Who gets the money, honey?

I love a good quote.

I was given the Bartletts Book of Quotations by a pal in college and I love to poke thru it for inspiration.

These are my fave for this post – guess who said these:

“Good intentions work better with good planning” and

“Mo’ money, Mo’ problems”.

There are oodles of fundraisers out there that want to raise money for fantastic causes like a family in need, an organization, club or program.

Many large-scale special events raise millions to support programs, services and educational materials for specific diseases.

So, you wanna do a walkathon to raise awareness and money?

My previous post provided information about obtaining the proper documents to become an official charity so you can receive tax-deductible donations.

There’s still some things that need to be done before arranging for the sexy stuff – like tents. toilets and tables.

You need to figure out how, and why, you will spend the donations.  The money.

Are there current programs you want to support?

Is it a one-time gift or annual contribution?

Are you starting your own program or service?

Will you provide support for a tangible resource?

Is there an end-date to the financial support?

Will the program or service always depend on you financially?

What happens when you stop financially supporting a service or program?

Lot’s of questions to help you figure out what you will do with the money, honey.

You can read about the Komen debacle when they stopped supporting Planned Parenthood.

As you will see, things can get nasty in a relationship when the financial support ends.

I’ve had discussions with sponsors that clearly state that they plan to support the event one year only, so that the walk

does not depend on the corporate sponsorship to raise money year to year.  Looking back, it makes sense to be up-front with the financial intentions so the expectations have been declared.

Raising money for a cause is a good deed, indeed.

You should be prepared to answer the questions about where, specifically, the money goes before asking for donations.

Rest in Peace, Biggie.