Practical Fundraising - Fundraising

15. Fundraising - Drives

Drives are basically requests for things. Of course, all fundraising is basically a money drive, but sometimes asking for specific objects (especially for items that people may be getting rid of anyway) can help bring in a better response. Many people who will not donate money will choose to donate something, may be something that they will not use anyway. If you are planning on having a sale, you may need to organize a drive first in order to ensure that you have enough items that you can sell. Drives can also be used to gather items that can be used in your non-profit's programs. A homeless shelter, for example, may wish to hold a bedding drive in order to get the beds and linens needed to house the homeless. Such a drive may get a better response than simply asking for money to buy the bedding. Some of the more common drives include:

•Blood drives: usually organized only by larger non-profits such as hospitals, clinics, larger shelters, and the Red Cross, blood drives ask people to donate blood so that those who need a transfusion can get the medical help they need quickly. Blood drives are expensive and require trained medical personnel as well as plenty of equipment for taking, testing, and transporting blood to be stored.

•Food drives: These drives usually aim to raise non-perishable food for food banks, shelters, overseas programs and other non-profit groups.

•Toy and gift drives: Often held around the holidays, these drives aim to collect toys and gifts for children who might not otherwise receive gifts during the holidays. In some cases, excess toys and gifts are sold to second hand shops in order to raise money as well.

•Book drives: Non-profit groups to do with literacy or education sometimes seek book donations in order to give books to students and others or in order to organize programs such as bookmobiles. Books can also be sold to raise money for non-profit programs.

•Housewares drives: Some non-profit groups ask for household items which can help those in need or which can be sold for fundraising purposes.

•Clothing drives: Some non-profits ask for donations of used clothing (sometimes specific items such as coats) in order to clothe those in need or in order to sell the clothes in order to make money for non-profit programs.

•Volunteer drives: Some drives ask for specific work or volunteers for projects. For example, Habitat for Humanity, a group working to create affordable housing, often asks for labor work (construction workers, plumbers) that can help in building houses.

Many people (and even companies) are willing to offer their help and labor, even if they are more cautious about offering their money. This sort of drive can be invaluable as it can save enormous amounts of money on services. If you need to build or renovate an office space, for example, you may be able to interest contractors to donate some of their services. Then, you will need to raise a smaller amount of money through other means in order to pay for utilities and other necessities.

Useful resources

15. Fundraising - Drives

Practical Fundraising Ebook - Table Of Contents