Fundraising Methods

Fundraising Methods for the Shaster Foundation

Ideally, the Indlovu Project will be self-sustaining, but there are various ways in which the Shaster Foundation can improve their fundraising, specifically through their website. Our team looked at a few ways in which the Shaster Foundation could add methods of generating funds most specifically ways in which to market items such as the “Feed a Family” kit created by the 2009 Gardens Team.

Current Fundraising

Currently the Shaster Foundation website is linked to a donation page at the Greater Good South Africa website. Dianne Womersley, CEO of the Shaster Foundation, said she has only received one donation from this site so far and was expecting to receive many more donations this way. Donations used to be encouraged from the Shaster Foundation webpage at one time in the form of sponsoring a child. People are more apt to donate when they know where their money is going, but logistically, it is very hard for Di and her staff to keep track of whose money is to be used for what specific purpose. If there were a person who had the time and was able to organise this well enough, it may be a possible option sometime in the future, but at this point this does not seem feasible.

Recommendations

One option for the Shaster Foundation to consider is the idea of alternative gifting for marketing items such as the “Feed a Family” kit. The idea of “alternative gifting” is a way for shoppers to give non-traditional gifts that have a meaningful impact in helping the lives of people across the world. Shoppers can select, most often through online organisations such as Alternative Gifts International, from numerous types of gifts and how they would like their donations to be used. This type of gifting could be very useful to the Shaster Foundation because it allows people to donate to a specific part of the Indlovu Project.

If the Shaster Foundation would rather not work with another outside fundraising organisation, another option would be to add similar specifics to their own website and to their Greater Good page. Providing specifics on what areas donations will go towards might help encourage people to donate if they can see that even a small amount of money can make a big difference. The set-up could be written something like this”

“The Shaster appreciates all donations for the Indlovu Project. Your money will be used in the area needed most, but here are some places your money could go.

A $40 donation could provide a community member with a “Feed a Family for Life” gardening kit

A $100 donation could provide the soup kitchen the means to operate for a week

A $X donation could help….”

These numbers are arbitrary but the idea is that people can see where there money might be going.