5. Holding a Pre-Fundraiser Kick Off Meeting
Depending on the size and nature of your organization, we recommend holding a Kick-Off celebration with your group before the fundraiser begins. Things to cover in this meeting are the goals, times and dates the fundraiser will run. Discuss in-depth the goal of the fundraiser. Provide the necessary information that your members will inevitably be asked by your customers: What are you raising money for? How long will it be before they receive their items?
This question needs to be answered in the same manner by all members of your group. For this reason, it is best to have a short, clear response. Our suggestion is:

"Hello my name is ___________. As part of the (group name), we are raising money for (mission trip, charity, other cause). Would you be willing to help us in achieving our goal and spreading God's Word by purchasing (a shirt, a hoodie, Christian apparel)?

All the supplies you will need (except pens, pencils, crayons, or whatever else your group chooses to use to write with) for the fundraiser are included with this kit! You will have at least one catalog and order form per group member, and, of course, the sample shirts if you chose to order them. The Kick-Off meeting is a perfect time to pass around the shirts, catalogs and explain the correct way to fill out an order form. This allows your group to touch and see the quality and design of the product they will be offering.

The last part of your Kick-Off meeting can be focused on asking the members of your group to make a list of 5-10 potential customers to approach before the fundraiser begins. Start with family and friends and then move to neighbors, co-workers, classmates and others who they feel would be interested in supporting your cause. Remember this is your sales force and having them start with family and friends will make them more comfortable when it comes to discussing the fundraiser with members of your church and community who they might not be as familiar with.

6. Managing Your Fundraiser
Once you have put the ball into motion, it is important for you to properly manage the fundraiser. This includes not only financial management, but also keeping your group motivated throughout the event. If you maintain constant encouragement, communication and feedback with your group about the results, you will be keeping the enthusiasm level high and their eye on the goal.

Ask questions of your group constantly to see what techniques are working best in specific situations. Communicate those lessons to the rest of the group so that they can try them too.

During the course of your fundraiser, it is beneficial to have several sidebar meetings with the group to discuss the fundraiser. Some ideas for these meetings include a pizza party, pot-luck meal or other theme event. While you might need to spend a little money to have these meetings, the enthusiasm of keeping your group motivated will outweigh the cost of the meeting by increasing fundraising sales. Typically, the sales efforts of just one group member are more than sufficient to fund the kick-off meeting, wrap-up meeting, and sidebar meetings.

Finally, Incentives, Incentives, Incentives! Anybody who has run a successful fundraiser will tell you that incentives play a big part in the outcome. Try things such as raffle drawings for a new bible or gift card to a restaurant. Let everyone know at the kick-off meeting that each shirt they sell will earn them one ticket for the drawing. In addition to the incentives you come up with, we will provide each individual with a free t-shirt for every ten items they sell! The free shirts can either be kept by the members that earned them, or donated back to the organization to be sold for even more profit. For example, if five people earn free shirts and donate them back to the group and are resold at $13 each, the group now has an extra $65 in pure profit!