Fundraising: No Novocaine Required

An excerpt from Fundraising: No Novocaine Required
By Kyle Dubois, WGM Partner
November/December 2010

I’m the finance and facility director for a nonprofit arts and entertainment facility. I’ve also been part of six short-term missions projects, both domestic and foreign. Does that make me qualified to write this article? Absolutely not! However, that just may be the point. A lot of times we don’t feel “qualified” to do missions work, but God uses us for His purposes anyway.

When going on any short-term missions trip, the first obstacle for many is the financial commitment that is often required to make it happen. Looking at what’s required financially to go can be overwhelming. When we set out four years ago to go to Jamaica with a large number of students from our youth group, our goal was to raise $24,300 for our group of 18 to make the trip.

While fundraising is part of working for any nonprofit organization, with my occupation and background in accounting, I’m close to it. However, it isn’t always on the top of the list of favorites for any of us. Fundraising for me rates just ahead of being in the dentist’s chair with gauze stuffed in my mouth, hoping that I’m numb as they come at me with that needle.

With that thought in your mind and your mouth now slightly sore as you think about it, I’m going to give you some suggestions for ways you can help make your missions goals a reality.

You’ll never get there if you don’t ask!
First and foremost, you need to come up with a fundraising letter.

Feed me!
A very successful fundraiser for groups wanting to raise money for missions is having a lunch or supper geared toward the cause. With getting some donations of food and local business sponsorships, you can raise a large amount of money in a short amount of time.

Pizza! Pizza!™
Little Caesars™ has a pizza kit program designed for fundraising that is really easy to organize. Go to www.pizzakitfundraising.com to learn how Little Caesars Pizza™ can help you raise “dough” for your next trip.

Shop ’til you drop!
If you like shopping, this one’s for you! Through Great Lakes Scrip (www.glscrip.com), you can get rebates from many of the stores where you shop on a regular basis.

These are just a few ideas that can help get your missions fundraising off to a good start. If you can survive the dentist, this will be no problem.