Never underestimate the power of giving back to your community.
It may seem counterintuitive, but one of the best ways to raise funds for your upcoming Leadership Summit is to give. Giving your time, attention, and a bit of old-fashioned elbow grease to efforts that benefit your community is not only rewarding, but it can be a fantastic way to raise money. How? In the form of sponsorships from local businesses and organizations! Featured below are two simple methods, but don’t limit yourself to just these. Let these be the starting point for you to brainstorm community events tailored to the unique needs of your hometown.
COMMUNITY BEAUTIFICATION
An easy event to organize that is sure to draw sponsorships from local businesses is a park clean-up. Think of a popular park, natural area, or river in your community that tends to collect a lot of litter and mobilize a group of peers, family, and friends who would be willing to volunteer time to help you clean it up. Once you have a place, date, and group of volunteers, get to work reaching out to local businesses. Ask organizations if they would be interested in donating toward your Summit based on how many bags of trash your team collects. Keep track of how many bags of trash are collected on the day of the event and then can follow-up with your donors to collect their contributions!
VALUE ADD: Keep your volunteers happy and hydrated by supplying water and snacks, but make sure that you all clean up after yourself!
Don’t forget to take photos and videos during your event to share on social media. Include information on how people can donate to your Summit experience. That way, even if people aren’t able to take part in the clean-up efforts, they can still show their support for you. Giving people multiple ways to donate ensures you reach the widest possible audience.
BAG IT UP
Another great way to give of your time ( and gain some valuable work experience too!) is to volunteer at a local grocery store bagging groceries for customer and helping them to their cars. Similar to a park clean-up, your Summit donations would come in the form of sponsorships from that grocery store, as well as any tips or donations received from customers for your excellent service.
BONUS: No matter which way you choose to give of your time, experiences like these look fantastic on a resume. Be sure to include your event planning skills on your resume when applying to future jobs.
Let us know what other ideas you come up with to include community service in your fundraising efforts. E-mail info@ambassadorleaders.com. You could be featured in your own blog!
By Emily Hanson
Emily loves helping families find the perfect fundraising idea and hearing how motivated they are to crush their fundraising goals.