There’s nothing like a little healthy competition to push people to work a little harder. This sense of competition adds a layer of motivation. When it comes to fundraising, it’s important to encourage teamwork and collaboration, but when it comes down to it, an award could get better results than simply asking your entire team of volunteers to raise a certain amount. Here are a few incentives that can help take your fundraising efforts to the next level.

Offer Prizes

Small prizes can make a big difference in motivating individual participants. It doesn’t have to be anything expensive, but if it gets results, the cost of rewards will be well worth it. If it’s a youth group, at the end of each fundraiser, host a movie night or pizza party for those who brought in the most money. You could also have an awards night after each fundraiser, with each person invited to bring loved ones. Awards can be prizes like trophies or ribbons. Instead of awarding prizes to a large group, you may decide to give one or a few larger prizes to the very top fundraisers.

Showcase Your Cause

What could be more motivating than seeing the very people the funds will help? Use social media and your own network of supporters to get the word out about the great things your organization is doing. If you’re raising money for a youth group, for instance, make sure you share visuals of the activities your fundraiser makes possible. Don’t limit those shares to fundraising season. Instead, post these visuals year-round and encourage your supporters to share.

Create Custom Wearables

Creating custom t-shirts for your nonprofit is easier than ever, thanks to numerous online sites offering the service. Create shirts that you can hand out to all your volunteers, especially those who show up for events like walkathons. You can also sell the shirts online, bringing in an additional source of revenue for your nonprofit even outside of fundraising season. If handing out branded wearables to all volunteers is too pricey, consider using them as prizes for those who reach certain fundraising milestones.

Incentivize Social Sharing

The best thing about fundraising today is that it’s never been easier to get the word out about what you’re doing. In addition to posting on your organization’s social media, make sure that your volunteers post about your work. You can incentivize this by offering prizes to those who follow through with this request. For even better results, involve your supporters in the social-sharing contest. Most importantly, though, make sure your own posts are interesting enough that your followers want to share them with their friends.

Fundraising may seem challenging at times, but with a little motivation, you’ll find your results improve exponentially. Include any prizes or rewards you issue in your annual budget to make sure they become a non-negotiable part of operations. Over time, you’ll find your volunteers are excited about the competition and work harder to be among those who are at the top each year.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: MAY 2022