Nonprofits these days have an infinite number of ideas for fundraising, yet many organizations struggle to get even the minimum amount required to perform basic functions. The primary reason is that nonprofits fail to stick to an idea. They are also often accused of trying out too many new ideas that may or may not be receptive to donors.
Perhaps nonprofits can take a cue from the pages of one of the oldest charitable societies; fraternities, and sororities. While the pretense behind these organizations might be to foster a group environment and to encourage bonding, they are also famous for hosting fundraising events.
Nonprofits can take some fraternity fundraising ideas and apply them to their organization.
Fraternity fundraising best practices
Below, we have compiled a list of six best practices that you can incorporate into your nonprofit and yield some results.
Peer-to-peer network
The reason why fraternities thrive can be boiled down to the fact that they rely on internal support more than external support. They utilize their alumni network and current members to raise funds. You can similarly take advantage of this structure, by appealing to existing members, donors, and volunteers to generate funds. Peer-to-peer fundraising can be incredibly powerful as each supporter’s extension can reach out to their network, thus compounding the effect.
Specificity
Whenever you spend money, you want to know exactly where the money is going. Similarly, nonprofits need to be crystal clear about why they want funds and where they will use them. While general fundraisers may be successful in accruing funds, if a nonprofit chooses to host fundraisers for specific causes, they can generate more funds. If the donors know where the money is being used, they will be inclined to contribute.
Tradition and value
If your nonprofit has traditions and events that have been part of the organization, then it is time to capitalize on them. Try incorporating a fundraising element for your tradition/event and you will see people from all walks of life flock to it. It also helps earn the trust of members and their network, who are already familiar with the tradition.
Healthy competition
Adding a bit of competition to fundraisers is a great way to get more funds. Fraternities the world over have competitions and your nonprofit will benefit greatly from utilizing the same concept. A great idea is to run a peer-to-peer competition between fundraisers. Whoever raises the most gets a prize. The prize should be something that is common ground between your members and if it is something they care about, they will be delighted with it.
Visibility campaign
Fraternities are known for using clever, out-of-the-box campaigns to increase their visibility. Nonprofits can take a cue from this and apply the same concept. While you may not need to attract the same audiences or use the footprints of fraternities to follow their path, you can still use their idea. Check out trending themes and apply them to a campaign.
Spreading information
It is time to maximize the funds you can gather by arming your volunteers and members with a fundraising toolkit. A fundraising toolkit contains all the tools and resources that your fundraisers will need. It includes:
- Guidelines for brands
- Suggested strategies
- Fundraising timelines
- Information about the cause
- Information on the event
- Useable templates for social media
You can organize online meetings to brief your members and volunteers about the utility of the toolkit.
Consider creating fundraising flyers that will motivate the potential donors to give, so be sure to tell a good story so you can connect with your audience.
6 types of fraternity fundraising ideas you can implement
Now that we are clear with some best practices, it is time to apply these practices to some fun ideas.
Volunteering
Fraternities have a concept of volunteering together, nonprofits can apply this concept to fundraising. By encouraging donors, volunteers, and members alike to come together for a volunteering activity, you are forging bonds with the spirit of raising funds. You can tie the volunteering work with funds, by using the endeavor itself. A good example would be planting trees for the community and setting an amount for each tree.
Sports tournament
Fraternities have a sporting concept, where they compete in sports to raise funds. This idea can be easily applied to nonprofits. They can host a sports tournament where the entry fee can be used to help the nonprofit. The winners would get a prize of course, but the idea is to raise funds for the nonprofit. Hosting a tournament introduces a competitive spirit all the while raising funds.
Spirit wear
It is a common tradition to see fraternities wear the same clothes to raise awareness. Nonprofits can try this theme. They can send out t-shirts, caps, or other forms of clothing that their volunteers, donors, and members should wear for a week to spread the message of the nonprofit.
A pie-throwing contest
A great mid-afternoon Greek idea, pie-throwing contests. Make a simple pie filled with cream on a tin-foil plate and price the pies to appropriately attract crowds. The aim is to hurl the pies on members of your nonprofit, in a fun manner, of course. It is a hilarious crowd builder and one that can help you accumulate a nice fund for your nonprofit.
5Ks
An effective way to raise funds, a 5k run promotes fitness and your nonprofits, all the while keeping a competitive spirit. You can keep prizes for the winners to make it appealing. Overall it is one of the most popular fraternity fundraising ideas.
Foundation day
We have discussed the importance of tradition and what better way to increase the voice of your nonprofit than by celebrating the day it was founded. Identify when your nonprofit came into life and build a fundraiser around that day. The idea is to connect the day with the fundraiser.
Conclusion
These ideas are just some of the many used by fraternities, all you need to do is look and who knows, maybe you might find a fraternity fundraising idea that is suited to your nonprofit.