Where to Begin?

Ask yourself the following questions when you begin thinking about planning a fund-raiser.

• Who has the money that your club needs?
• How are you going to reach these people?
• When is it going to happen?
• What needs to happen to complete this?
• Where is all this going to happen?
• Why are you doing this?

Once you have begun to ask yourself these questions you need to begin to plan your activity. The best way to plan a fund-raiser is to work backwards starting with your goal and ending with the present.

Who has the money?

Answering this question will put you on the right track toward raising funds for your club.

List some different groups that are potential sources of funds for your club.

Are you going to focus on one group of people or several at the same time? Example, if you are going to focus on several groups at the same time, what do they have in common? Where do they overlap? Target your fund-raiser to reach them all the same time.

How are you going to reach these groups?

This is your product or your service that forms the basis for your fund-raiser. It can be anything from t-shirts to product endorsement or corporate advertisement. Whatever you decide, make sure that it fits with your target group.

What are some things that could reach this target group?

When will this happen?

Choose a date for your fund-raiser; think about when your target group will be most exposed. For example, if you are having a bake sale, maybe the weekend isn't the best time. Try to be as detailed as you can be about choosing a time that will expose your fundraisers to the most people in your target area. This can also be a deadline for yourself to get on your projects done and on time. Start early; the sooner you begin planning and accomplishing tasks, the more well planned and successful your fund-raiser is likely to be.

What would be a good time of year, or a good time during the week, to reach your particular target audience?

What needs to happen in order to make this idea become reality?

Make a list of what needs to be done in order to accomplish your fund-raising idea. Assign a due date for every item and delegate tasks for people in your club to do. Get people involved and give them plenty of time to finish their task, but not so much that they forget what to do. Check in regularly to see that people are stickin gto the deadlines and doin ga good job. This is a difficult job to do because it means that you play "task master," but use other people in the group to help hold others accountable. Continue to remind everyone of the goal so that they can stay focused.

What needs to happen and when should each item be finished?

Where is a good place for your fund-raiser?

Again, this goes back to your target group. If you are reaching students and faculty then a residence hall is not likely the best place to have your event. However, reserving a room in the Student Union can be difficult so start and reserve your space ASAP. Planning is the key to a successful event.

What are some good locations for the event, and why?

Why are you doing this event?

It is important to know why you are doing this event. Do you need the money, or is this something that your team has always done?

Always remember to ask yourself why you are going to all the trouble to raise money for your team. Use a goal to motivate your club to finish their tasks on time and take the effort seriously. For example, if you are raising money to go to a competition, place the flyers of the meet or tournament all over your room. Make the competition a part of your team's goals for the year. Talk about the event with your teammates often. Built up excitement in your group by making the planning of the event fun--and involve food!

What are some reasons for you to raise funds? What do you want to accomplish through more funds this year?

By working backwards you can better plan what you will need to accomplish as well as deal with unanticipated problems as they arise. Good Luck!