Happy Memorial Day! Today is the perfect time for backyard barbecue and busting out your favorite white jeans. Today is also the perfect time to do a little social good for your community.

Last week, we discussed how to honor your community’s military men and women on Memorial Day. You can take those ideas one step further by turning your Memorial Day celebration into a charity event to benefit military service men, veterans, families, or organizations working with military.

Choose a cause or individual that touches you, and raise donations during your party!

How will you do this? Check out our steps below for fundraising success!

1. Brainstorm with guests prior to the event: Ask your guests to do some research on military needs and nonprofit organizations that work with military or military families. Come up with a list of organizations that you can relate to. Come together as a group to make a uniformed decision about which cause you want to support at your event. When you draw up your invitations, let guests know that you will be collecting donations at your celebration, if they would like to donate.
2. Contact the organization that you wish to help: Give the organization of your choice a heads up that you are hosting a benefit event in hopes of collecting donations for them. The organization may have certain items they need instead of monetary donations. Some organizations do not accept monetary donations.
3. Define a purpose: Let your guests know the purpose of your benefit event. Whether your purpose is to help out a veteran in your community, or to collect money for a nonprofit because you like their mission, it is important to let guests know where their money will be going.
4. Assign a leader to the event: Assign a leader to the fundraising aspect of your event. Someone should be in charge of collecting the donations. It is also important to assign a role to the person who will be making the actual donation.
5. Alert the community: Ask guests if they would like to get the community involved in fundraising. Do you want to make this event internal or external? These questions can be answered in line with your fundraising goals. What are you trying to accomplish through your event?
6. Make it fun: Assign a theme to your Memorial Day event. Guests are more likely to have a good time and be more involved in your purpose, if they are enjoying the atmosphere. Whether your theme is Memorial Day barbecue or an All-American party, just have a good time!
7. Say thank-you: Let your guests know how thankful you are for their contributions at your event. If you want to hold another similar event, guests are more likely to give again, if they feel like their actions were appreciated.
8. Spread the benefits: If possible, let guests know how their donations benefited the community or the chosen organization or individual. Did their donation provide a military family in need with a warm meal? However your event benefited the community; let guests know so they have a tangible mission to hold on to.

 

Memorial Day is a great way to have fun with friends and family, but remember to support your troops while you are having fun!

Are you turning your Memorial Day celebration into more than just a day of barbecue? Let us know about it in the comments section below!

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• 16 Ways to Honor Our Military on Memorial Day