A fundraising thermometer is a visual representation of an organization’s progress toward its fundraising campaign’s goal. This graphic depiction offers benefits to all of the stakeholders in the fundraising campaign. From the organization itself, to the fundraising volunteers, to the general public, every fundraising campaign needs a fundraising thermometer.

For the charitable organization, a fundraising thermometer lets the organization know they are on track to meet their fundraising goals. Although numbers – dollars and cents and percentages – can relay the same information, for people in the organization who are more visual, a graphical representation of the organization’s progress can really emphasize where the campaign is currently at, and how much farther they need to go, to meet their goal.

For those hard-working volunteers actually doing the fundraising, a fundraising thermometer can keep them motivated. As they see the thermometer fill up, they’ll know their efforts are paying off. If this is tied to a reward, it can be even more motivational.

Lastly, for the general public, a publicly displayed fundraising thermometer, either online or in the real world, serves two purposes: (1) Even if a member of the general public has not supported your cause in the past, seeing a visual representation of your goals can encourage him or her to contribute. (2) For past supporters of your charity, it can alert them to the new campaign, as well as encourage those who have already donated to donate a little more, especially as you near the top of your thermometer.

There are several online fundraising thermometers available for free. Below are five sites to choose from:

1. EntropyFarm.org
2. Fundraising Ideas Center
3. Fundraiser Insight
4. School-Fundraisers.com
5. Go Green Fundraising

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First, you need to select a cookie dough fundraiser vendor to work with your organization. Most vendors offer no start-up costs for organizations to begin their campaign. This means your charity will not be out any money for brochures, order forms, or any other promotional materials. Be sure to select a cookie dough company that offers the varieties of cookies you think your potential customers will like best. Some companies only offer a small array of varieties, while others offer more than a dozen different choices. The cookie dough also comes in different forms, with some being pre-formed cookies and others being tubs of uniform dough. Some vendors offer name brand cookie dough – such as Otis Spunkmeyer. In addition, some cookie dough companies offer dry mix for a cookie dough fundraiser option, in lieu of only frozen dough.

Once you’ve selected a vendor, a successful cookie dough fundraiser will offer their fundraising volunteers some form of incentive for their efforts. Set up teams of fundraisers and offer a prize, such as a pizza party, for the team that sells the most cookie dough. Give weekly updates of each team’s sales, to encourage competition and increase the participants’ motivation to win.

Have your fundraising volunteers set sales goals for their cookie dough fundraiser. Having a goal to work toward motivates people to go that much further in their efforts. For children, this goal setting can be an educational process, helping them understand how much a specific goal item costs, such as a band trip. Children can then learn about the concept of profit margins and goal-setting. With the right cookie dough vendor, motivated teams and individual sales goals, your cookie dough fundraiser has a great chance of being a success!

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1. Charity walk. Big name charities, like the American Cancer Society, use charity walks as one of their primary charity fundraising events. Have walkers gather pledges per mile from their friends and family. Invite the community out to support participants as they walk for a cause!
2. Charity 5K. Instead of gathering donations, runners pay an entry fee to compete in this charity run. Contact local businesses to sponsor t-shirts for entrants and donate items for the goody bags runners receive on the day of the race.
3. Charity concert. Let music bring people together for your cause. Contact local newspapers and radio stations to publicize your event. Pre-sell discounted tickets and offer full-price tickets at the door.
4. Automobile raffle. Who wouldn’t want to win a car? Contact your local automobile dealer and ask them to either donate the vehicle or donate a portion of the vehicle’s cost. As this is a big ticket raffle, publicize it in newspapers, the radio and the Internet to maximize raffle ticket sales.
5. Charity dinner. Couple a tasty, home-cooked meal with a good cause and your community will flock to number five on this list of ten charity fundraising events. If you’re a 501(c)3 organization, many grocery stores will donate gift cards you can use to purchase supplies for your charity dinner.
6. Charity auction. Gather donations from local businesses and supporters of your cause for a silent auction fundraiser. Combine both big ticket and lower priced items to attract the most bidders possible. Make it a live auction with an enthusiastic auctioneer spurring bidders on for more fun and funds!
7. Charity garage sale. Gather donation items from your organization’s members and other community members, and hold your sale in a high-traffic area. Advertise your sale well in advance, noting the organization it supports. For any leftover items after the garage sale, donate them to charitable thrift shops.
8. Charity tours of homes. Ask homeowners, particularly in your town’s historic district, to open their homes for a good cause. Sell tickets for private viewings of fine architecture in your community.
9. Penny carnival. Despite the name “penny carnival,” your organization can raise thousands of dollars with this family-friendly charity fundraising event. Sell tickets to take part in activities at the different booths. Add raffle items or a 50-50 raffle to raise even more money.
10. Face painting booth. Kids young and old love to have their faces painted. Locate your booth at a large community festival, such as a community Fourth of July gathering and watch the kiddies line up and dollars roll in.

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1. Economic conditions. During difficult economic times, it may make more sense to solicit smaller donations from a much larger pool of potential donors. This allows individuals and companies to contribute without placing an undue financial burden on any one person or group.
2. Manage your expectations. Be realistic about the likely results of your fundraising campaign. This will allow you to plan future financial expenditures more effectively.
3. Time your appeals wisely. While Christmas is a season of need for many charitable organizations, it is also the time of year when many individuals and families are least financially able to donate due to gift purchases, travel expenses and other holiday obligations. Plan your campaigns for before or after Christmas in order to achieve the best returns.
4. Reach out to the local community. Even national and international organizations incorporate grassroots activities into their strategic fundraising plans. By involving local businesses and organizations in the fundraising activities of your charity or nonprofit, you can often achieve far better results and raise awareness of your organization in local media, thus increasing donations both immediately and well into the future.
5. Rely on volunteers. While financial donations are essential for the continued health of your nonprofit or charity, volunteers who give their time and efforts can be equally important. By using volunteer labor to perform necessary tasks, your organization can use monetary donations to directly address urgent needs.
6. Outline a schedule. Your organization should maintain a schedule of fundraising ideas and activities for at least six months into the future. By planning ahead, you can ensure sufficient lead time for publicizing and preparing for these events. Situations change, so remaining flexible is essential; however, by scheduling events well in advance you can be certain that everything is in place and ready to help make your fundraising activities successful.
7. Write it down. The power of the printed word cannot be overestimated when planning a fundraising strategy. Write down your plans and then carry them through.
8. Work toward a goal. By establishing a fundraising goal and working to attain that goal, your organization can often achieve better results in its fundraising efforts.
9. Keep comprehensive records. By maintaining records of each contact with potential donors and the work that has been done so far in your fundraising efforts, you can ensure that you are not duplicating efforts or neglecting to follow up with interested donors.
10. Prioritize. By investing additional effort where it is mostly likely to produce results, your organization can often achieve better fundraising figures without the additional investment of time or money.

Strategic fundraising can help your organization position itself effectively and maintain a solid reputation in the eyes of the public. By making a plan and managing your fundraising strategy effectively, you can ensure the financial stability of your organization and produce a steady stream of donations to fund the activities of your nonprofit or charitable organization.

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The concept is sound: Shop online at one of the many participating retailers and the cause you support will receive a percentage of your total spend. One hundred percent of the money you raise goes to your specific cause, and prices are no higher than if you were shopping directly from the retailers’ websites. A quick comparison between shopping through Easy Fundraising and shopping directly through retailers’ websites verified that prices are identical. Additionally, Easy Fundraising is a member of the Institute of Fundraising and is therefore expected to engage in responsible fundraising practices, making your fundraising experience more secure.

Some features of this service deserve special mention:

• The focus of Easy Fundraising is to raise money for causes. You have the option to support a cause already registered with the site, or you can register your own cause. This is an excellent fundraising idea for sports teams, charitable organisations, schools and more.
• Two features of the site allow you to save money while shopping and fundraising. The Compare section allows you to comparison shop for the best price of the item for which you are searching. The Deals section may help you save money by using voucher codes or printable vouchers. This area also shows any applicable sale prices.
• Another section of note, the Raise More section, provides fundraising professionals with ideas and tools to increase donations. This area contains tips, toolbars and video tutorials to make your fundraising efforts more effective. It also contains banners and other tools to help spread awareness about your campaign via email, Facebook and Twitter.

A close review of Easy Fundraising suggests that it is a great tool for unique and fairly passive online fundraising. For those who are not actively fundraising on behalf of a cause, the site also provides the opportunity to have your normal online shopping habits benefit some great causes.

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Raising money for your charity is a necessity, but you can have fun at the same time. There’s a really neat way to combine the Halloween holiday with a fundraising activity that you can host year after year without really ever repeating yourself. Your guests and supporters will be happy to pay an entrance fee to your (1) House of Hilarity for a chance to have a good time and share the fun with their families. Instead of creating a haunted house, celebrate the holiday and raise the needed funds for your charity with a house full of laughter. Think of the fun everyone will have seeing their favorite Halloween characters in caricature and, otherwise, out of character. For example, perhaps your Count Dracula wants nothing to eat but chocolate; Frankenstein might do a song-and-dance routine like in the movie “Young Frankenstein”; and Dr. Jekyll’s Mr. Hyde might turn out to be a clown. There’s no end to the possibilities for this Halloween fundraising idea.

You could include a (2) joke contest in which contestants would donate a dollar to submit a joke. At the end of the evening, the jokes could be read out loud. The winner would be decided by the audience’s applause. After all, it’s all in good fun, and that’s what it’s supposed to be about. You could have different age or type categories. Just remember to make an announcement to keep the jokes clean if it’s going to be a family affair.

Another Halloween fundraising idea is the (3) traditional costume contest. You might have different categories including silliest, funniest, prettiest, and most creative costumes. Contestants could be encouraged to get creative with materials as well as characters. Again, the audience could vote on the winner by expressing their appreciation with their applause.

Any number of activities could be available, including (4) bobbing for apples, (5) playing musical chairs, (6) different kinds of races, and other activities. Blocks of tickets can be sold, so people won’t have to carry coins to pay for all the different things to do, each of which is another Halloween fundraising idea.

Another way to raise money during the holiday carnival is to suggest that people bring (7) treats and drinks to be sold. Someone could make cupcakes and wrap them individually. Someone else might bring some candy bars. No one has to feel obligated to bring a lot. Whatever the donation, it’s an easy way to add to your organization’s coffers. A little bit here, and a little bit there can really add up.

At the end of the evening, make sure there is a well-marked suggestion box that people can use to submit Halloween fundraising ideas for the next year. After all, a hundred heads are better than one or two. It will make a perfect way to end the perfect Halloween evening.

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1. Corporate sponsorship. Partnering with your local businesses to raise money for a specific school project or event is one of the best school fundraising ideas out there. Public recognition of the donation, such as a plaque on a playground, lets the public know who to thank for the generous donation.
2. Donate a brick. Let the community physically help build a better education for your children. Commemorative bricks are purchased by community members and placed in hallways and patios, proudly displaying the names of those who donated for years to come.  There is a brick fundraising company listed in our fundraising company directory.
3. Tree of Gving. A Tree of Giving is a permanent wall memorial of those who generously gave to the school. The trunk and branches of the tree spread across the wall and community members purchase leaves that will memorialize their donation for all to see. These are popular in hospitals.
4. Family carnival. Fun, games and prizes – who could ask for more from this idea on our list of top 10 school fundraising ideas? From cake walks to carnival games suitable for children of all ages, this is a fundraiser the entire family will enjoy!
5. Local restaurants. Contact your local restaurants to arrange a “School Night” for your school. The restaurant donates a percentage of sales to the school. They receive more business, families receive a yummy meal and the school receives much needed funds!
6. Basket raffle. Each classroom is charged with creating a basket to raffle off. At a school event, such as parent-teacher conferences, a school concert or an open house, sell raffle tickets and let the parents select which baskets they’d like to enter to win.
7. Discount cards. Discount cards offering discounts to local merchants are an easy way for children to raise funds for their school. Whether it’s for a specific event, such as a field trip, or just as general fundraising idea, discount cards are something everyone can use.
8. Talent show. Give children an opportunity to display their talents while raising money, with number eight on our list of top 10 school fundraising ideas! Even a nominal ticket price can raise hundreds of dollars.
9. Bake sale. Take advantage of captive parents and students at all of your school’s after school events with a bake sale. Parent-teacher conferences, concerts and open houses are prime opportunities to raise funds for your school with this tasty idea!
10. Recycling. This simple idea not only raises money for your school, but helps the environment too! Have a contest to see which class can collect the greatest weight in cans, with the winning class receiving a pizza party at lunch or an ice cream treat at recess.

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1. Don’t do it alone. Even if you’ve volunteered to plan a fundraising event, it doesn’t mean you have to do it all yourself. Put together a committee to assist you, or delegate pieces of the event to others who’d like to help.
2. Consider the efficacy of your fundraiser. There are so many fundraising ideas out there; it’s difficult to determine which one will be the most effective. Consider how much money you think the fundraiser will make and the number of man hours it will take to host, to compare different event types.
3. Create a timeline. Timelines for when tasks should be completed help keep everyone on track, and ensure those helping you know exactly when their items are due.
4. Create a budget. A budget ensures costs do not get out of control when planning a fundraising event. This is a critical tool to use when delegating pieces of the event that may include purchasing items or services.
5. Ask for donations. Don’t be afraid to ask local businesses for donations to your event. From door prizes to materials and supplies you need for the event, many businesses are happy to donate  to those planning a fundraising event. The more donations you receive – the more money will go to your cause!
6. Set goals for your event. Just like in other aspects of life, goal setting when planning a fundraising event motivates everyone toward a quantifiable result. Keep track of these goals during the planning process, and let members periodically know if you’re on track.
7. Staff your event properly. Have enough volunteers on staff to ensure your event runs efficiently. However, do not over-staff your event. There is nothing more frustrating for a volunteer than standing around with nothing to do.
8. Harness the power of the Internet. Set up a web page with details of your event. Then, use social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to promote your event.
9. Marketing is critical. It won’t matter how awesome your event is, if no one knows about it. Contact your local paper, post flyers in local businesses, send out e-mails, and more to be certain the public knows about your event.
10. Say “Thank you!” When the event is over, thank all of those who made it a success. This thank you list should not just include those who attended, but also those who donated items and the volunteers who devoted their time and talents.

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1. Door-to-door. It may sound old fashioned, but there is a reason why big organizations still use door-to-door fundraising as their primary method. Be sure to bring material about the cause you’re fundraising for.
2. Corporate sponsorship. Contact local businesses and ask them to sponsor your cause in exchange for a marketing opportunity, such as having a company logo proudly displayed on a t-shirt you’ll wear at a big event.
3. Matching donations. Even if your own employer isn’t able to sponsor you, many companies offer a matching donation program for their employees in which they will match a certain percentage of funds raised for a charitable cause.
4. Hold a garage sale. Clear out the basement and closets of all your unneeded items and host a garage sale, with profits going to support your cause. When advertising your garage sale, be sure to explain that this is a garage sale for charity to further encourage people to come.
5. Host a bake sale. Everyone likes home-baked goodies, which is why a bake sale is one of our simple fundraising ideas! Host your bake sale at a high traffic area, such as your church, outside a business, or at your charity garage sale.
6. Recycling. Set up a can recycling bin at local businesses. Place a sign on the bin letting people know that not only are they helping the environment, but they’re helping a worthy cause too!
7. Put an article in your local paper. Write an article for your local newspaper talking about the cause, event or organization you are fundraising for, and ask for donations. Your local bank can help you set up a charitable account.
8. Local service clubs. Just because you’re an individual raising money, doesn’t mean you can’t ask groups for help, which is why this one made our list of simple fundraising ideas. Service organizations such as the Lions Club or Knights of Columbus may be able to assist you by hosting events for you!
9. Virtually network. Use social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, to reach out and ask for donations from your virtual community of friends and colleagues. Ask others to repost your information, to maximize the power of number nine on our list of simple fundraising ideas.
10. Host a party. Contact your favorite home sales party person, such as Pampered Chef or Mary Kay, and ask if they’d be willing to donate their profits from your party to your fundraising efforts. In exchange, they’ll receive new potential party leads and repeat customers from your family and friends that attend.

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1. Table raffle. In a table raffle, donated items are laid out on tables with jars in front of each. Ticket buyers place their raffle tickets in the jar in front of the prize they’d like to win. Have a variety of prizes to attract the most ticket buyers.
2. 50-50 raffle. The 50-50 raffle is one of the easiest raffle ideas. No pre-purchasing or donation of prizes is required. All you need are raffle tickets and then split the amount collected with the winner!  50% goes to the winner and 50% goes to your cause.  Pay attention to local and state laws; be sure that this is not considered gambling in your location.
3. Basket raffle. Who doesn’t love a basket filled with goodies? Create a variety of basket types for people of various ages and interests. Themed baskets, such as a “The Chocoholic Basket” or “The Movie Night Basket,” are a popular raffle idea.
4. Automobile raffle. If you’re trying to raise a lot of money, then a big ticket item, like an automobile, is one of the most effective raffle ideas. Partner with a local dealership to see if they’ll donate at least a portion of the vehicle to your cause.
5. Workplace perks raffle. Raise money at your office by raffling off a chance to win a variety of workplace perks. An extra paid vacation day, a premium parking spot for a month, or even a free lunch with the boss are all great raffle ideas everyone in the office will want to win.
6. Everybody wins raffle. Everyone is guaranteed to win a small prize in this raffle! Get local businesses to donate promotional items, for the lower level prizes.
7. Gift certificate raffle. Ask local businesses to each donate a gift certificate to your cause. They’ll attract new customers to their store and support a great cause in the process!
8. Travel raffle. A chance to win a free vacation is one of the most popular raffle ideas. Purchase two round-trip plane tickets and a hotel stay for the lucky winner. Travel dates should be flexible, and you may get the hotel or airline to donate a portion of the cost to your cause!
9. Services raffle. We all need stuff done around the home or office. Contact local businesses such as handymen, cleaning companies, salons, carpet cleaners and accountants who provide much needed services. They’ll get new clients by helping your cause out.
10. Mystery box raffle. Add some mystery to your next raffle. All of your raffle prizes are wrapped in boxes. Like a table raffle, ticket buyers choose which mystery box they’d like to win. A list of prizes is available for people to peruse when they buy tickets.

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