The Fundraising Plan on Going from Zero to Twenty

To help you with your fundraising plan, one of our awesome and easy promotion tools is the Meal Page where your supporters can RSVP. This allows you to share your event via email and social media and to keep track of who’s coming. At GroupRaise, we ask for twenty RSVP’s for your restaurant fundraiser before your date and time can be solidified. This magic number exists to ensure that your fundraiser is successful–you won’t raise much money if only five people show up.

It can seem like an intimidating number, but not to worry, reaching the mark is a breeze if you follow this simple fundraising plan on going from zero to twenty.

Don’t Host a Fundraiser

Host a fun-filled night out that no one will want to miss! Throw an undercover fundraiser, where the primary objective for attendees is to laugh with old friends and mingle with the new. Invite boisterous folk, use social pressure, and lay out a night teeming with fun activities–trivia night, bowling, dancing, and of course, dinner. Creating an enticing and can’t-miss event is a sure fire way to get RSVP’s for your fundraiser.

Distribute Responsibilities

Another key aspect of your fundraising plan that will surely help get you to that 20 person mark and beyond, is to distribute responsibilities throughout your organization. This serves a few different purposes. First and foremost, it helps relieve you of some of the workload (whew!). Secondly, if someone plays a hand in planning, there is no way that they will miss the event, helping you get closer to the necessary 20. Lastly, you can choose these people strategically. Selecting the loudest, most fun-loving and sociable people for these roles ensures not only that they will come, but also that others will come who want to be surrounded by good vibes and good times.

Start Small

Everyone knows how easy it is to ignore a Facebook invitation… we’ve all done it. But it’s a lot harder to say no when someone invites you out in person. Start small! Do your initial invites face-to-face, via direct text, or phone call. Avoid group messages and blanket Facebook invites because people won’t feel bad not responding. People are much more likely to honor a commitment they made in person. Once you have a solid following, then start a Facebook group to organize everyone and reach out even further, inviting the acquaintances and friends of friends and so on.

Partner With Other Groups

This strategy can be very helpful in the long run. Chances are that members of your club or organization are also members of some other club or organization. Have them reach out to their other groups and create an agreement, “I will come to your next fundraiser if you come to our next fundraiser.” Not only is it beneficial in helping grow attendance and raise money, but it is also good to build healthy relationships with other groups to increase your following, awareness, and just to mingle with new and different types of people!

After twenty

Once you’ve reached that magic number, the fundraising plan becomes all about supersizing and growing your attendance, but first pay close attention to the small details to get those initial twenty confirmations that will guarantee a successful fundraiser!

Book a date, start promoting, and get those twenty RSVP’s