Some organizations lock on one fundraiser and focus all their efforts on it. For Scout troops, though, fundraising is often a multi-event affair, with products and services offered at various times throughout the year. Although wreaths tend to be the biggest moneymaker for most troops, many supplement that fundraising with multiple events throughout the year.

Planning is the best way to maximize your troop’s success in raising money. If you host multiple fundraisers throughout the year, it’s especially important to coordinate everything. Here are a few tips to help you plan out your fundraisers for the next year.

Consider the Variables

Since you won’t want your fundraisers to occur at the same time, factor seasons into the planning process. A car wash is perfect for the summer months, while wreath sales are ideal for the fall, leading up to a November delivery. You should also think about the audiences you’ll be reaching. If you sell discount cards, for instance, chances are you’ll appeal to a different audience than the local community members who support you by buying wreaths.

Make It Easy

As you come up with various fundraising ideas, think about the wear on your own resources. A fundraiser like wreath sales will be easier on your troops since the company gives you the tools you need to gather orders and submit them. However, if you choose an event like a spring carnival, you may find that the work that goes into planning and executing the event is far more than another type of fundraiser, such as a product sale. That doesn’t mean you never work that type of event in, but it may mean that you do that once a year, then fill the rest of your year with less time-intensive fundraisers.

Choose Your Leaders

Part of your planning should include assigning resources to each of the fundraisers you choose. Make sure you don’t tap out your volunteers by having a small group do everything. Consider people who might not get an opportunity to lead teams with your annual wreath fundraiser and allocate them to other projects. You may even choose fundraisers based on the unique strengths of some of those underutilized workers.

Plan for Training

As you’re strategizing, don’t forget to work in a game plan for training everyone in the time period before each fundraiser. If you’re doing sales, you should dedicate time to ensuring your teams not only know the products well, but that they also practice and hone their sales pitches before they approach the first potential donor. Your financial and operational team will also need support, so make sure you build in training time for anyone who will support those functions, in addition to any ongoing training you provide your team and leaders.

Fundraising isn’t without its challenges, but it can also be fun, especially if you work out all the details in advance. When you have a plan in place, you’ll be able to focus on the details of managing the fundraiser itself, rather than scrambling to organize everything.

With 59 years of working with fundraising organizations
of all kinds, Evergreen Industries understands how
early preparation is a cornerstone of successful
fundraising and we are here to help.
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