It’s summertime, and it’s a great time for any organization to really push their fundraising efforts! Car washes, walk-a-thons, chicken bbq’s… all of these are great ideas and they can really aid in bringing in a few dollars; but wouldn’t you rather they bring in a few hundred dollars? Any organization can easy walk away from a simple summer fundraiser with well over $1,000, if they go the extra mile to publicize the event. 

This does not mean you have to spend a ton of money on paid advertising.  There are actually many ways to promote your organization’s event that will cost you just about nothing but time. The following tips will help you get the knowledge and understanding of simple promotional tactics that can get you on your way to a successful summer fundraising event!

Promotional Tactics that won’t Bust the Budget!

Send out a Press Release: Having a press release for your event could possibly be one of the most important things any organization should do.  Not only can you submit your event’s press release to your local media (TV stations, newspapers, radio stations etc.), but you can also use it to find donors and vendors for the event at local grocery stores for supply stores.

Use your Social Networking Skills: Social Networking has added new ways to conduct business and build your organizations awareness. By utilizing it, you have the ability to form communities, groups and events with others interested in your cause.

Go Back to the Roots of Marketing, Word of Mouth: Mixing new methods of marketing and PR with more traditional methods will highly benefit the results of any campaign.  Still today, over 90% of customers identify word of mouth as the best, most reliable and trustworthy source about ideas and information on products, services and events. So tell everyone one you know, then tell them to tell everyone they know.

Update Current Constituents with an Email Blast: By maintaining a constant stream of communication with your current members and donors, not only will you form a better relationship with them, but you will keep them on the radar with your current happenings!

The importance of Public Relations is often under-minded as something only for large organizations and corporations.  The truth is, PR comes in many shapes and sizes for everyone, and any organization with a message to share should be using PR to promote that message.