11 Commandments of a Successful Camp Fundraiser

Compiled by GIFT Pilot Graduates

Graduates of the first session of the JCamp 180 GIFT Fundraiser's Training ended their year-long collaboration by crafting a set of 11 fun commandments every camp fundraiser should follow:

  1. Thou shall honor thy donors
  2. Thou shall maintain relationships and be good stewards (to every donor, every alumnus, every parent, every prospect)
  3. Thou shall understand the importance of communicating the story - the passion, the urgency, the vision - to anyone who will listen
  4. Thou shall fundraise with a passionate desire for every child to have the opportunity for a Jewish camp experience
  5. Thou shall understand that your alumni's camp experience was as transformative as his/her formal education
  6. Thou shall create easy ways for people to update the camp donor database with updated information: name changes, addresses, emails, marriages, births, and any other pertinent information
  7. Thou shall maintain and update thy data and thy technology to remain current and focused on achieving thy goals ... whatever the future of technology shall bring
  8. Thou shall ensure donors and prospects visit camp with proper shoes, sunscreen, hat, water bottle, and smiles
  9. Thou shall give to camp
  10. Thou shall ask thy friends and Board Members to give to camp
  11. Thou shall have fun and not take yourself too seriously