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Fundraising Ideas
Preparing
for Fundraising Activities
Before
conducting fundraising activities, you should always
be clear about what you hope to accomplish with the
activity, who your prospective audience is, and the
resources your organization has available to produce
the event. Consider the following questions to determine
whether a fundraising idea is a good one for your
organization:
- Do
you have clear goals for conducting a special event?
- Do
you have access to appropriate attendees, sponsors,
and underwriters?
- Is
the event appropriate to your organization's purpose
and mission?
- Does
your school have adequate staffing to run the event?
- Is
the projected budget in line with your goals?
- Do
your staff and School Board know what is expected
of them?
- Will
the benefits of this event be worth all the time,
money, and effort needed to carry it out?
Ideas
Raising
funds to support your school, club or community group
with special events is time consuming and hard work.
Here are a few suggestions:
- Bake
Sale - Everyone's favorite! Include baked foods
from around the world.
- Car
Wash - Hold a weekend car-wash to raise money
or make yourself (and friends) available to run
errands, do yard work, or walk dogs, etc. Make up
fliers to advertise your services and explain where
the money will go that is earned. Check out .
- Badges,
caps and t-shirts - can often be sourced for
a fraction of their resale cost and in quantity
produce valuable revenue.
- Sponsored
walks and swims - Although they don't achieve
much, sponsored walks and swims can be fun.
- Fetes
- A major revenue generator. Ask parents to
donate time and goods, run raffles, possibly involve
commercial elements such as Bouncey Castles and
Kids Rides.
- Neighbourhood
Flea Market - Kids and their families can get
their books, used clothes, or hand-made crafts together
to sell. Donate part or all of the profits to a
particular cause.
- Costume
Ball - Hold this event around Halloween. Give
it an international theme. Charge admission.
- Have
a Read-, Dance-, or Walk-a-thon - Collect pledges
from family, friends, and neighbors for each hour
or mile you walk or dance, or for each book read.
- Sudent-Faculty
Play-Off - Compete for the benefit of others.
Choose a sport - volleyball, basketball, etc., -
and invite the rest of your school as well as parents
to watch and cheer. Sell tickets or charge admission
at the door.
- Talent
Show - Hold a student-faculty talent show at
your school. Sell tickets. Advertise the event.
Donate the proceeds.
- Art
Show - Hold an art contest where you and your
friends enter up to three pieces of their art at
$5 per entry. Try to get a local gallery owner to
donate space for the event and recruit local celebrities
as judges. You could also sell this artwork and
donate a portion of the proceeds to your favorite
organization.
- Poetry
Reading - Hold a poetry reading in your favorite
cafe. Get students or family members to volunteer
to read their own or other's poems related to hunger,
homelessness, discrimination, animal rights, environmental
issues, etc. Pass the hat and ask diners to contribute.
Explain where the money will go. Try to get local
news coverage for your event - this will also appeal
to the restaurant owner whose establishment gets
free advertising!
- Seasonal
Celebration - Hold a seasonal pot-luck dinner.
For instance, in autumn ask participants to bring
a seasonal dish. Eat outside under colorful trees.
Organize simple games and activities to attract
children to the event - leaf rubbings, scavenger
hunt, story-telling, autumn poetry readings, etc.
Charge admission.
- Community
Auction - Ask families, friends and community
businesses to donate their specialties - including
skills - to be auctioned off. Be creative! Some
teachers and students have had themselves auctioned
for a day of baby-sitting, or a day of museum-gazing
with a small child, etc. Teachers have made videos
of their classroom over the course of the year and
auctioned them off to parents. Restaurant and theater
owners can donate dinners and seats to shows. This
takes some organizing but can raise lots of money
for your cause and will alert the community and
get everyone involved as well. Students can create
posters, canvas the neighborhood for donations,
etc.
source:
http://www.justgive.org/html/ways/fundraise.html
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