Nolo’s Fundraising Tips for Busy Nonprofits

A November 8th article in The New York Times called "Bake Sales Fall Victim to Push for Healthier Foods," by Patricia Leigh Brown, raises a question that was probably inevitable: When will general concerns for healthy -- not to mention non-allergy-producing foods -- undo bake sales' once inevitable profits?

According to the article, the traditional school bake sale is "fast becoming obsolete" in California, where state regulations forbid selling snacks to students that don't meet certain nutritional guidelines regarding saturated fat, other fat, and sugar. Other states' school districts seem to be headed in the same direction Kentucky, for example, was listed as having especially tight school regulations.

Still, if you're planning your next bake sale, I wouldn't panic yet. For one thing, even the school group featured in the article managed to do an end-run around the rules by holding their bake sale across the street from the school. The taste for sweets will probably never go away.

For another, the great thing about food is that it's endlessly versatile. Let's take the sweet issue: I held a bake sale recently (yes, in California), where I asked someone to bring cheese bread as an alternative to all the sugar. It turned out to be a popular item. Even sweet treats can be created using bananas, fruit juice, honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar in place of the sugar -- all you have to do is check the right cookbooks or websites (try ones dedicated to people with allergies or diabetes). Or if that sounds like too much work, how about creating baggies of trail mix, including colorful additions like dried cranberries? 

Also, as someone with food allergies, I can guarantee you'll have more customers if you put a sign next to each baked good explaining what's in it. Delicious baked items can be made without many of the common allergens including eggs, dairy, wheat or other gluten-containing flours, and peanuts as well as other nuts. If you really want to make an effort on this one, it's easiest to start by finding a volunteer who's experienced in baking for people with allergies.

With steps like these, you'll not only bring in profits, but feel good about what you're doing -- providing nutritious, home-baked foods in a world of junk calories.

Sometimes a simple "thank you" is the best way to forge connections between a nonprofit and its supporters -- and that's just what People's Grocery recently did, with its "Flavors of the Garden" party. People's Grocery is a relatively new organization, developing creative solutions to the health problems in West Oakland stemming from a lack of access to and knowledge about healthy, fresh foods. Their projects include operating community gardens to grow and distribute organic fruits and vegetables, youth training, nutrition and cooking classes, and more. You can also sign up for a regular "Grub Box" of organic seasonal produce, the cost of which helps sponsor similar boxes going to low-income residents of West Oakland.

The party was billed as "a special thank you celebration for all our Harvesting Justice Table Captains, volunteers, donors, & supporters with delicious appetizers and yummy beverages crafted by local Bay Area chefs from organic seasonal produce grown at People's Grocery's gardens and farm. See the new Grub Box, meet the people who are People's Grocery, listen to live music and taste the flavor of summer with People's Grocery."

It lived up to its billing -- great food and music, good company, all in a lovely urban garden setting. But, the cynic might ask, did it directly contribute to their bottom line? Well, from my limited one-person view, I'd say yes. For starters, I was there as the guest of a volunteer, but the entry person was prepared for folks like me, and put my name on their mailing list. I know I'll be hearing more from them, but that's good -- I encourage organizations to make sure everyone who shows the slightest interest has their name captured for future contact.

And I heard one volunteer, perhaps inspired by the good time she was having, say, "I want to give People's Grocery more money after I get my next disability pension check -- I hope it doesn't go down too much with the whole economic crisis, but I'll try to give anyway." I'll let that one speak for itself.

This could be the new insight into donor motivation we've all been waiting for: a study reported on by the Telegraph (U.K.), indicating that men tend to give more money when there's a pretty woman around to impress. (Women give the same amount regardless of who's watching.)

It's all a part of those primordial mating instincts, apparently. And if all is fair in love and war, then I suppose it's fair to take advantage of said instincts in the interest of a good cause.

Of course, engineering this could be tricky. It does suggest that special events or house dinners with public calls for donations, or live auctions, are a good starting point. But should they be formal dress events as opposed to masked? And how do you make sure to have a lot of women -- let alone "pretty" women, which is too subjective a standard to even touch -- at an event? Hmm...

I seem to have been attending a lot of meetings lately, both in for-profit and nonprofit settings. That's given me a chance, while I wait for people to file in, to notice that it's often the meetings where the announcement contained the magical word "food" that draw the most attendees.

That's hardly a headline-worthy revelation -- but then why are some organizers still missing their chance at a little bribery? Particularly when the weather is getting better and motivation to sit around inside is going way, way down?

Maybe bribery is too harsh a word -- anthropologists can give us plenty of examples where the first words out of a host, even when greeting a stranger, concern whether the person would like some food. It's a primal welcoming thing.

Anyway, if the reasons are budgetary, that doesn't seem like much of a barrier. No one needs to promise a hot gourmet meal, just some snacks. In fact, two or three people planning to come (board members or other volunteers, for example) can be asked to bring those snacks. Some cookies, fruit slices, nuts, and cheese and crackers will not break anyone's budgets.

The Houston Chronicle hit the nail on the head with its January 2, 2008 article, "In fundraising, short is sweet," by Shelby Hodge (billed as, interestingly enough, a society writer).

Hodge's basic premise is that charities who let their gala luncheons, dinners, auctions, or other events go on too long are going to turn off the very donors they're hoping to thank or inspire.

Hodge quotes one experienced fundraiser who says, "Remember that the members of your audience are your donors, your friends. They are giving you the gift of their time, the most valuable thing they have. Be kind to them. They want to have some fun."

I couldn't agree more, having recently attended an end-of-year dinner and awards event that went on so long I had to leave in between speeches. The problem was that they had invited five big-name awardees -- all of whom were wonderful to listen to (well, okay, I'm not sure about the ones who spoke after I left) -- but who were either not given clear instructions on how much time they had, or were not told when their time was up.

Personally, I'd hate to be the one to tell a famous person at the microphone that he or she is going on too long. So lesson one might be to hire a tougher enforcer than me. But better yet, either limit the number of people encouraged to make a "speech" as opposed to a quick thank-you, or give them a full lecture beforehand on the importance of keeping it brief.

While we're at it, the Hodge article offers ten tips on keeping your event on track that are worth a look.

The only one I'd quibble with says, "Don't beat the audience to death with your nonprofit's message. You already have their money." That's fine by itself, but many in the audience will be friends, dates, or even spouses who don't know the nonprofit's message. So without "beating them to death," I'd say give a quick reminder or update to inform the new attendees and inspire the old. Then let everyone get home and wake up the babysitter.

You could read that judgment into the words of billionaire investor William H. Gross, who recently talked to Stephanie Strom for her September 6 The New York Times article, Big Gifts, Tax Breaks and a Debate on Charity.

Mr. Gross said: "When millions of people are dying of AIDS and malaria in Africa, it is hard to justify the umpteenth society gala held for the benefit of a performing arts center or an art museum" and "a $30 million gift to a concert hall is not philanthropy, it is a Napoleonic coronation."

Ouch. If your organization holds gala -- or semi-gala -- events to support arts and culture, should you be cringing at that statement? Actually, Mr. Gross's main point seems to be that the government should be handling more public functions, rather than giving big tax breaks to philanthropists whose self-interest may drive their donations. So, perhaps he's not making such a sweeping judgment as it first appears. In any case, we can be pretty sure of three things:

• The government will never take care of all public needs, so there will always be a place for charity.


• If we wait to support arts and cultural causes until we've wiped out all of human suffering, we could wait forever, and lead less meaningful lives while we're at it.


• We can't count on donors to seek out organizations to support on their own. Most will be drawn by nonprofits' efforts to gain visibility, including through special events.

So if your organization can pull off a gala event that's akin to a coronation, don't be shy about it. You'll probably bring in dollars that you wouldn't have gotten otherwise, for a cause that's obviously supported by at least as many members of the public as show up. And so what if it's glitzy and attracts the rich and famous? Someone's got to give them something to do on a Saturday night! If they don't spend their money on your gala dinner, they'll spend it down the street at the latest celebrity chef's restaurant.

For more tips on how you can throw the right event for your organization, pick up a copy of my book, Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits: Real-World Strategies That Work (Nolo).