Envelope Fundraising

Envelope Fundraising is a very cost effective fundraising idea! For the price of a packet of envelopes, some thumb tacks and a bulletin board, you could easily pocket some handy cash.

Envelopes? I hear you say. But how? With an Envelope Fundraiser. It’s also sometimes called ‘The Wall of Money’ and is a great addition to your fete, art show, awards night or any event where you have a good flow of people coming through.

How does it work?

Decide on how many envelopes you will use – 100 is a good starting point but you could even add to this number throughout your event.
Number your envelopes and place a dollar value inside them from $1 – $100 (or however many envelopes you have)
Pin them to your noticeboard (you can even just use a highly visible wall)
Passersby choose any envelope and donate the amount written on the envelope. For example, I choose envelope 10 and put $10 in the envelope as my donation.

It’s that easy! And if you fill all your envelopes you’ll raise $5050 for your group.

There are a few reasons why this fundraiser works.

Low overhead costs
Minimal labour and effort required for set up
No pressure on donors – they can choose an amount that suits their budget
Starting at a low amount gives you a wider audience
Donations can be made anonymously
People can group together with friends to make donations to fill the larger envelopes

You’ll probably find that once people start seeing the envelopes disappearing from the wall, it’ll become a bit contagious and they’ll want to get in on the fun too! So, make sure that set up in a highly visible and high traffic location.

Cash donations are certainly more convenient, but you can decide on whether you will take cheques (if anyone still even uses them!), credit card details or use a mobile eftpos facility if you’ve got one. You’ll just need one person to collect the envelopes or you might even be able to set up a secure box that they can be dropped into. Get the kids in on the fun too (and avoid writers cramp!) and have them write the numbers and decorate the envelopes.

As always, be sure to clearly advertise what it is that you’re raising funds for because we all like to know how our contribution will make a difference.

Make your set up fun and colourful to attract attention and it may just be a winner!

Mandy Weidmann is Australia’s ‘Fundraising Whisperer’ – publisher of the Fundraising Directory and author of the Practical Fundraising Handbook for School and Club Volunteers. Mandy believes that parent volunteers shouldn’t have to reinvent the wheel all the time and is passionate about providing resources to make fundraising easier (and more fun).

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