Make Goals Attainable – Provide Incentive to Break Goals

We have all had fundraising experiences at some point in our lives, whether it was for school, church, and organization or work. One of the hardest parts of fundraising is motivating the fundraising participants and keeping them motivated throughout the fundraising time period.

As I student in Elementary and Middle school I remember being extremely excited about all the prizes and incentives that we could earn through selling, I was immediately motivated and had high hopes of reaching all the goals. Soon after beginning, however, it became clear to me that I was not going to come close to reaching the goals that were set so I pretty much gave up altogether. Perhaps you have had similar experiences with a fundraiser yourself, or you have been on the flip side and watched those you were trying to motivate quickly become unmotivated in the process. The key to motivated your fundraising participants is the have incentive, but they need to be attainable incentives. Here are some things to shoot for when setting goals for your participants:

1. Have benchmark prizes: if you can have some small incentives along the way as benchmarks that are easily reachable you will have an easier time maintaining momentum. This does not have to cost money. This can be as simple as rewarding with a privilege (i.e. an extra break from work, a homework skip pass, extra time at recess etc.). Make this an easy goal to attain, and one that can be attained as many times as they reach this benchmark. Benchmarks can help maintain momentum over a long term fundraising process.
2. Have larger prizes for greater levels attained, but still within reach: often when embarking on a fundraiser, those organizing set large prizes for standards that are too high. The thought process is that if they are giving away big prizes too often, it eats into their profit. Some things to consider, however, are that the more people who reach these goals the more money you are earning as a whole. Also, there are many businesses that are happy to donate prizes (gift certificates etc.) as it is a tax right-off for them, so the prizes don’t have to cost you a dime. Ge out into your community and ask for some donated prizes for your cause. These should also be unlimited (as many times as the benchmark is attained).
3. Have a grand prize: finally, have a prize for the person who sells the most. The combination of all three prize benchmarks will help maintain motivation. This final prize is the prize that you should invest some money in (i.e. an Xbox or vacation depending on the group doing the fundraising).

For more great fundraising motivation tips see the ideas listed here.

Categories: Fundraising Inspiration

Tags: Fundraising Help