Fundraiser

A fundraiser is an event or campaign whose primary purpose is to raise money for a cause. See also: fundraising. A fundraiser can also be an individual or company whose primary job it is to raise money for a specific charity or non-profit organization. Fundraisers often benefit charitable, non-profit, religious, or non-governmental organizations, though there are also fundraisers that benefit for-profit companies and individuals.

Individuals who raise funds for charities are often directly employed by the charitable organization and are called directors of development. More often, charities rely on individuals and companies who are expert in the complex field of fundraising.

Fundraisers are just like any other money-making operation in that they work by exploiting the difference between the cost of producing the event or campaign and the amount of revenue it takes in. Successful fundraisers generally have a wide gap between the production costs and revenue, and unsuccessful fundraisers have a small gap or no gap. Fundraisers may actually lose money when their costs exceed projected revenues.

Because the main purpose of a fundraiser is usually to raise as much money as possible, they commonly employ techniques to keep their costs as low as possible. Costs are kept low by using one or more of these techniques:

In addition to fundraising events, schools, sports leagues, and community groups often sell products to raise money. Hundreds of types of products are sold to raise money. Popular product fundraisers include:

Philanthropy - Alms - Tzedakah - Zakat - Altruism - Gift - Donation - Alternative giving
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Volunteer - Philanthropist - Charitable contribution