Plan a fun winter event. Winter is a perfect time for family events at school. Families with cabin fever are looking for fun and inexpensive activities they can do together -- while staying warm, of course. We've outlined some great (and simple-to-execute) ideas in our new article, "5 Winning Winter Events."

Take a look at your budget. Once you've run a few events and gotten the results from your fall fundraiser, it's time to review your budget and make sure things are on track for the rest of the year. Our Finance and Budget article archive has lots of useful information for your group.

Review your volunteer interest forms. Last month, I reminded you of the importance of using these forms to reach out to newcomers. Now, it's time to make sure everyone who signed up has been contacted personally at least once. The more time that passes before someone is contacted, the more their enthusiasm is likely to have waned.