When the Fundraiser Becomes the Hassle

Fundraising is supposed to help an organization. It shouldn’t become another job.

Over the past month, I’ve watched a coworker go through a very traditional fundraiser involving cookies and coffee. At first, it seemed simple enough: collect orders, raise some money, and hand out the products when they arrive.

The products themselves were not the problem.

I bought some of the coffee, and it was very smooth and fresh. Someone told her to keep their cookies, so I tried those too. They were very good and very fresh.

The fundraiser did exactly what a product fundraiser is supposed to do in that respect. The problem was everything that came with it.

The Hassle Started Before the Orders Were Even Finished

Before the products ever arrived, she had to sell them. And that was harder than it might sound.

Some people simply didn’t want cookies because they were trying to eat healthier, cut back on sugar, or watch what they were eating. Others didn’t drink coffee. Some people may have wanted to support the fundraiser, but the products being offered just weren’t something they wanted or used.

That is one of the challenges with many traditional product fundraisers. The supporter has to want the specific product being sold at that particular time.

So before there were boxes to sort or pickups to arrange, there was already the work of finding people who actually wanted what was being offered.

The Fundraiser Didn’t End When the Orders Were Taken

She spent weeks talking to people, taking orders, keeping track of everything, and waiting for the products to arrive.

Then the shipment finally came in last week. That should have felt like the finish line. Instead, it started another round of work.

The orders had to be sorted. The products had to be stored. People had to be contacted. Pickup arrangements had to be made.

And even though these were products people had already ordered and paid for, some still haven’t come to get them.

So a week later, she is still calling and texting people: “Your order is here.” “When can you pick it up?” “Are you coming by today?”

Fresh Products Don’t Stay Fresh Forever

When the cookies arrived, they were fresh. I know because I tried them.

But fresh cookies sitting around waiting for someone to pick them up don’t stay fresh forever.

That is the frustrating part. She did her part. The fundraiser did its part. The products arrived in good condition. Yet the work still isn’t finished.

After weeks of selling, organizing, waiting, sorting, contacting people, and arranging pickups, she is still dealing with the fundraiser.

The Fundraiser Is Finished. The Hassle Isn’t.

That is what really stood out to me.

The fundraiser itself is over. The orders have been taken. The products have arrived. The money has been collected.

But the hassle is still going.

Some people still haven’t picked up their cookies. My coworker is still contacting people, arranging pickups, and dealing with products that are sitting around after the fundraiser has officially ended.

A fundraiser can be finished on paper while the person who ran it is still doing the work it created.

What Happens the Next Time You Ask Them to Support a Fundraiser?

There is another part of traditional fundraising that doesn’t get talked about enough: what the experience does to both the supporters and the person running the fundraiser.

The people who bought the cookies already supported the fundraiser. They paid for their orders. But now some of them also have to remember to pick everything up, find a convenient time, and make the trip.

Will they be as eager to participate the next time?

Fundraising often focuses almost entirely on the current campaign: How many orders can we get? How much money can we raise? How quickly can we reach the goal?

But organizations should also think about repeat supporters. A supporter who has a convenient experience is easier to ask again than someone who remembers having to arrange a pickup, make a special trip, or figure out what to do with a product they mainly bought because they wanted to help.

And it isn’t just the supporters.

My coworker is already dreading next year. She knows that if they run the same fundraiser again, she may be looking at another round of selling, organizing orders, waiting for the shipment, sorting everything, storing products, contacting people, arranging pickups, and chasing down the last few orders.

The fundraiser is finished, and she is already not looking forward to repeating the experience.

That matters. A fundraiser may raise money this year, but if the people running it are exhausted by the process and supporters remember it as inconvenient, that experience follows the organization into the next campaign.

Starting Over Every Year Is Part of the Problem

A lot of traditional fundraising is built around a cycle.

Run the fundraiser. Take the orders. Collect the money. Distribute the products. Finish the campaign.

Then, months later, start all over again.

Find the supporters again. Ask them again. Sell to them again. Collect everything again. Sort everything again. Distribute everything again.

That repeated reset is part of what creates burnout.

Even if a fundraiser works financially, the organization may still be asking the same volunteers, parents, teachers, members, or staff to repeat the same process year after year. And supporters are being asked to make another fundraising decision every time.

What If the Organization Didn’t Have to Handle the Products?

There is another way to approach fundraising.

Supporters can place their orders online and have those orders shipped directly to them. The organization does not have to receive a large shipment, sort individual orders, store boxes of products, schedule pickup times, deliver merchandise, repeatedly call or text people, or worry about products sitting around after the fundraiser is over.

The organization can focus on promoting the fundraiser instead of becoming a temporary warehouse and delivery service.

That is a big part of what I mean by Fundraising Without the Hassle.

A Better Experience Can Help Create Repeat Support

Fundraising will always require some effort. People still need to know about the opportunity, and supporters still decide whether they want to participate.

But there is a big difference between promoting a fundraiser and managing merchandise for weeks afterward.

Organizations using the fundraising program I help coordinate can join for free. There is no inventory for the organization to purchase, store, sort, or deliver. Customers place their orders online and receive their purchases directly.

The organization receives 20% of referred customers’ initial orders and 10% of future reorders for as long as those customers continue ordering.

That matters because fundraising does not have to depend only on asking the same people to buy something again during the next campaign. If a customer likes what they ordered and continues ordering, those reorders can continue supporting the organization between active promotional campaigns.

There is no guarantee that anyone will reorder. But when they do, the organization does not have to recreate the entire fundraiser just to receive that continued support.

The organization can still promote continuously, seasonally, annually, or whenever additional funding is needed. The difference is that every new campaign does not have to begin with the assumption that all previous support disappeared when the last campaign ended.

Fundraising Without the Hassle

Watching this fundraiser play out reinforced something for me.

Traditional product fundraisers can have perfectly good products. That doesn’t mean the process is convenient.

The hassle can start before the first order is even placed and continue after the fundraiser itself is finished: finding people who want the products, organizing orders, storing boxes, arranging pickups, sending reminders, making deliveries, and spending more time getting everything wrapped up.

And the real cost is not just the extra work today. It is what that experience does to tomorrow.

Will supporters be eager to participate again? Will the person who organized it want to run it again next year? Or will everyone remember the inconvenience that came with helping?

My coworker’s fundraiser is finished. The hassle isn’t. And she is already dreading the idea of doing it again next year.

That is why I think organizations should look at more than how much a fundraiser can raise during one campaign. They should also ask how much work it creates, what kind of experience it gives supporters, and whether the fundraising model makes it easier—or harder—to build support over time.

That is the idea behind Fundraising Without the Hassle: reduce the unnecessary work, make it easier for people to support the organization, and give continuing customer reorders the opportunity to keep providing support between active campaigns.

Want to think through the approach before getting started? Download the free Fundraising Without the Hassle PDF guide for practical ideas you can take with you. When you are ready, explore JoesFundraising.com to watch the explainer video or join for free.

Less Hassle. More Funds.