More Ideas

There are many different types of fundraisers. This list can simply provide you ideas as a

starting point, or perhaps spark a new idea of your own. The fundraisers below are in no

particular order, but are divided by category/type of fundraiser. Get creative . . . the

money is out there . . . don’t let a lack of funds stop you from reaching your dreams!

Categories include:

1. Dog Wash – At your school or Local Park, have a dog wash. If held at a park, make sure to call the

city first and find out what types of soap will not kill the grass. See if you can get a pet store to donate

the soap. Advertise well!

2. Holiday Carolers – Pay to have your school choir come and sing to students or teachers during class.

You can sing Love songs on Valentines Day!

3. Civil War Fight Songs – Have your choir get paid to sing U of O or OSU fight song before the Civil

War football game.

4. R.A.Y. (Rent a Youth) Day – Have parents or staff members pay to have a group of students come

and help with yard work, painting, cleaning, or any other jobs need. Works well on teacher inservice/

work days too!

5. Recycling Program – A recycling program for collecting used printer cartridges costs nothing to put

together. The supplier covers all collection boxes and shipping needs. Cell phones, soup labels, etc.

can also be collected. For more information, check out www.fundingfactory.com.

6. Yard Cleanup – A yard cleanup fundraiser is extremely fast and easy to put together. Simply create a

set of instructions for your group detailing what to offer, what to say, and how much to charge. Fall

time or spring is best! Around graduation time is good too for all the graduation parties.

7. Halloween Insurance – Charge neighbors $10 to have Halloween insurance. If a pumpkin is smashed,

a tree is TP’d or any other Halloween mischief, you come the next day to clean it up! If not, you keep

the money!

8. Coffee Delivery – Work with your local coffee shop on a deal, take orders, get money, then get the

coffee and deliver it to teachers and office workers. Split the costs with the coffee shop.

9. Gift Wrap – Around the holidays have people bringing their presents and give a donation for gift

wrapping services.

10. Kiddie Camp – The day after Thanksgiving or the week before Christmas, choose a day and offer

daycare for kids ages kindergarten and up so parents can go shopping with out their kiddies! You can

offer 9am-noon, or noon-3pm slots. Have music, coloring pages, games, etc available and lots of

helpers! Charge $15-$25 per child with donations accepted.

11. Can and Bottle Recycling – Set up a weekend where you collect recyclable cans and

bottles from their neighborhood. Meet at a local recycling station (at a grocery store or other

designated place for your area) and collect money from deposits collected.

12. Christmas Tree Pick Up – Advertise about a week before Christmas that your group will pick up

Christmas trees on a certain date to take to the local biomass recycling plant for a donation. Leave a

small, plastic, zip lock baggie (with a rubber band attached) with your note about for pick up along

with your phone number. Trees can be left in front of houses with donation baggie rubber banded to

tree – ask people to phone in ahead of time and keep a list of locations for pick up.

13. Walk-a-Thon – Have friends and family to pledge money for every mile they run or walk.

14. Math-a-Thon – Have friends and family to pledge money for every math problem solved.

Set a certain amount of time and let kids go for it! This can be done with any academic area.

15. Trike-A-Thon -The kids will love this great fundraising event! Young children get donations per lap

that they will ride on their tricycles on a given day or flat donations. Hold this event on a Saturday or

Sunday so the parents can come cheer the kids on! Works well with scooters or roller skates too.

16. Cleanup Fundraiser – Organize a community cleanup project. Pledges are tied to a specific

attainment goal such as the number of pounds of trash collected or the number of road miles or city blocks cleaned of

debris. You'll need to create a one-page overview of your cleanup program and a pledge signup sheet.

It works best if your overview specifies a suggested range for donations.

17. Bake Sale – In the spring everyone loves baked goods! Have a students bring baked goods to sell.

18. Bowling For Bucks – A bowling fundraiser is another fun way to raise funds. The group event is

simple to put together. Simply arrange with a bowling alley to rent a group of lanes, or the entire

building, and start soliciting teams. People can get sponsored for pledges per pin or just donations in

general. Put a spin on it and make it a costume theme!

19. Fashion Boutique Fundraising – This is a great fundraising way for people to clean out their closets!

Several months prior to this Fashion Boutique sale, collect donated once-used prom gowns, wedding

gowns, bridesmaid's dresses, etc. You could have this at your local school, Church, Recreation Hall!

Sell these clothing items at bargain-basement prices for $20 to $50 (most stores charge $100-$1,000!)

You'll raise hundreds of dollars and you'll get rid of that bright pink bridesmaid dress.

20. Bingo Night and Chili Feed – Serve chili maybe serveral different types and play Bingo! Charge for chili

and bingo seperately.

21. Hold a Community Barbeque – 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.

22. Fashion Show Luncheon – Get local stores to donate clothes, get friends and family to be models,

ask a restaurant to donate the lunch and local salons, shops, etc. to give prizes for a silent auction. Sell

tickets and put on a show.

23. Karaoke Night – Host a Karaoke Night for your next fundraiser. All you need is a karaoke machine

(inexpensive models are available and you can also rent them), a hall or gymnasium to host the event,

and a passionate crowd of would-be American Idols. Make it even more fun and profitable by asking

the audience to donate money to hear the principal sing.  Don’t forget to inspire and reward your performers.

Ask local businesses to donate prizes for best performance, funniest performance, and so on. Prizes can range

from donated items to local gift certificates. Even simple printed awards for best group performance can be an

inspiration.

24. Pancake Breakfast – For a pancake breakfast, all you need is a large space with kitchen facilities,

plenty of batter, and lots of volunteers. Set a price or ask for donations, and make sure to really

advertise!

25. Raffles – People enjoy getting a chance to win some thing so here are some easy fundraisers.

Brainstorm ideas of prizes to boost your fundraising efforts. Your raffle can be an inexpensive ticket

for a prize drawing of a $100 ticket or a big prize such as a big screen television or a new car. Ask for

donations from your community.

26. 50/50 Raffle – This fundraising raffle idea is great for events such as intermission at Bingo, sporting

events, school functions, arts & craft fairs, during bowling tournaments, etc! The 50/50 raffle is a very

simple fundraiser that many choose to use, as it does not require too much work. All you need are a

few rolls of raffle tickets and a bin for the money (make sure you have one for the raffle stubs!)

27. Basket Raffle – This is a perfect fundraiser for the holiday season. Have members donate food items

that are for a holiday dinner, into a basket (e.g. a can of corn, instant mashed potato's, gravy). Try to

have a turkey donated by your local food store! Sell raffle tickets (after church, during half time of a

school sporting event, etc.) for $1.00 a piece. Place flyers to advertise this fundraiser and to name the

date & time the winner will be drawn. Make sure to write name, phone number and email address on the

raffle ticket so the buyer can be contacted.

28. Art Raffle – Host an event where local artists donate a sample of their work and your group sells a

select number of high-dollar raffle tickets, usually the same number as donated art fundraising items.

The tickets are then drawn randomly at a gallery-style event and each ticket holder selects their

artwork right off the wall. This works well as an online aution also.

29. Watermelon Eating Contest – A quick and easy fundraiser that doesn’t require a lot of prep time.

There is an investment required however: You will need to purchase enough watermelon to satisfy all

of the contestants so ask a local grocery store if they want to sponsor the event by donating the

watermelons or by providing them at a discount. Each participant and/or spectator will be asked to pay

an entry fee. Keep in mind that this isn’t the type of fundraiser that is going to raise thousands of

dollars, but it is a good option to raise a few hundred dollars quickly. Once all participants have paid

their fee, have them sit at a table with a plate of watermelon in front of them. Have people standing by

ready to refill the plates as needed. Have a set time (3-5 minutes is a good estimate) in which the

participants will eat as much watermelon as possible. You will need several judges observing in order

to be sure that each participant is eating all of watermelon from their plates and not disposing of it

some other way. Once the time is up, you will be ready to declare your winner. To make declaring a

winner easier, it’s a good idea to have a set amount of watermelon on each plate. For example, each

plate may hold 10 ounces, or any measurement that suits you. That way, the judges will know that the

contestant ate, for example, five plates and that five plates equal xx amount of watermelon.

30. Holiday Grams – During holidays such as, Valentines day, St Patrick's Day, Halloween, and winter

holidays, you get donations to deliver a note, or note & candy to someone.

31. Mega Yard Sale – A big yard sale is another easy fundraiser to pull off. It is short in duration, usually

just a Saturday sale with some prep time the night before. Choose a nice high-visibility location like a

school or church parking lot. Advertise in the local paper and put up signs for the people who troll

around on Saturday mornings looking for bargains.

Pass flyers out in the communities where the sale is being held two weeks before.

Make sure people know you are taking donations of goods to sell a well in advance!

32. Balloon Bouquets – Sell holiday or birthday bouquets with candy to be delivered – all you

need is helium, balloons and candy.

33. Gardening Sale – Have a local nursery or flower shop donate plants or give a discount – then part or

all of the proceeds go to your organization. This is good to do before Mother’s Day in May.

34. Hallmark for the Holidays – Around the winter holidays, you should talk to your local Hallmark

about getting wholesale on different cards. This makes sense because families are usually scrambling

around for cards at the last minute. You could also design them and sell them.

35. Wreath Sales – Contact Mickman Brothers at 1-800-446-4229 or www.holidayfundraiser.com to

participate in a fast an easy holiday wreath fundraiser. Their Holiday Gifts Program sends the wreaths

directly to the customer or recipient (if it’s a gift) with a card from you AND a tree is planted for each

wreath that is sold to make an ecological contribution for generations to come! You also contact local

flower shops or tree farms.

36. ESPN Magazine Sales – Contact ESPN Fundraising at http://proxy.espn.go.com/coaches/index to sell 2-year

subscriptions for $40 each – you keep 75% (or $30) for each subscription you sell!

37. Avon Sales – Find a local Avon sales rep and ask about doing a fundraiser through her/him. We’ve

had 50% of the total profit given back to the group!

38. Tupperware Sales – See Avon Sales above . . . also got 50% of the total profits donated back to the

group!

39. Fundraiser Bracelets/Silicon Wristbands – Fundraiser bracelets are hugely popular among young

people, particularly the custom silicone bracelets with a trendy slogan impressed in the rubber. Silicon

wristbands come in every color under the sun, with bright vibrant colors leading the pack, but black

and white are also big hits. With custom silicone bracelets, you can select your phrase, pick a color,

and have several hundred available to sell within days. It really is a fantastic way to fundraise,

particularly in conjunction with a well publicized event. To compare several fundraising companies,

go to www.fundraiserhelp.com/custom-silicone-bracelets.htm.

40. Popcorn Fundraisers – Popcorn fundraisers are great moneymakers because sellers are always

enthusiastic about a product they like and customers love buying this healthy snack treat for their

children. Parents interested in healthier snacks will love the fact that your fundraiser popcorn pops in

heart-healthy sunflower oil. Kids will love the choices: Natural Flavor, Butter Flavor, Low Fat Butter

Flavor, and the sweet and salty Kettle Corn. Check out this website for a free popcorn fundraising kit -

www.efundraising.com/Popcorn-Fundraisers.

41. Uncle Jerry’s T’s – A great variety of fundraising products (t-shirts, sweatshirts, bags, towels, etc)

which include something for everyone. Easy to use, fast, and efficient. For more info, go to

www.unclejerrystees.com.

42. Smencils – The world’s only gourmet scented pencils made form 100% recycled newspaper and

biodegradable plastic. Not only are you raising money, you're doing something good for the

environment at the same time. This is fundraising with a purpose! To learn more, go to

www.smencils.com/fundraising.html.

43. Rose Promotions – Top quality gift boxed roses at very low prices. Many fund raising groups have

had phenomenal success selling roses using this fund-raising program! To learn more about this

Oregon company (based in Hillsboro), visit www.rosepromotions.com.

44. Sponsorship Letters – Write letters to businesses asking them to sponsor your program/event.

Offer a certificate that they can display in their business as well (with a picture if possible!)