Student Engagement and Fundraising. Tips to help your chapter stay engaged, involved, and active all year long.

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1 Student Engagement and Fundraising Tips to help your chapter stay engaged, involved, and active all year long.

2 The Basics The Core Steps of Any Fundraiser 1) Identify your resources. Your current funds, expertise, leadership, demographic, member involvement, and timing are all important aspects of planning any event and will dictate the type of fundraiser you choose. 2) Identify a target. Maybe you don t want an actual fundraiser. Sometimes it is equally important to raise awareness or sponsorships as it is to raise actual funds. 3) Set a budget. Before you do any major planning, decide on how much money you can spend. You have to spend money to make money, but we want to watch out for spending large amounts of Timmy funds for minimal return. Fortunately, most schools offer funding for registered student organizations, and many local business are happy to serve as sponsors or donors. 4) Set a goal (or goals). Now that you know what you are working with, decide what you hope to achieve. Fifty dollars? A thousand? Do you want to double your membership base? Or expand your sponsorships? 5) Create a strategy. You ve got funds, members, and ideas. How are you going to link these items to most effectively reach your goals? How can you deligate to best incorporate your members? Create a timeline to help complete the necessary tasks. 6) Market. How are you going to reach out to your campus? Flyers? s? Social Media? Planning the event is half the battle; Now you have to get people there. What are the well known student groups doing? What has worked in the past? What hasn t? 7) Show gratitude. When all is said and done, everyone has sacrificed time, efforts, and money to make your fundraiser happen. Thank your members, your attendees, your donors, and all that made the event possible. 8) Learn. What worked about your event? What do you need to improve for next time? Fundraisers are events, right? Sure! But there is a whole world outside of planning major events. What sort of initiatives can be done to make your chapter sustainable and long-term? From giving campaigns to letter drives, it is possible to stay active throughout the entire year. What are some ways that your chapter can fundraise throughout the semester? Encouraging students to donate six dollars on the sixth day of the month? Or seven on the seventh? Keep reading to learn about some easy peasy ideas to help your chapter fundraise all year long. Check out the Twelve Days of Giving Campaign that Google launched last holiday season to raise awareness for twelve nonprofits. What sort of Timmy spin could you put on an idea like this? Make it a giving campaign? Or a chance to spread awareness?

3 Fundraising: Little Ideas That Could Take Your Chapter A Long Way Tailgate for Timmy This fundraiser is extremely low cost, easy to organize, relies mainly on volunteers, and has the potentional to inform and raise huge amounts. Have students walk around tailgates with buckets to collect donations, and possibly some brief flyers. The best reactions come from areas inhabited by parents or alumni. When approaching someone, introduce yourself, your cause, and ask if he/she would like to donate. Give a background as to what Timmy is and what your chapter does. To maximize efficiency, map out your tailgate grounds (for larger schools) so that students can go to a designated areas without overlapping or missing spots, create shifts for students to work, and design some sort of sticker/marker to hand out as you go so that it is visible if someone has already been approached. Dine n Donates Plenty of restaurants are willing to do percentages nights for organizations like Timmy. Here a few key tips to executing this very simple fundraiser: 1) Have a clear understanding of the restaurant s expectations. Does a certain amount have to be raised in order for Timmy to get its percentage? What percentage does Timmy receive? Is a flyer required for Timmy to get the donation? 2) Pick restaurants that are both close to campus and inexpensive to students. You re way more likely to see a student presence if the restaurant is within walking distance from campus. 3) Get your plans out early. This way, members can spread the word to their friends, make plans, and the message has a chance to make it to campus. If members don t know until a few nights before, they probably will not be able to squeeze it in into already busy schedules. Your dine and donate flyers should obviously include the basic information about the event. Time, location, cause. It may be easier to mass produce a simple flyer with this information, but a creative design is more likely to catch the eye of your non-members. Who in your chapter has the skills to design a flyer like the one to the left? If the answer is no one, maybe it s time to recruit some artsy minds!

4 Change Campaigns Little bits can go a long way! Have members carry jars, buckets, or cups decked out with the Timmy logo to class. Ask fellow classmates or professors if they have any change to donate to Timmy Global Health. Emphasize that the smallest of donations can make a huge difference. For large lectures, ask students as they walk into class or pass around your jar at the start of the class if the professor would allow. For smaller classes, you can also ask students as they prepare for class. Don t be afraid to ask people directly! Additionally, you can ask on-campus and local businesses to set out jars with some Timmy info encouraging people to donate their change to the cause. Campus Sales An old fashioned lemonade stand? Hot cocoa in the chilly weather? Pizza? Whatever the item, campus sales are an easy way to put your voice on campus -- and maybe make a few dollars while doing it. The trick to this event is to spend nothing. Contact local stores to donate food, decorations, and whatever else you may need. Spend the day on campus selling your good and discussing Timmy with those who stop by. Best case scenario? You talk to some people who want to become involved and you make a couple hundred bucks. Worst case scenario? You re out no money and spent the day with your fellow Timmies. Main ingredients: 1) Central Location 2) Theme/Name 3) Donations, Donations, Donations 4) Volunteers These types of fundraisers serve as a great way to delegate responsibility to your members!

5 Engagement Crowdfunding Crowdfunding allows for large amounts of people to easily make donations, big and small, via the internet. It is a medium for storytelling, calls to action, and social media sharing. There are dozens of crowdfunding sources out there, so check out the crowdfunding database that we have put together to see what we think works best Timmy. Contests, Promotions, and More! Promotions can serve as a positive way to excite your members and student body. For example, caption or photo contests may not bring in a whole lot of cash, but they certainly bring attention to your group. Trying to boost your Twitter? Advertise that the first 100 followers will be entered into a drawing to win a gift card. See the example to the right. A Little Competition Never Hurt Anyone Purdue or IU? Yankees or Red Sox? Whether it is a basketball game, a fundraiser, or simply a timeless rivalry, competitions engage, encourage and excite! Spark a fundraising competition between another Timmy campus? Or maybe your Timmies can divide into teams? What ways can Timmies go against one another to raise the most funds? Key Ingredients: 1) Who are the teams? 2) What is the timeline?* 3) What are the rules? Is all fair in love and war? How are you fundraising -- crowdfunding, tailgates, 5Ks, or all of the above? One of the best ways to encourage the competition to thrive is to add some sort of incentive. Outside of participating in some healthy trash-talking, an added bonus or prize will give participants all the more reason to join in. *We recommend a short time span with this one. It will make fundraising seem more urgent and will keep momentum moving!