Now that you have taken an honest look at how much money you would like to have raised and when you need it raised by, it’s time to start thinking of how to do it. I do not want to simply move on to part two without emphasizing the importance of part one a little more. Budgeting, planning, and knowledge about your finances is MOST important as we move on to the next steps. Be sure you are not just fundraising for the sake of fundraising. Although there are many other benefits in ministry to fundraising, fundraising is not essential to gain those benefits. Wouldn’t it be great to get to a point in your ministry where you could give back and your students were able to serve with enthusiasm and without the stress of raising money!
So I started hitting on it a little, but my recommendation for step number two is to prioritize what it is you want to get out of the fundraising efforts. This is an intentional way to understand the process you are about to take that will make the most out of your time with the youth and volunteers. This step is something you should sit down with a few other adults who will be active in the fundraising efforts, possibly even your priest, and start putting goals down on paper. Doing so will guarantee a greater investment of time and energy from your volunteers. Do not ask the ‘worker bee’ volunteers to be a part of this, ask those who understand ministry and want more than just the money. The worker bees will be there to help, this planning will just make it easier on them. Oftentimes, the worker bees would find meetings to be a waste of time anyway.
First thing you should do is start asking a few questions and discuss them with the other adults. These questions may bring up other questions, help clarify your information from step one, and really set a foundation of the ‘why’ you are fundraising in the first place. Let’s face it, it can be hard putting so much effort into a fundraiser when you know that there are people who could write the check for ten times the amount you need and not even know the money was missing. Asking questions and setting priorities will do things like make it ‘ok’ if you put on a breakfast and 200 people show up and only give $1 each as a donation because you will have gained so much more.
Here are some questions you could bring to your first meeting:
- How much money do we hope to raise in the next year?
- Do we need to raise this much?
- What happens if we do not meet our goals and deadlines?
- Have we set a safety net in our budget just in case?
- How much was raised last year through fundraising?
- What were the most successful fundraisers we did last year and why?
Those are just some sample questions. But start by talking about the WHY you are doing it first.
Next you will want to set up some priorities you have while fundraising. This is your teaching time to those who may not understand completely. They and you are involved in ministry to minister to youth, not to fundraise. Hand out a sheet a paper and have them write out benefits of doing fundraisers with the youth. Then you will have them share with each other the things they wrote down. Then have everyone prioritize the benefits in order of most important to least important to them.
Some of the benefits may include:
- Money
- Youth serving others
- Time volunteers/youth leader get to spend with youth
- Visibility of youth involvement to parish
- Building up of parish community
- Giving back to the parish
As they give you their list you will probably have to include some things people say in the same categories. For example, money and giving the youth an opportunity to do bigger events would be the same thing. As a group, negotiate on a list that the group can mostly agree upon. This list will be used in the next step which will be deciding what types of fundraisers you should do.
Ultimately what step two is doing is helping you plan to make sure your time spent is worth the investment. Too many times I have done fundraisers that flopped, we lost money, and there was nothing else I could think of that was gained. Some fundraisers just will not go well and this is your plan to include fundraising as part of your ministry and not something that funds your ministry. Plus, proving to your pastor and finance council that you have planned fundraisers as whole strategy in your ministry, it will better help them understand why you are doing them so often, especially if you are being paid.
Enjoy!
