7 Tips for Fundraising & Outreach with Custom License Plates
Getting your organization enthused, and ensuring
follow-through, is easy with this straightforward license plate fundraising
plan. The underlying process remains the same for business promotion
efforts, church outreach drives, or for a school or nonprofit fundraiser.
Decide
on a price for your license plates. Auto tags can reasonably
sell from $10 to $15 to perhaps $20 each (depending on your community base), giving you a nice profit. The price you set
will depend on whether you run your license plate program as a pure
outreach or promotion effort (price set lower — at cost), or want
it to simultaneously function as a fundraising drive (price set higher).
We also recommend that you include an allowance of 50 cents to $1.00
in your price to cover tag bolts and mounting brackets (available at
your local auto supply store). Most car tags can be affixed quickly
with bolts or screws. However, some cars will require mounting brackets,
and such an allowance will help cover this small minority.
Find
an energetic contact person to coordinate the program. The
contact person should be someone who is enthusiastic and can motivate
others to take action. Inform your organization about how the auto tags
will help generate name recognition and community awareness, and how
the proceeds will be used. (If you are doing church outreach: Let
the congregation know the pastor is behind the project by having them
announce the outreach effort and contact person at your weekly church
service(s).)
Use images of your custom license plate on posters/
mailers,
bulletin inserts, and notices to help publicize your efforts. Another possibility is windshield fliers at group events
to generate interest. You can
download images of your auto tag from the web page where we post your
license plate design for you to review. Just right-click on your car
tag design image (if on Windows) or control-click (Mac users) to bring
up a pop-up menu that will allow you to download the image to your
hard drive.
When you receive orders, keep organized by using
a sign-up sheet.
Set
a deadline for orders to motivate people and keep things moving.
You can follow up with a “second chance” deadline
and order additional custom license plates later if need be. You may
also want to set a target number of tags to be sold as a motivator.
Progress reports about headway toward your goal can be used in follow-up
reminders.
Set
up a promotional web page offering your license plate for sale.
See www.leewardpro.com/sample/ for
an example that includes viewable online license plate artwork, plus
pertinent information such as contact person, deadline, tag price,
and so forth. Use Facebook or find someone in your organization who has web skills
and have them host a page. An immediately available image of your
car tag like this you can point people to can help make things more
real for them and generate enthusiasm.
Follow
up with periodic reminders to maximize participation. Have your contact person mention the auto tags whenever your organization
holds a meeting until the program wraps up. (Example: For church outreach
efforts, have the pastor continue to mention the project each Sunday
and/or other meeting nights.)
In addition to using posters, bulletin inserts, and fliers, email —
if appropriate, and not perceived as spam — is a great way to
remind people if you maintain a list of their online addresses.
After your car tags arrive:
Help
those who need assistance put the auto tag on their cars. While
affixing license plates isn’t very difficult, those who may have
physical problems or simply aren’t mechanically inclined will
appreciate the helping hand.
Be
sure to thank everyone after the project has concluded. Give
a wrap-up report and/or write a recap for Facebook, bulletins, and newsletters.
Make it personal. Give participation numbers, dollar figures, tell any
stories about what happened, and especially use the occasion to make
people feel more a part of your organization, as well as its efforts
to become more widely recognized. That’s important in and of itself
— but it will also help pave the way with goodwill for your next
promotional effort or fundraiser.
Fundraising
& Outreach
Why License Plates? | Fundraising & Outreach Tips |