3 Fundraisers to Grow Your Animal Welfare Nonprofit
Every year around 6.3 million animals across the United States enter animal shelters. Fundraising is an absolute must for every animal welfare nonprofit organization dedicated to providing the services and supplies that are essential to caring for these animals and preparing them for their next, forever home.
It can be challenging to come up with new and creative successful fundraising ideas that will bring in new donors and engage your current supporters to help your organization fulfill its mission. We’ve just published a free guide “10 Amazingly Successful Fundraising Ideas for Your Animal Welfare Nonprofit. In the meantime, here are just a few of the great ideas you’ll find inside the guide for your next fundraisers.
#1: Dog and Car Wash
Kick off the summer with a Dog and Car Wash! Ask your supporters to bring their dogs and cars to have them washed in exchange for a donation to your organization. This is a great way for furry friends to cool off from the summer heat and enjoy some playtime with other dogs. Gather your volunteers and have them ready to get wet! Divide your team between a car washing station and a dog washing station and allow guests to decide if they want both or just one. Set up a food and drink station where families and friends can enjoy their time while their dogs and cars are being washed!
Tip: Create compelling event pages to encourage supporters to register for and attend your event, and to make a donation even if they can’t attend. Showcase animals from your shelter enjoying their bath to entice owners to bring their own dogs and to consider making an adoption!
#2: Bark-O-Ween
Nothing screams Halloween more than a costume contest! Throw a fundraiser around Halloween and encourage your supporters to dress up their pets and participate in a costume contest. To raise money, have each contestant make a small donation to have their pet entered into the contest then have a prize for the winning costume at the end of the event. Don’t just stop at a costume contest! Hold a variety of other smaller activities throughout your Halloween Fundraiser that are fun for both pets and their families. By the way, don’t stop with Halloween, many other holidays provide perfect opportunities for similarly themed fundraisers!
Tip: Have your guests RSVP to your event online so you can easily track the number of attendees before, during, and after the event, as well as sell tickets and or solicit donations. Capturing event registration data in an all-in-one platform that flows all of your fundraising application data into a single, unified donor relationship management database, not only lets you see which fundraisers were the most successful, it also helps you have a 360-degree view of your donors and supporters providing you with actionable insights and data that can be used for future successful fundraising.
#3: Host a Tail-Gate
Get ready for football season by inviting your supporters and their furry friends to a tailgate. Encourage your guests to dress their pets in their favorite sports jerseys and have a fun time outside in the parking lot engaging with your supporters! Play music, grill food, socialize, enjoy the game, and most importantly raise money for your nonprofit. To raise funds you can have guests pay an entry fee to get into the tailgate or you can have them pay for food and beverages. Host a silent auction during your tailgate and have various prizes for both owners and their pets. Auction items can include tickets to a football game, tailgate items, dog supplies, signed jerseys, and the list goes on.
Tip: Use auction software that allows you to fully automate your silent auction and mobile bidding. This lets guests view auction items, receive updates on items they bid on, and inform them when they won, all right from their phone.
There are so many fundraising ideas for animal welfare nonprofits. Fundraising can be overwhelming but don’t be afraid of new ideas. You never know what ideas will really resonate with your constituents until you try.
For more fundraising ideas to grow your animal welfare nonprofit, download our free guide “10 Amazingly Successful Fundraising Ideas for Your Animal Welfare Nonprofit." To learn more about Arreva's completely integrated and fully automated, all-in-one, digital fundraising, donor relationship management, healthcare hospitality, and auction software platform, click here.
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