The Fundraising Hotline
Published by the Fundraising Ideas & Products Center

Fundraising Ideas & Products Center
March 2003

Each issue of The Fundraising Hotline includes a combination of new or unusual do-it-yourself fundraisers, fundraising product or event ideas, fundraising tips, news, trivia, book and/or software reviews, and maybe even a little humor.  We hope that each issue will contain information that is beneficial to you.  We keep the content brief to keep from slowing your email system so if there is nothing in this issue that interests you, the next one probably will!  Good luck on your fundraising efforts.  We know how much work it can be! 

Do-It-Yourself Fundraiser Of The Month

Don't Come Event: A don't come event is a clever way of asking for donations in a novel and humorous manner. First things first! This event will never actually happen -- other than on paper. You send invitations to supporters - and potential supporters - for a spectacular event with scrumptious food, exciting entertainment, and a glamorous guest of honor.  The sky's the limit since the event won't actually occur.  Let your imagination run wild!  Details

Fundraising 101 

A "how to do it" book that provides the tools you need and information that you can really use to make your fundraiser successful. Most fundraising books give fundraising ideas, but fall short of providing instructions on how to run your fundraiser. Dozens of volunteers have contributed their fundraising experiences and successes.  Topics include:

Planner
To do list
Press release
Letters home		 Kick-off assembly
Prizes & awards
Motivating the troops
Conducting a sale 		Tally procedures
Student pack instructions
Accounting procedures
Counting your profits 		Turning in the forms
Thank you letters
Accepting your delivery
Distributing your orders  

It's 100 pages in large, readable type and has an index full of forms that you can copy as your own. Fundraising 101 is available free to all Fundraising Depot customers.  

Featured Fundraising Ideas

Smencils (short for smelly pencils) are pencils made from recycled newspaper.  Sheets of newspaper are rolled tightly around the graphite writing cores until pencils of typical thickness are formed and hardened until they can be sharpened just like other pencils.  Then the pencils are soaked in a liquid fragrance and allowed to dry.  From then on, each one smells like the gourmet fragrance that was used. It’s easy to tell that Smencils are made of recycled newspaper because you can see the newsprint on the outermost layer of each one. Twelve gourmet scents and packaged in individual freshness tubes. The Smencil Company

Video taped horse races are audience-participation events where actual races are shown to your audience to re-create the atmosphere of being at the race track.  All races show a parade to the post, loading in the gate, split screen cinematography, horses in the lead graphics, toteboard results, the winners circle, slow-motion photo finish replays, full graphic of the results of each race, and commentary by actual race track announcers.  Imagine the reaction of your audience as they root, cheer, and shout for their favorite horses from the start of the race to the finish line.  A Nite At The Races

Giving and Volunteering In The U.S.

In 2001, eighty-nine percent of American families gave charitable contributions with an average contribution of $1,620 or 3.2 percent of their income.  Forty-four percent of adults volunteered their time, making up a volunteer workforce of 83.9 million people.  This figure represents the equivalent of over 9 million full-time employees at a value of $239 billion.

Forty-two percent of Americans both gave and volunteered.  These Americans gave twice as much as non-volunteers, making household contributions of $2,295 compared to $1,009 by households that did not volunteer.  Households with family members who attend religious services each month give $2,151 compared to $964 given by those who are not regular attendees.  Adults who gave or volunteered as youth are more likely to maintain that involvement into adulthood and make larger financial contributions.  Volunteers gave an average of 3.6 hours of their time per week. More women (46 percent) volunteered than men (42 percent).  Seventy percent of people donated time, money, or blood to a charity or nonprofit organization in the four weeks after the September 11th terrorist attacks. 

People are much more likely to give or volunteer when asked.  Ninety-five percent of households contribute when asked, compared to 79 percent of the non-asked group.  When asked to volunteer, 63 percent said yes, whereas only 25 percent volunteer without being asked. Of those with Internet access, 13 percent used the web to research charities.  Of this subgroup, 12 percent actually made a donation via the web.  Three percent of those with Internet access volunteered over the Internet as a mentor, tutor, or website developer.  (Source: Independent Sector)

Unusual School Mascots

From water towers to letter jackets, these community symbols can be seen in towns large and small.  Mascots range from the outrageous to the sublime, but they all serve as a common focus for the allegiance of a certain group of people.  In the parlance of religious studies, they are icons.  If you doubt the unifying power of mascots or the events that serve as rallying points for those who are identified by a certain mascot, go to a high school football game.  Sit on the home field side while wearing the colors of the opposing team.  Some of the more unusual ones are the Artichokes, Banana Slugs, Criminals, Dots, Grape Pickers, Pretzels, Purple Cows, Sugar Beeters, Thunder Chickens, and the Wooden Shoes.  [Source: Cavalcade of Mascots]

St. Patrick's Day Trivia

The first St. Patrick's Day in America was celebrated in Boston in 1737.  Green is associated with St. Patrick's Day because it's the color of spring.  The shamrock is a traditional symbol because Saint Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to represent how the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit could exist as separate elements in the same entity.  Finding a four-leaf clover, kissing the Blarney Stone, and wearing green on St. Patrick's Day will bring you good luck.

The Fundraising Hotline is published monthly by the Fundraising Ideas & Products Center, where you will find a wide variety of  do-it-yourself and commercial fundraising ideas.  You can also download a free directory containing information on products and services from 100 of the top U.S. and Canadian fundraising companies and products.  Additional source information provided by the All Fundraising Companies Directory.