As a not-for-profit organisation, the Evie Grace Foundation relies on fundraising activities, including requesting regular donations, fundraising events, and promotional products for fundraising. Asking for money is never easy as it begs the question, where is the money going? It is a necessity for community organisations regardless of the difficulty that lies in requesting donations. Regular donations are essential for not-for-profit organisations but so are the once-off donations.
While it is obvious that getting money into the charity is highly-important, fundraising is integral to this. Without sufficient funding coming in, a not-for-profit is bound to suffer, and those that rely on the fundraising will experience difficulties.
With the Evie Grace Foundation, we rely on the generous donations and support of people like yourself to raise money to help street children in Kenya. We help remove vulnerable girls from sex slavery and child prostitution and rescue children at the risk of child trafficking. Furthermore, we distribute menstrual pads within communities in Kenya and through scholarship opportunities, we teach young women the skill of making reusable menstrual pads to help eradicate period poverty. Along with receiving menstrual pads, the girls also receive vital health education about puberty, menstrual cycles and safe sex, including the use of contraception.
With fundraising, it is optimal to organise your goals and ask yourself, what do you hope to achieve? At the Evie Grace Foundation, we are currently fundraising for the help mentioned above as well as for land for street children in partnership with Global Hope Rescue and Rehabilitation.
Working out who your friends are and who is willing to support you is important, and that includes individuals, businesses, families, philanthropic trusts, foundations, and Government departments. Conducting market research can be a great way to collect ideas on fundraising and what has worked and what hasn’t.
Sponsorship is one way to fundraise and sponsoring a child is a truly generous attribute of someone. Sponsoring a child with Evie Grace Foundation means you can see the wealth of good that your money is doing through helping a child survive, obtain an education, and thus live a better life.
Events are another way to raise funds. While during the COVID-19 pandemic fundraising through events has become difficult, fundraising through promotional products is still salient. Merchandise is a fantastic way to raise funds and Evie Grace Foundation has an online store with a wealth of goodies for sale. From hoodies and jumpers to sustainable coffee cups, Evie Grace Foundation has products that people love and what’s better than purchasing a product and knowing that your money is going to a good cause?
A “Giving Tuesday” is another way to fundraise. Giving Tuesday started in 2012 with the aim of motivating people to donate to a worthy cause in December. Starting a countdown to ‘Giving Tuesday’,this year to be held on the 1st December, is a fabulous way to raise funds and create awareness of the campaign. Commencing an online fundraiser is another way to generate interest and accessibility for fundraising through Giving Tuesday. Spreading the word through social media is a fabulous fundraising method and conducive for Giving Tuesday. Social media has the power to pique people’s interest and sharing is caring after all.
Utilising creative storytelling is one way to fundraise and storytelling serves as a fantastic method of generating interest and curiosity in the organisation. Photos and videos help this immensely. Telling your story in a unique way is crucial and essential so that you stand out from the rest.
Fundraising helps charities pursue their mission as not-for-profit organisations have bills to pay. Additionally, it helps share your cause with the world and keeps regular supporters invested. Furthermore, fundraising can bring in volunteers and Evie Grace Foundation has a repertoire of volunteers who care for the organisation as well as the Founder, Maddison Kent.
Fundraising makes a not-for-profit organisation accountable for its goals and sees them prioritise projects. Moreover, fundraising prompts charities to branch out and broadcast their mission and core values as they try to reach as many people as possible. Fundraising also means not-for-profit organisations evaluate their sustainability, cause and fundraising platforms. The Evie Grace Foundation would not be able to achieve all that we do without the generous support of donors and through people purchasing our merchandise.
If you would like to make a one-off-donation, sign up for a monthly contribution or sponsorship, see our website here. If you want to buy one of our fundraising products, have a look at our online shop.
We thank each and every one of our supporters. Even if you cannot afford to donate, simply sharing our story is another way to help the cause.
Written by: Andrea Manno
