Fundraising ideas and proven fundraisers FREE -- One Great Day campaign.

One Great Day Campaign

What's Your "One Great Day"?

Do you have a band or choir trip to fund?

What about a youth mission trip to initiate?

Whether you are a scout troop, Boys and

Girls club, hospital, university or a local

nonprofit organization; here is a way to

raise a few thousand dollars or 100

thousand with a little tenacity.

Offer people a chance to provide "One Great Day" of the cost of your trip or annual campaign. Take the total cost of your trip or annual budget and divide it by 365 days. This breaks it down to a manageable figure for anyone to support.

Figuring Your Day Cost -- Small Organizations

Depending on the type of trip you take and the size group you are taking, you have several options to achieve this goal.

A large group of 100 or more with a relatively small goal of $5,000 or less should ask each of its members to approach four people to sponsor a day. Play it safe and have each of your members ask 6 to 7 people to sponsor One Great Day. That way you have a little extra spending money.

At $13.70 per day, each group member could raise $54.80. If they contacted 6 people, each group member could raise $82.20 each which would generate $8,220.00 for the group trip.

For a small group of 20 with a goal of $5,000 or less, try dividing the goal by 20 which would give a goal of $250 for each member. At $13.70 per day each member would need to ask 18 to 19 people to raise their individual goal.

Another method is to have your members ask for a donor to sponsor one of their days on the trip. If the trip lasts for two weeks (or 14 days), using the example above, their $250 goal could be divide by 14 days which would mean asking 14 people to provide their part of the trip as One Great Day -- at $17.86 for each of their "days" sponsored.

Most supporters will probably round off their gift and give $20. If they were gone for 10 days then One Great Day would equal just $25.

Tracking Your Days

Provide a one page yearly calendar on a 11" X 8 1/2" for each member. Highlight the days as their goal that they need to achieve for their part of the trip. Give each a colored marker and instruct them to have the donors choose the day they want to sponsor as their One Great Day.

This little trick will pull your donors into what each member is trying to accomplish. Most likely donors will actually have a desire to be a part of this event if they get to choose their own day.

Mileage Alternative

Conduct the same kind of offer, but ask donors to sponsor One Great Mile. If your group is going 500 miles and your cost is $5,000 and you have 50 choir members, then One Great Mile is $10. Have each member ask 10 people for $10 each and you've made your goal.

Have a map for each member showing your round trip mileage. Obtain a map of your travel area and enlarge it with a copier and then make one mile separations. Make enough copies for each member. Instruct them to ask each donor to mark their One Great Mile on your map.

Give them a duplicate map (or send in the mail later) with their mile marked. At the bottom of the duplicate map have a "tear off" form for mailing in additional support if they desired. This may bring in a few unexpected dollars if each donor decides to support one or more One Great Miles.

If you have a walkathon, and your goal is $10,000, then One Great Mile is $1,000. this is a great figure for your corporate sponsors.

Goal Only Alternative

Suppose you are the President of a civic

organization and you wish to raise $200,000 for

a special project. How would you figure One

Great Day? Easy. Simply divide $200,000 by

365 days and you would have each day cost

$547.94.

$547.94 seems like a large amount. However, it's not if you ask 365 individuals or local companies to spread their gift out over 12 months. This breaks it down into a manageable $45.66 per month. Depending on the acceptability of your project, 365 people should not be hard to find in a moderately sized community.

Maybe you can't contact 365 different donors. Then try asking 730 people to give $273.97 and pair up with another person to provide One Great Day. A less effective alternative would be to ask each potential donor to buy as many hours at $22.83 per hour that wish to contribute.

The Secret To Success

The secret to this fundraising technique is seen in two parts. First, dividing your goal into manageable chunks and second, encouraging consistent donor contact by your team members.

Have a kickoff meeting and ask each member to brainstorm and list several people they could possibly contact. This will help them focus on immediate achievement. Give each member two weeks to accomplish their goal. Add an additional week to use as a wrap-up.

Provide all of the necessary materials that each will need at the kickoff. Whether it's maps or calendars, make sure there is nothing for the members to do but ask for the donation and collect the money.

Have a report meeting at a set time each week and collect the contributions. Keep your members pumped up with a calendar or map to show their progress. Either way, you will earn your goal in just a few great days.