FUND RAISING IDEAS
Bible Memory Pledge:
Have students get pledges from congregation members, neighbors, teachers, etc (Like the jump rope marathons, etc) for each verse the child memorizes. Have a Sunday school teacher, quiz director or someone like that listen to verses regularly and keep track of how many verses the children say over a period of time, so they can report back to their donors at the end of the designated time period.
Camp Stamp Booklets:
(Remember the old Green Stamp books?) Each child has a “stamp” booklet. The booklets are kept by a responsible adult who brings them to church regularly. Children “buy” stamps every chance they get. The adult in charge lets them choose one sticker for each dollar deposited (stickers must be purchased ahead of time) and put it into their booklet. This booklet is actually a “savings account” for the child. Before the camp registration deadline each child is given their booklet so they know how much they will still owe towards camp. The church most likely will submit the collected money to the camp in the name of the children who made deposits. Sample booklets are in this packet!!!
Balloon-O-Grams
| Basically, a balloon-o-gram is a telegram with balloons. One group ran this fundraiser for many months so that it included many holidays (Mothers Day, Fathers Day, etc.). Anyone could order a balloon-o-gram at anytime. The deliverer would take a bunch of five to six balloons, a card and sing a song for the receiver. The cost for the balloon-o-gram was on a donation basis. |
Favorite Photos
Use photo's of babies, dogs, etc. --- anything that relates to your organization. Entrants submit a photo (specify maximum size accepted), and may also submit a 3x5 card with a few sentences as a description to create more interest. Photos are mounted on a display board. Each photo is numbered and a jar is numbered for each photo for votes. Votes are made with coins, dollar bills, or checks (made payable to your organization). The picture with the most "votes" (total money collected) wins a prize.
Sports Tournament:
Setting up an sports tournament such as a softball derby, kickball tourney, etc… can be great fun and good way to raise money. Be creative with the set up of your teams…do them by age groups…pair parents with their children to compete against other parent/child teams…youth against parents….dads sons and moms against daughters…be creative!
Dinners
| This is a tried and true favorite for most churches and many schools and organizations. It can be very successful for any organization that has access to a hall with kitchen facilities and willing hands to prepare and serve. Everyone likes to eat and enjoys getting together. You can choose any meal; breakfast, lunch, dinner, or anything in between from high tea to ice cream social. Make it as formal as a black tie gala or as casual as a picnic cookout. It can be catered or home-cooked. Make it a one-time event, a weekly, monthly or an annual affair. |
Talent Show and Dinner/or dessert:
A great Friday night family event. Sell tickets ahead of time and at the door.
Memorial Tree/Family Tree:
| At Christmas families in the community pay to place an ornament that represents their lost loved one or represents their family/family members. Charge per ornament. The staff and families gather as a community outside and sing hymns, and the tree is lit - all the lights come on at once and it is beautiful. The lights on the Christmas tree are white. The community does this outside of the office at night. The tree stays lit until the New Year. Families and staff find this very meaningful. People gather afterwards for cider and cookies. |
Penny / Coin Drives
| Here's an easy and fun fundraiser suitable for any school or other organization with different classes or groups to set up some competition. It's called a penny drive. Each class or team competes against the all others. Each class decorates a large jar for their collections. The jars are set up in some accessible place, perhaps outside the school office. Be sure to arrange proper safeguards as necessary. The idea is to earn the most money for your class. |
Dollars count FOR your class. Once the competition gets going, you can raise quite a bit of money in small change, adding pennies to your own jar or silver to competitors. It's great fun! Every class comes out a winner. Last place classes get ice cream cones as prizes. The Second place class receives a sundae with whipped cream, syrup, bananas, the works! The class in first place wins a pizza party and sundaes!
Variation 1: A school 'penny war" with the classrooms competing against each other. Jars are placed out side of each classroom at the start of the day and end of the day, with someone monitoring of course. For every penny added to the jar a classroom would receive one point. Every nickel, dime, quarter, added and the class lost points according to the value of the coin. A dollar in the jar and the class lost 100 points. Kids are allowed to place coins and dollars in any jar they want, so they could make a classroom with the most points that day lose points by placing everything but pennies in the jar. Points are posted every day and the money collected in the office at the end of the day where student helpers wrap pennies, nickels, dimes and so forth. At the end of the nine week period, the class with the most points wins a popcorn/movie party. This can be done in elementary schools but for secondary, it works best if the competing classes are all homerooms. Easy way to raise money for the school, with no cash outlay.
Variation 2: You put one jar in a room for each grade. The jars are used to collect monetary contributions. For every $.10 you award one link in a chain. Each link is a strip of paper cut out and then the ends are stapled forming a circle. Each grade must have a separate color, so that when you hang the chains they can see what grade is winning. It is a great way to make money and the competition level is usually real high.
Variation 3: Have the whole congregation bring in their spare change and keep track of it somewhere (maybe 5 gallon water jugs in the back of the sanctuary). Think of a way to get people competing for weight (pennies are better) and/or for amount (dimes are better). Allow people to put in bills, but take them to a bank and get change. Have a huge change counting party. (A goal may be 5 pounds of change per youth, or the ministers weight in change).
Variation 4: Divide your group into two teams. Give each team a large container and tell them that the group with the most pennies in their container one or two weeks before the event will be declared the winner. The losing team must serve the winners at a special dinner in their honor. The two teams can get pennies from anyone (people in church, school, parents, friends, etc.). You could also do this with nickels, dimes or quarters.
