You’re looking to raise funds for a cause or organization you’re supporting? There are various means to raise money to help others and some of the methods are more efficient than others when it comes to getting the job done. Aside from selling sweets and other food items, a good old-fashioned shoe drive does wonders for your cause as well.
The shoes on your feet are probably the most essential part of your clothing. Can you imagine living a day without shoes? It would be hard – let alone painful, to walk all the way to the office without having anything to protect your feet. It’s more than just a piece of clothing, it’s a symbol of necessity for each and every one of use.
That being said, a shoe drive might just be what your cause needs to raise funds. Before we begin, how does this work?
How does a shoe drive work?
You may think to yourself, “how can shoe collecting help me raise funds?”
Before you begin the collection process, you must first find a fundraiser facilitator. This is the person in which the shoes will be given to once you reach your goal. Next, you build your team of shoe collectors that will go around neighborhoods to find people who are willing to support the cause.
Once you and your team have reached the goal for your fundraise, head back to your fundraiser facilitator. He will assess and appraise all of the shoes you have collected and give you a check with the corresponding amount. It’s a very straightforward process which more organizations are trying out.
There are many reasons why this kind of fundraising works. Here are a few reasons why you should try it out for your cause.
Why is it effective?
Almost everyone has outgrown some shoes
Shoes are easily outgrown, especially if the wearer had it since he was a child. That being said, almost everyone out there has some shoes inside their closet which can no longer be used. They are untouched for many reasons, the most common being, that they don’t fit anymore. Rather than let them go to waste, why not donate them for charity?
You can get a lot of supporters if you go to large families. We’re sure that they have dozens of unused shoes in their closets. You can also go to schools and universities who have storage lockers full of shoes that were used to be worn by athletes but are no longer in use because they don’t fit anymore.
It lets people feel more involved with the cause
As compared to other means of fundraising, a shoe drive can help people feel more involved with the cause. Think about it, why would people feel directly involved if they only buy cookies to support your cause. While this does give some sense of involvement, nothing beats giving away something of your own to support charity.
That being said, this level of engagement is good for any fundraiser. This kind will encourage more people to support the cause, thus allowing you to reach out to more people. You’ll see that some people are even going to give your more than one pair to help your charity. To make the donation feel even more personal, you can take a photo of them giving out the shoes.
You can reach out to more people
Not everyone has the time to buy and eat food for charity. However, almost everyone has shoes on their feet. With this, we can say that such fundraising activities allow you to reach out to more people. From regular people to shoe collectors, the possibilities are near endless. As your reach is larger, the amount you can raise is significantly bigger as well.
If one of your major concerns for your fundraising is that limited people are reaching out to you, then this method might just be what you need. Some people might even directly approach you to support your cause!
It can yield better results
At the end of the day, the key benefit of a shoe drive is that it can help you yield better results. Whether you are a big or a small organization, you can get a lot of support from people. There’s more to this method than just helping you raise funds more efficiently.
As you can reach out to more people, your visibility for the cause or the organization will greatly increase as well. In time, you can use other fundraising methods to help you generate more money for your cause. Getting this kind of visibility is a must for all fundraisers..
How to make it effective?
While it is a great method to raise funds, you’ll still need to work hard to ensure that it becomes efficient. One of the ways to ensure that your shoe collection process yields great results, make sure to add a twist to it. Of course, every fundraiser needs a hook to make it more appealing for donors to participate.
Most organizations would prefer making the process more engaging. We suggest taking photos of the people donating their shoes. This way, the donors will feel more involved with the project. It can also raise awareness for the fundraiser if the donors share these photos on their social media accounts.
It’s also advisable to increase your reach. Go to universities, companies, and neighborhoods. Shoe collecting is a fundraiser which involves everyone so don’t be afraid to broaden your limits. People will always be willing to donate to a cause. For something as easy as these, you can bet that there will be many donors.
A shoe drive is not as popular as other fundraising methods but you can rest easy knowing well that it is also one of the most effective ones out there. Understandably, a lot of charities and organizations struggle with fundraising – which is also one of the hardest parts as well. If you really want to increase your finds, the shoe collecting might just be the way to go.
