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Do I repeat last year's fundraiser or try something new?
That, in a nutshell, is the question we all face. It can
be a tough choice between sticking with an easier repeat or taking a
chance on a new fundraiser that might end up being more work and could
quite possibly produce less profit.
So, how do you go about making Fundraising decision?
Start by determining your financial goals. You can't make
any kind of decision without good numbers. You'll also need to break
those numbers down for further analysis. Your first number would be the amount your school wants to
raise for the entire school year. Your second number would be the amount
that this particular fundraiser needs to produce. Take those two numbers and divide each one by the number of
students in your school. These are your baseline numbers for
decision modeling. Once you have your revenue numbers broken down into per
student per year and per student per fundraiser, you can begin weighing
certain decision criteria. You can estimate how a change will
impact your bottom line on a per student basis.
What are your decision criteria for Fundraising?
PARTICIPATION - Will a change to a new fundraiser increase
or decrease your participation percentage? REVENUE PER PARTICIPANT - Will a new fundraiser
significantly increase how much total revenue each participant generates?
PROFIT PERCENTAGE - Does the new fundraiser provide a
higher or lower percentage of the revenue as net profit?
ORGANIZATIONAL EFFORT - Does the new fundraiser require
fewer volunteers to conduct or is it more labor intensive?
SALES EFFORT - Is the new fundraiser going to require
increased selling by students and their families or less effort?
IMPACT - Is this fundraiser going to negatively impact your
organization's other efforts or enhance them?
How do these criteria affect your revenue numbers?
PARTICIPATION - A higher level of participation is a good
thing, with one caveat. It pays off in higher net profits only when a
participant actually produces worthwhile results.
REVENUE PER PARTICIPANT - A no brainer here. Boosting this
top line number is the Holy Grail of fundraising. Your new program has to
beat the old one in this category unless your profit percentage is much
higher.
PROFIT PERCENTAGE - Don't overemphasize the percentage. If
it is much higher, then your overall revenue can be lower. Your bottom
line is always revenue times percentage, but don't let the higher
percentage come at the cost of lower revenue or alienating your customer
base.
ORGANIZATIONAL EFFORT - Your volunteer base is your group's
most valuable asset. Don't destroy it by making them work long hours only
to net your group less than the equivalent of minimum wage for all the
time your volunteers (and you) invested.
SALES EFFORT - A product or event that doesn't excite any
of your supporters is bound to produce lower results. Make sure your new
fundraiser is easy for students and their families to support.
IMPACT - A change from a "known" fundraiser will have an
impact. Avoid anything that will reduce future revenues or cause a
decrease in volunteers for your other fundraising activities. Just like
you want to avoid burning out your volunteers, don't burn out your
supporter base with poor quality items, bad timing, or a lack
of planning.
So, what's it all mean? Should I switch to New Fundraiser?
When weighing a decision to switch to a new fundraiser, you
must factor in anything that affects your organization, your support base,
and your financial numbers. Anything that increases your net revenue per student per
fund-raiser without taking away from your ultimate goal of maximizing your
net revenue per student per year is a good thing. Your bottom line? Choose the fundraiser that will produce
the highest net revenue per student. Once you decide, plan your campaign
around achieving that goal and then work your plan.
Final advice:
DO - Make a change if your old program is loosing steam.
DO - Make a change only if you can do better financially.
DO - Base your decision on maximizing net revenue per student.
DON'T - Do anything that doesn't NET you more per student.
DON'T - Be swayed by one factor and ignore all the others.
DON'T - Be afraid to change, but base it on the numbers.
School Fundraising!!
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About The
Author: Kimberly Reynolds is
the author of
Fundraising Success, a
best
selling ebook on fundraising. You can read
more of
her
fundraising
ideas on her website, FundraiserHelp.com. |
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