Fundraising always evokes images of glamorous balls, gorgeous dresses, gourmet food, and for some reason, feathery masks to me. The objective, of course, is to raise bazillions of dollars for charity to fund research and cures.
A few weeks ago I discovered that a scaled down do-it-yourself fundraiser is just as fun, if not more, while it also rakes in the bucks. My friend Gail hosted a “Girls’ Night” to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis in memory of her brother Gary, who lost the MS fight in 2002 after over a decade of brave and daily battles.
The offer was too good to pass up – a $40 donation to MS got you a makeover, paraffin hand treatment, life coaching, 20-minute custom massage, a make-your-own-earrings session and libations worthy of a black tie ball – all donated by her professionally trained friends. On top of that, the 15 of us who attended and met each other – many for the first time –created friendships much deeper than those normally associated with fundraising cocktail parties. And finally, as an added bonus, I discovered my chocolate astrological sign was “dark.” (Who knew)?
Gail’s goal was to raise $1,000. By the time the party wrapped at 10 p.m. the fees, mailed donations and 50% of the make-up proceeds totaled $957 … an amazing amount of money for a relatively small event. Gail dropped it off at the local MS chapter the next day, and now MS research scientists and doctors are nearly $1,000 closer to finding a cure.
It took work and planning – but it’s definitely do-able. Really, it’s all about math: A cause + a theme + food = fundraising. Or maybe funraising is a better word … because it sure was fun! Charities will always need the elegant, high priced galas – but they benefit from your funraising projects too – much more than you realize. Now, isn’t that a great excuse to throw a Girls/Guys Night?
Get out and give back.
Jane Hess is a free-lance writer. You can send your comments to jane@getoutandgiveback.com
