Four Ways to Raise Money for Your Organization
In a perfect world, you will always make enough money in order to fund every part of your organization. Perhaps this comes from government money, or donations, or even from profits. Regardless of where it comes from, there will be times when you need to raise more money either to save your organization or, more commonly, to fund a new project or new endeavor.
Raising money for your organization can come in the form of selling a new line of products, or applying for grants, and, of course, through fundraising. Using all your options is the best way to keep your organization in the black and, most importantly, to achieve your goals.
Though every organization is different, these four methods are excellent jumping-off points to help you raise money and increase your revenue:
Sell Products or Services
Non-profits can absolutely sell both products and services. In fact, selling products is one of the best ways to increase your revenue so that you can support the charity work that you do for the community. To offer these, you simply need to find a wholesaler that will allow you to customize their products with your designs. Water bottles, shirts, and other merchandise is a great place to start, but don’t stop there. You can work with local artists and sustainable designers to offer luxury pieces that support artists in your community and work to fund your organization.
Partner with Other Companies
You can easily partner with other companies that are looking into outreach options. For example, you could design a product skin (a new design to fit over their existing products) that represents whatever event or cause that you are raising money for. That company sells the product, and your non-profit gets a percentage of the proceeds to fund your new project.
You might not even have to do anything, either. Companies often give back as a way to both support their local communities and as a goodwill marketing move to appeal to new and existing customers.
Host a Fundraiser
Fundraising is an excellent way to raise the money you need for a specific cause, event, or project. You can fundraise to keep your organization running for another year, all the way to starting up perhaps a new location or a new project that will give back to the community in new ways. There are many key tips to help improve your fundraising efforts, so take note and plan out your fundraiser well in advance. A properly planned fundraiser is one that is clear, has a very attainable goal, and knows how to advertise itself. Without these three things, you may struggle to reach your goal.
Host Ticketed Events
You can host conferences, digital events, and in-person events and use ticket proceeds to help raise money for a project or your organization. It isn’t fundraising in the sense that the ticket is giving people access to a product, the same way that selling merchandise isn’t fundraising. This event can be virtual, or in the future, it can be in-person. Regardless, you will need to work hard to host and pull off a successful event. Do this once, and you can host recurring events to bring in more revenue for your non-profit.
