When raising funds for a charity, the most important thing for you to keep in mind is to set a goal for your organization and be certain it is a realistic goal.

Perhaps one of the biggest setbacks all of us face when beginning a new fundraiser is our own unrealistic expectations of what we hope to accomplish! Let's face it, a group of 10-12 people are not going to be able to handle the same type of project that a group of 50-60 people handle!

There are some common sense approaches to raising funds for a charity and most of them require only a little bit of legwork that can easily be done by one or two people in your organization.

First would be to determine the types of fundraising efforts that are ongoing in your area. For instance, if your local Scout troop annually holds a breakfast, then contact the Scoutmaster and ask (a) how long have you been doing the project; (b) how much do you charge; (c) do you buy your product at a discount; (d) what is your average annual income on this project; and (e) how many people did it take to arrange/work the event, etc.?

Begin the process (after your investigations) by assessing your people power, your local audience (i.e. how much are they willing to pay for the type of event you are planning), location event is to be held, and how you are going to advertise the event.

Once you answer these basic elements of your fundraising project, you can then set realistic goals for your group!