Effective Student Organization/Fundraising

This section includes solutions to problems of fundraising and fundraising ideas. This section includes need for fundraising, type of fundraising, collaborating with another group, and effective time and place for fundraising events.

Fundraising

Fundraising is an essential aspect to most clubs at any university. Fundraising equals money, which makes clubs expand and become more appealing to potential members, as well as encourage current members to stay. With more money the clubs can provide more opportunities for their members. For example, bringing professionals in to talk or putting on events. Fundraising also allows current members to become closer with each other, as they work together raising the money. When fundraising as a group or a team it is often easier for new members to transition into the club.

Many groups rely on fundraising to help support their club as well as plan and put on special events relating to their club. Fundraising can be conducted in many ways ranging from car washes to sponsorships from other organizations. The dependency of fundraising differs from club to club but all clubs need funding to keep their clubs going thus proves the importance of fundraising. Finding a secure form of fundraising for the club is necessary. Some clubs only fundraise once a year and others may fundraise throughout the year. Any amount of fundraising can help a club. Some go to parents and alumni while some do fun activities for funds.

Need for fundraising

A) The Scottish Country Dance Club are given an amount of 50$ by the AS. The program has bake sales and their own fundraisers to support the performances as well as members who can not afford the costs. On top of limited funding, the club has a lack of diversity. The women out number the men, making the traditional dance less realistic. With additional funding to help the program, the club could use the money to not only recruit more men, but use it to promote the club and getting attention from the entire University. Also, more men that join could spread the word to other men making the program more effective as well as more realistic.

The Western Washington University Associated Students clubs and organizations are allotted a budget at the beginning of the year for their needs. However, many clubs needs and events exceed what is provided. In order to take their programming to the next level many organizations have developed systems for obtaining the funds necessary for them to provide a service above and beyond what is provided. Although, some clubs do not use their budget at all. They raise their own money through fund raising so the club is not dependent oh Western. The clubs on campus do have their own personal budget, and yes some student groups do spend too much of their budget on pointless things, but most clubs use it for promoting their clubs with t-shirts and such.

A. The Slum Doctor Program needs to fundraise in order to keep their support up in Africa. They currently support around 54 girls in Africa which allows them to go to high school and get an education. Education is expensive for people in Africa because people are so poor. Its not that expensive for people here in America to support them. Also, the Slum Doctor Program helps with a hospital with people that have aids and spread awareness about it. Fundraising is greatly need to support the girls and also help with funding for the hospital. Bake sales are what work best, but they are looking for other events to join or even organize to get more funding.

How many fundraisers a year

Fundraising is big part of what makes the clubs and organizations here at Western Washington University, let alone anywhere else, stay afloat. It is really important to be able to raise money as often as possible or as needed. Fundraisers also help get the club or organizations name out to the community as well. They give the community a chance to talk to club members and find out what the club is all about. They can be a great way to bring people together.

Why fundraise

Fundraising for clubs is one of the most important pieces of a club, or at least one that is trying for bigger and better things to accomplish. It is almost always important for clubs to fundraise. This is because the amount of money each club is given at the beginning of the year isn't enough. There are many reasons why clubs need money such as activities, meetings, or advertisement. There are many ways clubs can fundraise and usually it shadows their club and what they represent. It gives out another source of advertisement that way. Fundraising can also leave a fun environment outside of the usual meetings.

The Hui O’ Hawaii club had a discussion and made a movement to purchase a shave-ice machine. During this conversation the group prominently implicated the desire to use this device as a fundraising mechanism. Their objective was to sell snow cones, etc. during spring, summer and possibly fall. This is an eminent method for having extra money in case unexpected merchandise is bought for the well-being of the club. Fundraising, such as selling snow cones or other goods, often provides awareness to other students about the club's overall goal and shows that the club desires to be active with the student body.

Along with providing awareness, active fundraising can make it possible for clubs to better achieve their goals and open doors to numerous possibilities. One of the major reasons why Students for Renewable Energy was able to get the school using 100 percent renewable energy was due to their relationship with the administration. Vice president of SRE stated that her advice to new clubs would be to, "Have good relationships with the administration and maintain them to keep projects going. The green energy fee given by the administration set a standard that SRE can only get things done with funding. It’s important to know who to talk to (board of trustees and the sustainability office) and who not to talk to."

In addition to the obvious purposes of fundraising, Rugby Club integrates other uses into their fundraising practices. Besides being a good way to gain exposure like the Hui O’ Hawaii Club does with their snow cones, fundraising can also be an opportunity to share ideas and welcome new members. An example of this is Rugby Club’s annual Alumni Banquet. At this event, former members of Rugby Club contribute to keep the club going, are treated to a nice dinner, and of course play a game of rugby. This allows newcomers to be initiated into the group and learn about the game from some older players. The alumni can also contribute ideas for fundraising and events having gone through the same things when they were members of the club. One other reason that the Rugby team has had to fundraise is because of the high cost of attending far away games. The university is only willing to provide a fixed amount each year to cover travel costs; since rugby often played several games in Canada, Oregon and California, and since about 20 people attend each game, the costs of traveling each year usually exceed the allotted amount of money by WWU.

In many cases the university does not have enough money to give as much financial support to as many clubs as they desire. The cycling club has great difficulty gaining funds while clubs such as the basketball club get a lot more support from the university. The cycling club has had to become very creative in the ways they get funds and promote themselves. Hosting events and being computer savvy helps the club get money for advertisement and other expensive needs.

Fundraising for events

Hosting events can be a great way for clubs and organizations to promote awareness for their cause. They are also a good tool for club members to get to know one another and bond as a group. In most cases, funding is required for various aspects of the event. The funding can come from a number of sources including sponsors, benefactors, savings or the university that they are affiliated with. In some cases however, events are actually held to gain funds from the event participants. In either case, event functions are generally quite important for the club that hosts them.

In the case of the Western Cycling club, the funds that the club gathers for the events that it hosts actually exceed the funds required for the event. Other schools in the division are required to pay a flat fee to compete in the event. This is in contrast to most events hosted by other clubs, such as LEAD which have to get funding for their events from benefactors and sponsors. The funding acquired in this way rarely exceed the requirements. The excess funds are used by the club to fund other club expenses.

Is there a need for fundraising

Most clubs here on campus use resources to fuel the club. Whether it be food for the members, discount rentals for excursions, tools to complete projects, or other general supplies, the clubs use money. For example The Hui O' Hawaii club has a moderately small intake as far as recruitment goes, its needs are lower than other clubs so It is understandable in a small club with no high profile donations, therefore; most clubs need fundraisers to help them build credibility and funds to eventually improve and evolve their membership. Fundraisers are a fun way to get people interested and active in their respective clubs, and they raise money for activities that will build further interest and move towards the clubs goals. No one wants to be a part of a club that does nothing so money will help the activities and meetings each club puts on. Donations, sales of goods, and events are all different methods WWU clubs have used to raise money. The Sub team for example has had large donations to the club from private donors. These funds are used for tools, travel, material, and even advertising. Each club has some form of fund raising to push their budget past what each club is allotted.

The World Injustice Awareness club needs fundraising in order to host more events in the future. As of right now the club tends to depend on the $50 allowance that they receive every month. Fundraising is important as it gives money to the club, which then gives the club members the opportunity to decide what they want to do with it. Fundraising is a good resource to make the club more well known to students. The only way the WIAC gets their name out there is by the club fair. One of the presidents of the club mentioned to me during the interview that I had with her that in order to advance their fundraising techniques, they will promote their club in the AS review and the Western Front. Overall, the WIAC can be maintained with a lower budget than other clubs because many of their events are held for free. The people that volunteer to participate in these events for WIAC are so thrilled that people are interested in social issues that money doesn't matter to them.

When clubs wish to hold events or activities, it is often the case that the funding comes out of the pockets of the members. For instance, the croquet club president, Devan Spencer (2009), pays for most of the cost from his own wallet. He provides all the equipment and also pays for most the prizes. Its raises the question of why? Why put your own money (especially as a college student) towards a club you participate in. Without tournaments, activities, and prizes, then what makes the club any fun? Fundraising can be a way to not only raise money but promote the group. Again referring to croquet club, a response that was given by the president of the club on the subject matter of what he would change was, "I wish the school offered some sort of website or schedule for clubs. Not everyone has a Facebook, and if we had a website, we could better keep track of events and the leaderboard. Also we could create fun things like player bios. All of these things will attract members and make them feel more apart of the club." Clubs are for enjoyment and friendly competition, but funding and other ways of promoting clubs would be beneficial for all clubs.

Although fundraising and money are often needed for AS clubs, a major strength of the Ritmo Salsa club is that most all of their resources used are free. This means that they don’t need to spend any excess money, and don’t need to worry about fundraising. All of the interviews in my group confirm that the $50 given to the AS clubs was enough to support the salsa club. In fact, they haven’t even used any of the AS money yet. In an interview with one of the presidents of salsa club, she stated “If we need money we have our AS budget, but we're saving that for a time when we may need it.” This is very different than most other AS clubs. For example in an interview with LEAD, they said “We get $50 a year allowance as an AS club, which does not get us very far. That $50 usually just gets used for office supplies.” By keeping the club simple, and taking advantage of free resources, some clubs can run completely free.

While most AS clubs rely on fundraising to fuel their group, Sexploration relies solely on the funds from the Sexual Awareness Center. Sexploration uses the funds from the Sexual Awareness Center for publicity. Sexploration chooses to advertise their club and meetings on Facebook, Western Washington University's website and by putting up posters around campus. They are allocated $72 per quarter, however this is more than needed due to the small cost of publicity. On the other hand, fundraising could be very beneficial to this club. The attendance of each meeting fluctuates due to the publicity of each meeting. If they used their funds from the Sexual Awareness Center and organized fundraising events, the money could go to more publicity to attract more members.

KUGS is a non-profit organization. As such, it has certain restrictions, as far as what they can say on the air, etc. For example, they cannot advertise for a business on the air, but they can thank business for a donation. Because KUGS is non-profit they rely on money from the University as well as money from donations. Most of the donations they receive are from local businesses. It is important that they receive these donations to keep operating. Also, they would like to expand their frequency from 10 to 100, but they cannot obtain this goal without the help of donations and fundraising, especially with budget cuts. KUGS has been operating for about 35 years now, so they must be doing something right!

The South Asian Students Association club needs fundraising to host more events. Fundraising is a great way to get people in the club to meet together and plan a way they can raise money. Fundraising is important as it gives money to the club, which can then decide what they want to do with it. There are many options; including hosting more events, having bowling nights, and even group trips to various locations in Bellingham or Canada. Fundraising is also a great way to attract more members. This year, the club has been very good about spending money; the balance for the money was pretty high. However, they have been donating a lot of it to other clubs so they can host some of their own events, which has been putting a hole in the balance. The club has some good ideas for fundraising, such as having a Henna Booth, which would attract many people.

The Western Rugby team is not financially supported as a team. Similar to the South Asian Students Association, fundraising is a must. The SASA needs funds to host more events while the Rugby team needs funds for equipment and competition. Financially, the rugby team relies on the small club budget provided by the university, club fundraising, donations, member contributions. The team’s main fundraising event is their Alumni event were they host a game between the current members and the Alumni, a big dinner and a game of golf all during the same weekend. Other fundraising activities include working for the cascade bicycle club, working security at events such as concerts and the apple cup. Although more disposable money would be nice for equipment and travel, the Rugby team currently at a bare minimum, does not require a tremendous amount of money. Members usually provide their own apparel (except jerseys) and shoes; they also usually provide their own transportation to matches. Tournament fees are also paid for by members and any funds the team may have in their account.

Fundraising is important to any non profit organization dedicated to helping others. The slum doctors program is all about raising money to support people in Africa. Any money gotten is used to buy food, health care, and educational access for people who would not this opportunity otherwise. In the past girls in Nigeria were sent to school but lack of funds has been an issue in recent times. Bake sales are always a good call for raising money because they don't require much to host but in recent weeks the end fair festival in fair haven was used both as a way to generate donations and spread the word about becoming a member. Ideas of T-shirts have been discussed which would be a great idea since you would be making money and spreading the word at the same time.

Many clubs are not in need of fundraising or fundraising events because they operate successfully with things that are already provided by the school. The WWU body building club only needs access to the REC Center which comes as a part of their tuition. As large a club as they are their major resource is people and in that case they do not need money. Even for their Western's Strongest Man competition they simply used equipment that was already provided by the school and simply used their man power to bring it out to the track. This is very similar to Western's Dance Clubs such as Tango or Ritmo Salsa because all they need is a room allotted to them by the University.

The Korean Student association does not have great need to fundraise for two major reasons. First off there are very few members and each meeting consists of presentations given by members of the group. No extra material is needed to fundraise larger quantities of money. For the occasional BBQ the group of course has money from the University as an allowance but usually each member of the group contributes independently one way or another. Although this may not work for groups needing many outside resources and larger groups, this system proves to work well for the Korea Club.

Fundraising is something that the WWU Cycling team needs in order to send their riders to events. Although they have sponsors, a membership fee, and the North Shore Circuit Race, the team still cover the traveling expenses for their top 5-6 riders. Unfortunately for them, when the host the North Shore Circuit Race some teams that come to compete have to pay a fee just so the Cycling team will make a profit. Fundraising is something that the Cycling team has to do, unlike the Ritmo Salsa club. The Ritmo Salsa club don’t have a need to fundraise due to the fact that almost all of the resources that they use, they use for free.

Every club has the choice of how to run their club. As a result, it can be seen that fundraising is a need, but also some clubs can go without fundraising. Like with the Ritmo Salsa club, as said has their own materials, and doesn't feel the need to necessarily fundraise. The advantages of fundraising though include the interest of more members added to the club and also it can also be useful to have that extra money which can provide new materials/equipment, more effective ways to try new things for the club, etc. So yes, fundraising does have their advantages and does help with supporting the clubs and all, but here, in some examples, fundraising is not a necessary demand.

Types

The clubs at Western are offered a certain budget, so they have to fundraise to be able to get all the money that is needed to host events. Many clubs go about fundraising in multiple different ways that help lead them to the success of their club and events. Some different types of fundraising are verbally communicating money requests, posters designed to attract publicity to the club, having students sign a petition explaining why the club needs money, and hosting rallies or conventions to draw positive attention to the club. It is essential to have a variety of types of fundraising strategies for obtaining more funds for the club. Each type of fund raising increases the clubs chance of receiving additional funds to help support the clubs financial needs. One great way though to get your name out there and receive support is vendors row. Everyday thousands of students just from WWU pass through there and even more people from groups that are visiting to just people walking through. One of the leaders from the campus organization called S.E.E. has told me how whenever they do fundraising they always try to get a place on vendors row just because its so popular. For those of you who don't know where it is located it is the area between the street in front of the VU commons and door way to VU market. There are some well known vendors that reside there such as El Capitans hot dog stand which has been able to make good money by having a stand on vendors row. Its a good place to get publicity and funding at the same time and is worth taking a travel down because you never know what you'll find.

Another effective form of fund raising is through grant writing. The internet is a key tool for finding grants that apply to the club's focus. There are thousands of grants out there for very specified issues and purposes. There is a class offered at Western on grant writing. Applying for grants may be one of the most efficient ways to fund raise because grants range from small amounts of money to tons of money.

Method

Western Washington University's LEAD group (an environmental organization) seems to be very skilled at obtaining capital. This strength lies largely in their ability to network in the community to access finances. In an interview the group’s assistant director, she said that the group gets most of its money via charitable donations from the Bellingham community. In interviewing the assistant director, she said “... local businesses are more than willing to donate money to a club when the group is all about making the local area cleaner and environmentally friendly.” Donations come from local businesses like Fred Meyer, Haagen, Avenue Bread, and the Bagelry. It is the job of the co-directors of the group to contact local businesses for charitable donations. The strength of fundraising is similarly seen in Western’s Chabad Jewish club. The Chabad group also looks to the Bellingham community to obtain funding to conduct activities. In the case of Chabad, they look to Jewish individuals of the community for donations as well as local synagogues. LEAD however, makes a connection with local businesses to get funds. Regardless of the source, a group that can look outside its immediate means and into the community for financial help can prove to be very efficient and prosperous.

Western Washington University’s Photography club is a fairly new club. It is only a year old but developing quickly. Fundraising is currently the club's main focus. The president of the club, Carmen, is raising money for the use of the darkroom on WWU campus by participating in art walks. Each member of the club hopefully will have work that they’d wish to sell. The photos will sell however, Carmen says “…finding places to sell the groups photos is difficult”. The photography club isn’t the only club that fundraises by selling things. The WWU Biology club holds yearly bake sales that accumulate a good amount of money. They use this money for other things such as gas for field trips or Biology Club T-shirts.

Western's submarine club's members are incredibly lucky. The submarine club generally does not have to fundraise because they get funding from private donors. However, their members have specific skills in engineering submarines so they do not have to be incredibly selective in their choosing of members. Although their private donors account for most of the money they are allotted, they also publicize their projects. Their publications draw in prospective students to their programs which allows them to gain more funding for the club's purpose.

Success

Successful fundraising is key in order for clubs to make enough money to host activities and/or events. The A.S. only supplies $50 to clubs, so additional funds need to be raised. Current Western clubs have had success with various types of fundraisers, including alumni events, letter writing/calling for donations, and asking local businesses to be club sponsors. Bellingham businesses consistently offer donations and support to Western clubs. Clubs that have had success with local businesses report that organization is key to securing funds. Businesses will be more willing to donate if clubs appear professional and organized.

Western Washington University's Rugby Club has continual success each year with their end of the year Alumni Event. Each year the club holds a dinner for their Alumni members, with an actual game that follows; current players against past members. The captains said this event is always a huge success for their club because the Alumni members enjoy getting together and talking about the good old days, and with that, usually contribute a good amount of money to the club. The Rugby Club was unique in the fact that other Western AS clubs mentioned that successful fundraising was a need for their club rather than an asset. It would be beneficial for other AS clubs to incorporate some sort of Alumni event into their agenda because not only do past members of the club really enjoy the event, current members also take delight in getting to know its club's history and people. Since the event is held in honor for Alumni events, the past members are willing to contribute a fair amount of money to club, ultimately giving the current club more opportunities to grow.

Another club that has had successful fundraising attempts is WWU's Students for Disability Awareness (SDA)group. Through social networks, such as the Western Foundation, writing letters, calling for donations, and various resources on campus, the SDA has had shown strong accomplishments in fundraising. Just this past year, the SDA raised nearly $290 for a student to travel to Taipei, Taiwan to participate in the Deaflympics. The SDA and WWU's Rugby Club both are similar in that fundraising is not a necessity, but instead a useful element in the AS club network. Helping the student travel to Taipei was not necessarily a need for the club, but instead an enriching experience for those apart of the effort. As stated previously, SDA uses many resources to their benefit. For example, the Activities Council, Board of Directors Large Event Loan Fund (for large events like Disability Awareness Week), and the Diversity Fund are all financial resources that are available to the SDA. In addition to these organizations helping to raise money, the Diversity Resources for Students is able to provide printing and copying services to the club for little to no cost. The WWU Rugby Club and the SDA both are remembering to first look at the willing resources (alumni, on campus organizations) for fundraising and using those sources to advance their club and provide quality diverse programs to the WWU community.

WWU clubs can find fund raising success from the university community and from local Bellingham businesses. In interviewing Ryan, a former member of the Western Sound System Federation (Reggae and world music club), it was revealed that this organization had strengths in the realm of finances. The WSSF utilized funds available through the school, in addition to grants from outside, commercial sponsors. Ryan said “there’s a lot of money out there available for clubs at Western. As long as you have a truly good idea and you can prove to the school that they should have reason to invest, they will help your club out.” In an interview with a member of Western cycling club, Yale Johnson found that members of this club were in part supported from outside, commercial sponsors such as Noble Sports Chiropractic, Felt Bicycles and Haggen (supplying cyclists with food). By building rapport with local businesses, university clubs can build a relationship of success with companies that sponsor them. This reciprocal dynamic is beneficial to all involved.

After reviewing the successes of fund-raising by the clubs here at WWU, it seems apparent that despite the effort and contributions made in clubs, it is essential to have some type of outside financial support. In a community like Bellingham, it seems like local corporations, companies, and even individuals are quite generous, and that most would happily consider providing some kind of donation to a club that needed money for its growth and prosperity. Just as all the clubs above have done, the LEAD club has found ways to make up for insufficient funding by fund-raising in the community. For example, the club put together a work party on Earth Day to collect money. Their fundraising primarily is through advertisement and personal meetings with members of businesses here in Bellingham. If LEAD proceeds to create more fundraising opportunities, they will benefit tremendously in their ability to recruit new members.

Types

When fundraising is mentioned, the majority of people may think of bake sales, pledge walks, or knocking on doors and with the availability of using vender row in front of the Viking Union. A type of fundraising that is also beneficial for advertising, however, is finding a business or even a single person, to serve as a sponsor for the club. Women in the Woods for example, might be able to find a small company that sells outdoor equipment willing to sponsor their activities. This would allow the company to advertise its own goods while enticing students to participate in the club as well. It would be similar to local sport teams that are sponsored by businesses within the community. Not only does finding a sponsor save the hassle of setting up multiple fundraisers, but it can be beneficial for the sponsor AND the club while developing important relationships. Clubs would be able to inquire about sponsors by writing up letters explaining what their club is about, events that they would like to plan, and the request for a sponsorship or even a simple donation, depending on the financial situation at the time. The leaders of the club should then present this letter to a manager, supervisor, or owner in person while introducing themselves on behalf of the club. In some cases, it might also be appropriate to call a few days later to simply check in and remind them of their previous visit. If someone does agree to sponsor the club, it is then the clubs responsibility to keep the sponsor informed of events, specific needs, and to create some sort of advertisement that can be posted at events that represents their sponsor. At the end of the year, it is essential to further thank the sponsors with an appropriate card and gift and inquire about further sponsorship for the next year. Now a fundraising that could be more convenient to the students here at Western, club members can utilize the venders row that is in front of the Viking Union. Making Western Diverse took this to this full advantage with the selling of Jamba Juice smoothies to fundraise for an upcoming event in the fall. With the access of customers being the students who walk in and out of the Viking Union each day, the fundraising event was deemed as successful.

The WWU Cycling club has developed a synthesized approach to both fundraising and advertising for their clubs membership as well as prospective memberships. WWU Cycling hosts the North Shore Circuit Race where schools in the same division as Western participate, as well as non-school affiliated riders participate All riders pay an entrance fee, and become eligible for services,(Noble Sports Chiropractic) discounts,(Felt Bicycles) and other items (Haggen Foods)that the clubs sponsors donate. The monies generated by this event coupled with the club's club fee provide the majority of funds "needed" allowing the club to utilize their time training.

One good way to raise money for a club is having a bake sale. The Biology club has had great success in the past with bake sales. The club's main needs for funds are for t-shirts and field trips. By having a bake sale in which people contribute goods to sell, the club is able to do the things they want to do. For example, this year, the Biology club held a bake sale and raised enough money to buy t-shirts for the club and also go to the Seattle aquarium. There are many effective strategies for fundraising, but none are more delicious than baked goods!

Another great idea for fundraising has been a tradition in the sailing team for a number of years. This type of fundraising may not work for all clubs but is a pretty inventive way to make some money for the team. Each year the sailing team hosts an alumni regatta. This is a race that is put on by the members of the club for alumni. The team charges for tickets for the race. The race also is an opportunity for the team to sell t-shirts and other goods. Since not all clubs are sports teams this may not work. This is a great way for the team to show the alumni what the Western sailing team is all about. Though this year is not expected to be quite as profitable due to the economy it is still a fun way to raise some money. This type of interactive fundraising is moving along the right track instead of just the sale of products or asking for donations teams can simply provide entertainment ant their time.

A strategy that the WWU Cycling team has used and developed over the years is the combination of fundraising and hosting an event to fund team expenses. Each year the cycling club hosts a collegiate race for all of the schools in the conference, and to promote fundraising they have extended this race so it is open to the public as a USA Cycling condoned event. This race- and the great increase of money earned from entry fees associated with opening it to the public- has proven to be a successful and worthwhile use of time and has helped the team grow and compete. Other student organizations may not have structure in place like USA Cycling, but it is a fundraising opportunity that also allows you to interact both with students with similar interests and with the community, so it is well worth the effort put in place to organize it.

For clubs that don't have very many expenditures, there is a simpler method. When the tango club needs money for events they ask for small contributions from members who plan to attend. This works well if there is no membership fee for the club. As long as club leaders ask for small donations, members are usually willing to chip in More costly events may require other methods, such as the biology club's bake sale, but for a club with minimal expenditures, this is a good method. It requires little effort and can generate the required funds very quickly.

Collaborating with another club

Finding groups to collaborate that have a similar fan base can be a huge asset to both parties. One main issue that many groups seem to struggle with is no so much keeping members returning, it's catching their attention and getting them involved initially. This is one way for larger, well defined groups to help newly emerging groups gain more popularity. Multiple clubs working together can produce a very successful event that is much more beneficial to all of the clubs involved and it can aid the new group in learning ways to effectively fundraise and gain new tactics to drawing in crowds.

Benefits of collaborating

Collaborating with other clubs can be extremely useful and beneficial. During times when clubs are facing problems using other clubs for support can help revive and assist them in solving their problems. When the South Asian Student Association (SASA) faced difficulties in retaining membership collaborating with Latino Student Union (LSU) proved to be successful in increasing attendance. SASA and LSU put on a joint bonfire which attracted new members to both clubs. In the Ethnic Student Center (ESC) through steering meetings, collaboration and communication is shown between the clubs. The clubs all vote on where the ESC money should go to and also use each other to advertise and promote their events on campus. At each club meeting, the steering rep announces all the activities and events other ESC clubs are putting on. Another example of the benefits is shown through the strong collaboration effort between Woodring Clubs Diversity Inspired Volunteer Educators (DIVE) and Student Washington Education Association (SWEA). These two clubs often put on many joint events and many members are in both clubs. The benefits have lead to a strong cohesion and use of each other’s resources. When unable to fundraise enough money they have collaborated and reached the goal together. An example of this is when they created a joint Relay for Life team. Collaboration and communication between clubs is an effective tool and often yields a plethora of benefits.

There are many benefits that come along with collaborating with other clubs. The Students for Disability Awareness (SDA) have found that working with other clubs can really help to balance out the cost of the functions. SDA is very active and is constantly working towards new events to put on to spread the awareness of disabilities—around school and town. Funding is imperative when planning events/functions so by working with other organizations, SDA is able to do a lot more. They often work with AS Productions and AS Civil Controversy because those are larger clubs with a lot more funding from fundraising. Also, SDA works with smaller clubs that have similar goals to plan events and collaborate on how to spread awareness. During the Disability Awareness Week, SDA had to work with many other clubs to be able to put on the events they had planned. SDA worked with AS Civil Controversy to bring in a guest speaker to discuss what it's like to be a disabled transgender. By working together, these two clubs put on a great production and thus shows the benefits of clubs working together.

Another benefit that comes from clubs collaborating with one another is an increased potential for fundraising. The Students for Slum Doctors Program has been successful in fundraising by working with the Darfur Club. In the past these two clubs have joined together and experienced an increase in turnout and an increase in contributions at the events they hosted together. In clubs that have a fairly specialized agenda and a small amount of participation from the community there is great potential in allocating resources. By combining events and awareness activities with similar clubs more people are drawn to the events and there is a greater possibility for fundraising and spreading awareness. Other clubs, such as the World Injustice Awareness club have also had success with hosting joint movie nights to spread awareness and raise money. When trying to reach a large enough group to make a difference in fundraising and awareness joining efforts with similar clubs seems to be a technique that is very effective.

What groups usually collaborate together

It is necessary to realize that collaboration is not limited to clubs geared towards students only. Clubs can find allies in any similarly-themed organization, whether connected with the university or not. In addition to the on-campus Wellness and Prevention Center, the Western Men Against Violence club found they could be useful by helping the local Rape Prevention Center hot-line, often fundraising with them for the organization's benefit. They participate with other like-minded male and female community members and clubs in awareness activities like Walk a Mile in Her Shoes. They also are careful to not become too specialized. They don't hesitate to collaborate with females and participate in exclusive events like Take Back the Night. However, they are mindful of who they associate with. For example, VOX Planned Parenthood initially wanted to collaborate, but Western Men Against Violence refused because of the concern that they would become associated with politically-charged topics. Moreover, they try to maintain their focus by keeping the club simplistic and always available for non-judgmental conversation. They keep their options open and don't discriminate heavily on who to participate with, so long as it is ultimately beneficial to feminist ideals.

A. As far as groups collaborating, the Photography club has the option to join and assist all clubs. They could easily come together with other clubs and help each other promote their clubs by taking pictures that show what the clubs are about and make posters with them. If there was only one club the Photography club would work well with though, it would have to be the Graphic Design club. With the combined passion of film and graphics, they would be able to create some amazing imagery not only to promote both groups but to sell as fundraisers as well. Collaborating between clubs would be the one element that would not only bring the clubs together, but it would possibly bring unity to Western as a community.

Effective Place and Time for fundraising

Planning a fundraiser is a lot of work in itself yet there are many other details that need to be considered before planning the actual event. Two of these important details include when and where the fundraiser will take place. Club members need to take into consideration the time of year when setting a date. For example, planning a fundraiser the weekend before finals would most likely conflict with many students study schedules therefore creating a low number of participants. Holiday weekends would also be poor timing for fundraisers. The time of day should also be well thought out whether the activity would be more effective in the morning, afternoon, or at night. Keep in mind the weather would also change with the time of day if the activity is planned for outside. Finally, where the activity takes place is crucial. If students are targeted for a fundraiser, somewhere close to campus would most likely be more effective then far away. If the community is targeted, there are many options and with good advertising anywhere may do. Clubs should also remember to think about the where and when access for their volunteers as well as targeted fundraiser participants.

On Campus

Events and club meetings that are on campus are more accessible for people that do not have cars. On campus meetings are also effective for new comers to the area, if you are not used to the town it is easier to find an event or club that is held on campus. In fund-raising it is better to accept donations rather than to have prices. for instance if you are selling cupcakes, you would receive more money by asking for donations rather than charging a dollar or whatever amount for one. you also need to have information on when the right time to accept donations, you don't want to be out fund-raising with another club at the same time in the same area. Theses techniques can be helpful for attaining money for club necessities.

On campus fundraising also has a better chance of reaching people who may not have known about your club or the event. If you do your event in a place where there is a lot of foot traffic i.e. red square there is a greater chance of someone who had no previous experience with the club to donate or help out. Especially if you are a student organization and you share you bring awareness to the struggle of your club, many other students will be willing to help fellow classmates. If people don't know that you need money for your club then they wont be able to help you. If your club is struggling have a fundraiser and let people know and watch not only your money increase but people interested in your group and potential new members.

Fundraising is only successful if there is an adequate amount of participation. It is easy to find this participation on campus through the means of signs, posters, Facebook ads, email announcements, class announcements, etc. It is also a good way to get students involved in school activities and the value of being supportive to peers. By participating in fundraising a student learns how to give back to their community. The sense of giving that comes from donating can add character to a college student.

Off Campus

Off Campus fundraising can be very effective. LEAD has local businesses who donate (either food or money), who they have built a relationship with over the years. A key thing is to go to the same business so that they build a relationship with the club. Be sure to mention that they are supporting their local community. If you think of such organizations as Krispy Kreme, they help with fundraising. I have seen many student booths set up selling Krispy Kreme Donuts. They have official boxes that even say "fundraising" down the side. Most businesses think that helping the community is good PR, so the majority of the time you can easily get businesses to agree to support you.

Effective time to have a fundraising event

For the Hui O' Hawaii club, spring, summer and the beginning of fall are going to be there best times for fundraising. They recently voted to purchase a shaved ice machine that they can use during spring, summer and part of fall quarter to sell shaved ice to students during the warm weather season. This type of fundraising would effectively allow them to earn a lot of money and show to the rest of the community that they want to continue being part of the student body. Another club that is good with putting on events is the Students for Disability Awareness club. The SDA devotes a week to their club for the public to participate and are able to rent out wheel chairs to put themselves in the shoes of a disabled person. They also work with other organizations such as the AS Productions and the Civil Controversy Series to put on co-sponsor events which allow them to spread their word out while getting extra financial help from other organizations.

Effective place for a fundraising event

There are many ideas to take into account when finding a location to fund raise. For most is population traffic. In order to fund raise efficiently, an organization needs to appeal to a large crowd, so locating in a spot with a high rate of pedestrian traffic is idea. A location such as red square is a good example, as the submarine team has fund raised there many times. It is a main hub for traffic through the university, and it is all by people on foot; people on foot are much more likely to stop and see what an organization has to say rather than that of a car-ridden person. Another aspect to consider about location is the type of people at that location, as an organization will be less successful in an area that does not support there cause, such as a Peta rally in a cattle town. Also it is wise to consider time of year, as a ski team fund raiser in the middle of summer is not the most ideal time of year to draw people's emotions to snow.

A great place to fund raise is at a concert, dance performance, theater performance, or comedy event. If admission is free, students are much more likely to put a few bucks in a donation box. If a hundred people each gave a dollar or two a club could make 100-200 dollars in a single event. This can be a very effective way to raise money among students who often don't have more than a dollar or two to spare.