Fundraiser or Service Project: What’s the Difference?

Building leaders – and a nation – through service

President Barak Obama calls for each of us to get involved in community service as a way to usher our nation through these trying times. In support of that initiative, I help student organizations plan and execute service projects that have lasting effect. In this blog let’s discuss and learn the practicalities of fundraising and volunteer work. I guarantee you’ll walk away some great tools for success. I invite your school, club or organization to get involved in the conversation.

Let’s start with defining the difference between a Service Project and a Fundraiser.

A Service Project…

Is usually a ‘hands on’ project for the benefit of someone else, usually with their participation, or at their location. For example: raking leaves at an elderly person’s home.
There is typically not any money raised, the idea is to help the person or group with something they cannot do themselves.
Can be an on-going effort, perhaps with no discernable conclusion, such as reading to elementary school children once a week – that provides benefits on a long-term basis.

A Fundraiser…

An effort to raise money for the benefit of a person, group, or agency through a large event or a campaign.
This is an opportunity to have various levels of involvement – from contributor to participant to organizer to day of event volunteer.
Allows participation from people even if they cannot attend the specific event, go to the location, or do not care to be “hands on.” They can still donate!

As I’ve given leadership and community service training around the country, college campuses are involved in a wide variety of both Fundraisers and Community Service projects including:

Fundraisers – Relay for Life; A Topless Carwash (wash bottom of the car for free, customer must pay to get top of car washed–after you have already soaped it up. Sorry, we can’t clean up your dirty mind!), A Kiss the Pig contest (gotta get faculty and administration involved in this one if you REALLY want to have fun – and raise money!)

Community Service Projects – Pet Therapy (at an animal shelter or take the animals to a nursing home), Packing rescued food at the local food bank, Make greeting cards for children in hospitals, elderly in homes, or troops overseas.

Drop us a comment telling us about your campus projects and we’ll share some best practices and really cool ideas to make them even more fun and successful.

Thanks,

Dave GONZO Kelly

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