More Fundraising Ideas From The Home Office

Ideas for Group Fundraising

Events: Many of these are ideas that would make it possible for more than one to participate in. Have fun!

Hold a dance or a dance-a-thon - Kids and teens love to dance! Find a school or community center willing to provide dance space for free. Have the delegates invite all their friends from school, church, etc. Find a great DJ (again, you may be able to find someone to donate their talents) and decorate the space to make it festive and fun. Charge a small fee for admission to the dance. Delegates could also sell snacks or drinks at the event. There could be a small fee for song dedications or “shout-outs” to friends from the DJ. Get creative with the extras. Once the dance begins, the kids will be having so much fun, it won’t even feel like work!

Talent Show- Do your delegates have special talents? I bet they do! Host a talent show to showcase their skills. Talents could include musical instruments, voice, acting, joke-telling, juggling, dance, skits, and more. Some family members and friends may also want to participate. Promote the event at school, church, and in the community. Charge a fee for attendance. You could also run a snack bar during the event for extra cash. Is there a class-clown on your delegation? See if he or she would be willing to MC the event to keep things moving and keep your audience laughing.

Rummage Sale - We all have a few items we have been meaning to get rid of, but it can be hard to come up with enough items to make a traditional yard sale worthwhile. A group yard sale or rummage sale is a great solution! Delegates and their families can bring items to sell and share the task of assisting customers, collecting cash, set up and clean up. Don’t forget to ask neighbors, relatives, and friends if they would also like to donate items. You may be able to get a local store, church, or school to let you use their parking lot for free.

Spaghetti Feed or Pancake Breakfast - Find out if your school, church, or community center will donate space for this event. Everyone involved should chip in to purchase the initial supplies (or ask your local supermarket if they will donate some of the food items!). The delegates themselves should promote the event, help with cooking or service at the event, and provide information to attendees about all the great things they will be doing on their People to People adventure. You can set an admission fee or just ask for donations. In our experience, we find that most delegations report greater success from just asking for donations.

Silent Auction - This group fundraising event could easily be coupled with the Spaghetti Feed or Pancake Breakfast event. Have delegates contact local businesses to ask for donated items and services. Smaller items can be combined to make themed baskets. For each item you are auctioning off, you will want to list the approximate value and a starting bid. As a variation, you could hold a live auction. In that case, you will need to have a parent act as auctioneer. The students can help spot and track bids.

Parent’s Night Out Babysitting Event - This event is best scheduled around a holiday such as Valentine’s Day, but can be successful on just about any Friday or Saturday night. Find a school, church, or community center willing to donate their space for the evening. Prior to the event, have the students brainstorm fun games and activities to keep the children occupied and happy. Delegates may also want to bring in storybooks and games from home. At least one adult should be on hand to supervise the event, but the students themselves should be the ones interacting with the children. You may want to have TV and DVD player on hand to watch movies towards the end of the night as things calm down. Make sure you have contact information for every parent whose child is at the event. Set a clear end time for the event, so parents know when they need to pick up their children.

Other Options:

Raffle - Many delegations have had a lot of success with a group raffle. Does anyone on the delegation know of a business or individual that could donate a high-priced item to be raffled off? Electronic items such as I-pads or flat-screen TVs are often a good bet for a successful raffle. Hotel rooms or event tickets have also worked well. You may raffle off more than one item in the raffle. Set a price for the raffle tickets. Keeping the price low will help delegates sell more tickets. Each delegate should have as many tickets as they think they can sell. If you run out of tickets, print or purchase more! This is a fundraiser in which each delegate would get to keep the cash that they themselves gathered. Remember to set a clear deadline for selling tickets and a specific date to hold the drawing. Please note some cities/towns may require a permit, so be sure to check with your local officials.

Create a cookbook or calendar to sell - To create a cookbook, have delegates and parents provide their favorite recipes for the collection. You may be able to find a local business willing to donate the printing and binding or provide a discount. As an added treat, include a section with traditional recipes from the country or countries your group will be visiting.

Creating a calendar is a similar process. You could have delegates submit photos they have taken (the group could vote on the ones to use in the calendar), or you could find stock photos of the country or countries you will be visiting and use those to create a theme. Some delegations have also had success selling note card sets they have created.

No matter what fundraiser your group chooses, remember to always be gracious when asking for donations. It’s always a great idea to send a thank you card to every business that donates items or services. And have fun!