Excel fundraising spreadsheet template
Excel fundraising spreadsheet template
This article provides details of Excel fundraising spreadsheet template that you can download now.
If you are looking at maximizing your fundraising event for supporting smaller communities and charities then you need to have an organised way to monitor your achievement against the set targets as you progress. Small-scale fundraising events can be time consuming and expensive, thus it is very important to plan and monitor it carefully.
Every fundraiser event involves a lot of monetary transactions therefore it is important to maintain a record of each transaction, carefully. Charities received needs to be accounted for an audit, later and this template makes a fundraiser event a transparent process. It is best suited for small-scale fundraising events including charity events, parties or school fund raising events however you can also use it for medium or large events. Microsoft Excel software under a Windows environment is required to use this template
These Excel fundraising spreadsheet template work on all versions of Excel since 2007.
Examples of a ready-to-use spreadsheet: Download this table in Excel (.xls) format, and complete it with your specific information.
To be able to use these models correctly, you must first activate the macros at startup.
The file to download presents tow Excel fundraising spreadsheet template
What is fundraising?
Who is doing fund raising?
- Non-governmental organizations (NGO)
- More general, non profit organizations are doing FR because this is they main way of supporting their activities
- BEST is doing fund raising
- Companies are NOT doing FR
Why do we do FR?
- We don’t do FR for fun
Keep in mind that FR has always a purpose and, although the purpose can be quite different form one NGO to another, it always exists and it drives the whole planning of the FR activity.
- FR is the main activity that brings us resources to support our activities
- FR is for supporting day-to-day life of the organization and events
- FR ≠ begging
What is FR?
Fund raising is the activity that is performed by non-profit organizations in order to support their needs. Fund raising can provide an NGO the means for their existence:
- money
- products and services
- facilities for activities and events
- knowledge (trainings), etc
Every member of an NGO can do fund raising. FR does not imply inborn exceptional qualities.
But, very importantly, a person who is ready for FR has to have at least some knowledge, needs an attitude and an understanding of the environment he is working in in order to compensate the possible lack of experience.
Identity of the Fund Raiser
What is a fundraiser?
A fundraiser is not only a person that takes an offer and sells its best points according to the client, but he/she has to
- know the whole process of FR
A good fundraiser also brings an attitude. Based on his knowledge and force, he/she can bring inside his/her organization not only the money, but the whole idea of success based on the outcomes of FR. So...
- a fundraiser not only brings money, but brings an attitude
Behaviour of a fundraiser
The possible lack of experience can be compensated in a great percentage by a set of driving principles that define the behavior of the FRer:
- dignity
- self esteem
- self confidence
- believes in what he/she is doing
Remember that FR is not begging, but selling. The fundraiser and the company/university/foundation person are on the same level of respect. Business partners are always equal, no matter if one is company representative and the other one is a first year student.
Selling is not shameful, therefore FR is not shameful.
If one does not have dignity and self respect, no other person can offer him his or her respect. Any normal business relation is based on respect. Therefore, without self esteem, the success of the FR activity is compromised and it also destroys that persons self confidence.
To do FR without believing that you can be successful is like moving towards a certain failure. If you are not convinced, it is not possible to convince your party that your offer is strong and that he needs it.
The respect of your party is not something you have by default, it is something that comes with your interaction, it is something you need to earn. Having self esteem and self confidence is the first step towards gaining the other one’s respect. Respect is the first step of a successful deal.
Selling an image
What we are selling to companies (and other sources of FR; from now on, we shall not enumerate anymore all the sources of FR, when we say companies we refer to all the sources of FR) is an image that we create for the product/service we are trying to sell.
There are several steps in selling an image:
- Creating an image for yourself
What you are selling is usually a service. First, you need to create a positive image of the service for yourself.
- Believe in the image
The image you create must be your positive vision of the service you are selling and you are the first one who has to strongly believe in it.
- No bullshit!
The image has to stay realistic. Do not try to over evaluate the service you are offering. Do no lie. Try to emphasize the qualities, do not invent new ones.
- Sell this image, it is easier than selling the actual product/service
The fundraiser believes in…
- There is no success without dedication and hard work
The attitude is not enough. There must be a certain amount of time for learning and preparations in order for your FR to be successful
- Every NO takes you close to a YES
In job fair JobShop 2003, Bucharest, there were 859 companies contacted, out of which only 38 said yes. It was considered a big success.
- I know what I want and how to get it, I am flexible enough to change my strategy when needed
The way of fundraising is different when approaching a company guy or a professor, a man or a lady, a young open-minded person and a 70 years old director.
A good fund raiser is able to change his strategy on the fly and is also able to learn and continue after taking a NO.
FRers don’t take NO for an answer (before all the approaching ways are closed).
- There are no failures, there are just different types of outcomes
Making no mistakes leads to no improvement. So, since there is always room for improvement, there is room for mistakes. A perfect presentation can be rejected as well as a below average presentation can be successful. If the needs of the two parties coincide and the understanding is mutual, the outcomes are positive; otherwise, they are negative.
Learning from our mistakes is the key to become better FRers.
- I somebody else can do it, I can do it, too!
You will be a fundraiser, because all this can be learned if YOU want!! It's up to you...
BEST know it and present it
BEST is…
Taken from the “Offers” to Partners, made by Financial Team, Feb 2005:
BEST (Board of European Students of Technology) is a non-profit and non-political European organisation of students of technology. Since 1989 we provide communication, cooperation and exchange of students, in the most important Technical Faculties and Universities all over Europe
Through 67 offices called Local BEST groups (LBGs) in 26 different countries we are growing as a well-organised, powerful, young and innovative student network.
One of the main aims of BEST is to develop activities in order to help European students of technology to become more internationally minded, by reaching a better understanding of European cultures and developing capacities to work on an international basis. This is achieved through a service called BEST Complementary Education, courses lasting a week to 14 days, which take place across Europe during the whole year. Participants get closer to the latest achievements in technology and management.
At all times it is our priority to offer quality and do as much as we can for students at home and all over Europe; to bring closer together the triangle «students–industry–university». With BEST Career Support we aim to provide European Students of technology with international career and employment opportunities.
We also want to give valuable input in order to improve continuously the educational system in Europe. The BEST Educational Programme offers a wide range of educational events to BEST students, going from the participation in the European Thematic Networks on Engineering Education like TREE, EUCEN, EAN, ReVe, to the organisation of International BEST Symposia.
Active members of BEST are also attending and organising many other BEST meetings (workshops, trainings, symposiums, general meetings, …) where they gain a lot of knowledge and experience (project management, team work, organising skills, communication).
How to describe BEST
Some keywords…
Focus your presentation around some keywords. What keywords you use depends on the people you are presenting to. To present BEST and a cooperation to a company, suitable keywords could be:
- BEST Network
- 67 universities covering about 500.000 students, and we have only one reference point, coordinating the whole work.
- Technical students, mainly engineering students
- What services to the students of our Universities
- We offer Companies the opportunities to create bonds with technology students
- Why you want a cooperation and why you think is useful for them
- As a Students organisation, we don’t earn any money (no profit)
- Summer Courses can be mentioned but … Focus more on local groups organising events as Learning Courses, Company Presentations/Seminars/Job Fairs…
- Don’t forget to mention the Partners of BEST, it will help in giving a more professional and credible image
You may also use a laptop with BEST Powerpoint Presentation. But always bring with you the Annual Report of BEST, that can be used to help you in making the presentation.
Why are BEST members special?
We often say that through the experience in BEST we gain a lot of knowledge and experience, useful for our future career and future life in general. But what exactly makes a BEST member special?
- Strong analytical skills: due to their quantitative studies, mainly Engineering.
- Transversal competences: from HR to oral presentation, analysis/project management, leadership, teamwork, budgeting, negotiation…
- Mobility: BEST members are used to work “on the road” and travel around Europe on short time notice
- International experience: In every BEST event we have, on average, 14 different countries. At the end of his involvement, a BEST member has visited at least 5 different countries, and participated to 10 different events. We are not just internationally minded, we are internationally rooted
- Long term vision of their projects: starting from the current situation, evaluating all the variables and other concurrent activities until reaching a bigger view. And...in our BEST life we always work on real projects that have outcomes in the real world
- Knowledge sharing: In BEST we know how to share our knowledge, even when we communicate between very different cultures. Example: a successful strategy implemented in Timisoara, is immediately shared and implemented in Vienna, Copenhagen, Sofia…
- Passion: hard work in BEST while keeping studying at University
Thanks to the extra skills acquired during their BEST experience, our Alumni are now in some of the biggest and most prestigious corporations: P&G, Shell, Bain&Company, McKinsey&Company, Credit Suisse, Accenture, Airbus, Citibank, IBM, Honeywell, Schlumberger, Whirlpool…