Fundraising with Calendars (Seriously) > > >
In late 2020, a group of trail enthusiasts and I were hard at work planning a first-of-its-kind trail park for our town. We needed to quickly raise funds to kickstart our trail dreams, even though we weren’t yet ready to announce the project to the public (that would come in July 2021). We had some immediate expenses that needed to be covered.
During a Board meeting where we brainstormed fundraising ideas, the suggestion of creating a calendar was proposed. The plan was to collect scenic images from around town, with a focus on outdoor recreation. We would then sell these calendars to generate revenue.
Initially, I wasn’t very enthusiastic about the proposal, as my personal calendars were entirely digital and I didn’t own a printed calendar at the time. However, it didn’t take long for me to realize that my lack of enthusiasm was completely wrong.
In just a few short months, we had raised over $8,000 in profit. I was genuinely blown away.
Here are the SIX simple steps we took:
- PHOTOS — We announced our intention to create a calendar and asked the public to contribute photos in a local community Facebook group. (We didn’t yet have an email list set up that we could communicate through.) Images began pouring in, including ones taken by our very own Board members. A committee reviewed the images, removed poor-quality ones, and selected photos that represented the four seasons appropriately.
- SPONSORSHIP — We sold sponsorships to local small businesses for $150 each, with twelve spots available for the twelve months in the calendar. These sold out almost immediately, covering our print costs entirely. (We’ve since raised this to $200/sponsor.)
- SALES — After finalizing the images, we announced that pre-orders were open. We announced that people could either e-transfer payments to us or send in a cheque/cash. (We set up an online store on our WordPress website the second year; we should have done that the first year.)
- MARKETING — We promoted the calendar on our social media channels and had our Board members reach out to their personal connections. We also participated in a local holiday craft show. The calendars were promoted as a means of celebrating the beauty of our region, that they made great Christmas presents, and that they would help us with some exciting trail plans we were working on.
- PRINTING — We enlisted a local printing company to handle the layout, design, and printing. Because we’d pre-sold nearly 200 calendars, we felt comfortable ordering 300 of them. Conducting pre-orders/sales is essential to ensure you don’t buy more product than needed.
- DELIVERY — When the calendars arrived, we announced a calendar pickup time for a Saturday morning at a local grocery store. A few of our Board members set up a table and as calendars were picked up, checked them off the pre-order list. The remaining calendars were left at a local gift shop for pickup, where some unsold stock was also left and additional sales were made.
With the printing costs for 300 calendars entirely covered by the 12 small business sponsors, profits added up quickly. In the end, we sold well over 280 calendars at $30 each, resulting in net earnings of over $8,000. Not bad for a small town with just 2,400 people.
The funds raised through this short fundraising campaign far exceeded our expectations.
While producing a calendar may seem outdated in the digital age of smartphones and Google Calendar, it proved to be a lucrative opportunity for our trail organization.
We’re now in the design phase for our 4th annual fundraising calendar, and to simplify the process, we’re sharing profits with a local photographer in exchange for using their images for the entire calendar. This saves us the effort of soliciting and sorting through photos while still earning our trail organization much-needed funds. It also gives us the chance to highlight local photographers.
(We’re also trying out something new to involve the public in the image selection process this year. Check out the Valley Life Recreation Facebook page for more details.)
Calendars have a broad demographic appeal and are an excellent way to engage with the wider community. Unlike trail-specific items, calendars allow you to expand your audience and share the story of your trail organization with new people.
Involving local sponsors for each month further creates a sense of community involvement and support. Not all small businesses can give thousands of dollars to your organization, but many can do sponsorships like this. It is important to create opportunities for businesses of all size to engage with your organization.
Are you currently missing opportunities to engage with small businesses in your community?
Giving sponsors a shout-out on social media, and having photographers excitedly share that their images were chosen, adds to the community spirit. A calendar provides a simple way for your organization to engage with the broader community, beyond the trail users who are already paying attention to you.
As the fall season approaches (here in Canada), now is the ideal time to organize a fundraising calendar for your trail organization. Spend a few weeks putting the details together, get your images to a printer by mid-October, and you’ll have plenty of time to help people with their holiday gift shopping for 2024.
Who knows, you might just raise $8,000 or more to fund new trails, tools, or trail plans.
Has your organization ever undertaken a fundraiser which was surprisingly successful? If so, please reach out and maybe your story will be featured in a future Single Track Communications fundraising article.