Benefits, silent auctions, corporate solicitations - a variety of vehicles exist for helping your organization make a difference.

Being asked to raise funds for an organization can strike fear in the hearts of the heartiest of souls. But fear not. At your disposal are positive, creative ways of presenting "opportunities" for your friends, neighbors, and business associates to help support your cause.

For many years, I have been involved in a nonprofit, volunteer-based organization that raises funds to aid in the fight against childhood cancer. In the 14 years that Children's Cancer Research Fund (CCRF) has been in existence, our volunteers have raised more than $7 million in financial support of research and training in pediatric hematology and oncology and bone marrow transplantation at the University of Minnesota Hospital and Clinic in Minneapolis.

In the hopes that other organizations can learn from our successes, this article profiles some of the vehicles CCRF has found to be both productive and beneficial in raising funds. Chapter-based organizations may find the ideas especially applicable to their situations, while national groups may be able to contemplate ways of expanding ideas to meet their broader-based needs.

As you read about these various vehicles, keep in mind that fund-raising has become a big business and needs to be treated as such. Many organizations are asking for the same dollar from the same patrons. Be sure to take advantage of all doors that are opened to you as you promote your fund-raising efforts.

I host of benefits

Benefits come in as many guises as your imagination permits: coffees, luncheons, dinner dances, concerts, fashion shows, sports tournaments, bridge tournaments . . . the list can go on and on. The important thing to remember is that there is some approach that works for each organization.

If your community is fortunate to be the home of a major sports team, try to involve its players and management in support of your organization. Sports figures lend an aura of excitement to an event and can often bring in a whole new core of supporters that you might not be currently reaching. Many players are eager to give back to the communities that have supported them and welcome the opportunity of being role models for worthwhile causes.

If possible, try to line up opening nights of concerts or theater productions. Give people what they want to see. There is a comfort zone in "buying out the house" if you know you will in turn have a sellout that will benefit your group.

Advertising vehicles

Consider producing a program ad magazine any time a major social fund-raising event is being planned. These are great vehicles to spread the message of your organization and an excellent forum for selling ads to the local business community. Don't forget to incorporate a personal greeting section that allows your patrons to wish one another "Happy birthday," "Happy anniversary," or any similar type of congratulatory message.

Silent auctions

These events are a lot of work but can be a very rewarding financial venture for a charity or foundation as well as a wonderful opportunity for local businesses to create goodwill within the community and provide exposure to their products or services. Creative packaging of various services and products can often bring in a higher bid than merely letting each presentation stand alone. These packages can span the gamut of a grand vacation trip to discount coupons from local businesses.

One package that created a flurry of good-natured bidding at a recent auction was entitled "The Couch Potato Dream Package ." It considered of a year's worth of video rentals, pizzas, and ice cream (on a monthly basis). Listed alone, the three individual donations would not have generated much attention, but grouped together the package brought in well above its listed value.

Be cautious of taking on large, expensive consignment items, as they can create a false impression from an accounting standpoint of expenses versus profits.

Fashion shows

Seek out the major fashion retailer(s) in your area, or, better yet, invite several to participate in putting on a fashion show. Merchants receive the benefit of exposure to your mailing list and supporters while marketing their fashions in a fresh, exciting manner. Invite prominent people in your community to participate in modeling the clothes; this adds a personal touch and an endorsement to your event.

Reaching out to corporations

Don't forget to include the corporate community in your efforts to raise funds. Solicit key people from major companies to aid in the selling of tickets to your events and to participate in your programs. Be aware of the pro bono policies of local businesses that might be of assistance to you.

If possible, affiliate yourself With an advertising firm that is willing to donate time. These companies can be invaluable with help on invitation layouts and promotional literature and can often line up printers and paper suppliers willing to donate their time and materials as well. Remember: Any service or material that is donated is one that doesn't have to be purchased.

Individual states may have varying charitable guidelines that govern what amount of all funds raised by nonprofit organizations must go directly to the programs of the charity involved. Administrative costs and fund-raising expenses should not exceed your guidelines. Encourage committees to solicit as many in-kind donations as possible so that guidelines can be met.

Holiday greetings 

Companies and individuals may choose to contribute to your cause if given the chance to support a holiday greeting-card program. Some organizations send holiday cards, which often include information about the group on the back of cards, to potential patrons and ask them to make a donation. Other groups send seasonal greetings that include a message from the charity on behalf of patrons, who provide them with their holiday lists of clients, friends, and business associates.

Illuminate your cause

Another holiday-oriented fund-raising idea is to establish a holiday tree in a prominent place in your community. Patrons then sponsor lights to honor family members or friends until the tree is ablaze in support of your cause.

Some organizational guidelines

All fund-raising efforts, whether directed to individuals or companies, should be coordinated through a central committee or individual to avoid duplication of efforts on the part of volunteers and over-solicitation of the donor base. If your organization holds several different functions a year, be sure to spread out your soliciting efforts so that you are not calling on the same vendors to provide products or services as well as the same core of individuals to support the events through attendance and donations.

Your board would be wise to develop its own guidelines for fund-raising as they pertain to the needs and direction of your organization. Put everything you can possibly think of down in writing; leave nothing to chance memory or the assumption that it will be covered. Define your needs and goals and your methods of attaining them.

Looking to the community

The lifeblood of all organizations and boards is new members. They provide new insights, enthusiasm, and new contacts. Any time you can involve the community in any manner, you are broadening your contact and support base as well as minimizing your cost factors.

Solicit help from local school groups when necessary. Youth volunteers can be recruited from high school service clubs, college sororities and fraternities, and the families of volunteers and board members.

They can aid in greeting guests, taking tickets, serving food, staffing silent auction tables, selling raffle tickets, helping with coat checks and with seating and table assignments, and so forth.

These suggestions can provide you with a starting point, and it is often that first step that is the hardest.

Finally, remember to enjoy your role in the fund-raising process. You have joined a board because you want to contribute your time and talents and to make a difference, whatever your cause may be. A cohesive, enthusiastic, dedicated group of fund-raisers can and will make a difference.

Sherry Knappenberger currently serves on both the executive board and the board of directors of the Children's Cancer Research Fund, Minneapolis.