We've had a successful past few months, in terms of fundraising anyway, and feel extremely blessed to have earned over our projected goal. On more than one occasion, I've had friends ask me for "help" so they can fundraise more effectively. "What did you guys do to earn that much?" When I tell them, they follow up, usually, with "Yeah, but, how did you do it?" I've thought about it a lot. I think the biggest thing is that I happen to have a lot of good friends in a lot of different places. So, not only did I have an amazing group of friends here who took on a fundraiser (5K), but a group of friends back in Michigan decided to put together a fundraiser too. I recognize that most people don't have that -- and I'm not sure how I even do to be honest. But, as we begin to create our own 501(c)(3), I've been thinking a lot about fundraising...and I've put some thoughts together to hopefully give some ideas for any other family who may be considering a fundraiser. I'm breaking this into 2 posts, because it's just too long.
Today's is simply a list of a few ideas -- big and small. But, please comment with some of your own ideas. Here's my small list:
Bake sales
This can be the classic bake sale at a game, after school lemonade-stand-style, OR...you can do pre-orders. A friend of mine did a huge cookie bake sale this past Christmas for a family member who has cancer. They let EVERYONE know via email, facebook, door to door fliers. Then, people could order, by the dozen, whatever type of cookie was on the list. (Peanut butter, Ranger, chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin) People turned in their orders and they were baking like mad! It was a perfect time to do it (holidays), they had a big group of people willing to bake, and they just had to deliver them. They made a ton of money doing that. I've had friends do that with apple pies too.
Ice cream social
Charge $10 to get in. they get 1 ticket for an ice cream (ice cream is cheap). Have video of your child playing, a slide show with pictures, information of why you are raising the money, and have a speaker – possibly you telling your child’s story. Make the evening casual and fun, but informative.
Benefit Concert or Dance
Charge $10-20 to enter. Check with local talent who may be looking for an opportunity to get their music out
5K
takes a lot of planning but could be lucrative, and it’s super fun. You can even do it around a track if you can't get a trail. Invite your local Special Olympics chapter to come and participate as well.
Restaurant
Many restaurant’s offer 10-25% of money earned towards your charitable cause. This takes a lot of preparation and getting the word out, but could be worth it. If anything, it’s a good way to get the word out that you are raising money for your kid. If you approach a restaurant, ask if you can get all day, not just dinner, and if this can include carry-out. They can always say NO, but it’s worth asking. It could make a difference of a few hundred buckaroo’s, so it’s worth asking. Also, ask if you can put things up in the restaurant. I asked and put up an enlarged picture of Samantha with a big “Thank you for coming to Chevy’s and Supporting Samantha.” I also made thank you notes that were permanently on the tables that day. It had a picture of our family and a simple “thank you for coming and supporting our sweet Samantha.” It was simple, but it was my way of showing appreciation, knowing that I couldn’t thank everyone personally. It also, however, made others aware of what was going on and curious. I walked around to the tables that night as much as I could to say thank you, and of course Sammy was on my hip, smiling. It was pretty perfect.
Silent Auction
This can be big or small. Get people to donate desserts and sell those there for $1 each (it is a fundraiser after all), and have the items around the room. Have a band there, or some other thing going on during the silent auction.
Spaghetti Dinner
charge $15-25 a plate (depending on where you live perhaps). Get people to volunteer to cook up the noodles, sauce, and then bring it all to your location. The charge to get in includes a big plate of pasta, bread, side salad, and a piece of Texas Sheet Cake (or something along those lines…think inexpensive). Eat the night away with music in the background (can you tell music is important to me?), some dancing maybe.
Car Wash
easy, fun, and kids do it ALL the time for school. So, you can probably get a group of people to do it for a few hours.
Sports Tournament
Basketball, soccer, etc. Charge $100 per team to enter. It can be all day, and the winner gets a free meal at a local restaurant (get the restaurant on board to donate that meal for the team), their names in the paper (get a reporter involved before the event to advertise and write a follow-up article), and a medal. This could be an annual event that people look forward to.
Grant Writing
If you are a good writer and willing to take the time, you can find money out there that is waiting to be given.
Friends with Bono
I'm still working on this...but I'm pretty sure if Bono and I were tight, he'd drop a few thousand for my little Sammy. He's all about charity. Plus, I mean, he'd probably be her godfather after all...so...yeah. Rich celebrities. If you can swing it, make it work for you people. (Obviously I'm joking here. If you do happen to be friends with rich celebrities, don't assume they should be forking money over your way -- but go ahead and ask if they'll emcee your spaghetti dinner. It can't hurt, right?)
What are your ideas?!
1 comment:
Jeanette,
Thank you for this post and the great suggestions. I re-posted what you are doing on my blog where I try and encourage people to get involved in philanthropic efforts. Way to go and good luck raising money!
Barett
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