Footrace Against Time

If you run a non-profit charity, then calendars can be a great way to encourage donations.  Calendars are inexpensive to print, make great freebies or can be sold to raise funds, and can help keep your organization in the minds of your donors all year long.  Here are some ways that you can use calendars to help raise money for your organization.

Feature special events

Many non-profit organizations will host various fund-raising activities throughout the year.  Whether it is a sporting event, ball, or raffle, you can help keep that event in your donors' thoughts.  

Make sure that the event is highlighted in the calendar so that your donors notice it when they turn to a new month.  Since it is already on their calendar, they don't have to go out of their way to make a note of the event, and they are more likely to remember it.

Include amazing pictures

Non-profit charities often tug at the heartstrings of their donors, and the photos of your calendar should do this as well.  For example, if you run an animal shelter, try including pictures of your most adorable and helpless pets that are up for adoption.  You can even include a small paragraph somewhere on the page giving that animal's story.  Even if the animal is adopted by the time that the calendars are sent, you can encourage people to donate to current animals in the shelter.  

The same philosophy holds true for environmental agencies, agencies that work with various people groups (pictures of kids often work well), and other charitable organizations.  

Avoid too much advertising

While you want to make sure that your charity's name and contact information is included in the calendar, you don't want the entire calendar to read like a giant ad.  If it does, people will be less likely to display it at their home or office.

Make it useful

Most people will use calendars to keep track of information like doctor's appointments, client meetings, or the time of their child's soccer practice.  Make sure your calendar can be used for this purpose to encourage people to use it, instead of tossing it.

Have a donation reminder

Remember, the main goal of your calendar is to encourage people to donate to your charity.  Because of this, it is quite helpful to have a nice reminder somewhere in the calendar.  Including a self-addressed envelope attached halfway through the calendar can be a good way to remind clients that you need financial support.

Always include your contact information

A promotional calendar won't be effective if donors cannot quickly contact your charity to donate money or offer to volunteer.  You need to make sure that you include your charity's contact information in the calendar.  While you don't need to include all the information on every page, make sure that you have it somewhere on the calendar ' on one of the covers is often the most commonly used place.  Don't forget to include a variety of contact options, such as address, phone number, and website, so that people can contact you in the way that they are most comfortable.