Fundraising Tips
Kickstart your 2023 RebelTHON fundraising with some of these helpful tips.
ASK FAMILY & FRIENDS
Letters & EMail
Send out letters via good old- fashioned snail mail. Use something that stands out and is personal so that people know it is from you.
Use e-mail to get the word out, just don’t make that your only way on contacting people. E-mail is still great for reminders and/or reaching people you may not have a physical address for.
Social Media
Use your Facebook, Twitter, or blogs to get the word out. Create an Instagram video telling your followers why you’re raising money or personally message all of your Facebook friends and ask for $1 or more. Be sure to include a link to your donor drive.
On your donor drive page, there’s also an option under “Your Fundraising” to create a Facebook fundraiser for RebelTHON 2020. You can alter the settings on the fundraiser’s page to notify your friends that you’re raising money. Our board and executive board members have already had great success with these.
Holiday Giving
Asking family and friends to donate to your cause instead of Christmas and birthday presents is a great fundraising method. You’d be surprised by the generosity of your neighbors, family, and friends', especially during the holiday season. Asking for donations is proven more effective in-person, so this is great to do while you are home for winter break. It’s also great timing since our dance marathon is in February, only a month after winter break.
SIDE HUSTLE
CRAFTS & DIY
Sell homemade crafts and art either locally to friends and family or on platforms like Etsy! There are also plenty of Facebook groups that are solely for recycling clothes and selling vintage Goodwill finds. An alternative to selling items online is selling clothes to Plato’s closet, hosting a garage sale, or having a booth at a flea or farmer’s market, and then donating all or a percentage of the money to your donor drive.
Bake Sales & MIDNIGHT SNACKS
Host a bake sale and ask friends or family to help by contributing their favorite goodies. Hold it in conjunction with another event, such as a neighborhood garage sale, sporting event, etc.
Consider selling late night food in the dorms at night, like pizza, candy, desserts, etc.
50/50 Raffle
Half of the proceeds go to your fundraising goals and the winner of the drawing receives the other half. Good places to host 50/50s are on social media, restaurant events, sports games, and charity events.
THINGS TO DO
DD FOR A NIGHT
Offer to be a personal chauffeur for a night, for donations of course. Ole Miss football game days and Friday/Saturday nights are some of the best times to rack up the donations.
GET EMBARRASSED
Find people to donate a certain amount of money to see you do something embarrassing, like posting an embarrassing picture on social media, shaving/cutting/coloring your hair or beard, or wearing an embarrassing costume to class for a day.
Instagram STories
With the popularity of Instagram these days, asking for donations on this social media platform is an effective method. Rather than just asking for your followers to Venmo you, try giving them something (free) in exchange for their donation.
For example, you can ask for donations in exchange for: a TBH (personal, honest message about the donor - keep it nice!), linking a song that reminds you of them, posting an embarrassing photo on Instagram, etc.
WRAP GIFTS
Many stores and other retail establishments allow you to wrap gifts for donations during the holidays.
FREE SERVICE & BABYSITTING
Rake leaves, shovel snow, take care of a pet, housesit, etc. When offering your service, ask the person for a donation toward your cause or give a percentage of what they paid you to RebelTHON. People are proven more generous when they know their money is going to a nonprofit organization or charity!
COLLECT COINS
Instead of using your spare change when you pay cash, take change and place it in a bucket. Save up throughout the year and donate it!