Article
7 October 2024
Cash handling in fundraising is not a very sexy topic. I repeat… Not. Sexy. The only thing less sexy is having someone walk off with the hard-earned dollars because you didn’t have proper procedures in place to protect your cash.
In all of the volunteer groups I’ve worked with, everyone is delightful and the thought of ‘not trusting’ somebody with cash handling is not on anyone’s radar. Appropriate procedures are not about a lack of trust, though, they are about being smart and avoiding a potential problem. They do happen.
Not only will your group be protected against someone walking off ‘Winona-style’ with your cash, but you also protect innocent volunteers from having ‘the question’ asked of them. ‘What happened to that money that was there’ or ‘There’s supposed to be more money than this’ are not questions that anybody wants to be asked.
A lot of money will change hands at your fete. It’s a huge responsibility for a treasurer. Clear procedures make it simpler, as does planning ahead.
As well as the regular collections, have a couple of ‘runners’ on standby for extra collections — your ride ticket booth may become uncomfortable with the amount of cash it is holding and would like it cleared out more often.
Consider whether you will need a security company to collect the takings at the end of the day. If collection is unavailable, does your bank offer a secure after-hours drop box? Is your school safe and adequate in the meantime? No treasurer deserves the stress and risk of carrying thousands of dollars over a weekend.
When we are fundraising for a target, it can be easy to focus on bringing money in and forget to take care of the money we already have. Never forget that a dollar saved is a dollar earned – the more careful you are with the money you have, the lower your fundraising target needs to be.
There are many ways to save money, and here are just a few:
These ideas might not be as exciting as the ones that make us money, but they are vitally important to protect our volunteers and our hard-earned money!
Everything Glows, established in 1989, is Australia’s ORIGINAL Glow Stick and Flashing Novelty wholesaler. We supply schools, community groups and speciality fundraising committees!
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Bite Size FUNraising helps schools, child care, sporting clubs and various other organisations raise money for a meaningful cause.
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