48 Fundraising Ideas Personal Letters Send out at least 30 letters to family and friends requesting them to sponsor you on your adventure. A sample letter is attached. One month after letters are sent, follow up with an email asking them to be in prayer with you that the money needed will come in. Numbered Envelopes Number envelopes 1 to 25, 50, or to any number you would like. Add a place for their name and address on the envelope. Ask people to sponsor the amount of money on the envelope. Have fun with this. Let people choose like the game pick-a-card. Some may take more than one envelope. 1-25 raises $325. 1-50 raises $1275. Candle Sales Sell candles from Adonai Candle Company. For each candle you sell you will make a great profit. Contact Donna Thomas at 314-435-0667 (St. Louis, MO). Will ship orders. Giving Tree - Instead of decorating a tree with regular ornaments, decorate it with hand crafted paper ornaments that have items or amounts of money written on them. Items or monetary amounts in the $1.00 to $25.00 range are best, so that everyone can participate. Ask people to sponsor an ornament on your tree. Birthday Mission Party Theme a party based on the Mission Adventure that you are going to go on. Ask guests to bring travel items, ministry supplies, or money as birthday gifts. Parent s Night Out Partner with the children s ministry and provide babysitting at the church. Ask your entire youth ministry to help you. Plan great activities and request a minimum donation. Make sure parents know why you are raising money. Student Auction Auction yourself, close friends, family, or the youth group to do labor at the homes of other church members for a donation to your adventure. Expert Events Find people in your church or family that have gifts in planning special events. Ask them to help you plan a big event such as a trivia night, tractor pull, lock-in, etc. to raise money. Local Restaurant Fundraiser Several chains or local restaurants will offer a proceed night in exchange for advertising and bringing in a crowd. Waiting For Dollars - Find a local restaurant that is willing to host your waiting for dollars event. Your group will help with waiting tables and bussing dirty dishes, in exchange for the restaurant to donate $1 for each meal sold. Pick a restaurant that is popular so that you can ensure a large turnout. Remember to be polite, fast, and accurate. Try not to break any plates! Potato Bar - You will want to have baked potatoes with all the fixin s: chili, sour cream, shredded cheese, butter, steamed broccoli, melted cheese, chives, bacon bits, bbq beef, and much more. Sell tickets in advance as well as at the door. Offer a small discount to those buying in advance to encourage early sales.
Baked Goods Auction Ask adults from your church to make baked goods and bring them to church on a certain day. Have an auction for the goodies. Highest bid wins the prize. Blue Plate Specials Ask people to bring an individual serving, cooked meal or dessert, their checkbook, and their sense of adventure. They will be bidding for their dinner. Meals can be simple such as a hard-boiled egg or elaborate such as lobster or steak. It is up to each person to decide what to bring. Put a cover over each meal to keep it a secret and let the bidding begin. Start with a high or low bid to keep people guessing as to whether it is a fancy meal or not. You may want to reveal what the meal is during bidding if you think it will drive the price up. Just be careful to announce any potential food allergies before bidding starts. Death By Chocolate - Contact local restaurants and pastry chefs to see if they would be interested in participating. Have each chef prepare sample-sized portions of their favorite chocolate desserts. Find a hall that is willing to let you host the event for free. Sell tickets as a Chocolate Tasting Event. Tickets sold in advance can be reduced in price from tickets sold at the door to encourage pre-sales. Split the proceeds with the chefs to cover costs and advertise where the desserts came from. Eating Contest - Choose from pies, hot dogs, ice cream, cake, you are only limited by your imagination. Charge an entry fee to contestants and award a cash prize to the winner. Have a who can eat the most hot dogs in one minute or who can finish one pie the fastest contest. Have different age classes and offer different contests to enter. No Dirty Dishes For A Week - You will want to find several local restaurants that are willing to donate a dinner for two. Approach local restaurants in person and explain who your group is and what you are raising money for. Tell them you are looking to sell tickets for a whole week of dining out at local restaurants. Let them know that they will receive free advertising at your event. Ask if they could offer a certificate redeemable for a dinner for two. Try to find a wide range of restaurants from simple to elaborate and different cuisines. Selling tickets for this should be easy. Spaghetti Dinner - Ask local grocery stores, bakeries, and food suppliers for donations of food. You will need spaghetti, tomato sauce, meatballs, bread, drinks, dessert, plates, cups, and silverware. Have tickets for pre-sale and at the door. Offer a small discount to those buying in advance to encourage early sales. Super Sub Sale - Take advantage of the big sports events and have a super sub sale. Submarine sandwiches are also called heroes and hoagies in other areas. Take pre-orders so you will know how many you will need to make and supplies needed. Have two or three choices of subs, such as Italian, Turkey, or Ham. You will want to have bread, lunchmeat, cheese, onions, lettuce and tomatoes as well. Hot peppers, pickles and dressing should be available on the side. Set a time for pick up. We Bake For You - Decide on a list of approximately ten things that you and your group wants to bake and what you can sell each for with a nice profit. Create order forms with your selections, their prices, and the date they will be available. Good times to do this would be Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Valentines Day. 2
Santa Breakfast - Host a breakfast (or lunch) with Santa Claus to make the experience more enjoyable. Set up in a large room or cafeteria. Serve breakfast buffet style with all of the usual favorites, such as pancakes, Belgian waffles, scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. Decorate with a Christmas theme and find a throne or big comfy chair for Santa to sit in. Allow each child to sit on Santa s lap. Enlist the help of a photographer to take pictures. Give everyone a souvenir picture to remember the day. Wrap It Up Have a gift-wrapping booth. You will need several different wrapping paper choices, ribbon, gift tags, tape, scissors, and volunteers willing to wrap. Accept a donation. Contact a local store or mall about setting up a booth during the busy Holiday shopping season. The weekends would be a great time to provide this service. You may want to have some empty boxes on hand to help wrap unusually shaped gifts. Board Game Tournament - Pick a favorite, such as Sorry, Trouble, or Monopoly. Assemble 4 person teams that will work together to accumulate points or you can allow individuals to participate. Charge an entry fee for each team, in order to earn money for your adventure. Get prizes donated from local businesses for a winning prize. Play with a time limit for each game so that everyone has the same chance and to keep things running on a schedule. Decide on any House rules beforehand. Bagger For A Day - Provide a nice service to your community and raise funds while bagging groceries. Find a busy grocery store that is willing to help your group and pick a busy day of the week. Print off flyers that explain your group and what you are doing in the store that day. Place the fliers at the check out counters. Give your baggers a quick lesson on how to properly bag, for example heavy items on the bottom and eggs and bread on the top. Have a tip jar at each register. Bag each person s groceries quickly and with a smile. Break The Balloon - You will need balloons, a helium tank, string, and slips of paper with prizes printed on them. Go to the local retailers and explain who your group is and what you are raising funds for. Ask if they would like to donate a prize. On the day of the event, place the prize slips into the balloons, fill them with helium, and tie a string to them. All balloons should have a slip of paper, even if it is just a thank you for participating, so they all look the same. Sell the balloons telling people to hold onto them until later. After all the balloons have been sold, instruct everyone to pop their balloon and see if they have won. Instruct the winners to come up and claim their prize. Do with another event. Car Wash - You will want to find a place to have the car wash. There needs to be a source of water that you can use. You will need to have all of your own supplies. Pick a date for your car wash, and plan a rain date as well. Make signs for members of your group to hold by the street to bring in the cars. Charge a set amount for a car wash, or accept donations. With a twist: offer your car wash for free and get sponsors per car. Car Detailing Pre-sell detailing tickets to neighbors, family, and friends to get more than a car wash on the day of the car wash. 3
Windshield Washing - Find a busy and local fast food restaurant with a drive thru lane that is interested in helping your group have a fundraiser. Gather squeegees, towels and cleaning solution. Offer to wash the windshields of cars going through the drive thru for a donation. Have someone at the back of the line explain to the driver who your group is, what you are raising money for, and ask if they would like to donate. Drive-In Movies - Recreate the fun of a drive-in. One option would be to find a large building with a smooth surface that you can project a movie on. A simpler way would be to have your drive-in movie inside of a gymnasium or cafeteria. Project the movie onto a screen and let everyone set up lawn chairs or blankets to watch. Charge an entry fee and have a concession stand to raise money. Funny Photo Contest - Have a funny photo contest and ask for submissions from your group. Setup pictures like an art show. In order to raise money, make it a juried art show. Place a jar, can, or box in front of each picture in which people can place coins or bills to vote for their favorites. One cent equals one vote. Give the winner a prize or money. Silent Auction Ask local businesses to donate baskets or items for a silent auction. Explain what you are raising money for. During another event, set up the baskets for display. Put a piece of paper in front of the basket so that people can bid on each basket. Make sure you include a heading at the top of the page and tell where the basket or item came from. Announce when bidding will be finished. Through the event remind them about bidding. The highest bidder wins. How Many In That Jar? - You will need a large jar or clear box and something to fill it with. Pick something like candy, nails, marbles or cards. You will also need index cards or slips of paper with lines marked for name, phone number, and guess. Set the jar in a public spot and have someone selling guess slips. People are welcome to submit as many guesses as they are willing to pay for. Have a box for placing guess slips into. Run the contest for a week to give everyone a chance to make a guess. Have a group count how many are in the jar. Love Packages - Have a list of care packages for sale and their contents. You will want to put things in the care package that are convenience foods that can be easily prepared in a microwave and are shelf stable. Let the customers place a personal message in the care package. Shop at discount food stores to get the best price on items. Find businesses willing to donate cardboard boxes so that you can ship the packages. Ship or deliver the packages. Miniature Golf Marathon - Find a local miniature golf course that is willing to donate their facility for the day. Set a rain date in case of inclement weather. Have a 12 hour marathon. Have your group members seek sponsors willing to donate money in exchange for them playing golf. Find local restaurants that will bring in food and drinks for your group to eat. Contact your local media; they may want to cover your story, which could increase your donations. Split your group into 4 person teams, observe all rules of the game and have fun. 4
Time In Prison - Lock up your prisoners and have them make phone calls to family and friends to raise bail money. You may want to forewarn them with a note, so they can prepare and have their phonebook with them. Tell them what amount they need to raise and let them know they can begin ahead of time. You will want to have phones available. Pampering In Prison Use the time in prison idea, but add a twist to it. While your prisoners are making phone calls, pamper them. Arrange to have people that pamper there, such as massage therapists, manicurists, estheticians for facials, hair stylists and makeup artist. Have pampering stations set up that appeal to both men and women. People will pay to raise money for you. Pennies From Heaven - Sunday school classes will have a jar to collect pennies in. One penny equals one vote towards the class. To make it interesting and raise more money, let any other coin denomination equal a vote against the class. For instance, a nickel would equal five votes against the class. Keep each jar in a public location to allow anyone to cast a vote for or against a class. Empty each jar at the end of the day and keep a running total. Let this fundraiser run for at least a month to give everyone a chance to bring in pennies. Rake It Up - Create a flyer that explains your group, what you are raising money for, and talks about your Rake It Up day. Distribute them door-to-door in your neighborhoods. Let people know you will be in their neighborhood, rakes in hand, to clean up their yard for a donation. Bring rakes and yard waste disposal bags. Make sure to check with your local municipality for requirements. Knock on doors and see who wants their yards cleaned up. Remember to be courteous. Dispose of the waste. Sponsor My A s And B s - Find sponsors who will pay a certain amount for every A or B on your report card. Maybe have a bonus for an all A s report card. Photocopy your report card to send it to your sponsors along with envelopes so they can collect the money and send it to you. Wacky Hat Day - For a one-dollar donation, allow people to wear a wacky hat for the day. Collect money as soon as they arrive and give participants a special hand stamp or sticker to show they have paid their fee. Local Business Sponsors Ask local businesses to sponsor you on your adventure. This could be in supplies or monetary donations. Garage Sale Do this as a group. Ask people to help increase the amount of items in your yard sale. Invite them to the garage sale. Use a flyer to help solicit donations and customers. Change the World Make a cool container that reflects the Mission Adventure that you are going to take. Place your containers at select locations. Collect the change each week. Babysitters Club Create a resume. Ask people whom you have babysat for to be references and write you a letter of recommendation. Take your resume and letters of recommendation to local daycares. Ask them to refer people to your babysitting service. 5
Lawn Service/House Cleaning Service Create a flier about your lawn service or house cleaning service. Include your name, number, reason for your service, and price. Take it to houses around your neighborhood; give it to them personally or leave it on the door. Mr. or Miss Errands For those who have their driver s license. Offer to run errands for people for a donation. You could go grocery shopping, pick up dry cleaning, or take their car to get an oil change. Promote your business by making flyers that promote what you do and the time frame you are working in. Festivals Check with your local Chamber of Commerce for any festivals that will be taking place in your town. Set up a booth selling bottled water, lemonade, or something similar. Keep in mind some festivals do not allow multiple booths to sell the same item. Community Service This is a great way to get involved with your community, as an individual and as a youth group. You can contact your City Council and/or Community Service for jobs or needs that can be performed by teenagers. If a business is in need of help, they will most likely donate to a worthy cause. Or ask for sponsors for your community work. Corporate Sponsorship Find out if your parent s employer offers any type of grant or scholarship for student involvement with aid or relief projects to foreign countries. Gas Stations Contact a community gas station. Let them know you are raising funds for a mission s trip. Offer a crew of courteous workers to man the pumps and provide full service for all customers. Have a donation bucket and professional looking sign/flyer advertising what you are working for. Customers will donate to your cause. God s Creation Calendar & Cards These are top quality items. You can choose to sell any of the following products: wall calendar, greeting cards, pocket calendars or notepads. Go to www.ygp.com Or call 800-279-1621. **When planning a fundraiser, make sure you advertise in your church, community, and school. If you receive donations from a business, be sure to advertise for that business. Once your fundraiser is over, be sure to send thank you notes to those that donated or helped in any fashion.** **Fundraiser expectations: You are representing Impact Student Ministries Missions Adventure. Together we must abide by the following Code of Conduct: 1. Have a servant s heart. Be cordial. 2. Be grateful and thankful for those who can & can not donate. 3. Have the spirit of a finisher. What you start, finish! 4. Have an excellent spirit. Inside & Out. (Inside: Excellent spirit = Fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22,23) (Out: The material you produce must have an excellent quality. First impressions speak volumes! Be creative. Spell & Grammar check your communication forms.) 5. Do not pressure anyone. 6. Be prepared. Do not procrastinate. We recommend you to fundraise outside of the church as much as possible. This allows you to impact your community, allows you to share about your adventure, and possibly allows you to share about your faith in God. 6
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