Showing posts with label fund drive. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fund drive. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

How To Raise Funds For Your Family Reunion


Need more funds for your family reunion? There are a number of ways to raise funds. Much has to do with the kind of event you're planning. We'll discuss some of the more popular fundraising ideas in this article. But first let's talk about promoting the event.

To raise funds for your event you need the support of key players who will help you plan, organize and manage the event. Consider family members with exceptionally good social and communication skills. The best way to go about soliciting support is to feed your potential volunteers, and feed them well. That's right, invite them over and feed them a light lunch complete with a yummy dessert. About midway thru the course while you are pouring drinks ask them for fund raising ideas. Find out what they have done to raise funds for other charitable events. Next warmly ask for their support. Next you'll to promote your fundraiser. 

The Young At Heart Should Take Part
Get the youth and young at heart involved in the process as soon as possible. Tell them what you want to accomplish and get their ideas on how they plan to pull it off. They'll offer loads of them just brain storming. Get all the ideas down in writing. Make sure your ideas for event activities center around the interests of family members, especially those most prominent and most loved. Get the fun and active family members involved. Give them specific assignments that are in their area of expertise.

1. Have some draw up and mail fundraiser invitational flyers.
2. Have some send animated announcement ecard from their phone or tablet
3. Have others call older family members and arrange for transportation to the event.

Memorabilia and Keepsakes
A great way to raise funds is by way of selling memorabilia and keepsake items like t-shirts, caps, visors, aprons and hand bags. Once you decide on a theme and slogan for the event it's time to begin designing the art for t-shirts and other keepsake items. Fimark's Family Reunion Planner web app showcases pre-designed event theme art on t-shirts, caps, visors, aprons and hand bags via Zazzle.com. The interface allows you to price and sell these items and more online. 

Reunion Website with Fund Raising Features
Another fun idea is to hold an online fundraiser from your family reunion website. Fimark's Family Reunion Planner web app guides you through the process. Just open a family reunion website account, select the fundraiser form and you're up and running in minutes. Send a link to all your event invitees with periodic updates featuring those who contributed. You might even offer a prize to persons donating $50 or more.  Example: Win a free Family Reunion Keepsake Book filled with family reunion recipes, family history charts and a journal and genealogy section. You can also even sell tickets to the reunion event. The family reunion website is enabled with an event ticket sales feature. If you're going to sell tickets to the event you'll want the entertainment to be above standard. How?

Have talented family members? Treat your family reunion like a concert. Invite talented entertainers, artists and craft person to showcase their skills at the family reunion talent show. Have the event catered and hire a highly recommended event decorator and band. Many of these services are a part of the package when renting out a reception hall.

Traditional Fund Raising Ideas
If you want to keep the reunion event simple another way to raise funds is a book and bake sale. Find out what desserts, books, music and DVD's your family members like most. Create a list of deserts and books, music CDs and DVD titles family members like.  Send the list to all family members asking for title and baked goods donations. Next invite all family members to a local book and bake sale and use the proceeds to fund the family reunion event. 

The company is MyEvent.com. They boast having helped raise over $25,000,000 and is the only company that allows individuals to accept donations online and sell tickets without a merchant account on a complimentary fundraising web page that has no ads and hundreds of design themes to choose from.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

5 Great Fund Raising Ideas


So your family reunion event is just around the corner and your reunion dollars are low. How do you use those few dollars to make more funds?  One word. Sell. Find free or cheaply prices items, mark them up and sell them at your next fundraiser. It really is that simple. But it can get even simpler.

Online Fund Raisers


One of the most time efficient and cost effective ways to raise funds is to promote a fundraiser to all family members via your google+ or facebook page. You can do this easily using your FRP Social Interface. Fimark's Family Reunion Planner Social features great fundraiser ideas which I will discuss later in this article.

Another way is using a standalone application and pre-built website all in one by the MyEvent.com people. These folks have been online for 11 years and have learned out to give the online community want they need in terms of a functional fundraising application Take a tour at Myevent.com

Another great way to raise funds is selling family reunion t-shirts.  T-shirts are designed to promote awareness and to send a message about the importance of standing together. Much more attractive compared to signs and when priced right they encourage contributing to the cause. It's amazing how easy it is to design and promote t-shirt sales online.  Simply design the shirt, price the shirt and send reunion attendees a link to the design.  You can adjust the price of the shirts to include additional funds in care of the event.  A great place to go to do this at Customink.com

Park and City Square Fund Raising


Consider raising funds for your event by holding a performance at a busy local city/town square or street corner. Simply have very talented volunteers perform at the busy location for two or more hours. Carefully place a hat or collections pan near the performing artists. If talent is limited consider having a bubble show in a park or open area. Make sure you are a considerable distance from oncoming traffic. Review this video for setup and location ideas.




Backyard Fundraisers - What To Sell?

Now lets say you want to have a fundraiser in your backyard. Many attendees are frugal and will not buy just anything. Offer coupon books, gift cards and event accessories such as coolers, bags, caps and outdoor sportswear. Print and frame poems that will be featured at the family reunion banquet dinner. You'll find 5 popular artistically designed printable family reunion poems in Fimark's Family Reunion Planner Social web app.

Books DVD's Music CD's and more Books
While frequenting weekend flea markets Brenda and I found the the hot sellers were books, music CD's, DVD's and vintage posters. The trick to big sales  at your fund raiser is knowing the titles of books and DVD's your attendees will want to buy. So how do you start?

You could email all your family reunion attendees and ask for suggestions on book, music and movie titles they're interested in. Create a log list of titles then start collecting books by asking for donations from the family, friends and acquaintances  Most family members are more than happy to donate books to free up space in an apartment or small home. Collect books from library book sales and giveaways.  

Dollar stores are a great place to find 5 to 10 year old best sellers dirt cheap.  Now is the perfect season to go on the hunt for most wanted titles at yard sales and flea markets. Flea market and yard sale managers tend to cut prices much lower during the late summer month compared to early spring.

Don't have time for all that footwork? Go online to places like amazon.com or Google shopping. You'll find books as low as 50 cents. Don't forget to take advantage of free shipping. Makes it all worthwhile.  


Getting The The Book and DVD Titles Right

Knowing how to stocking up on cheap books and DVD's in preparation for your fund raiser is just half the battle. You also need to know how to get books and DVD's your buyers want.  You could ask. But chances are you'll get little response.  A time saving approach would be to make use of your FRP Social Interface. Fimark's Family Reunion Planner Social features a sortable searchable database listing all your facebook friends and family who members who have facebook accounts.  The database contains their photo, name, birthday, relationship status and interests in books, movies and music titles in categorical order. Takes all the guess work out of finding titles, movies and music they are sure to like.



Fimark's Family Reunion Planner Social is a family reunion planning application. Get this browser based application along with the award winning family reunion planner with the reunion planning ebook. 

Acquiring Hot Sale Items


How To Find Book Titles:  After get access to Fimark's Family Reunion Planner Social locate the Invitees Interest List database on the interface. Move the slide bar to the Books category. Notices the titles of books listed by each friend and family member. Focus on the titles listed buy folks likely to attend the fund raiser. Copy and paste the title onto a list. Once you have the most popular titles go to an online price comparison market and purchase the books at the lowest price.  You may even consider purchasing other titles written by the same author.  Even if the attendees who listed the title do not purchase the book they will likely recommend it to others at your fund raising event thus promoting sales. 

How To Find Music Titles:  Look over each attendees favorite titles as listed in the FRP Social database and purchase the more popular music titles listed. in addition, if you notice that many of your attendees like the same titles and artists consider purchasing several titles by that particular artist. 

How To Find Movie Titles: Use a similar method when purchasing movie DVD's. Focus on the more popular movie titles of the same genre by the same director.


Find dirt cheap new and used books CD's and DVD's at discount warehouse prices at online stores. Compare prices and buy cheap. Take advantage of free shipping offers. Fimark Home Online has a gateway to some of the best quality and lowest priced products and goods online.  



Sell Restored Vintage Photo Keepsakes

Nothing touches tugs and pulls at the heartstring more than a family reunion keepsake and heirloom in the making. 

Here are some 5 great family heirloom fundraising ideas to make your family reunion fundraiser a great success. 

1. Framed Extended Family Photos
2. Framed Vintage Family Photos 
3. Restored Dated Family Photos
4. Combine Subjects of Two Separate Photos into one Restored Portrait.

Restoration: How to do it. 
Step 1. Create a fundraising account with paypal. 
Step 2. Take a digital picture of each photo you want restored or combined. 
Step 3. Send them to Fimark Home Online via email. Submit to fimarkhome@gmail.com with the words "Photo Restoration Request" or "Combine Subjects Request" in the Subject line and attach photos to the message. Your photos will be process within 48 to 72 hours.
Step 4. Once the work is done you can view the images on a private webpage. 
Step 5. After purchasing the restored high resolution digital image you can print it and frame it for sale at your fundraiser.

You can also send family members to the private photo viewing page. When they purchase the image they are forwarded to the high-res page via email and funds are added to your paypal account within 24 hours. 


Rallying Support

Send out flyers, emails, text messages and invitations at least three weeks in advance and a reminder each week until the event. List some of the items or categories that will be available. Have attendees share in organizing and managing some aspect of the event to ensure that they will be present to bid.

Your fundraiser is to raise reunion funds not to spend reunion funds. That said, make sure that all who attend bring a dish, drinks and supplies to equalize the expense and prevent having to dip into the reunion account.

For more ideas to get your fundraiser off the ground consult Fimark's award winning Family Reunion Planner Social web app for use in your Chrome browser. What, don't have FRP Social yet? Good news. The app is reduced from $49 to only $40 for a limited time.

Planning a family reunion? Don't have Fimark's Family Reunion Planner Social web app yet? Get it at this summers discount special. List Price $49. Now $39 for a limited time. You save $10 dollars. No coupon code needed. For more information about the family reunion planning app click on the link found on this blog page or go to profiles.