Despite its non-profit nature, an association needs funds to operate. Furthermore, as with companies, the search for funding can be a real obstacle course. Fortunately there are many ways to finance an association project. Memberships, donations, events, bank financing, crowdfunding, subsidies…, details to follow.

Badges are a simple idea for fundraising for associations and NGOs that is often neglected.

It is true that you will never be able to fully finance your association with the resources generated with badges. However, they can bring in income and have many other uses for fundraisers and non-profit organisations.

Use of button badges for fundraising

You can produce the button badge of your choice with your association’s design, text or logo. They can be sold to supporters at events and actions or in shops, on your website, making a small profit on each badge sold.

Manufacturing buttons always reduces the cost of production, and a badge machine will come in handy.

How can you use badges to raise funds for your association?

As an awareness-raising tool – Badges are an easy and popular way to express support or opposition to any causes, organisations and opinions.

Political badges are often seen at election time or at political events. People like to have a quick and easy way to express their views on things that matter to them. It can be a big cause – for example, global warming – or a much more local situation, such as raising money for a concert hall, for example.

There seems to be someinnate need in people to simply show that they are active in supporting a cause. It could be a political group, a religious organisation, a school….

Badges are also often used to support team spirit and are a popular way to show support for a team or club.

Badges can be used as a reward – they are an inexpensive but effective way of rewarding long-standing service to an organisation. Or to mark a particular achievement, such as money raised at a specific fundraiser. Badges of different colours are often used as rewards to show different levels of achievement, etc.

As an admission ticket to a fundraising event – This is a great way to overcome the “embarrassment” of selling entry fees to an event.

As an additional incentive to enter a competition – This is a particularly useful way to encourage children’s participation. All participants in the parents’ association poetry competition, spelling bee, sponsored walk or football festival receive a free badge etc.

As a product to be sold at a fundraising event or summer fair. If you have a badge-making machine, set up a mini ‘design studio’ (felt-tip pens, paper and scissors) and ask young people to design and make their own badges.

Be inventive with your badge design

You have very limited space to make your message convincing.  Place your image and text in bold to attract attention and spur people into action.

Start with a small success

Charity badges allow you to set your fundraising goal and track the success of your campaign.  When you start your first fundraising campaign, set your goal at an achievable level.

Don’t send an email to everyone you can think of, but rather to those who would be most likely to make a contribution or share the badge with others.

Write on your blog

If your non-profit organisation does not yet have a blog, it should have one.  Publish a description of the fundraising goal on your blog.

Use social networking sites

If you have an FB profile, use it to display your badge and share it with others.

Send thank you emails

This is good practice for any fundraising campaign and encourages donors to contribute again in the future.

At E-badges, we love to bring your ideas to life, we’ve been doing it for years!

We specialise in manufacturing badge presses, especially for non-profit organisations, charities, creative people, the music industry and any promotional events.

When setting up your association, you don’t necessarily think about it. But you will soon realise that in order to keep an association project alive, you will need money. As the association’s primary aim is not to generate profits, finding funding can sometimes be a difficult task. In practice, there are many options for financially supporting your association, and the sale of badges is an option to explore.

Call us or send us an email for more information. We look forward to hearing from you!