The prehistoric world of fundraising involved time-consuming difficult to coordinate activates which just about everyone dreaded. That was the age of day-long car washes and never-ending bakes sales, which left you physically exhausted with little financial reward to show for it. Well…times have changed. Drastically!! But…for the better! Much, much better!
Fast-forward to the 21st century. A little bit of business savvy and whole lot of “fun” has been added to what use to be a dreaded experience for many. Running a fundraiser is very similar to a running a business… and fundraising has become BIG Bu$iness.
A host of “ready made” fundraising products and services have flooded the “fundraising market” with the sole purpose of maximizing fundraising returns while at the same time minimizing investment of time and energy. These product sales have been an effective and quick way to raise significant mounts of money. Imagine what that did for team morale!
As the fundraising industry matured and the demand for cost-effective, profit maximizing fundraising products grew, supply quickly responded. With about 1500 fundraising companies providing a host of products, fundraising has become an industry unto itself. Hundreds of fundraising products, programs, and services are available. There is something for even the choosiest organization.
From scratch cards, to customized bottled water, chocolate roses, wrist bands, candy, customized bricks, flower bulbs… there is a mind-boggling variety of products to choose from. If you can imagine it, the fundraising industry could supply it. The only hurdles left to conquer were “hassles” of taking and tallying orders, and the delivery and distribution of the products. And these sometimes proved to be frustrating hurdles…until now.
Enter into the world of on-line fundraising. E-fundraising is a concept that has come of age. On-line fundraising programs are emerging as cost effective highly efficient method for running fundraisers in the 21st century. A volunteers’ dream come true. Supporters of your fundraiser can order what they want, when they want it, as often as they need it! Even while you sleep! Imagine that!
Welcome to the world of fundraising in the 21st century. It's a whole new world!
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