New fundraising ideas are bard to come by! Cookie sales, T-shirt sales, pastry sales, Walk-a-thons, jog-a-thons, swim-a-thons, magazine subscriptions, dance parties, and car washes. You are familiar with the fundraising concept and you have probably already tried one or more of these ideas for your organization. It’s even likely you have spent some money on some of these events yourself. You have helped someone else raise funds for their kid’s scout troop or school band.
The problem with this, of course, is the familiarity. These ideas, are so well-used that it can be hard to drum up enough interest to generate any real revenue. Although you may have bought the occasional candy bar for charity or signed up for a new subscription to Homes and Gardens, it’s likely you stopped at the one. To make new fundraising ideas for your organization truly successful, you will need to give your audience enough to interest them that they spend money on it happily, rather than reluctantly. In short, you’ll need to think outside the box.
Where to Start
A well-planned and organized event is an excellent place to start. When done right, an event brings many people together in an almost carnival-like atmosphere. The more fun everyone has, the easier it is for them to spend a little money. People want to feel like they are getting something for their money and that’s not nearly as difficult to accomplish as one might think.
As the main event, consider an outdoor movie from Ultimate Outdoor Movies as one of your new fundraising ideas. With the rental of an inflatable outdoor screen and projector set-up, you can easily attract the attention of and allow room for a large audience. The more people you can bring in, the higher the likelihood of a profitable fundraising event.
Once you have the event in mind, all you need next is to create an interest in the audience to spend some money. There are a number of ways to do that.
Ticket Sales
If you can offer an interesting enough movie or overall event, you may consider selling tickets to get in. Be careful though, as this can actually scare away your audience unless they can see a real and obvious reason to spend the money. To alleviate this, you will need to find a very popular movie for your target audience. Perhaps you could add a number of other exciting reasons for people to attend, such as an inflatable bounce house, music, or contests along the lines of hot-dog eating or egg tossing.
Raffles
Adding a raffle to your event is rarely a bad idea. It is likely there is any number of small businesses in your area who are eagerly looking for new ways to advertise. Giving away their products or services in a raffle is far less expensive than paying for airtime. Canvass your local businesses for ideas and you will very likely find some who are willing to donate a product or a service to your fundraiser. They will expect a clear mention of their name to the crowd. Always double check the legalities of raffles in your area before planning one.
Advertising
Along with asking for donations, explain your event idea and the number of attendees you are expecting. Then ask which of them will pay to have their signage prominently displayed there. The more accurate idea you can have as to who your audience will be will allow you to better target local businesses. They will want their signs up for their potential customers to see. This is one of the top new fundraising ideas for outdoor movie!
Snacks
Just like in any other movie theater, selling things like snacks and drinks can be an excellent way to raise revenue. You’ll need to balance your pricing between your actual cost to buy them and what you expect your audience can afford. If you are clear that the sales are all for the fundraiser you should be able to expect a reasonable profit for your organization.
It is highly recommended that you assemble a committee to organize an event like this. Assign each member to a specific detail- snacks, raffle, etc. Appoint someone else to supervise the project as a whole and ensure the others don’t contradict each other or step on each other’s toes.
A well-organized event, such as an outdoor movie night, is an excellent alternative to the usual run of fundraising. By attracting large numbers of people and then offering them several different reasons to want to spend some money, your organization can meet its fundraising goals in no time.
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