Local fundraising example:
Guitar and soup festival

Organisation	Associação Beneficente e Cultural São Jerônimo
Type	NGO
Suitability	Slightly experienced
Country	Brazil
Funding needed for	Improvement of the courses offered by the institution
Period of action	July 20, 2013
In-kind donations raised	Yes
Types of donations	In kind donations (food and drinks) by local businesses; contributions by visitors of the event
Types of donors	Local community; small businesses

Summary

The Associação Beneficente e Cultural São Jerônimo wanted to promote its activities in the community and raise funds to improve the courses they are giving.
It took 15 volunteers two months to organise a Guitar and Soup Festival to serve both purposes. It was quite successful. Local businesses contributed food and drinks for free and were duly thanked for that during the evening.
The participants had a good time and gave very positive feedback afterwards. The Guitar and Soup Festival now forms part of the annual activities of the Associação.

Tips and lessons learned

Having the support of the staff and the community where the organisation is based is the first step towards the success of a fundraising event.

Review by Wilde Ganzen Foundation

Food and music: a fundraising activity that always works! The strong point of this event is that they have ensured a large amount of donations in kind in order to keep the cost for the event as low as possible: the venue, as well as the food have been sponsored by local businesses. Other positive points of this event are recognising the sponsors through presenting their logos during the event and collecting contact information of (potential) donors for future activities.

Details

Objectives

To raise funds in order to improve the courses offered by the institution.
To make the organisation more known in the city where it is based.

Targeted donors

Local community.
The city in general.

Results

Description of preparatory work

Asking for a venue for the event to be held.
Negotiating with a local band to perform at the event.
Asking for donations (food and drinks) from local businesses.
Recruiting volunteers.
Sending out invitations.

Description of implementation

Volunteers were given tasks, such as cook, wash dishes or decoration.
Visibility was given to the supporters, by branding their logos and thanking them.
Somebody was responsible for collecting contacts to follow-up.

Follow up: Donor appreciation and acknowledgement

Local businessmen who contribute food and drinks for free are thanked during the event. Contact information of (potential) donors was collected for future follow up.

Plans to repeat the action

The Guitar and Soup Festival is repeated every year.