1. Fundraising A Necessary Evil
Honor Flight Network Summit 2014
Fundraising A Necessary Evil
Mary Pettinato
CEO, Co-Founder, & Janitor
Honor Flight Chicago

2. Honor Flight Chicago’s Goals in 2008-- in order of priority
We needed money! $$$
We needed Volunteers!
We needed WWII veterans

3. Honor Flight Chicago’s Current Goals in 2014—in order of priority
We need to recruit more WWII Veterans
We need Volunteers!
We need money!

4. prioritized your goals?
What are your goals?
How have you
prioritized your goals?

5. Although our fundraising goals may be similar from one Honor Flight hub to another, our methods of achieving these goals will vary according to location and target audience.

6. Donations In Kind or Cash
In some cases, Donations in Kind can be as valuable as cold hard cash

7. 3 of our Most Valuable Donations in Kind
Free graphic design-- Our graphic designer is our best asset helping us to raise more money than any other person in our organization!
Free Entertainment-- The “new” Andrews Sisters Trio--Not only entertains in the early AM hours before every flight but also helps recruit WWII Veterans when performing throughout the area
Free Transportation-- Taxi and limo services to help transport our Veterans to and from the airport

8. Donations in Kind—A Win/Win
Preserves cash resources to fly more Veterans
An opportunity for a business to benefit from Cause Marketing—they look good while we look good while helping us to broaden our reach (Culver’s Beggars Pizza)

9. Who is helping you
achieve your
organization’s
priorities?

10. What we used to do to make money…
Honor Flight Chicago Board Members organized all fundraisers
Steps:
Found venue and entertainment Designed and printed flyers from home
Printed and sold tickets
Arranged transportation for Vets
Attended all Honor Flight Chicago fundraisers

11. Fundraisers - What we do now to make money while raising awareness
Accept formal applications from a volunteer team or organization who wants to host a fundraiser on our behalf
Assign Board Member to work with each fundraiser team
Prepare and print two sided flyers for fundraiser to maintain branding and consistency in message
Provide fundraising guidelines regarding donations and organizations that we would like to partner with

12. Each “Successful” Fundraiser Should Tackle All 3 HFC Goals
We should find more WWII Veterans to fly thanks to raising awareness
We should find more Volunteers to help us accomplish our goals thanks to new audience
We should raise more money—again thanks to new audience

13. Handouts of Five “Successful” Fundraisers and why…
Herscher American Legion
DuPage Veterans Foundation
Hockey Match Flyer
Beggars Pizza Campaign
Culver’s Restaurants

24. Other Fundraising / Awareness Opportunities
In memory of…
In honor of…
Photo books of each flight
DVDs of each flight

28. Fundraising Final Notes
Be choosy with your “partners”
Be particular about your message and branding
Stick to your goals
Remember that raising awareness also raises money…