HomeFinanceFundraising:  Would a Thermometer Help Your Fundraising?

Thermometers are Big Hits at Fundraising Events!

Fundraising thermometers are a great way to show the success of your fundraiser and to encourage people to donate to your cause! If you are new to the fundraising field, you might not be immediately familiar with the term "fundraising thermometer". The concept, however, is actually quite simple. A fundraising thermometer is simply a bar graph, built in the shape of a thermometer, that shows people how much money (or blood, or pounds of food, or whatever) you have collected thus far and how much further you have to go.

What good does a fundraising thermometer really do, however? Are they simply there to add decoration to the event, or do people really have a response to them? Where would you even get one of these thermometers if you decided to use one? In the next few paragraphs, you will find answers to these questions and many more!

Finding the Right Fundraising Thermometer for You

If you have already decided that a fundraising thermometer might be beneficial to your particular fundraiser, the hard part if finding the right fundraising thermometer for you.

If you are doing Internet fundraising, there are multiple sites that make graphic fundraising thermometers that can be displayed neatly and professionally on your website. If you are doing a traditional fundraising event, however, finding a thermometer might be somewhat more difficult. In this situation, you have two main options: order a thermometer or make your own.

Making your own thermometer is by far the most popular and cost effective choice of the two. Generally, a thermometer drawn on a large set of posterboard and clearly labeled with the numerical units of what you are trying to collect should suffice. This way, you can simply color in more of the thermometer as you get closer to your goal. Make sure to put your goal number at the top so that people know for what you are aiming!

Believe it or not, fundraising thermometers do have an effect on people. When people see these thermometers, it tells them that others have given to your cause and helps to legitimize the cause in their minds. Also, if you are particularly close to a goal, people often are more likely to donate because they want to be the one that pushed you over the top.

Whether or not you decide to use a fundraising thermometer, we wish you luck as you attempt to raise funds for your worthy cause!

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