Practical Fundraising - Fundraising

22. Fundraising - Advertising

Advertising

You may want to place advertisements in the newspaper in order to make more people aware of your fundraising events. Whether your ad is a small one in the local news paper or a spot on the radio, you need to make sure that you give all the necessary information such as time, place, day, and details of the actual event. An emotional appeal may help you to get your ideas across. It is important that you place your advertising where your intended donors will see it. If your non-profit is a local children's school, you will likely not be advertising in national adult magazines. Instead, you will want to advertise in the local paper on the "family" page. If you can afford it, get ads in weekly papers or in the Saturday or weekend edition of a daily (more people read the weekend edition of the daily local paper, in most cases). Radio and television ads are also great, but can be expensive.

You can try asking companies to offer advertising for free. A local advertising company, for example, may agree to design an ad for you. Newspapers or radios (especially local media outlets) may offer to let your non-profit advertise for free as a donation. To ask, write a letter and follow up with a phone call to the media's marketing director. Even if you have to pay for your advertising (many media outlets are reluctant to give away advertising as this is how they make money), it is important to advertise your fundraising efforts if you want donors to respond with donations.

You should not overlook inexpensive or free methods of advertising:

Bulletin board advertisements in grocery stores, schools, and libraries

Announcements in schools and churches

Posting information in online forums designed for people in your town or city

Advertising in the local community calendar. Most towns and cities have free community event listing either online or in some publication. People frequently check here for upcoming events and news.

Classified ads cost only a few dollars, but if your non-profit is holding a sale, classifieds are the perfect place to advertise as this is often a key place serious "flea marketers" will check when deciding which sales to go to.

If your non-profit group has a website, remember to enter all the details of your fundraiser, and advertise this so people can get more information on your cause from your website.

Volunteers can hand out printed flyers or carry ads on themselves in the form of printed t-shirts or printed boards.

Useful resources

22. Fundraising - Advertising

Practical Fundraising Ebook - Table Of Contents