The ASCE Foundation presented Fundamentals of Fundraising-Increasing Your Resources at each of ASCE's four Zone Conferences this winter. The hour-long workshops, facilitated by Jeanne Jacob, Executive Vice President of the ASCE Foundation, were attended by ASCE Section and Branch leaders, Younger Members, and Student Members. The workshops were conducted in response to numerous requests for fundraising support and training. A great number of members attended the workshops. An average of eighty students participated at each of the Student Member workshops conducted in New Orleans, Chicago, Portland, and New York.
The sessions began with a basic overview of fundraising principles as they relate to ASCE Student Chapters. These principles included identifying the appropriate person to contact within a company, identifying the appropriate person to make "the ask," cultivating your prospects, and thanking and acknowledging your donors. The importance of IRS regulations on fundraising also was reviewed.
After the fundamentals were discussed, the students were asked to work in teams to generate fundraising ideas for their Student Chapters. The student teams were assigned hypothetical fundraising projects. Each team was asked to brainstorm three ideas to raise the necessary funds for their project. Overall the students exhibited a high level of enthusiasm for this exercise. They generated many creative and viable fundraising ideas. Listed below are some of the many ideas collected during the four workshops.
For more information, contact the ASCE Foundation at 703-295-6342 or via email at ascefoundation@asce.org.
Fundraising Ideas for ASCE Student Chapters
1. Career Fair
Seek companies to have a "table/booth" at a career fair. Call alumni, faculty, and student government representatives to coordinate an event. Seek donations from school and businesses. Survey students to see what types of companies they want scheduled at the fair. Find company sponsorships for the "table/booth" space and acknowledge sponsorships in the career fair program.
2. Kissing Booth
Use as an "outreach" to student programs. Set up a booth for both men and women before a major event(s). Charge $5.00 per kiss. All money goes to the Student Chapter.
3. Battle of the Bands Block Party
Find a place on campus to have a concert. Get the PA system donated. Get local radio stations and companies to help advertise. Get refreshments either donated or at wholesale. Charge a cover fee. Charge for refreshments. Seek local company sponsorships and list sponsors on event banners or signage. Contact local recording studios to offer free recording session for winner.
4. Raffle
Sell raffle tickets at a football game or other athletic games (check to see if legal in your location). Charge $1.00 or $2.00 per ticket. Ask local businesses for donation of prizes.
5. "Outbid Contractor"
Offer to build something needed by the community at a cheaper rate than a regular company-sandboxes, swing sets, parking lot, etc. Seek "in-kind" gift of guidance from a local CE company who will "manage" the student team (for liability). Get materials donated or at cost. Chapter keeps the profits.
6. Silent Auction.
Hold two similar events-one in the fall and one in the spring. Ask local companies, stores, alumni, and parents to donate items or vacation trip packages. Storage may be needed for gift items. Advertise at local games and in the school paper before each event. Place minimum bid amounts on all packages being auctioned off.
7. Direct Mail Campaign to Alumni
Ask the Alumni Office for names and addresses of CE alumni and CE companies at which alumni work. Write to them seeking gifts to support the Student Chapter. Gifts should cover the cost of postage, paper, envelopes, and production of the letter.
8. "A Car Bashing"
Obtain vehicles from junk yards or police pounds and paint them the colors of your rival school (for example, grey/red or blue/gold). Advertise on your local radio stations during the week before the "big game." Have several vehicles in key locations. Have CE student teams managing the areas and collecting the money. Be sure to obtain permission from the University/College. Charge $2.00 per hit.
9. Boat Race
Contest for local high school students to build boats out of plastic bottles. Then hold a race and award prizes. Work with CE professors and Student Chapter to introduce high school students to engineering. Seek sponsorships from local companies. Get newspapers to cover the event. Charge entry fee and make money off of concessions.
10. Dance Club / Date Auction Theme Party
Hold a theme party and auction-off date packages. Get students to volunteer to be "auctioned." They can seek donations from local businesses to add to their date "package." For example, the evening starts with complimentary limo service to a restaurant for dinner, and then off to a sporting event, followed by dessert and drinks before the limo drives each home. All items donated. Place minimum bids on the better packages. Get food and drinks for the evening donated. Charge $10 or $15 per couple for entrance and then end the evening with date auction.
11. Golf Tournament
Hold a golf tournament. Get course donated. Seek sponsors for each hole and for hole-in-one, closest to the hole, longest drive, etc. Companies can provide sponsorships of $100 per hole. Ask local signage company to print signs and acknowledge their in-kind gifts in the tournament program. Charge players an entry fee.
12. Open House
Hold open house for local students to give them an overview of the campus (and the CE department). Charge $5 per student to attend.
13. Laser Tag
Use the engineering building to hold a laser tag contest. Staffed by faculty, use the hallways of the building during one evening for a contest of laser tag. Find corporate sponsors for the evening. Charge student $7 to $10 per person to participate.
14. Formal Benefit Dinner
Work with the student government and ask the university to donate a location. Contact local companies to donate food or money in return for acknowledging their gifts in the program. Charge $50 a plate and have ASCE Section or Branch members wait the tables for the students and their dates. All money goes to the chapter.
15. Sell Used Engineering Books
Buy students' used books at the end of each semester. Then, sell the used engineering books for less than the book stores would sell them. The difference-profit-would be kept by the Student Chapter.
16. Elimination Dinner
Dinner and open bar. Use tip boards (type of gambling, so must check it out with local authorities to see if it is legal). Eliminate tickets throughout the evening. The holder of the last ticket at the end of the night wins a cash prize. Charge $30 each.
17. One-Stop Shopping
Get a parking lot donated by the school for massages, manicures, food tables, etc. (all donated by local businesses), and a car wash. Students sell the food, wash the cars, etc. Professionals provide the massages, manicures, hair braiding, etc. Set a price for each item. All profits are kept by the Student Chapter.
18. Students as Volunteer Workers at Events
Students can work at various sports games or at local businesses taking inventory. The money they earn goes to the Student Chapter.
19. Lunch or Errand Running
For one week, volunteer to get lunches for workers at various local companies for a fee of $5.00 per person. Take orders, drive to food establishments, place orders, and then deliver the lunches for the $5.00 per person fee. All proceeds go to the Student Chapter.
20. Jell-O Wrestling
Hold a Jell-O wrestling contest. Open to all university students. Charge a fee for entrance to participate and to watch. Sell food and beverages that have been donated. Add an auction or raffle to earn more money. Student chapter keeps all money raised.
21. Non-event Event
Invite people to a Non-Event. Print "classy" invitations, but ask them not to show up. Instead have them donate the money that it would have cost them to attend. Provide various giving levels.
22. 5K Run
Host a 5K run with corporate sponsors. Ask the school to provide the facility for free. Entry fee is $30 to $40 per person.
23. Olympics Day
Invite students to compete in a variety of sports. Ask school to provide the facility for free. Seek sponsorships and food from local companies. Ask students to pay an entry fee of $10.00 or $15.00.
24. PE Review Course
Ask a professor to teach a PE review course. Advertise at other schools nearby. All money goes to the Student Chapter. Charge students $50 per session.
25. Book Royalties
Ask a professor to donate all of his book royalties for one year to the Chapter.
26. Work Concessions at School Events
CE students volunteer to work the concessions at sporting events and concerts. The money goes directly to the Student chapter instead of to the working individuals.
27. Pie in the Face
Ask a professor to volunteer to be auctioned off and be put in "jail" for a day. Set up a booth where people buy tickets and get to throw pies at the professor. Pies can be whipped cream in a pie crust, so that there is no waste and expense is limited.
28. Pink Flamingos
Put 20 to 100 pink flamingos in the yard of a faculty member. Have them pay a set fee to get them removed. An additional fee can be paid to have them placed in someone else's yard. This also can garner great publicity if it is being done for the first time in your community. (Check with local police first.)
29. Pizza Sale
Get a restaurant to donate pizza and soda. Sell 2 slices and a soda for $4. Do this weekly on a set evening so students begin to depend on it while they are studying.
30. Final Exam Care Package
Provide boxes of goodies during exam time. Ask for donations from local businesses to defray costs. You can even sell these to parents by taking advanced orders. Charge $25 per box.
31. Parking Spot Raffle
Raffle-off a parking spot in the engineering building's parking lot. Raffles can be held monthly during the school year- nine opportunities to raise money.
32. Chances to Kick a Field Goal
Sell tickets for the chance to kick a field goal during half time at a university football game. Winner gets small cash prize, or a gift(s) can be donated by local merchants. Remainder of proceedings goes to student chapter.
33. Student vs. Faculty Athletic Event
Get people to donate items such as textbooks, apartment furnishing, clothing, etc. List on Ebay and collect the cash when they purchase the item.
34. Phone-a-thon
Call alumni and businesses. Ask alumni for a $1 for every year that has passed since they graduated. Ask businesses to support the effort with either money or products which can be used later for a silent auction.
35. Haunted House at Halloween
Put on a haunted house during October with donated materials from local merchants. Sell tickets and refreshments. This is great for publicity in the local papers.
36. Student-Faculty Variety Show
Arrange for a variety show to include both students and faculty. Sell tickets and refreshments.
37. "Concrete Canoe Bashing"
Obtain the concrete canoes that did not win the contest. Paint them the colors of your rival school. Advertise before a big game. Have CE students manage the event. Charge $2 a hit. Obtain permission from the university first.
Related Articles
- ASCE Foundation Home
- Message From the Chair
- Make a Gift to Support Civil Engineering
- Annual Appeal
- Transferring Stock to Make a Gift
- Estate Planning Information
- The Civil Engineering Legacy Society
- Sponsorships
- 2002: Building The Future Campaign
- About the ASCE Foundation
