FUNDRAISING IDEAS & ADVICE
Fundraising on campus can be fun and rewarding, but it can also be a lot of work. It can be an opportunity for your chapter to come together and create a memorable event, while raising funds that you can use for future events, member t-shirts, travel to the national conference, etc.
However, if you invest lots of money in the event and the event doesn't go as well as you had planned, you can lose a lot of money and get frustrated. As a general rule, stick with events that do not cost much, but can potentially bring in lots of money if executed well (such as carwashes and bake sales). Once your chapter has raised lots of money and you have gained lots of experience, you can try events that require bigger investments but can yield much bigger returns (like galas and concerts).
Tina Kimball, founder of the SSDP chapter at the University of Central Florida, is our resident expert on fundraising. Her university's chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) has been incredibly successful at fundraising in the past. Here are some fundraising ideas and advice from Tina:
Fundraising Advice from Tina
You can contact Tina with questions at cl.kimball@gmail.com
Concerts
Sponsorships
Bake Sales
Formal Events
Movies
Car Washes and Merchandise Sales
Social Events
Concerts
One of the best ways we make substantial amounts of funds is through concerts. We have organized large concerts at major downtown venues and small concerts with local bands at restaurants and other area sponsors. The bigger shows take a lot more planning, considering we have to work with big venues and big-name bands, but they tend to bring in much more money.
When we organize fundraising shows with small, local bands we ask them to play for free and let them set up a merchandise table. We usually host these shows at established sponsors, who will usually offer drink specials in honor of the event. We've hosted up to four bands at shows this size, and they will usually last four to five hours. The key to making the most money is to rope off a section (like parking lot) and charge a flat rate to get into the show for the night. With a few hundred wristbands or hand stamps you can make over $1,000 within a few hours. The perk to hosting a concert at a local sponsor is the added exposure the event will get from people passing by.
For big shows we talk to area bands who want to donate to the movement, and we ask them to help us organize a great show at a major venue. The venue pays these bands, so we are essentially taking the band's payment (in part or in full). The venue usually keeps the profits from the entire bar, and the band (and us) will get a portion of the cover at the door.
A way to increase profits at any concert event is to set up a merchandise table, host a raffle with prizes that have been donated, and get plenty of people to sign up for membership and get involved.
Sponsorships
One of the major challenges with on-campus organizations is year-round fundraising. Sponsorships is a way to ensure the constant flow of funds despite the "Fall to Spring" college schedule. We have sponsorships from restaurants, head shops, and a variety of other small private businesses. Sponsorships are as easy as a form letter and a few spokespeople. Considering the amount of traffic the NORML@UCF site receives, we had the backing to offer adding businesses to our sponsorships section on the website. While a few of our sponsors were excited about the swap, we found that most wanted to help financially but did not want the relationship to be publicized because of the area busts on local businesses who were involved with the sale of smoking supplies. Either way we found plenty of owners who wanted to be involved, and the relationship has provided us with extra finances, gift certificates, and other merchandise that we use in raffles and other fundraising endeavors.
Bake Sales
Bake sales are one of the easiest and best-known ways to raise funds. We make it a BIG deal. We put up a table near the Union and set up a sound system to blast Sublime and other music that students want to hear. We usually pair up with another prominent group on campus, like our friends from the Chocolate Club. By pairing with another organization you can have one group bake and the other sell, meaning less work and more money.
Formal Events
Last February we hosted a gala in honor of Valentine's Day. Single attendees were charged $15 and couples were asked to pay $25. The event required "black, white, and green" attire, and included a three course dinner. While portions of the menu were donated from area businesses, we used a Sam's club membership to cut down on event costs. A few couples gave a substantial donation over the amount required, making the event a great success.
The gala was a great way to offer an intimate fundraising environment, allowing for a great networking opportunity. Formal fundraising is a good way to reach out to friendly professors and staff, as well as to older members in the group. Unlimited beer and wine filled attendees up so they would eat less, and we made sure to serve pasta as a more filling (and cheaper) way to feed a large group. For a higher ticket price steak or pork tenderloin is a menu option, but keep in mind the preparation that is required for these foods. The tough part of this type of fundraiser is the cooking; get two great cooks together for the day and you will be set.
Movies
Movies have proved to be both a successful and a disastrous fundraising idea, but the event can work if it is planned and implemented carefully.
By working with local theaters you can show such movies as Pink Floyd, Yellow Submarine, Wizard of Oz, or Fear in Loathing for a minimal rental price. The charge is mainly for the right to use the film and the theater will make their money off of concessions. [editor’s note: Some films that might work best for SSDP events are Traffic, Maria Full of Grace, and City of God]
Publicity is the secret to movie success; be sure to contact radio stations, television networks, and event guides in the area. If a large turnout is expected then the film can play two, three, or even more nights, but one night is suggested for a start. If the film does well on one night the theater may offer another night for free or some other deal.
Car Washes and Merchandise Sales
Car washes are typically not worth our time or effort, but they can prove to be a success with the right location and a good weekend. If you can control the hippies on campus then you can pair up with WalMart for a car wash. WalMart will match your day's profits ups to $500 if you are a registered student organization.
Large, inflated animals fighting at street corners has proved to be effective in getting those passing by to turn in for an afternoon car wash.
Of course we always have a merchandise table set up with t-shirts, lighters, stickers, etc. A grill and tasty lemonade will keep workers happy and may even make a few bucks off of hungry people who have come to get their cars clean.
If the day is slow and you have a couple extra attractive females on hand, then take a break and sell lighters door-to-door. We've made upwards of $100/hour for selling some lighters in college apartment complexes. Be sure to have a guy on hand and go in pairs for safety.
Social Events
[editor’s note: Parties have been a successful way of raising funds for NORML@UCF, but are not intended for every SSDP chapter. If executed legally and responsibly, a party can be a good way to raise money, but this is extremely hard to pull off. Parties can be a huge liability, and result in hefty fines and problems with law enforcement. Therefore, SSDP strongly recommends that its chapters DO NOT host fundraising parties. However, if any chapters do decide to take the risk of hosting a fundraising party, Tina offers some good tips to avoid problems associated with the event.]
Our largest fundraising events have always been our parties, which have become notorious at UCF. From the second you enter the parking lot you are surrounded by friends who have all come together to support the same great cause. Hosting parties is tricky, and it requires extensive planning.
Publicity is important, but it must be done solely by word-of-mouth as to not connect the group to the party. At UCF [ and most other colleges] there is a stringent policy that an organization can be disassembled if a few of it's members are involved in planning an event where illegal activity occurs. We print out maps of the house and pass them around school, but we are careful not to ever print the connection to the group. E-mail list-servs are also implemented for publicity, but it is always advertised as a person hosting a party and "donating" any donations from the night to NORML@UCF.
The same house is normally used because of its large yard for parking and its friendly residents. No partiers are ever allowed in the house, and a small portion of the profits for the night are paid to the house and split among its residents.
Through experience we have found that drinking *must* be cut off by 3am at the latest, or else partying will go well into the next day, meaning a better chance for fights and other problems.
Checking attendees' IDs is an important step to hosting parties. We have found that in the case police do show up they are more worried about underage drinking than the 1,500 people consuming alcohol on a 5-acre lot. We have never stringently enforced the rule, but we do our part by marking those who are underage in case law enforcement decides to pay a visit.
Parties are a lot of work, but also have made *the most* money for us...by far. Cops can always be a problem; two individuals should always be stationed around the property to ensure that all organizational material is removed in the case of their arrival. If cars are contained on the lot and the right house is chosen, police have not (and should not) be a problem.
