Motivate Your Volunteers with Great Fundraising Incentives
People tend to fear fundraisers because they picture themselves begging or manipulating friends for money. Nothing could be further from the truth. Otis Spunkmeyer cookie dough fundraisers are a great way to invite friends and the broader community to share in the good feelings of supporting a worthwhile causes. It allows them to feel like they took part in doing something meaningful. If the fundraiser is clever, it also gives them the sense that they are competing for a prize in a fun way.
An effective way to motivate fundraising teams is to offer incentives and prizes for those who have the largest return for the project. There are a few different ways to do this, all of which will bear results.
First, develop a strata of prizes for sales. For instance, say you have a team of teenagers who are selling cookie dough in order to raise money for new computers for a school computer lab. Say the basic unit of sales is a tub of cookie dough. Tell the students that for everyone who sells ten tubs of cookie dough, there will be a $5 gift card to a popular store near you. If you can add just $1 to the cost of the tubs as a buffer to cover incentives, you will end up with enough money to cover the $5 card for every students who sell 10 tubs with an extra money per student left over for a larger incentive. Plus, there will be students who sell less than 10 tubs but who nonetheless bring in extra buffer funds for each tub they sell that will also help cover larger incentives.
After the initial participation prize for everyone who meets the minimum requirement, you can then set a grand prize or two for people who especially excel at sales. For instance, any student who sells 50 tubs has earned themselves a $5 card, which is already covered by their first 7 tub sales. You then can use the extra money to buy that person an incentive prize of whatever kind is appropriate for your group. Not to mention the fact that many students will sell more than they would have otherwise without necessarily reaching 50 sales. This system is guaranteed to generate extra funds while paying for itself.
Second, to develop a fun strategy that doesn't put much pressure on any one individual, divide the students into teams of four. Tell them that the team that sells the most tubs of cookie dough will earn them a pizza dinner at a local eatery. If you have a group that would enjoy the competition, the teams may potentially generate an even larger return.
Third, one incentive might simply be bragging rights. This tends to work best when you simply divide your sales force into two bodies. For instance, if it's a computer class raising money, divide them into boys and girls. Often bragging rights alone will drive this kind of sales force.
Fundraising doesn't have to be painful. It can actually be a lot of fun. Simply incentives and prizes will often motivate a significant enthusiasm among the people taking part in the fundraiser.
