Fundraising Tips and Ideas
Fundraising Tips and Ideas Fundraising should be FUN! It doesn t need to be stressful or hard work - it s as simple as getting a few friends together for a movie night at your home and asking them for a contribution. A few things to remember when you start planning your fundraiser: Don t be afraid to ask you just never know who might dig deep and help you reach your target sooner. The worst thing they can say is no! Carry plenty of brochures and DVDs everywhere with you so people know what cause you are raising funds for and you can also help us spread the word about The School of St Jude. Know what will be done with the money you raise The School of St Jude will purchase This information can be confirmed at the time when you advise us that you would like to fundraise for our School. Be familiar with The School of St Jude s mission and vision and why people should support your fundraising efforts. Many people charge into their fundraising without a clear plan and then burnout halfway through. Make sure you have a realistic target and a clear fundraising plan that you feel comfortable with. Conserve your energy! Look at your time investment and think of return versus effort.
Fundraising Plans You may come up with a million ideas, but these can only become a success if you have a plan of action. Don t let the word plan scare you it s as simple as creating a to do list and putting all the dates in your diary or calendar. We ve placed some tick boxes beside the following points so you can select which ideas best suit you. Who could sponsor you? Friends and family Work colleagues and employer (get your boss to match you!) Local businesses Clubs or community groups in your area (Rotary*, PCYC, gyms, Scouts/Guides, book clubs etc.) *Remember we are a Rotary supported project, so your local club might be very happy to sponsor you and would love to hear you talk about your adventure when you return! Easy money spinners Bake-offs: cupcakes, toffees, slices, cakes, hand-made chocolates etc are cheap and easy to make and sell at a profit for morning tea/snacks at your workplace or local markets. Casual Friday: convince your workplace or school to have a casual wear day and make a minimum gold coin donation for the pleasure. Sausage/Veggie Sizzle: a weekend sausage/veggie sizzle at Bunnings if you are in Australia is easy to organise and a great fundraiser. Alternatively you can approach schools and councils that are holding festivals or fetes to book a stall. Garage/Boot sale: what better excuse to clean out of the clutter from your home. Ask around your workplace for people to do the same and donate items that you can sell and collect the profits for your climb. Money box: Not just for the home but even your workplace or gym. Give it a theme and encourage people to contribute the change they would have spent for their drinks, coffee or shopping. Lolly guess competition: Fill a large jar with a selection of lollies like jellybeans, lollipops etc and set a fee to guess how many are inside. The winner receives the full jar!
Movie night: invite your friends over to watch a classic flick like Grease, Rocky, The Godfather and charge an admission fee. Have popcorn, chocolate and drinks for sale or even pizzas. Everyone pays for what they eat it s still cheaper than a night at the movies and it s helping a great cause! Baby photo competition: Encourage your work colleagues to bring along their baby photos and everyone donates a gold coin to guess who is in the photo. Karaoke night: Whether it s at home or contacting your local pub/karaoke venue. Everyone contributes an entry fee for the evening and you can have fun singing the night away. Midrange Money Makers Lawn Bowls day: Arrange a BBQ, drinks and snacks for sale all marked up to raise funds. Charge an entry fee per team! Make a day of it and run a raffle or auction with donated prizes. Tenpin Bowling nights: Approach your local Tenpin Bowling centre to run a fundraising night. Sell tickets that include games and shoe hire. Include a raffle or auction. Cinema night: Contact your local cinema and ask for a rate on bulk ticket purchases or to book out the cinema for a latest movie and screen it as a fundraiser amongst your friends and local community. Place posters around community billboards and notify your local paper about the event. Live music: Do you know some talented artists? Maybe some African musicians? Regardless of their style why not consider approaching your local pub or bar and ask if they will donate the space for your evening and they can keep the profits from the drinks sold. Place a cover charge and spread the word about the evening. Photo/Art competition: Speak to your local art gallery to donate the space for an evening and put the word out that you are organising a photographic or art competition for budding amateurs to submit their works. They pay a small entry fee or donate their artwork for sale with all proceeds going towards your fundraising efforts. Those attending the big event pay a small entry fee at the door. Trivia Night: Work with a local pub or bar to put on a trivia night as your fundraiser. Each participant pays an entry fee to enter the trivia. Convince local businesses to donate prizes and raffle these off during the night plus keep some for your trivia winners!
Cricket match: Organise a match between family and friends teams pay entry and you charge a small fee to spectators plus sell drinks and snacks on the day. Sporting fixtures: Approach your local club and ask if a weekend match can dedicate a percentage of their entry fees or have buckets for coin collections at the gate and roam the drinks queue promoting and collecting for your cause. Bringing in the Big Bucks Fashion parade: Use your connections to get access to fashion labels to be worn. Organise entertainment perhaps with an African flavour. Approach a local high school to host it using their students as models or tap into more connections and approach a local casting agency with talent on their books that is looking for exposure and experience. Charge an entry, have auctions and sell refreshments and snacks. Gala ball: Plan well and stick to your budget. Get as much as possible donated venue, entertainment, prizes and loads of volunteers to help you. Organise a superb menu and selection of drinks for the evening and mark up your ticket price to cover costs and make a juicy profit. Wine Tasting event: Approach your local liquor retailer to host a wine tasting evening preferably at your premises with one of their wine experts on hand to present a selection of wines to your guests. Perhaps they could even be African wines? Purchase some cheeses, crackers, nuts and other suitable nibbles and set price per head for your guests to attend.