Hi and welcome to BETTER FUNDRAISER. The ezine from www.better-fundraising-ideas.com We hope you will find this first edition of our fundraising ezine interesting and useful.

We have been very busy working on the website which is growing all the time. We now have over 160 official web pages and many more containing ideas submitted by fundraisers from all around the world.

The site is becoming well known and attracting nearly 2000 visitors every day including some from very exotic locations (Borneo and Ecuador this week!). But don't worry we are determined to keep our site friendly, fun and simple to use. Our website is for small groups, schools, churches and amateur fundraisers from all sorts of different backgrounds.

We want people to enjoy getting involved with the good causes they support. That is our own background and we know how important it is to not let things get too heavy. Fundraising should always be good fun.

Please enjoy the rest of this ezine and don't forget to share it and the link to the website with your friends.

With very best wishes for your fundraising adventures!

Neill Wilkins

World Cup Specials

Wherever you are in the world major events (whatever your preferred sport, hobby or interest) are always an opportunity to have a bit of fun and fundraise. Many School Fairs and Church Fetes had a World Cup Theme. Other enterprising organisations put on World Cup picnics, dances and parties.

It just goes to show that fundraising around such sporting events shouldn't just involve organising a sweep stake on the winner. Use the event to give some normal fundraisers a novel twist. There are all sorts of opportunities to build a whole fun social occasion that will help you both raise your profile and some much needed cash.

So how are you going to piggyback on an event ? Whats coming up in your area? It might be time to start planning now.

Fundraising And The Art Of Engagement

This is not down to money or size of the event. My daughter and I had a great time at the Snail Racing Championships organised by the tiniest village imaginable, who put on one of the friendliest and best fetes I have been to. Instead I believe it really does come down to engagement. Fetes are all about being a part of your local community but they are also about engagement. You really do need your stallholders to want to be there. To see helping as the chance for a bit of fun. This will show in everything they do. The difference between 2 people running very similar stalls can be very obvious.

This isn't about being over the top, Fairground Barkers are not needed. But it is about being engaged with your stall and the people visiting it. If you are unforthcoming and disengaged you will not have fun and you will not take too much money. I watched a chap recently, who was really good manning a Splat The Rat stall. He was great, asking each child their name teasing each and every one and making their parents laugh too. The result was a long queue of would be rat-splatters and a bucket full of cash. It really was that simple.

Ever Tried A Wine Tasting Fundraiser?

Click here to find out all about putting on a Wine Tasting Fundraiser If you are an old hand at this we would love to know more. How does it work for you? Are there any little tips or wrinkles you can share with other people.

Bake Sale Favourites: Quick Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:

• Plain Flour - 55g / 2oz
• Caster Sugar - 225 / 8oz
• Cocoa Powder - 45g / 1.5oz
• Butter- 85g / 3oz
• Eggs - 2 large
• Baking Powder - half tsp
• Salt - Pinch

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350F Gas Mark 4

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and stir in the cocoa and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time beating them in thoroughly. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into the mixture in the pan mixing them in thoroughly.

Pour the mixture into a greased 20cm square cake tin. Bake for 30mins or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin and cut into small squares when cold.

We always try to use fair-trade products (particularly important for cocoa where much abuse of workers and bonded child labour exist). These days this really isn't too difficult they are stocked by most supermarkets and a few pence more is a price worth paying to ensure a fair deal for everyone.

Do you have a bake sale favourite? Send the recipe in to us and we will try to include it either on the web site or in a future edition of Better Fundraiser.

Send Us Your Ideas

So if you have a good fundraising idea either that you have seen somewhere or done yourself please send it in.

This could be a big idea for a whole day of fun based around a single theme - The hospice in our local town is about to run their annual Rainbow Festival which just gets bigger and more successful each year. Or it might be a simple idea for a neat fete game or stall - We had a great idea for a Christmas Cracker game sent in last year that we ended up using at our own event.

Don't forget to include all the details of your idea. Lots of the people who visit our site are looking for ideas because they are "newbies" who suddenly find themselves on the fundraising committee of their school, church or local charity. They want all the details experienced "old hands" like yourselves can give them.

Of particular use are the little tips and wrinkles that make an idea (even a well known one) work that little be better. So please don't be shy. Your idea could end up helping a fundraiser the other side of the world. You can read other peoples ideas and send us your own (and photos if you have them) at this link. Your Ideas