Planning a Fundraising Event

Summary

Fundraising events are planned activities to raise money. Most group members are familiar with special event fundraisers (bake sales, raffles, dinners, and annual walk-a-thons).

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Planning for a Fundraiser

Make a list of all the jobs that need to be done.
- Confirm the room reservations, guest speakers, and entertainment.
- Get a permit for food and merchandise sales.
- Advertise in newspapers and send public service announcements to radio stations.
- Have group members distribute and post flyers.
- Reserve and confirm microphones, tables, VCR, and other equipment.
- Photocopy information regarding the cases or actions to be presented, including general AI literature.
- Invite other organizations and their members.
Ask a volunteer to take responsibility for seeing that each task is completed.
For jobs that require more than one person, find a volunteer coordinator and as many workers as needed.
Assign deadline dates for each task.
Plan for “disasters.” Something will surely go wrong, so anticipate all the possible disruptions of the event (e.g. rain, not enough food, performers not showing up, etc.). Brainstorm a list of all the possible “disasters” and then brainstorm measures that can be taken as prevention or solution to each (e.g. “get indoor space in case of rain”).

Budgeting For An Event

Make a budget for your event and do your best to stick to it. In order to come up with your budget, make a list of all items that will involve some expense. Estimate the cost of each (call vendors to confirm estimates) and determine if any of the items could be donated. Total all costs, subtract donated items, and you have a budget.

A Note on Potential Hazards: When deciding how to raise funds, your group should consider factors such as the amount of money it will need to invest up-front and how much risk is involved. Events that require little investment and offer high returns include car washes, bake sales, raffles, flea markets, auctions, and canvassing/membership drives. Events such as dances or dinners require slightly more investment and more risk.

Fundraisers requiring high investment and high risk include bingo, selling big-ticket items such as Christmas trees, selling calendars (they only sell for a short period of time), races, walk-a-thons, and concerts. Many of these fundraisers not only require a large up-front investment, but are costly and time-consuming to organize and promote. While celebrity events such as concerts have been historically successful for AI, groups should carefully consider the monetary and time investments required to produce such an event. A final type of fundraiser that requires high investment and risk is mass/ direct mail. It should also be noted that groups may not use mailing lists from AIUSA for direct appeals of this sort.

Ideas For Fundraising Events

If you are selling merchandise - make sure selling items is allowed where you set up. Some venues allow distribution of literature but not sales. Sometimes groups can avoid this difficulty by requesting donations and giving away products to donors who contribute a certain amount.

Raffles. Raffles are a fun and simple way to earn money. Ask local businesses to donate
prizes and sell tickets for a certain period of time. Some of the businesses that donated might also be willing to sell tickets. Incorporate the raffle into the group’s work by having the drawing during a meeting or special event. Be sure to check local and state regulations regarding raffles before you start.
“- A-Thons”. Write-a-thons, dance-a-thons, skate-a-thons, etc. take a little extra organizing but can be extremely profitable. Try to collect pledges in advance. You can ask for a block pledge ($10 for the event) or agree to have a certain number of letters, dance a certain number of hours, etc. and ask for payment up-front. Include a speaker or show a human rights-related movie during a write-a-thon. Set up a “thermometer” poster that is updated frequently to indicate how close the group is to reaching its goals.
Literature Readers. Invite noted authors or human rights activists to read from their work, or get group members to read parts of essays, short stories, novels, poems, or testimonies of victims of human rights violations. Set up an “Amnesty Café” to sell coffee and baked goods during the readings. A good time for this type of event would be during Banned Books Week in September.
Benefit Meals. These can range in scope and price. A more elaborate benefit meal might be an international dinner, focusing on a single prisoner of conscience and featuring food, music, and speakers from his or her country. A more simple variation of this theme would be to hold a pancake breakfast or spaghetti dinner followed by a movie or speaker.
Concerts. Concerts can be fun, but need to be planned carefully because they can easily lose money. There are many ways to hold events with music, and the music you use can vary widely. Check to verify the musical tastes of your target audience before you arrange the music. Make the location fun. Consider holding the concert outdoors in a park during the summer or at popular venue, such as a bookstore, bar, or restaurant.
Performances. Consider putting on performances either using group members or members of a local drama club or theatre as performers. Charge admission for the show and then sell refreshments and AI merchandise. Also, be sure to have a table with information on AI and your group at the show.

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