4.) Legacy gift. Have you and your family recently lost a loved one? Honor their memory by giving a gift that impacts those in need.

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1 Raising money for a charitable cause is hard work but it doesn t have to be boring! Here are a few fun and creative options to help you start planning your own fundraising event: 1.) Holiday giving alternative. Tired of giving Uncle Phil soap-on-a-rope year after year? Consider giving the gift of hope instead of soap this year by donating to support refugees in honor of your relatives. Prepare a card for your family members explaining how their gift will have an impact for families in need. 2.) Birthday give-back. Are you turning 25 this year? Ask your friends, family, and social networks to skip the presents this year and instead consider donating $25 (or the number of your age) to support refugees in honor of your birthday. 3.) Wedding Registry alternative. Are you getting married soon and feeling overwhelmed by the thought of adding yet another kitchen appliance to your rapidly diminishing counter space? Consider asking guests to donate to a designated cause in place of a traditional gift. Include with your wedding invitation or on your website a brief description of why this cause is important to you and how their money would go toward helping families fleeing violence in the Middle East. 4.) Legacy gift. Have you and your family recently lost a loved one? Honor their memory by giving a gift that impacts those in need. 5.) Car wash. A fun spring or summer activity to raise money, spread awareness, and serve the community! You can charge a set rate or just ask for donations.

2 6.) Silent Auction. Host a silent auction at your church, school, or community center. Ask individuals and businesses in your area to donate items for bid. This fundraiser works great in combination with a concert or dinner something that gives people something to do while they wait for the bidding to conclude! Include an education piece to inform bidders how their money will have an impact. 7.) Host a raffle. Concert tickets, restaurant discounts, family vacations -- the options are endless for what you can enter and win! Work with local businesses who are willing to donate a product or service toward your cause. Sell tickets at a low price (i.e. $5, $10) and then pick a winner! Ticket sales can be donated to support refugees. 8.) Get active for a cause. Whether you like to run, bike, walk, kayak, or hike, use your athletic pursuits to help you raise money. Seek sponsors for organized, formal events, or for informal athletic challenges you develop on your own (like a long-distance hike, a kayak trip, or bike ride!). 9.) Host a Garage Sale. Planning to sell your old stuff this summer? Donate the profits to a great cause! Join forces with a few friends or neighbors to expand your inventory and broaden your reach. Include a note in your advertising that explains how the profits will be used! 10.) Bake sale. Do you and your friends love to bake? Hold a bake sale after a church service, school or community event, or county fair! 11.) Host a dinner party. This is a great way to raise awareness while also raising funds. Gather some of your closest family and friends together to share a meal, asking only for a donation to be given on behalf of refugees. If it s summer, make it a cook-out or a picnic! Use the opportunity to educate attendees about what s happening in the Middle East and to talk about the important impact their donations will have. 12.) Organize a benefit evening at a local restaurant. A certain percentage of the proceeds from that evening s sales can go toward supporting refugees. 13.) Community Block Party. Organize a block party at your church, school, or in your neighborhood. Get creative with fun, cheap activities for families like games, relay races, arts and crafts, and local musical talent. Think about creative ways to attract people and to get them involved like having a cook-off! Who has the best BBQ ribs? Who makes the best chili? Give a prize to the winners! 14.) Wine Tasting Party. You can host at your own home or at a local winery or restaurant. Check with local businesses to see if they would agree to provide the wine samples and perhaps even some cheese and appetizers to complement the wine. Make it a competition to see which wines win the taste test!

3 No entry fee, but donation requested. 15.) Bar Crawl. Grab your best friends or your college buddies and head out for a bar crawl! Work with local brew pubs to secure sponsorship and complementary beer samples for participants. No entry fee, but donations welcome. Don t forget to designate drivers! 16.) Benefit concert. Do you know a local band or someone with musical talent? Consider asking them to donate their skills for an evening as you host a concert at your church, school, or local coffee shop with donations benefitting refugees! 17.) Auction off your own talents. Do you have a skill or talent that s in demand? (i.e. you do hair, makeup, web development, car maintenance, photography, yard work, etc.) Consider auctioning off or advertising your service or skill as an occasional not-for-profit venture, designating your usual set rate as a donation toward refugees. Encourage your customers to consider an additional contribution. Great for high school students with little money of their own, but lots of time on their hands This summer I m helping Syrian refugees out by mowing your lawn! Ask me how! 18.) Talent Show. Perfect for middle-and-high school students in school or youth groups. Gather together a group of talented kids and put on a talent show for your community, encouraging donations to benefit refugees! Include a brief educational talk (5-10 min.) at some point during the event to raise awareness on what s happening in the Middle East and how their donations will be put to use. 19.) Bowl-a-thon. Partner with a local bowling alley to create a bowling event or competition, with proceeds going to support refugees. 20.) Golf Scramble. Organize a golf scramble in partnership with your local country club. Solicit local businesses and companies located in your area to encourage their employees to participate as part of their organization s philanthropic mission. 21.) Cake decorating contest. Organize a cake decorating contest! Try to think of a fun theme that all cakes could center around. Contest can either be held in person or virtually, where participants submit photos of their creation. Create several categories of competition i.e. best decorated, most creative, most delicious, etc. Provide a prize for the winners! Ask attendees (i.e. the voters) for donations to participate and judge the cakes. 22.) Sell flowers, plants, or produce. A great way to use what you already have available to benefit refugees. Sell your products at your local farmers market or roadside produce stand.

4 23.) Quilting party. Is quilting your passion? Host a quilting party / competition with members of your local quilting club submitting pieces of their work to be auctioned or sold off at either a quilting-specific event or a silent auction. If you don t have a formal venue, you could even hold a digital auction creating a website or Facebook page to feature the products and accept bids. 24.) Join forces. Combine efforts with other churches, schools, youth groups, sports teams, etc. to host any of these events. You ll promote collaboration and teamwork, while also raising money for a great cause! You could even join forces with another charity to host an event, agreeing to split the proceeds evenly! 25.) Ice Cream Social Perfect for late-spring or Summer. Solicit local businesses to contribute ice cream, or your organization could choose to purchase some from the store. Organize a community event where the ice cream is either sold at a set price or where donations are requested. Be sure to include lots of fun options, including cups, cones, toppings, and sauces! If you re really adventurous, include an ice-cream eating competition in your event! 26.) Craft Fair. In the age of Pinterest, making crafts is more accessible than ever! Organize a school, church, or community-sponsored craft fair with all proceeds from products sold going toward helping refugees! 27.) Make it a competition. Whether it s a bake sale, a craft fair, or a block party, several of the suggestions listed here can be turned into competitions, increasing incentive to participate and generating greater community buzz. 28.) Dance-a-thon. Host a dance-a-thon in a local gym. Who can dance the longest? Who can dance the best? This is a fun event for all ages. A local DJ may even agree to provide mixing services free of charge. Request donations for participation and dance the night away! 29.) Game night. For a school, church, or even in your own home. Organize competitions with a variety of games set up at various stages throughout the room or building. Provide prizes for winners. Donations requested for participation. Build community while raising money! 30.) Make it a Combo! Combine several of these ideas into one big event that includes something fun for everyone!

5 - How much money are you trying to raise? If people know how much you re working toward, they are more likely to contribute an amount that helps get you closer to that goal. If they do not have a tangible number in mind of what you, and therefore they, are striving for, they re more likely just to give the suggested amount. Be sure your promotional material includes this information (i.e. Help us raise $20,000 to support schools for Syrian refugees in Jordan! ) - Provide a suggested donation amount. Although no set amount is required in order to participate in your event, people often give what they are asked to give. Placing a sign next to your donation jar or a note on your promotional materials saying Suggested donation: $20 gives people an idea of how much money they should bring and helps them come better prepare to give. - Be specific about what their money will go toward -- and why it s important. Are you raising money for schools for Syrian refugees? Basic needs aid? Medical care? What country are these programs in? Give your participants as much information as possible about how and where their money will be spent and the specific people who will benefit from it. - Provide an action step. Other than donating, what else would you like for your event participants to do? Where can they go to learn more? How can they stay up-to-date on what the organization is doing? How can they spread the world about your cause? How can they get others involved? How can they organize their own event? A one-page flyer or a prominent sign explaining your ask would be helpful to provide participants when they arrive. - Advertise. Market your event both digitally and in person to your target audience. Post flyers around your church or school. Share with your own personal social networks and encourage host venues to do so as well. Begin advertising at least one month in advance, when possible, to allow people time to put it on their calendars and make arrangements to attend. - Follow up with potential donors. Do you know someone who has expressed interest in attending your event or contributing a donation? Follow up with them. They may have simply just forgotten and fully intended to contribute. A helpful, friendly reminder is often all they need to take action.

6 - Seek matching donors. Do you know a business or an individual who would be interested in matching the donations gathered for your event? If so, make sure your attendees are aware their donation will be matched. Often someone who only planned to give $25 will increase it to $50 if they realize it will actually turn into $ Seek business sponsorships. Local businesses are always looking for ways to partner with their community to support a great cause. Be specific about what you are asking of them when you approach them and be sure to mention that Road to Mafraq, Inc. is a 501c3 tax-deductible non-profit. They can find verification of this on our website. - Have fun! Fundraising is a lot of work, but try to have as much fun as you can with it and remember your motivation for doing it. This will help you recognize the payoff to your hard work in the end!