At one of these events for a local K-8 school, we witnessed a FRENZY of bidding at the live auction! What in the world were they auctioning that would cause such a commotion?? We moved up to get a look and saw amazing furniture – tall dressers – with student-drawn designs in Sharpie!

Yes – Sharpie markers in an array of colors on wood furniture!

Brilliant, we said! We’ve GOT to try this for our auction gala!

Tish got to work and quickly located an unfinished wood store that offered her great prices on a bed stand and a hope chest. The store also provided helpful advice about which type of wood would work best and how to seal the finished pieces.

Kerry met with the middle school students several time to design and implement the two furniture pieces. The student artists looked at design resource books and magazines to find patterns and colors they liked. We wanted each student to have their design ideas incorporated – and each furniture piece needed to have a cohesive look! It was quite a puzzle but we were successful!

Each student drew her design in pencil onto the wood; some created stencils to repeat elements. Then they picked up those Sharpies and went to town! Each furniture piece was finished with a clear coat spray of polyurethane.

The results were marvelous and the student artists were proud to sign their names to the piece they contributed to!

We had our own frenzy of bidding as the bed stand and hope chest were each sold separately at our auction. In the end, two parents prevailed (their kids had let them know they were not to return home empty-handed!) and two students each have a keepsake furniture piece to take with them to college and right into their first apartments!

We’ve created the FreshFundraising Pinterest page! We are giddy and inspired – come see the party we’ve started!

We know what you’re saying! What?? Pinterest? What the heck is Pinterest anyway??

Pinterest is a free, online virtual pinboard which helps you create a visual map for your Cause or Non-profit. Pinterest allows your donors, volunteers and community to access fundraising information details, events, updates and ideas – all focused on the mission for your cause.

It’s a “Visual Ah-ha” for your fundraising Cause and its needs.

To connect on Pinterest you need to request an invitation – we simply posted a request on their Facebook page and in a couple of days they emailed us a link! And then we were off and pinning – Oh the possibilities!!

Pinterest truly puts the fun back in fun-draising!

Creating your pin boards is the enticing part! Think about what your donors need to know, what your volunteers need to see and what your cause would like to communicate. Let us throw out some examples to get your ideas flowing:

“Fun in 2011” A pin board of photos from a past event

“Our Philosophy” a pin board with quotes and info graphics that express your cause’s mission

“Join Us – Gala 2012” A pin board with focal event details, info, location and sneak peeks of opportunity drawing, actual silent & live auction items that will be available at your gala

“Volunteer Recognition” A pin board filled with photos of your volunteers in action!

“Volunteer Thank You’s – Food, Drinks & Ideas!” is our most popular FreshFundraising pin board. We are so glad to see that so many of you are thanking your volunteers and searching for creative ideas on how to do so.

CAUTION: Pinterest is highly addictive – we warned you fair and square!

Check it out – we would love to hear what you think is really effective on Pinterest for your cause or fundraising event.  PLUS, we will  be diving into the endless possibilities of Pinterest our email series – be sure to sign up – its free!

Come see what we’ve started….

Trust us.

We’re not kidding…

We just came out of a crazy busy weekend of volunteering, auctions, dessert sale, and scholarship competition – whew – need we say more! The triumphs and challenges for organizing a focal fundraising event are out there. The sheer drive and energy of so many volunteers is unbelievable and amazing all at the same time.

 We need to give you this gift. It will help your Cause tame the chaos that lurks inside these fundraising events.

We’ve tested it. We created it. We’ve used it. We can’t resist it.

We call it the Ultimate Event Overview.

Now go do the same.

(ps did you use The 4 C’s to Cash in for Your Cause…???)

Raffles, Drawings & Games, Oh MY!!

Do you have a carnival, golf tourney, auction gala or social community event with an opportunity drawing, raffle or game? We see them everywhere – and most fundraising events have several happening at once! These can be great money makers for your Cause and create a ton of buzz and excitement at your fundraising event. Many times the prizes can be donated by local businesses, families and community members. But it can be very frustrating to manage and keep track of selling, documenting and collecting monies from these games and raffles. Whew! We understand what this is like – we’ve seen the good, bad and the ugly!

COLOR:  The forms for each raffle or game should be a different color (we love neon!)

CONTINUITY:  Every form should be created in the same format: the title in large font at the top of every sheet, description of the game, winning prize, instructions for the volunteer sellers, cost per ticket/purchase, and worksheet columns.

CONSISTANCY:  All forms for each raffle or game should be on clipboards with pens and money envelopes/pouches (labeled), so the volunteer seller can gather ALL information and payment correctly and easily.

CAPTURE:  Show your Cause the money! These color forms should be numbered (1 of 10, 2 of 10 for each raffle or game) so that they can all be accounted for at the end of the event. There needs to be an agreed upon volunteer team/location/time for the raffle and game volunteer sellers to deliver the forms and money envelopes/pouches with payments, so that they can be counted, documented, and confirmed. Always follow best practices – 2 counters, 2 signatures.

We talk often enough about the lessons we have learned as we continue to fundraise over the years. Sometimes the lesson of what NOT to do is more important than the HOW TOs. This is just one of those instances.

A local elementary school created a Jog-A-Thon to raise funds. To enhance the event the coordinators had t-shirts printed with a phony 800 phone number that spelled out a fun slogan.  Great idea -except that they did not realize that the phone number was an adult chat line.

NO ONE CHECKED THE PHONE NUMBER BEFORE THEY PRINTED THE SHIRTS AND DISTRIBUTED THEM TO THE CHILDREN!

Details! Details! Details! It is all in the details!!

Incredulously, this same phony number has been accidently used by other schools in their fundraising campaigns. Please take heed – learn from others’ mistakes.

Do you have a great “Lessons Learned” fundraising story to share? Please share it with us – we will listen and learn!

1. Two-part printed bid sheets. Have your bid sheets printed on NCR (carbonless copy) paper at your local printer. Ask your printer to adhere or gum the top of your 2-part bid sheets together to create a 2-part form.  Be sure to have extra blank bid sheets printed for last minute additions or changes. When bidders write their bids on the sheet it will create a copy on the 2^nd sheet. Choose another color for the second sheet – we use yellow, some use pink!
2. Highlight then circle with a ballpoint pen on the 2-part bid sheet – winning bidder number, name and any additional information – at the close of your silent auction. Highlight directly across the winning bidder information then circle with a ballpoint pen so it will document the winning bidder info onto the second sheet. Pull the top bid sheets and deliver these to your finance/checkout room volunteers. Double-check that all the information needed transferred correctly to the 2^nd bid sheet.
3. Leave the 2^nd part of the bid sheet on the table directly in front of the auction item.
4. Label it! Write a large brightly colored label for each item and stick it to the front. Refer to the 2^nd part bid sheet on the table for winning bidder number, name and any additional information. Place a label on each auction item so it is easily viewed by your guests and volunteers. Additional tip? Write the winning bidder number and name at the top of the second bid sheet with a black marker pen and tape the second bid sheet to the front of the auction item.

 We promise –  we’ve lived it, we’ve learned it!

Completing these four steps will contribute to a smooth check-out and efficient item pick-up!

Are you ready to jump in and volunteer to work on a fundraising project at your child’s school, sports club, or another organization? Want to know how to make a great impression and really help your cause?

Let Your Skills Shine! Volunteer to do what you know you do well, always volunteer to do a task that you can rock!

• Are you an artist? Jump in there and make those posters have more pop and read-ability than the likes have been seen before!
• Are you a tech geek? Dazzle everyone with your knowledge and ability to streamline fundraising projects through technology or make your organization’s web presence stronger.
• Are you a financial whiz? Volunteer to crunch those numbers and be the first to know the financial success of your fundraiser!
• Are you a persistent & friendly person? Get in there and use whatever system works for you to make those follow up phone calls, emails or visits to donors and sponsors!

Partner UP! Get a friend to share the job with you. You may discover this is a great way to get a lot done. You can tag team when each gets overloaded with life. Even if you need help with a simple task which is a part of the larger project, ask a buddy volunteer to help with emailing, making flyers, décor – whatever! Always include – have fun! You might become known as “Team Sally and Jane” – you can count on them to get the job done!!

Get the Scoop – know what you are getting into!! Before accepting a fundraising task you must take the time to ask these questions:

• What is my time commitment and deadline? Will I need help?
• Is there a budget for my task?
• When will I receive the materials or information I need to begin my task?
• Do I need any training? Who did this in the past?
• Who do I contact for information and questions?

Meet Deadlines – Or Else!! If you are going to volunteer to do a job – take it seriously. Pretend you are being paid the big bucks to glue those sea shells to 100 picture frames! Make a plan and schedule it into your calendar.

• If life intercedes and you simply cannot complete the task problem solve before it is too late. Get someone to help you – or take over the job for you – or ask for more time.
• If you must give it back to the coordinator, do not wait until the night before it is due. Take action early and let the project coordinator know as soon as possible.

Under Promise and Over Deliver. Life can be so unpredictable – work, kids, activities, appointments – it never stops! Give yourself more time than you think you need to complete your task. If you can finish early – do it! You will love knowing you did a job well and before a deadline. Your fundraising peers will be impressed! It is a win-win!

Stay in Contact. Let your committee chairperson know what you are up to and how your job is progressing. This can be accomplished easily through email and texting the chairperson. Fellow rockstars want to know what is happening – even if you are running into issues. Let them know you have your job “dialed in” or ask them for help! Either way you will feel better about what you are accomplishing and your fellow rockstar will be in the know.

Rock Volunteering!

Embrace Fundraising!

It is good for your organization,

it’s good for your kids and your community to see,

and it makes you feel good, too.

Consider harnessing the power of the greatest social networking site ever created. The key to the power is posting your story/mission to your Facebook page consistently: upcoming committee meetings, general non-profit information, clever pictures and images about events at your school or non-profit, and most importantly, asking your volunteer leadership to LIKE your Facebook page ASAP!

And as it says on the Facebook sign up page:  ”It’s free and always will be.”

Plus+ the customer service is 2nd to Nordstrom.

I wish the rest of our volunteer duties could be this hassle FREE!!