Fundraising Ideas

50/50 Raffle
Sell raffle tickets for between $1-$5 per ticket. When a winner is selected, that person will get half of the total dollar amount collected, and the group will keep the other half.

Affinity Programs
Loyalty and affinity programs allow you and your family or group members to make money for your schools, clubs or groups by shopping at designated retailers or using a designated debit or credit card.

Art Show
For maximum exposure, open your art show fundraiser exhibit with a paid preview and dinner, and kick it off to the general public with a meet-the-artists gala and auction, for which you can also sell tickets. The artists can assist your fundraising by paying for their booths.

Auctions: Picnic Baskets, Gift Baskets, etc.
Virtually anything can be auctioned. Concentrate on smaller items like gift baskets, picnic baskets and the like. Picnic baskets can be filled with food: nuts, sausage, chocolates, crackers, fruit or other gourmet snacks, or even wine and cheese or champagne. Women would like baskets with lotions, soaps, bath beads and the like, while most men would prefer more masculine baskets with tools, batteries, and perhaps coupons for car alignments or oil changes. Themed creations might include golf baskets, which could have golf balls, gloves, hat and golf course coupons or tickets to a golf tournament. Travel baskets work well also, which could have airline tickets, cruises or vacation packages, stuffed in with a pair of thongs, sunscreen and a beach towel, depending of course, on the destination.

Bake Sales
Schools and PTA's utilize parents and teachers and other volunteers to bake cookies, pies, cakes and other desserts and setup booths and tables to sell the goodies, often one piece at a time.

Barbecue Fundraiser

A barbecue is traditionally a popular fundraiser, especially if it features giveaways and attractive door prizes. Get sponsors to donate a bicycle, pricey bottles of wine, Spanish classes, gift certificates...anything that will make your barbecue sound more attractive. For sizeable cash donations, let sponsors display company banners and provide an ad for inclusion in the event program. Sponsors can also provide the food and beverages, grills and fuel, tables and chairs, tents, etc.

Basketball Tournament Fundraiser
A three-on-three basketball tournament is a great way to raise money. A sponsoring organization provides a double elimination tournament for basketball enthusiasts. Three-on-three basketball is a half-court game played by two teams of three players each. Teams can be groups of three adults—male or female. The first team to score 15 points with a margin of 2 points wins that game.

Bingo
Bingo is a game that gives participants a chance to win money, but it's also a social outing. That combination makes it immensely popular. A bingo fundraiser is a tradition for those who relish the chance to be with friends who also like playing the game. All ages play, from kids not old enough to drive, to senior citizens.

Books
Selling books at your fundraiser sends a wonderful message - it shows you value reading and education and rates very high on the "feel good" scale. Themespecific fundraisers are very popular, with the Christian book sales fundraiser and African-American book sales fundraiser leading the pack. Another popular option is personalized books. Your child's name is incorporated into the text of a professionally written and illustrated story.

Bottled Water
Bottled water for fundraisers is an excellent choice for event-driven or steady, yearlong fundraising. The product, bottled water with your custom label, is popular and the bottle with your logo becomes a walking billboard for your organization. Perfect in the heat of summer, but also in the dead of winter, bottled water is an easy sell. As Americans become more health conscious, candy, cookie dough, pizza, and other "indulgence" foods become tougher to justify. This is not the case with water bottle fundraising. There are very few objections to overcome. No one has allergies to water - water has no carbs or calories. And eventually, everyone gets thirsty.

Bracelet Fundraising
Bracelet fundraising is one such way where people from different walks of life can donate through buying fund raising bracelets (also called wristbands). Besides raising funds, these stylish promotional bracelets create awareness about a worthy cause. Be it at sporting events, conventions or rallies, they work to act as a common bonding factor among the members of the group wearing them.

Bricks Fundraiser
When your school or college is looking to build any new structure, be it a theatre, gym, class room or even a landscaping project, one of the best methods to raise funds to pay for it is through brick fundraising. Engraved bricks can be used for fundraising and provide donor recognition at the same time. Recognition that will last a lifetime. Bricks (or other materials) are typically engraved with lasers or by sandblasting and adorned with the donor's name or logo. These bricks are then made a part of the building, walkway or other structure when it is built and they become permanent reminders of the contributors' generosity.

Cake Walk
Hosting a cakewalk is also a fun and inexpensive way to raise money. With almost no investment required, a cakewalk is a good choice for groups with little or no capital. Although no financial investment is needed, you will need several people who are willing to donate a cake for the event. There are several variations on how to conduct a cakewalk.

Calendars
When you need to raise funds quickly and effectively with minimum cost and fuss, a fundraising calendar can be the solution. As with fund raising cookbooks, there are two main types of calendars, those made or designed by yourself, and those made by a company.

Candles
A candle fundraiser offers something a little different than the usual fundraising products. Aside from emergency candle usage, scented candles give a warm glow and comforting aroma when lit (or should that be a comforting glow and warm aroma?). Women are the usual buyers of candles, but men also buy them as romantic gifts or for those special occasions to set the mood for their partner.

Candy
Candy fundraising is always popular and helps raise a lot of money because candy is so well-liked. Despite our dentist's warnings, everyone wants it. And everyone eats it. Some people can't get enough. Sweet tooths (teeth?) abound. Diabetics and weight watchers can partake of the sugarless varieties. Even small groups do well with this kind of activity because you don't need many volunteers to do candy fundraising successfully.

Car Donation
Have you ever noticed that some people seem to have lots of used cars, motors and other clutter around their home or land? All of these items can be used to raise money for your organization with just a little bit of help. Most of these people love to clear out the place and get rid of old cars or other items and will gladly donate them if you will remove it for them.

Car Wash
This is a quick and dirty (no pun intended) fund raising idea which is especially suitable for older kids. They will get wet and tired, but they'll probably enjoy doing it. As long as you have enough young volunteers to do the actual washing, the work is easy and can even be fun.

Catalog
The fundraiser catalog can be very lucrative, as long as you have good merchandise at reasonable prices. The secret is to have the right catalog for the right time of year. House and garden items do exceptionally well in the spring, for example and Christmas items do well in late autumn. Pay special attention to the layout though - a "jumbled" looking catalog with poor descriptions will mean lower sales. This is another type of fundraiser that can be done on-line or in the traditional "pre-sales" or "order taker" methods. The internet method is the simplest and has the advantage of letting you contact people outside of your community.

Cell Phone Donations
Millions of people around the world have obsolete cell phones gathering dust in closets or drawers that can be donated for your charity fund raising cause. More than 60 million wireless handsets lie idle in American homes and offices and that number is increasing every day. Not only will you help the needy and save the environment, but when you have a cell phone fundraiser, you'll also make money for your group.

Cheesecake
Highly palatable and highly profitable, a cheesecake fundraiser could be perfect for your fall or winter fundraising event. Cheesecake has mass appeal, so the potential customer base is quite large. A big selling point of cheesecake fundraising is that it's a premium product worthy of a premium price - this means higher profits for your organization.

Christmas Fundraisers
There are any number of Christmas-themed items - ornaments, Christmas cards, wrapping paper, flowers, chocolates, popcorn... The list seems to go on forever. These are wonderful items to sell using the online or pre-sales methods, or at a local venue such as a craft show or school fair. If you want to try something different, sell Christmas greenery - Christmas trees, Christmas wreaths, and other "live" Christmas items.

Christmas Wreaths
Fundraising with Christmas wreaths is a hands-on, creative activity. The wreaths can be decorated by members and supporters of your organization and then sold to raise money. Because the wreaths can be decorated with any theme, and to suit every taste, you are sure to be able to please most every potential customer.

Citrus Fundraising
Always popular, always profitable, fundraising with citrus is a tried and true way to make money for your organization. The "order taker" method is low-risk and fresh fruit in the fall is always a good seller.

Coffee Fund Raiser
A staple in almost every household, hosting a coffee fundraiser lets people help your organization by buying a product they use every single day. The mass appeal extends to businesses too - many employers are only too happy to help your organization and treat their employees at the same time. The program involves selling premium coffee at a premium price.

Cookbooks
A cookbook fundraiser can be set up in two ways, by buying pre-made books to sell, or by gathering your own recipes and then printing and selling them. Some schools and colleges opt for the former as it involves minimal effort and can maximize profits, but many prefer the latter for its sense of community spirit and pride. Selling books door to door is a tactic that has been adopted by schools for decades. Another way to sell cookbooks is to go to local markets or trade fairs and set up a small stand.

Cookie Dough
It's certainly not surprising since everyone loves cookies. They're a favorite with kids and their parents and a proven winner with customers. And if your potential donors understand the value of the cause their supporting, you shouldn't have much difficulty selling them. There are lots of different flavors to satisfy anyone's desire.

Coupon Books
Coupon books for fundraising are easy to sell and profitable too. They are valuable booklets containing coupons that are filled with national and/or local merchants that can be immediately sold to raise money for fundraisers. Some will contain pages with valuable information along with the coupons.

Cow Pie Bingo
The field is set up by marking off large squares as you would see on a bingo card. These squares should have numbers or other distinguishing characters. You sell chances for which square the cow will drop the cow pies on! So it's up to "Bessie" to decide who wins.

Custom T-Shirts & Other Items
T-shirt fundraisers are used by a lot of people to promote their groups and raise money for camps, projects or travel expenses. The idea of a fundraising t-shirt and clothes in general goes very well if you can add a little bit of fun and style to the products.

Dinner
A traditional fundraising event for many charitable groups is a large scale fundraising dinner. Often it is an annual event, and it is a time for speech making, recognizing outstanding voluntary work and giving awards.

Dining for Dollars
Restaurants across the community donate a portion of their receipts from a nonpeak night in exchange for one night. In exchange, the association promotes the night and the restaurants for about a month in advance - most of the billboard space and radio and TV time is donated - and recruits its board members and community celebrities to serve as hosts for the evening in each restaurant to drive in business.

Direct Mail
To many people, fundraising by direct mail is fundraising in the purest sense of the word. Essentially you are soliciting donations to your organization without offering a tangible product in return. This type of fundraising is most effective when your group addresses a specific, compelling issue.

Discount Cards
Essentially, a fundraiser with discount cards is based on a wallet-sized card printed with your logo. The card contains prearranged discounts from merchants in your area. Customers love them because they get to support a good cause and can save a lot of money at the same time.

Dog Wash
The idea is that dog owners come and get their dogs washed by volunteers in exchange for a set charge or donation.

First Aid Kits
This product nevertheless has a wide range of appeal. Basic first aid kits, especially the small purse-size ones, are in demand by anyone who has children while the more deluxe models are attractive to automobile and boat owners. Plus, there is a "feel-good" factor involved - customers feel good about the decision to be responsible.

Flea Markets
A flea market is like a bunch of garage sales grouped together in one place. Each seller or vendor has their own space to display their wares. But a flea market isn't just for selling junk. Many vendors sell merchandise of all sorts: from arts and crafts to fresh produce. People are attracted to flea markets because of the variety of goods available and the ever-prized bargain.

Flower Bulbs
Flower bulb fundraising brings something natural, eco-friendly and appealing to a wide cross section of people. Also, flower fund raising is easy to manage because they are products that sell like hot cakes. This fund raiser is equally good for the home, office, club, or school program. Good quality bulbs are the best choice for carefree indoor gardening, where they grow, bloom, and make for pleasant gifts.

Fun Run
Organize a 5-Kilometer Fun Run Fundraiser by selling sponsorships to local businesses. Their contributions can cover event costs including trophies and T-shirts printed with sponsor logos. All runners pay an entry fee and are given a discount for pre-registration.

Game Show
Everyone loves to watch television games shows. Whether the questions are pop trivia or in depth knowledge of some niche subject, such as the civil war or quantum physics, quiz shows are just plain fun. Why not use such an event for your next fundraiser?

Garage Sales
You can search through your attic, basement and garage for items you no longer need. You can also solicit donations from family, friends and neighbors, making sure they know all proceeds will go toward your fund raiser. They'll be more likely to donate items, since they know that you won't be profiting from it personally.

 

Golf Fundraiser Shoot-Out
Set up a 125 yard hole at a local driving range, with 3-5 foot circle around it. Over the span of several days, let interested golfers try their skills at a dollar or two per shot. Participants go to the next round by making a hole-in-one or having a ball land within the circle. From there the qualifiers have a shoot-out on the same hole to see who goes to the finals.

Golf Tournament
Establish teams of four players who take part in the fundraiser by paying to play. They play the entire course once or twice for a chance to win prizes. This could also be accompanied by a dinner or luncheon, which might be included as part of the entrance fee paid by the players.

Guessing Jars
Individuals take a shot at guessing the amount of items in a jar. They pay each time they guess. You will need a prize for each jar's winner.

Hoop-a-Thon Basketball Tournament
Shooters are given five minutes to sink as many shots as possible. Contributions come in the shape of flat rate pledges but are often contingent on the number of baskets made by a sponsored shooter.

Ink Jet Recycling
Make money for your fundraising group and do something wonderful for your community and our planet.

Internet Fundraising
Open a "virtual mall". Register with an e-commerce portal that specializes in fundraising. The site will have a number of "affiliate" online stores such as Wal-Mart, Target, Sharper Image, Office Max, Tower Records, etc. Then urge all of your supporters to shop though the shopping site's "portal" whenever they make purchases online. Your group collects a commission on all of the purchases they make.

Jail and Bail
One of the best fundraisers of all time is the jail and bail, where willing participants are cuffed and booked. Housed in a make shift cell where they make phone calls, pleading for donations to passersby for enough money to make bail as they watch the hot dog sales, cokes or other goodies as other students, family, neighbors and friends watch their jail bird!

Karaoke Fundraiser
The simplest way to raise money is to charge admission to this event. If the venue sells drinks, the management may be persuaded to give a percentage of the bar receipts to supplement the income. Selling CDs is an option. How about a donation if you want to sing? Or a donation so that you are not required to sing? Or a donation to nominate someone else to sing? Don't forget that it could also be interesting to have a talent contest, with the winner selected on the basis of applause.

Krispy Kreme Donuts
A fundraising tradition of more than 50 years, which has brought success to a lot of schools, clubs and other non-profit organizations. Americans are crazy about doughnuts.

Lollipop Fund Raisers

Lollipop & sucker fundraisers are sure to be brisk sellers at school sporting events, pep rallies, band concerts, and special events of any kind. Low-priced, lollipop fundraisers can be a successful fundraising activity, since even school children can support it.

Magazines
Magazines are a good fundraisers because most households already subscribe to at least two. Since they will have to renew their favorite subscriptions eventually anyway, they might as well renew it from someone who is promoting a worthy cause—like yours. Magazine fundraisers also work because of the tremendous variety of magazines that are available. Most people will be able to find at least one periodical that interests them and they're usually a lot cheaper than the newsstand price.

Meat
A nice change from candy, popcorn, cookie dough, cheesecake and other sweets, a meat fundraiser appeals to a premium clientele and sells for a premium price. In addition to steaks, many companies offer pork chops, gourmet hamburgers or franks— all wonderful items for the grill. Special cuts of meat, or more "exotic" meats like venison are also available.

Mini-Golf Tournament
Ask a mini-golf course manager in your area to sponsor a tournament to help raise money for your group. If they're willing to donate the use of the course, or at least give you a reduced price for it, they can still make money through selling concessions to your group. Get local businesses to sponsor the event and donate prizes.

Movie Night
Speak with a manager of a local movie theater about donating a movie showing to your fund raising group. Make an agreement with the theater that you can sell the tickets and keep the money (less the cost of printing the tickets) and the theater keeps all the money from sales at the concession stand.

Murder Mystery
A murder mystery is a unique fundraiser that will allow every member of your group to participate while bringing in lot of people from the community to support your organization and have a great time doing it.

Music CDs
Members of your organization are given a catalogue featuring music CDs from top name artists from major record labels at discounted prices. Another technique involves selling a specially produced compilation CD centered around a specific theme or music genre. Christmas music or "greatest hits" collections are always popular choices. If you expect to sell enough volume, 300 or so CDs, then customizing a CD with your group's logo or slogan is definitely worth a look.

Nuts
In the backlash against sugary snacks, fundraiser nut sales have come to the rescue. There are lots of variations on the nut products available - gourmet peanuts, freshly roasted nuts, and special nut mixes are just a few of the possibilities.

Online Auctions
Put your organization's donated goods or other valuables on eBay or another online service and sell them to the highest bidder. Rather than haggling for pennies with penny pinching garage sale junkies, you can raise more money by selling through a silent auction fundraiser.

Pancake Breakfast
All participants pay an entrance fee, usually a flat fee, for an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast. This usually includes other breakfast items as well such as eggs and sausage, coffee and juice, etc.

Party Night
Party nights are typically held on Friday evening and can either end late that night or they can be "marathon" parties where the party lasts until noon the next day. In the latter case, kids bring sleeping bags and pillows in case they can't make it through the marathon.

Penny Drive
No one thinks twice about tossing a penny or two in a wishing fountain or a bucket labeled Penny Drive Fundraiser! After a while these pennies begin to add up and before you realize it there will be hundreds of dollars. Most places of business will allow you to place jars or other containers labeled with information in public places.

Personalized Items
Popular items for a personalized fundraiser include t-shirts, sweatshirts, coffee mugs, calendars, stationery, silicone bracelets, bottled water, food items - the list seems to go on forever. One increasingly popular form of the personalized fundraiser is the school spirit fundraiser. This consists of sellable items like plastic cups, cheering accessories (like megaphones, giant foam #1 fingers, or pom-poms), t-shirts, caps, sweatshirts and the like.

Picture Fundraisers
A group either has a photography event or works in conjunction with a photography studio to offer certificates for free portraits in exchange for a donation to your group. Schools use the assembly line method to conduct picture fundraisers for membership directories, team pictures and year books successfully for years. Groups now incorporate picture fundraising as part of an even larger event and offer themed portraits (Victorian, Western, etc), glamour shots or staged photo ops.

Pizza Fundraising
There is probably no single food more popular in the US than pizza. Kids prefer pizza over most other foods for lunch or dinner (maybe even breakfast!). That's why a pizza fundraiser is sure to make money.

Poinsettias
The possibilities are limitless with Poinsettia sales. This is not a fundraiser that targets one group and that is why it is such a great money maker. Everyone loves flowers and likes to decorate for the holidays. You bring them a quality plant and they will furnish the cash.

Polar Bear Plunge
A polar bear plunge means, quite simply, that people don bathing suits in bitingly cold weather and dive into the ocean or an iced-over lake.

Popcorn
Popcorn fundraisers offer gourmet popcorn of all sorts. Popped popcorn dipped in caramel, cheese, chocolate or some other flavor and packed in a decorative tin is the original version of this fundraiser. In recent years, though, microwavable popcorn has become a fundraising favorite for both the consumer and the event organizers.

Raffles
Prizes are normally donated so your costs are limited to the printing of the tickets and any promotional materials. Your profits are only limited by the number of tickets you sell. Big ticket items like cars, all-inclusive trips, and plasma screen TV's always result in good ticket sales, but it may be harder to get these items donated. You may be able to purchase these items at cost and still net a decent profit - you will have to weigh the pros and cons for your group.

Read-a-Thon for Kids
Each person is given a sheet on which to gather sponsors. Sponsors agree to pay a set amount for each book the child reads over a specified period of time. The more books the child reads, the more money they will raise.

Recycling
In the past, groups who were interested in fundraising through recycling programs focused on paper products, bottles, and aluminum cans. Today, ink jet printer cartridges and cell phones are the items most fundraising groups recycle, while laptops, PDAs and digital cameras are gaining in popularity.

Rubber Duck Race
Rubber ducks are "sold" to participants who then write their name and phone number on each duck they purchase. Be sure to use waterproof ink! Then, the ducks are placed on a river, pond or, as a last resort, in a large pool. The duck that reaches a predetermined finish line first is the winner, and the person who bought that duck wins a prize.

Sales Percentage Events
The owner of the store selects one predefined day when a percentage of all sales is donated to the charity, and heavily advertises this fact to encourage more shoppers.

Santa Clause
This event usually takes place on a weekend in December. The group provides a volunteer to be dressed as Santa Clause, renting a costume if necessary. Most profit is achieved if a volunteer is the photographer.

Scavenger Hunt
Individuals or teams pay an entrance fee to take part in the scavenger hunt. Each team is given the list of items they need to find. Each person or team must return to the starting location by a specified time. A winner is selected from those who returned by the specified time based on who found the most items on the list.

Scratch Card Fund Raising
On each scratch card are several rows of silver dots like you'd find on a lottery ticket. Your fundraising volunteer asks potential donors if they'd like to play a scratch game to help your fund raiser. Under each dot is an amount from zero to $5.00 and the person agrees to donate whatever amount appears under the dot that he or she chooses to scratch off.

Scrip Fund Raiser
Scrip ("substitute money") is a certificate or a card, which can be used instead of cash or given as a gift. Families are willing to buy from merchants who participate in scrip fundraising and besides this, they can use scrip for just about any kind of shopping: food, clothing, entertainment, dining out, lodging, travel, video rentals... even gasoline.

Silent Auction
All of the merchandise that you sell is donated to your fundraiser by parents, local vendors, and church members. Silent auction fundraisers are typically held in conjunction with another event like a formal dinner, a wine and cheese party or some other event designed to elicit conversation between guests.

Snow/Sand Sculpture Contest
One of the best ways to get people excited about a sand/snow sculpture is to either find someone that gives lessons or can build a work of art. This draws people because they not only get to meet the person that is so good, but also learn a few things. Lessons are another great way to raise funds, the artist may even donate their skills and time if you ask.

Spelling Bee
In order to raise profits and draw an audience, it will have to be put on in such a way that is comical and interesting. Have teams of three or four participants instead of individual contestants. When a team misses two words they are disqualified from that round. The winning team goes on, and the last team standing wins the Spelling Bee. This fundraiser is profitable at different levels: teams pay an entrance fee, donations, individual or team sponsorships, event ticket sales, or sell refreshments.

Talent Show
There is probably a lot of undiscovered talent in your city, so you'll never run out of performers. And, everyone loves to watch their children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews perform, so you'll have a built in audience. Elect judges from your fund raising group and hold auditions at a school, recreation or community center. Get a variety of acts like singing, dancing, instrument playing (individual or in bands), acting, juggling, comedy, lip-synching, etc. Your group could even invite parents and teachers to perform.

Vending Machines
From coffee and soda machines to gumball dispensers, vending machines are hassle-free and reliable, and they are easy to use and clean.

Watermelon Eating Contest
ask a local grocery store if they want to sponsor the event by donating the watermelons or by providing them at a discount. In exchange, their company will be represented at the event by a sign or a vendor table. Each participant and spectator will pay an entry fee. Have a set time (3-5 minutes is a good estimate) in which the participants will eat as much watermelon as possible.

Websites
You or your group can use any of the following ideas to raise funds with a website:

• Sell products you buy through wholesalers and have them drop-shipped
• Earn commissions through affiliate programs or affinity programs
• Sell traditional fundraising products such as cookie dough, candy or magazines
• Earn money through Google Adsense (really cool)
• Sell advertising on your site to local companies

Read more at www.fund-raising-ideas-center.com