The Impact of Community Centric Fundraising

Fundraising is a way to not only raise money for a cause or organization that you care about, but it also comes with many additional benefits. Fundraisers often involve support from family, friends, and community members. If you are thinking about hosting a community-centric fundraiser, keep reading for benefits that go beyond raising money.

 Benefits and Impact of Community Centric Fundraising:

1. Builds relationships: Hosting a community centered fundraiser is a great way to build relationships and bring people together over a shared interest. Community based fundraisers not only benefit the community financially, but on a personal level through interactions and relationship building.
2. Increases awareness: While community centric fundraising focuses on local causes, not everyone in the community may be aware of what your organization or cause is hoping to achieve. By bringing the community together for your fundraiser, you can raise awareness of your community’s needs and gain support from members of your community.  
3. Rallies the community together: Similar to relationship building, community-based fundraising encourages a teamwork mentality. Two is greater than one, and in the case of fundraising, the more support the better. By sharing your goals and mission with your local community, more people will be inclined to support you and team up to rally together and reach those goals.
4. Teaches teamwork: Much of the importance of community centric fundraising has to do with building relationships, which translates to teamwork. This is a great opportunity to teach kids and students the importance of teamwork when working towards a goal. No matter what you’re fundraising for, the impact of teamwork is far greater than individual efforts.

Whether you’re fundraising for a new community playground, your local library, or whatever else it may be, community centric fundraising can strengthen your community and build a strong support system now and in the future. The benefits are long lasting and can translate to a more successful fundraiser. For help on how to build community through your fundraiser, keep reading.

How to build community through your fundraiser:

1. Involve local restaurants or businesses: When hosting a community-based fundraiser, try to involve local restaurants or businesses to help you raise more money. Businesses may be interested in donating to your cause or helping in other ways. Ask your local restaurant to host a restaurant fundraiser night, where your organization will receive a percentage of proceeds.
2. Consider hosting your next fundraiser at your local Chipotle. Chipotle fundraisers give back 25% of event sales, subject to achieving a minimum of $150 in fundraiser sales, and are easy to set up and host. If your supporters want a faster ordering option, we offer a digital option where they are able to place their order online or in the app for pickup by using the unique fundraiser code. To host your next community centric fundraiser with Chipotle, apply here.
3. Partner with local schools: Involve the community by partnering with local schools if your fundraiser will directly benefit students and parents of that school in some way. If you’re raising money to build a new playground or park, parents and students are likely to want to get involved because it’s something they can enjoy together. By partnering with schools, you’re building your support system within the local community.
4. Collect contact information from supporters: For all supporters that are willing to share their contact information with you, keep them on a list to update with your fundraiser goals, results, and the direct impact their support had on your cause. When people know the impact their support made, they’re likely to continue helping and wanting to stay involved in your community.
5. Nextdoor: Build community through your fundraiser by utilizing Nextdoor to communicate with those near you. Nextdoor is an app that connects neighbors to each other. Use it to share your fundraiser with those in your neighborhood to build community and fundraiser support.

We hope that this post helps you in your next community centered fundraiser. Chipotle’s fundraiser program has given back over $74 million to local organizations and causes that partner with us. To partner with Chipotle for your next community centric fundraiser, apply here.