This page is an encyclopedia article on fundraising; for fundraising on Wikipedia, see our fundraising page, or read about how we use the money.

Fundraising is the legitimate process of raising money by requesting donations from individuals and from businesses. This system is used by a number of diverse groups—usually non-profit organizations of one kind or another—representing philanthropic concerns, religious groups, research organizations, public broadcasters, and political campaigns. When special events are arranged to raise funds, they are often known as fund drives, pledge drives, or, sometimes when television is involved, telethons.

Some examples of charitable organizations include student scholarship merit awards for athletic or academic achievement, humanitarian concerns, disaster relief, human rights, research, and other social issues.

Equally important are fundraising efforts by virtually every recognized religious group throughout the world. These efforts are organized on a local, national, and global level. Sometimes, such funds will go exclusively toward assisting the basic needs of others, while money may at other times be used only for evangelism. Usually, religious organizations mix the two, which can sometimes cause tension.

Fundraising also plays a major role in political campaigns which, despite numerous campaign finance reform laws, continues to be a highly controversial topic in American politics. Political action committees (PACs) are the best-known organizations that back candidates and political parties, though others such as 527 groups also have an impact.

While public broadcasters are completely government-funded in much of the world, there are many countries where some funds must come from donations from the public. Pledge drives commonly occur about three times each year, usually lasting one to two weeks each time. Viewership and listenership often declines significantly during funding periods, so special programming may be aired in order to keep regular viewers and listeners interested. (Commercial television interestingly has a similar situation to this, known as sweeps).

Fundraising organizations in the United States are given a specific designation by the Internal Revenue Service, noted as 501(c)(3), as a nonprofit organization. A fundraising organization must outline a mission statement, which states its main purpose and objectives, and its overall policies. Major organizations will list the programs with which it is involved in, the kind of funding it receives, and how it allocates its expenses. In addition these organizations are rated annually for both efficiency and compliance by the American Institute of Philanthropy and other watchdog groups.

Many non-profit organizations receive some annual funding from a financial endowment, which is a large sum of money that is usually invested to generate a sizable amount of interest each year. Endowments are generally created when a sizable gift is received from an individual or family, often as directed in a will upon the death of a family member. Corporate entities also may also contribute to endowments, which are often handled by charitable organizations known as foundations.

While fundraising often obtains money in the form of gifts, money may also be generated by selling a product of some kind. Girl Scouts are well-known for selling cookies in order to generate funds.

Some prominent charitable fundraising events

• Band Aid (1984), Live Aid (1985) and Sport Aid (1986), for famine relief in Ethiopia
• the annual Terry Fox Run, in honour of Terry Fox, for cancer research in Canada
• Red Nose Day in the United Kingdom

External links

• American Institute of Philanthropy
• Better Business Bureau
• Charity Navigator
• The Nonprofit Fundraising Wiki