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What is fundraising and how does it work?

What is Fundraising? 

Fundraising is the process of collecting money as donations, for a cause from, individuals and businesses. A person who raises the money from them is known as a fundraiser. 
It was usually used to gather money for non-profit organizations, but, over the years fundraising has evolved a lot and it is now used to fund various important causes. 
These causes may include anything, from helping a group of people injured in a war, to supporting religious causes. Traditional fundraising happens offline whereas the modern day crowdfunding happens online. 
The main political campaigns have benefited from fundraising. US President Barack Obama also organized a fundraising campaign before he got elected in 2008. Aam aadmi Party is a perfect example of fundraising for political campaigns in India.

Types of Fundraising:

Fundraising is indeed a challenging job. If you're trying this for the first time, it can become quite tedious. We've listed out some popular fundraising methods below which you can look upon before starting out.
There are many types in which fundraising happens.
  1. Capital campaigns
  2. Corporate support
  3. Earned Income
  4. Grants
  5. Membership campaigns
  6. Special events
 1) Capital campaigns:
These are limited campaigns which are bound by time for a particular project. As these are time-specific, they require a good amount of preparation and clever execution, that's the reason why many non-profits do this.
2) Corporate support:
As the name suggests, this is philanthropic giving by a corporate company to an organization. The organizations involve NGOs and other non-profits. Non-profits approach corporate companies and explain them their mission. Few corporations contribute to their causes either from a set budget or their foundation. Few companies may be interested in sponsoring an NGO's capital campaigns as it increases the brand outreach. It is called as Cause branding.
3) Online Fundraising:
This method is one of the easiest ways to raise funds for a cause. As it is online, it can reach a larger audience which might be physically impossible. Most non-profits in India aren't leveraging the power of online fundraising. You have got fundraising platforms like Milaap, which use crowdfunding to gather funds for your project.
4) Earned Income:
Earned income is the amount of money earned by producing goods or services provided by a non-profit. For example, an NGO might make handmade goods and accessories like purses and sell it. If you've ever bought any of those handmade accessories, you have contributed to that NGOs earned income. This usually requires a marketing plan and "Being human" brand is the perfect example of it as any accessory you buy under the Being Human brand contributes to the Being Human Foundation.
5) Grants:
Grants are amounts of cash given to organizations or individuals for precise purposes. An individual who is opting for a grant must keep track of all the data which may be required in the future. There are certain grants by the government as well. 
6) Membership Campaigns:
This is one effective way of gathering people to know more about your organization and the work that you do. Bringing in members enhances the chances to rake in more funding for your campaigns as most of the members get converted to donors in a short period. 
7) Special Events:
Raking in funds to support a cause from special events can prove to be the most efficient way as you not only get funds but, increase awareness about your brand and the importance of the cause. Many artists, like Justin Bieber, Coldplay.etc support few charities, and they organize charity concerts to contribute a certain share of their earning for charitable purposes.
There are much more ways you can bring in funds for your project; Crowdfunding is one such way. Many a time, people confuse between crowdfunding and fundraising, this is exactly why you should have a look at this, where we've differentiated between crowdfunding and fundraising.