Fundraising from the General Public

Fundraising from the general public – that is, individuals as opposed to corporations, governmental bodies, philanthropic foundations, etc. – can be a substantial aspect of your organisation’s income, particularly as part of an annual-fund campaign. But are you doing all you can to tap this vital resource?

You can reach out to the general public through activities such as special events, cake sales and coffee mornings, or through collections, standing orders and individual appeals. Other support from individuals can be provided by legacy giving, volunteering and the donation of goods.

Fundraising from individuals through voluntary groups, clubs and societies is often referred to as community fundraising.

The most popular method of giving is through spontaneous forms such as street collections which account for over 60% of all giving.

Here is an overview of various forms of individual giving:

Collections

Static collections in shops and other public spaces, house-to-house collections or street collections (otherwise known as ‘flag days’) are extremely popular forms of fundraising.

House-to-house and street collections may require a permit, so be sure to check with the Gardai before embarking on these activities.

More sophisticated forms of collections include Face-to-Face fundraising which seeks to solicit direct debits and other forms of planned giving using street collections.

Lotteries Raffles and Ballots

Lotteries and Ballots are another popular area of fundraising from individuals. A lottery (which includes a draw, raffle, tombola, sweepstake or ballot) is a draw where prizes are won. Participants buy tickets at fixed prices, and prize winners are selected by chance, so it requires no skill to win. There are also legal implications for organisation organising such activities.

General Appeals

An appeal is simply asking for money for a particular cause and enabling individuals to donate by post, telephone, online, in person or through direct debits, standing orders or payroll giving. Appeals can be made using various media from television to newspapers, SMS texting and websites or direct mail,

In addition to soliciting funds, appeals can be used to request goods or services or to recruit volunteers, or volunteer fundraisers.

Direct Debits and Standing Orders

Direct debits and standing orders are a method of securing long-term regular gifts from individual donors. To receive direct debits you will need to become authorised with the direct debit scheme. Direct debits are originated by the organisation that will receive the donation following agreement by a donor. Standing orders are originated by the donor themselves.

Property and Share Giving

There are tax benefits for individuals and companies to give gifts to charity of land, buildings, certain shares, securities and other investments. [contact the Community Foundation for Ireland, for more information].

Legacies

A Legacy is a bequest from a donor's will and is one of the more traditional forms of giving to charity, and remains a potentially lucrative one.

Charitable legacies reduce the total amount of inheritance tax due from the estate and are therefore attractive to donors with assets above the inheritance tax threshold. They would rather give money to charity than the Revenue!

Legacies are left through the donor's will or simply by a declaration to the executors with instructions as to how and to which charity a legacy is to be distributed.

Volunteer Fundraisers

Encouraging individuals to become volunteer fundraisers is a way of increasing the organisation's capacity to fundraise. A volunteer fundraiser may do a sponsored event/charity expedition for the organisation. They might also organise fundraising in their own area, recruit other donors or help staff a charity shop.

Major Gifts

Major Gift fundraising involves developing relationships with wealthy individuals to secure a major donation. This method requires a long term personal approach.

Venture Philanthropy

Venture philanthropy is a method of involving individual donors in the work of your organisation. An example would be involving someone who made a donation to a youth club as a youth leader in that project. This is a method which seeks to show the donor how their money is being spent as well as increasing their commitment to your cause through direct experience.

Membership Schemes

Membership Schemes are a way of generating income from your service users and supporters.

Online Fundraising

Donating online is increasingly popular with donors. Make information on giving available on your website homepage. Endeavour to make it as straightforward as possible to give online, using other agencies or websites if necessary, to process donations.

Tips on Individual Giving

• Make it tax-effective. To maximise the value of donations make sure you use tax-effective methods of giving where possible.
• Donor management software. It would be very beneficial to use donor management software, or at the very least a contact database.
• Remember that gifts-in-kind are often as good as the money themselves, removing the need to purchase items. Also, donations could be converted into money through auctions or raffles.