You only get one shot at each fundraiser each year, so you have to make the most of it. By knowing what parts of each fundraiser were most successful, you will be able trim deadwood and add new aspects to optimize your income potential. Thorough records will include where materials were purchased, who donated time, who can be relied upon for cash donations to help move things along, and how much money was made at each station or booth.
Evaluate Past Sales
Every businessperson spends some part of each month evaluating the company’s sales compared to the previous year and determining any factors that affected those sales. You will have to look over your church fundraiser event’s records from the previous year, or years, in just the same manner. Not every part of a fundraiser will make money. Some will be a drain on the fundraisers income. These booths or stations will have to be trimmed and replaced. By applying an income to debt ratio evaluation you will be able to tell what stays and what goes.
Fill A Need
The worse the economy gets the more you have to fill a need with your church fundraiser events. When things are bad the usual bake sale or carnival may not work. What can people afford, want, and need all at the same time. One possible answer to all three of these questions is a family portrait session. Every family wants to have memories of each other and a family photo provides that.
Church fundraiser can be difficult at any time. Good organization is every bit as important as what event you put on. You should always fill a need and good record keeping will help you evaluate if past events have done just that.
Tags: Church Fundraiser, church fundraising
Uncategorized | church_fundraising June 23, 2010
