Go the Distance with Your Next Fundraiser

1. Plan first!

From experience, we know that successful fundraising campaigns start with a comprehensive plan. No matter how large or small your organization is, a fundraising strategy is the first thing you want to have in your briefcase (or backpack) when you start your journey. Having a step-by-step guide will help you lay out your whole fundraising calendar, and enroll your team to knock out your list of to-do's.

Before putting your fundraising plan together, hop over to “Ten Tips to Fundraising Success.” This guide shares tried-and-true best practices, which you can use to develop your fundraising plan.

2. Don't take on the whole fundraiser yourself.

One challenge we hear about often: project leaders who end up trying to do everything themselves. As the leader of a fundraiser, it’s easy to feel like it's all riding on your shoulders. But trying to take on every suggestion and to-do item yourself is a fast path to exhaustion and missed details. The key to avoid this problem is using your fundraising plan to delegate and share the work.

3. Go the distance by delegating.

Reach out to your community and build a core team of reliable support. Ideally, you’ll find several team members you can rely on — trustworthy people with a can-do attitude. Spread the fundraising leadership work around appropriately, so the burden doesn’t fall on just one or two of you.

4. Establish the rules for teamwork.

Your organization may have some general protocols for communication and decision making — use these rules for your fundraising campaign, too. Everyone will need to be on the same page, buy into the fundraising plan, know how they're expected to communicate, and know the difference between team decisions and individual decisions. It sounds like a lot — but when you put these expectations in your fundraising plan, everything will run much more smoothly!

To make sure you delegate decision-making as well as work, you will want to assign coordinators for different areas of the fundraising campaign.

For example, you should have:

• a social media coordinator
• a fundraising partner liaison (for example, to work with a Terri Lynn Fundraising Specialist)
• a volunteer coordinator

5. Give a steady stream of support and encouragement.

Give all your volunteers, as well as the people you’ve chosen to delegate to, the recognition they deserve. Praise their efforts and keep a steady stream of THANK YOUs going!

We know that running a fundraising campaign can be a challenge, and even with all of your volunteers in place, there’s still so much to do...Our easy-to-use fundraising programs are here to make raising money for your cause easy and effective.

6. Take Advantage of Easy-to-Use Online Tools

Today, managing extra workloads means putting your online tools to work as much as possible. Good online tools can help you expand your supporter network and amplify your fundraising message to a larger audience. And the best part is: they work around the clock — which means you don’t have to.

Terri Lynn Fundraising has your back here — we have the team, tools, and templates you need to make fundraising easy. As your fundraising partner, we offer three easy fundraising programs that work for any group of any size:

1. Case Program
2. Order Taking Program
3. Online Store Program

You can read about each of these programs using the links above, or by calling our dedicated Fundraising Experts at (800) 323-0775.

7. Take advantage of the Online Store program

Our Online Store Program is a favorite online tool for many organizations— it’s practically “hands-off” which saves a lot of time and stress. We can help you set up a free, personalized Online Store just for your organization — all you do is upload your logo, choose your profit margin, and send us a W-9 to open your store. Terri Lynn customers love this free online program!

Here are four big reasons why an Online Store is the ultimate fundraising partner:

1. No Sellers Required

   You don’t need a swarm of volunteers pounding the pavement or manning phones. Simply share your Online Store link via email, text, or social media — and watch the sales come in.
   
   

2. No Cost To Your Organization

   Profit checks will be mailed to you monthly, without any cost to your group for products or expenses to run the Online Store.
   
   

3. No Order-Taking Or Products To Distribute

   Supporters choose what they want to buy and are billed through the secure Online Store. Then their orders are shipped directly to them — your organization does not have to be the middleman. No money to handle and no food products to deliver.
   
   

4. Stays Open All Year, 24/7

   A Terri Lynn Online Store for your organization can be accessed 24 hours a day, every day, by those wishing to support you. It suits everyone’s schedule!

8. Use Social Media Tools to Help You Spread The Word

Another part of your online fundraising strategy is leveraging social media. You can use your fundraiser’s social media presence as a funnel to engage with your supporters and send them to your website or Terri Lynn Fundraising Online Store.

Want some social media tips? Read these past helpful articles:

• How to Master Facebook Fundraising
• 8 Types of Social Media Posts Fundraisers Can Share
• 7 Ways to Share Your Gratitude on Social Media

Ready to go the distance with your fundraiser?

Terri Lynn Fundraising is ready to help. Email us, or call us (800) 323-0775. A Fundraising Group Specialist can answer your questions and help get you started.

Having a plan, a great team, and the right tools will make the difference between barely making it across the finish line — and really knocking it out of the park for your organization and your cause! Let us know how we can help you raise funds fast and reach & exceed all of your fundraising goals in 2022.