Fundraising this time is going to be so completely different than before. I had so much more time to plan car washes and bake sales, and all those fun things. As well as have more youth groups and support from my friends who also had the time to donate. It's going to be an interesting adjustment figuring out my bills, car, full time job, and raising support.. as well as starting to prepare mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally for another adventure.
Last night I stayed up until 3 A.M. coming up with ideas on how to raise money. So I put together a list.... now this list has ideas I feel I can do, but also in case someone else wanders on to my blog and sees ideas that may help them out. I also like the idea of, even though I'm busy.. a few of things are cheap and also can be easily posted through facebook or any other type of media social networks.. So I'm hoping those will help me out.. but here's a few ideas I had:
Fundraising Idears...
1. Flamingo Flocking
I've always heard of this.. but never have gotten to see one or get in on this little fun fund raiser!! Here's the instructions:
Purchase 10 pink plastic flamingos (lawn decorations). Pick 10 yards in your community to be the lucky recipients. Attach cards to the flamingoes' necks with a phone number along with all the info needed regarding your group or mission. State that for a $10 donation, the flamingos will be removed but for $15 they will be moved to the lawn of their choice. Make sure you also place a sign that has a contact name and phone number among the flamingos for those who drive by and would like to have the flamingos placed in a friends yard. (Also give the option to simply pick up the flamingos, since some people have no sense of fun.) It takes some organization, but is lots of fun. An additional fundraising idea is to sell "Pink Flamingo Insurance" for $10 to protect yourself from the invasion of these pink pests. For $15 they can pick the next victim.
2. Donation Containers
There's a few places I have in mind to set these up at... and you can even ask to set them up in churches if you are traveling from different churches and speaking on your trips trying to raise support. Decorate mason jars, or a lock box, or a type of canister... print a nice label that briefly explains the mission, even post social networks (like my blog or facebook support page..) where people can check it out. Ask local businesses if you could place it somewhere in their store and check on it weekly.
3. Beautiful Baby Contest
I found this idea and like it:
A color or black and white photo of the child — preferably a close-up — is required with an entry form and $15 registration fee. If the photo was taken by a professional photographer, a consent form from the photographer authorizing its publication was also required.
Contestants could be viewed on The Robesonian web site and after the registration deadline had passed, photos were published in the Mother’s Day edition of the newspaper. Votes cost $1 each. There were two first place winners — a boy and girl. Each received $100, a parade magnet, and a crown or tiara. Other winners received: second place, $75 and a trophy; third place, $50 and a trophy; and fourth through sixth places, $25 and a trophy. A calendar featuring the 12 babies receiving the most votes was sold for $10. All of the contestants were pictured in the back of the calendar.
4. PortaPotty
This one cracks me up.... for $10, you can have a tacky-ily decorated toilet placed anywhere you choose, including local businesses or someone's home. Like the flamingo thing...To have the potty removed, the recipient must pay $15. A second option is to pay $10 to have it passed on to someone else. If someone decides to be a "potty pooper" the group will remove the toilet for no charge. The team offers "potty protection insurance" for $25. This insurance ensures that the potties will not be delivered to your home or business.or a donation, they would deposit the potty on the yard of some lucky recipient. If you found it in your yard, you could make a donation to have it removed and sent somewhere else.
5. Face Painting
6. Sell your Wares
I love this idea: Anyone who sells items at home type parties (Longaberger, Tupperware, Avon, Scentsy, etc.) and set up vendor tables at a local church or recreation hall. Make it available for two hours, for people to come in, book parties, and make purchases. Have cash and carry items. Each vendor donates a portion of their profits for the evening.
7. Christian Karaoke Night/America's Got Talent type competition
Admission is $5 per person for the karaoke. Make it more competitive by having people say how much money would have to be donated before they sing.. once that goal is met, either by people paying, or how much is raised that night... that person has to sing. (Have name tags with a price on it...) OR Hold an America's Got Talent type competition.. this can be just singing or anything. People pay $10-15 to enter, and be judged by 3 local business people who have donated to the cause for a grand prize.
8. Beauty Pageant
I must confess I'm a huge Toddlers & Tiaras fan... but I think most people would love the chance to do a small beauty pageant. Have the ages 0 on up... $35 for an entry fee. Come up with a beauty, talent, and dress of choice.. award each age group but also have a grand title over all.
9. Adult Spelling Bee
$50 per entrant, and have the participant find sponsors just like a real spelling bee. These sponsors can give donations towards prizes to who wins.. as well as list it in the local paper for publicity and advertisement for the sponsors, as well as the event. Use words dealing with the mission, the sponsors, the area.
10. Scrabble Tournament
Scrabble is all about being fluent in the language and coming up with words that might be worth a lot of points. People have fun coming up with strange and exotic words no one else has thought of. Teams of four, six, or eight gather at different tables, each with a Scrabble board and all the letters available. Each team starts with the same opening word, and has 20 minutes to fill the board with high-scoring words. A judge sits at each table. Individuals pay $35 to participate. Players can sneak a peek at a dictionary for an additional $5-10 donation. Make extra fundraising money selling refreshments, raffle, auction, etc. Additional details and ideas available from the National Scrabble Association.
11. Mini Bible Towns
A good idea for a Sunday School class or Youth Group.. I've painted a little village of houses for my mom. You can find them at wal-mart or craft stores like Michaels:
What started as a miniature building project to teach the books of the Bible to Sunday School children at Vestavia Hills Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, turned into an event that raised $5,400 to build real homes in Mexico. The children decorated 66 miniature houses, one for each book of the Bible. The class got enthused about the project and included other buildings, parks, lakes and streets in the town. Houses were arranged in the order that the books are organized in the Bible.
12. Imaginary Tea Party
The concept: Send an invitation for a "Make-Believe Tea Party" to your friends, neighbors co-workers, etc. Send a tea bag (inexpensive per tea bag if you buy them in bulk - or you can try to get the tea bags donated) in an envelope along with a classy, yet catchy, invitation explaining that they are invited to a "make-believe tea party" on a certain day (Mother's Day, for example) at a certain time (high noon, for example). Explain that on that date and time, you will all enjoy a cup of tea (using the tea bag provided) in support of your cause (or in memory/honor of someone). Remind them that they can take part in this tea party while still enjoying the comforts of their own home! Ask each "guest" for a donation in return for "attending" this tea party. Provide a SASE for their convenience. The tea bag is theirs to keep whether they make a donation or not, but the hope is that your efforts will encourage them to send you a donation. You can either ask for a donation of a specified amount as the "cost" for "attending" this tea party, or leave the donation amount open-ended and up to the individual.
Be sure to send a "thank-you" to those who make a donation.
13. Unbirthday Tea Party
Hold a tea party,... dress in the craziest dress up clothes.. so much per party-go-er... (I'm a big fan of Alice in Wonderland.. :) )
14. Sticky Fly
I probably couldn't do this.. but it's a cute idea for someone else... here's the story:
Find a popular teacher willing to participate. You'll also need lots of duct tape. Post flyers around the school a week ahead of time advertising your fundraiser. On the appointed day, during lunch hours, find a spot where students and faculty pass by regularly. Set a chair up against a wall so that the side of the chair (NOT the back or front, otherwise it won't work right) is firmly against the wall. Place a couple of gym mats or cushions in front of the chair as a precaution. Have the teacher stand up on the chair with his/her back against the wall. For fifty cents per yard of duct tape, students and faculty can tape the teacher to the wall. When the teacher is firmly taped to the wall, stop selling tape. Announce that you will now remove the chair to see just how long the "fly" can stick to the wall.
15. Pastor Pays
The Pastor pays a quarter (or more) for every time he says “God,” “Jesus,” and “Amen” during a service. The congregation plays along by shouting out every time he says one of these words.
16. Calendars
Make a calender using my own photographs and Bible verses... sell for how much the cost to make it, plus a profit... Custom town calendars, flowers, or nature shots. For me, this would be even more effective, since photography is a big part of me, and will also be used as a tool during my trip.
17. Pampered Raffle
A winner of this raffle will receive a 'Pamper Me' packet for a day of relaxation and pampering. Find local businesses and shops that will be willing to donate haircuts and style, manicures, department store gift certificates, dinners, movie passes, tanning, body massages. Tickets sell for $1-5 each .. all of which was profit and with minimal effort!
Prepare a nice certificate or letter for the winner. Make sure you publicize the donations from the local merchants and be sure to send them a personal thank you!
18. Balloon A Gram
A balloon-o-gram is a telegram with balloons. It can be done on any holiday (Mother's Day, Father's day, etc...) or it can be an ongoing process for someone's birthday, anniversary, etc. The deliverer takes 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.
Variation: Lollipop Bouquets containing five lollipops: Charms, Tootsie Pops, Valentine Suckers, etc. Tissue paper is used to make the lollipops look like flowers. They are held together with a rubber band and a gift tag is attached.
19. Shower of Flowers
Much like the flamingos... only try pinwheels.. or anything with iron stems you can place in someone's yard. One organization found fake daisies.
You can charge a $5.00 donation for simply removing the flowers, $10.00 to remove and select someone to send them to next, and $15.00 to remove, resend, and find out who sent them to you. Most people choose the $15.00 option.
20. Dinner For a Week
Ask 7 restaurants to donate a dinner for 2 and raffle off a week of eating out. Tickets can be sold for $25-30 each and the lucky winners are able to eat out every night for a week.
21. Favorite Photos
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. 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.
22. Kidnap the Pastor
I think you'll have to have a congregation that would really be into this idea before you go into it... Simply put: you hold your pastor or youth pastor "hostage" until a certain set amount of ransom is paid. Here's an example:
One youth group decided to "Pastor-nap" their pastor as a fundraising project. On a Friday afternoon, the MTT (Manzanita Teenage Terrorists) came in and kidnapped their pastor. They had a video team on hand and MTT taped the invasion leading to the ransom of the pastor for only $2,000. "If you give us the money, you get him back. If you don't give us the money, you still get him back."
On Sunday morning, the Pastor was still no place in sight. The service went on as planned with the teenagers leading the service. Then, a group of teens dressed in black quietly entered the service.
The music stopped suddenly and the tape was shown. The leaders presented their own part of the video by being the News Telecasters. As the service ended, so did the pastor-nap. The "terrorists" stood at the doors with their bags to collect the $2,000 ransom.
23. Benefit Concert
Find local Christian bands to play...there's several local bands in my area, and I've spoken to a couple of people and I'm hoping to set a day aside this spring where several bands come, and have dramas and such to where people would pay an admission and also donate.
24. Celebrity Autographs
Write every celebrity you can think of and ask for an autographed something to auction off at your fund-raising event. Lots of people collect autographs of the rich and famous. Send best-quality, blank note cards to famous people with a POLITE request for them to sign the supplied cards and the reason why you are asking. These guys may not be home, so be patient. But, on the upside, celebrities are often more than willing to help out a good cause.
ALWAYS supply a self-addressed, stamped envelope, in which the cards are returned to you. Make sure the address is your organization's. It's okay to say "John Jones, c/o xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx." If you can include some proof of who you are in your request (on letterhead, your charity ID number so they can check up, etc) that will be good. Here are a few hints to help improve your chances of success. Don't ask for too many autographs, as this will guarantee a refusal. Always include a self addressed, business sized envelope with the correct postage. Not only is this a common courtesy but the only way you will get a reply. Include cards or something for them to sign. Don't expect them to expend energy or their own money on you. If using note cards, make them the best quality and the color and size you prefer, not what's cheap at the store. Include two envelopes: the one for the card to protect it, and the one that the card goes in to mail to you. The better the condition of the card, the more money you can get at auction. If you have a theme, like the entire Boston Bruins, supporters might want to buy the whole series. Do your research and price the cards appropriately. Don't overprice or under price yourself. If you must go one way, go under. If they don't sell at auction you can always see if they sell on eBay!
TRY CHRISTIAN MUSIC ARTISTS OR REGULAR MOVIE STARS
25. Flash Mob!!
Group members pay to participate in dancing or singing....Flash mob participants came together with the help of Craigslist advertisements, Facebook and word-of-mouth .
26. Dinner Theater
Help a youth group prepare a drama or play... and charge donation for admission...
These are very good ideas Jessa. I wish I lived closer I would help you out with them. I am so proud of you and grateful to call you my friend.
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