Wednesday, July 23, 2008

School Fundraising Ideas

school fundraisingA school fundraising activity is always a great idea to help your school raise the money that it needs with the help and participation of the whole community.

It is also an excellent way for students to understand the value of money and to learn that hard work pays off.

With so many fundraisers happening all around, what would differentiate your fundraiser and make it stand out from the rest? What would make people choose to support your cause? What fundraising activities will be mutually beneficial to both your school and to those prospective financial supporters? These are some important questions that you need to ask yourself before actually deciding on what fundraising activity to have. Once you have answered them, you can then move on to deciding what type of fundraiser will most likely work for your school. To help you with that, here are some school fundraising activities you can choose from.

One of the latest and most innovative school fundraising activities nowadays is Scrips. It is the use of paper as a substitute for money. This concept has actually been around for ages but it has only been utilized for fundraisers just recently. What happens is that during a fundraiser, the school would sell Scrips that they bought at a discount. For example, they would sell a $50-worth Scrip for the local grocer that they only bought for $45 to a community member. The local grocer is promoted, the fundraiser makes money, and the supporter purchases something that he can actually use.

A similar concept to Scrips is a fundraising concept referred to as “Schoolpop.” A supporter simply has to shop at participating online stores to make money for your school. Every time they make a purchase online, a certain percentage of the total cost will be rebated back to the school.

One fundraising idea that would surely encourage community participation is a community business bazaar. Invite parents and other community members to feature their businesses in a school bazaar. This will allow them to promote their products and services to the entire community. The participants will be assigned to their own booths and the school can charge a rental fee for each booth. Furthermore, they can charge entrance fees for those who want to check out the local community wares.

Auctioning services or talents of students or local community members is another brilliant way to raise funds for your school. Come up with a list of participants and the corresponding talents that they have or services that they would render and organize an auction night. For example, a student can donate a six-hour babysitting service to the school for free. The school will auction this service off to the highest bidder and will earn the cost of the bid.

Lastly, you can always choose the safe route and go with some tried and tested fundraising ideas. These include bake sales, garage sales, community car washes, ticket raffles, movie premieres or special screenings, talent shows, quiz bees and the like.

Read more...

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Innovative Ideas for Church Fundraisers

Most churches rely solely on donations given by their members during mass for financial support. The money that the church collects is used to cover its general expenses and regular upkeep. More often than not, the amount is simply not enough to maintain its existence and operation, such that other sources of funds are sometimes necessary. This is where church fundraisers come into the picture and church fundraising can be a very rewarding task.

Church fundraisers are an excellent way to help the church raise the money that it needs to keep up with the growing costs of running such an institution. It is also a great way to encourage its members to become more involved in its activities and more supportive of its goals. However, in order to get people’s attention, the fundraising concept must be something innovative and exciting, and appeals to the human senses. Below are some themes and ideas that can help you get started with your church fundraising campaign.

A church choir concert would be a great way to raise funds for your church. The church can earn from ticket sales, as well as from sponsorships. Not only will they be able to earn extra income for this, but they will also help promote the local talents of the church and the community. The audience, on the other hand, will be able to socialize with other church members and will have a night of fun and entertainment.

Raffle off an item or a service. Get one of your church members to donate a valuable item or service and hold a raffle draw for it. An example of an item would be a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary and an example of a service would be ballroom dancing lessons. The church will earn from the sales of the raffle tickets bought by those who wish to be part of the contest.

A church auction is another unique way to help raise extra funds for your church. Like the church raffle concept, simply ask church members to donate or contribute items and services to the church. Instead of raffling these items off, organize an auction night and sell the donated items and services to the highest bidder. The proceeds of the auction will be collected by the church and will be used for necessary expenditures.

Lastly, write letters to church members who have businesses within the community. Ask them to rebate a small amount or percentage every time someone buys something from their store. For example, ask a church member who owns a candy shop if it is possible to contribute $1 for every $20 purchase that is made in his store. Let the patrons of the store know that a part of the money that they spend there would be donated to the church. Not only will the business be promoted to the local community, but at the same time, people will be encouraged to buy from it because they know that part of the money that they spend will be put to good use.

Read more...

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

School Fundraising Idea - "Secret Admirer Notes"

My school did these little "secret admirer notes" one time. We had some really cute little cards that you could buy for like a dollar. Then you wrote whatever you wanted to say, and put who it was for, and what homeroom they were in. Then you turned it into the little secret admirer box, or whatever, and whenever the delivery day was, the notes were delivered to the classes. Girls would surely love the idea as they like to pursue guys with cards, love letters, flowers and write poems. Its really effective.

Here is an example:

There is a special something about you...
Something...that draws me to you
and makes me want to get to know you better.
Something...that stirs-up my emotions
every time I see you;
every time I hear or speak your name
I really don't understand why I feel this way,
or, what this is all about;
I only know that my heart tells me
—with each and every pounding beat—
that there is something special about you. ^_^

Read more...