Fundraising for your community group

You may not have considered fundraising but a source of income may help your group stay alive and campaign more successfully.

The answers to the following questions will enable you to establish the aims and objectives of your fundraising. Remember that fundraising is about need, not about money.

• Why do you need to raise funds?
• What will the funds help your organisation achieve?
• How much will it cost for your group to achieve its goals?

Any fundraising message you develop should start by establishing the need (what needs to be done to make the world a better place) and how your organisation can do something to relieve this need.

How to fundraise

Five key fundraising methods are:

1. Public donations. These can be accessed through events, raffles, street collections, advertising, direct mail or email and more.
2. Supporters/donors. If you already have some financial supporters/donors, you can approach them to give a repeat gift, via direct mail, telephone or face to face.
3. Foundation grants
4. Government grants
5. Corporate sponsorship/donations

Remember that grants and corporate sponsorship can affect your independence and they are often cut without warning.

Fundraising checklist

• Check out the law before you start fundraising. Make sure you have the necessary permits for raffles, street collections etc.
• Each state in Australia has different fundraising legislation. Contact your state government before you start your activities.
• To offer tax deductibility for donations, you must be registered as a charity under state or federal legislation.
• Recognise risk. Public activities or events have a measure of risk. Examine your insurance need to provide safety and cover any legal costs. Ask the police for advice.

Some guidelines to get you started

1. Identify why you want to raise funds. Be as specific as possible.
2. Set a reasonable target for your fundraising activity.
3. Identify appropriate fundraising strategies to reach your target.
4. Ensure you have available resources to run the activity and plan well ahead, particularly if relying on volunteers to help.
5. Often you will have to pay for fundraising activities well before any income is received, so budget carefully with this in mind.
6. Don't rely totally on funding from one area because this increases the risk of losing all your funding.

Foundation/government grants

Many foundation and government grants specify criteria for funding requests. Investigate this before submitting an application, as your application will be rejected if it doesn't meet the criteria laid down by a foundation. To obtain a full listing of foundations registered in Australia, visit http://www.philanthropy.org.au/

Are ethics important?

Are there people or organisations that may compromise your independence or integrity if you were to receive money from them (for example chemical, tobacco or oil industries). If so, you may wish to exclude them from your fundraising activity.

Top 5 dos and donts

Do

• To capture impromptu donations, include your phone number, web address and a donation coupon if possible on all your communications.
• Collect the name, address, phone number and email address of your donors. You're never too small to start a database of those who give.
• People give to organisations they have a relationship with so keep in regular contact with your donors/supporters.
• People give more readily when they know how their money will be spent so be transparent about your campaigning needs.
• To assist you in running fundraising activities cheaply, negotiate to get goods in kind or at a reduced cost.
• Communicate clearly, passionately and with urgency about your organisation.

Don't

• Don't create expectations you can't fulfil.
• Don't exaggerate about your activities.
• Don't be vague about why you're fundraising.
• Don't launch into a fundraising activity without planning and budgeting.
• Don't raise money for a specific project and then spend it on something else without first informing your donors.

Fundraising online

If you have a website, give people the opportunity to donate online. Make sure you investigate a secure website, to give people peace of mind when handing over their credit/bank details.

For more tips and hints about fundraising online, check out:

NetAction's Virtual Activist Training Course Part 4: Membership and Fundraising

Have a look at some charity fundraising websites before developing your own.