What are my top 5 “quick hit” fundraisers for small towns? George wants to fill the downtown planters with flowers

George asked me for my top 5 “quick hit” fundraisers for small towns. I asked him what the goal was, because I said if you need to raise money to start a project, you’re probably starting too big. 

In one of the small towns that George works with, the concrete planters downtown don’t have any plants in them. One local person told him she has been waning to fill them with flowers for five years, but can’t afford to buy the plants herself. 

You don’t need to raise money to fill the planters with flowers, I said. George knows that. He said he told the group they could go to businesses and let each one adopt a planter by paying for the flowers. 

You don’t even need to do that, I said. George knows this, too. He said that next year the group can talk to the FFA (Future Farmers student group) and ask them to grow extra flowers or to donate any unsold plants after their annual plant sale. 

You don’t even need to do that, I said. You can go right now to people’s yards. Lynn, sitting nearby, offered up, “I have irises I’ll give you!” Then Deb said she’d give some of her hen and chicks. They’re always multiplying like crazy. 

Dig and divide. That’s how you turn one plant into multiple plants in the gardening world.

Before you raise funds to start the first try at a project, think of ways you can dig down to uncover hidden resources and divide the project until it’s smaller and smaller and you don’t need to start by raising money.

Maybe your town doesn’t have a lot of money, but there are always resources. Even if you have to grab a shovel and dig. 

Keep shaping the future of your town, 
Becky

PS – How many empty buildings in your town? Deb and I are addressing empty building solutions in our next webinar, Filling Empty Buildings. This is always a super popular topic, so don’t wait too long to sign up.