Recipe for successful fundraising!

Fundraising is easy! It's very comfortable. Everyone likes it! No, no and no!!!

Here are a few ingredients for a successful fundraising recipe instead of a "failed recipe!" Check out this Pinterest fail!

1. Donation sites like Pure Charity and good old fashioned fundraising letters via mail are great. What is mail? You know, paper, envelopes, stamps, ring a bell? Internet-based vs paper-based may be a debate but one thing the majority of the people that respond to these sites and letters want to be sure of is that you will receive 100% (or close to it) of the money donated. So, figure out your audience and provide a way for them to get involved. If your grandmother is your donor, she may appreciate a letter in the mail and want to write a check. If your sister is your donor, she may love the ease of donating on her smartphone.

2. Social media is your friend. Are you on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter? If not, get on those sites and connect (this is a super-important concept). Find people. Find like-mind groups. The more ways you put yourself out there the better. There are tons of new sites popping up all the time... Who knows what Internet site s igoing to connect you the best. Go where the masses are.

3. The World Wide Web is where it's at. Blogs are a great way to communicate what you are trying to do and people who want to find your blog will. Online sales like  t-shirts through Bonfire (see ours here), coffee sales through places like Gobena Coffee, online garage sales, silent auctions, etc all are awesome. All of these are amazing resources that people can access through their phone, laptop or tablet computer. If you can do it in person you can figure out a way to do it online. 

4. Grants, grants and more grants. If you are fundraising for an adoption there are many great resources out there. Go hunting and be willing to apply, apply, apply. Yes it's time consuming, yes it's a little tedious but it's FREE money and grants are more than a few bucks!! The grants we have received range from $1000-$5000. We have raised close to 1/3 of our adoption costs in grants. I will compile a list of these and response times after I hear from all of them. Generous people have set up generous funds with the desire to help others adopt. Let them bless you. Also, let them tell you you don't qualify, don't decide that for them, you maybe surprised!

5. Is there such a thing as too small of a fundraiser? No, just get creative. Let people sponsor puzzle pieces like we have done here. Make or promote a product that people want to purchase--we sell bracelets like the ones seen here and available to purchase in the sidebar of this blog. Raffle tickets, a gala, pancake breakfast, small business parties like Thirty-One, Scentsy and Jamberry, are all great ideas. Yes, some are small-scale financially but either way they get your cause in front of people. They create awareness and create opportunities for people to participate in your fundraiser. Different people respond to different things so a variety is a good idea.

6. Think outside your immediate group of friends. Your friends love you, but let's not abuse them. If you don't have $40,000 for an adoption just laying around, most likely neither do your friends, unless you have some big name friends. :) Ideas like a 5K or some other sporting event using a source like Active opens the doors to a wider audience. It's not like all my friends run or are sporty, some friends even said they'd pay the registration fee to NOT run, Using a free site like Active opened our fundraiser to people all over the area that regularly participate in these types of activities. Both Hands is another great source that combines charitable work with a widow and fundraising. The volunteers you recruit to work on a widow's home write support letters to their friends and family. If you have a large number of Facebook friends from all over the place, an online auction maybe profitable as long as the items are able to be shipped and not all are strictly local.

7. Don't be afraid to ask for help. People love to help. Remember, asking and pushing are different. One thing I fully believe is when God asks you to do something, He will accomplish His purpose in His way. God will send the people He wants to financially give or serve in His time. By all means, create opportunities and ask! You don't know who God will use, but trust that He will meet your need. The Church is a body of believers and we all have different gifts and talents. Sometimes you just have to make your need known and God will incline the right person at the right time to supply your need. This literally happened to us TODAY! We've had a sermon series at our church called "Bonus." Someone heard about our adoption and because God has blessed them over the years through others when they needed finances, He led them to anonymously donate their overtime bonus from work to our adoption!!! Talk about a bonus!!

The over-arching key to all of this is your attitude. Desperation isn't pretty. It reflects a lack of faith in God and just makes people feel icky. Be positive. Trust that God will do what He says He will do. Be grateful. You really can't thank God or people enough for loving you and financially sharing this journey with your family.