Fundraising can be a tough venture, especially on a college campus where each jingle of pocket change is coveted. For this reason, we praise organizations that find creative ways to persuade students to shed their laundry money toward a good cause.

On Wednesday, Eastern’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity hosted a fundraiser in the South Quad, and they featured an unusual twist.

If those involved had merely set up a table with pamphlets and eager-faced members, they probably would not have garnered the same amount of attention. However, having a porcelain throne sitting in front of their table might just have bettered their odds for donations.

In the Thursday edition of The Daily Eastern News, Habitat member Brittany Allen reinforced the importance of imaginative ideas during the “Give a Crap for Habitat” fundraiser.

“It’s abnormal to see a toilet anywhere besides a bathroom, so people want to know why it is in the quad,” Allen said in the article.

With hundreds of registered student organizations littered throughout campus, the competition with each group fundraising for different charities and projects is steep.

Campus community members become bombarded with all of the different fundraisers thrust at them, which is why we recommend that members of organizations put on their thinking caps when planning these programs.

The good old-fashioned fundraisers where you get to pie a well-known Eastern figure’s face also draws a large turnout.

Another example of this is the National Residence Hall Honorary’s Breast Cancer Awareness Week fundraiser, which we also reported on in Thursday’s edition.

Members sell T-shirts throughout the week. The design usually depicts a creative way to raise breast cancer awareness and attract buyers. An example is the “Treasure My Chest” T-shirts they sold a couple of years ago, which had a treasure-chest illustration.

To end the fundraiser, the members hosted a dunk tank, where staff and administrators from Housing and Dining Services or the Student Affairs Office participated.

These practices serve as effective because it is a strong tradeoff. Sad to say, people might not turn out their wallets just at the drop of the name of a beneficial charity. Potential donors need a more alluring incentive.

That is why most fancy fundraisers occur at ornate dinners where donors can support a good cause while also chowing on some gourmet food.

Organizations merely presenting its cause is not going to turn a lot of heads, but giving people a reason to stop and stare, such as a toilet sitting in the South Quad, will attract more people and possibly more funds.

Charleston Fire Department loads an unidentified male victim into an Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter headed for Carle Foundation Hospital, a level-one trauma center in Urbana, on Sunday at Sister City Park. The victim was involved in an accident in the country south of Charleston, it was believed to be a dirt bike accident, said Assistant Fire Chief Steve Bennett.

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