I hope the daffodils and cherry blossoms are out wherever you may be fundraising! Let’s take a look at how to take advantage of some of the vernal opportunities to spring forward on your fundraising (I’m going to keep making puns until the pun patrol comes for me).
Everyone loves a festival of trees during the holiday season; the decorating, the trips, it’s a hot auction seller. Can we flip that around and make it a spring thing? Let’s take a look at how you can snag some standout auction items:
Pair some wonderful flowering sapling trees with amazing trips. And you don’t have to just stick to trees, think about how great a flat of tomato seedlings, some basil and thyme plants would go with a trip to Italy. What about a flower arranging class with a huge bouquet of all your favorite flowers, added in with a trip to the tulip fields in the Netherlands? Would your audience get excited about a farm-to-table experience with a Michelin Star Chef? How about a Mother’s Day High Tea?
You may be thinking “but the festival of trees is exciting because it’s the holidays! Are people really excited about plants?” Raise your hand if you ever tried to navigate a nursery or garden center this time of year. Bonkers busy, isn’t it? People do love planting in the spring. Granted, we want to keep our bidding audience in mind and not go totally plant or season-wild but spring gives you ample opportunity to try new things. When we see the holiday season Festival of Trees, they’re not all the same tree with the same packages, so variety is your friend here as well.
If your gala isn’t a spring event, you can still let your great ideas bloom by reaching out to donors in the spirit of warming things up! Let’s talk about succulents! Potting little succulents or hearty plants like snake plants, or even some violets and giving those out to donors as a quick little thank you with instructions on how to donate isn’t a terrible idea! Double points for schools if you have helpers who would jump at the opportunity to get a little dirty and help with a little gardening.
Don’t forget gorgeous annual plants that your donors can plant in their front yard and think of you once the snow melts; daffodil, tulip, ranunculus, crocus bulbs, and and other annuals can be a gentle and lovely reminder to your community that hey, is Totally Rad Organization’s gala coming up? Nothing like asking Mother Nature to do a little marketing for you.
You have a whole garden of possibilities in the spring; sponsoring a bee garden, community vegetable gardens for food banks, and more! This is an exciting time of year so when you start planning your spring event, just remember that Santa doesn’t have a monopoly on the tree market!
Need help with a gala or fundraising event? Reach out!
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