Given today’s economic environment, can you think of an innovative way to raise funds for a non-profit organization? Give specific examples of fundraising activities that can be implemented within a short period of time using only volunteers. Be creative, think in terms of networking.
A great way to raise money would be to take peoples pets keep them for a week or so and then return them for the reward. The average reward for a returned pet is around $50 dollars so three or four pets a week would return a giant profit Plus you get the added benefit of having all sorts of different animals live with you every week. Another benefit will be you revered as a local hero to all the pet owners and it may even blossom into your own pet detective agency in which you will never get a case you cant solve.
I think maybe a bake sale would be a good way to raise money. You can ask people who like to bake to volunteer some time to make some food. People like cookies, so they may want to buy some.
A fund raising activity that would get young, and old people together, and make a ton of money on the cheap would be a bowling tournament. This idea wouldn’t take much effort to become a reality. Most people enjoy going bowling, and if you put an incentive on who wins it there might be a bigger turn out. The incentive can be a gift card or something small. You would just need to get a local bowling alley to agree on some sort of agreement for this tournament, but after that you are golden. If the first bowling tournament goes well, maybe the following year there will be a larger turn out, and more money could be raised for the non profit charity.
i think a good way to raise money for non profit companys would be by haveing a car wash. Because most people in this day and age dont like to get down and do the dirty work so we could find a bunch of people to do it for them.
A great fund raising activity which has the possibility of raising a lot of money would be a benefit dinner dance. The organizer could rent a venue hall cheap enough and plan a caterer for food and a DJ. Most places have a bar set up also. Tickets would cover admission into the party, dinner, and a drink ticket or two. Additional drinks would of course, cost money. The ticket money would far exceed the cost of putting the event on, and the extra money would go towards the cause. There could also be a raffle and a silent auction to maximize donations. If the cause is great enough, I think that businesses and private donaters would provide enough items to raise a lot of money. When people are dancing and buzzing off a couple of drinks, they will have no problem donating money that they normally would not have. That is why you include a couple of drink tickets into the package. Once people start, they are proned to continue all night, especially if they are having a good time. And generally, people become more and more generous as they become inebriated. This idea could grow into much more, but is the basis of a great fund raiser and a possible annual tradition of the organization if successful!!
As a Past-Commander of the American Legion and a member for over 30 years I have had quite alot of experience on raising funds for this particular non-profit. Although I had organized different events my favorite fundraiser was putting on Las Vegas Nights.
I use to use a company out of Malden called Las Vegas Knights to help me. Las Vegas Knight would supply all the gaming equipment, flyers for advertizing, and a management team that will assure a smooth running event.
What I had to do was book a hall, the American Legion, go around town and hang the flyers, and preferably recruit 30 volunteers. Although 30 volunteers are not needed all at once it is a good idea to change the dealers when the dealer starts to lose to maximize the profits.
The expenses are not that bad. Most towns require you to hire a cop for the event. Whatever the expenses are at the end of the event they are taken off of the gross receipts. If the net receipts are under $2000 the first $1000 goes to Las Vegas Nights. When making more than $2000 the profit is split 50/50.
I was always able to exceed $2000 in profit. The best one I ever did raised over $2500 after the split. Not bad for a 4 hour event.
Other ways I have raised money is through golf tournamnets, meat & meal raffles, and dances.
Since everything is about computers and video games now a days, I think a fun and interacting way to get people together and raise money is to organize a hall to be used to hold a tourament and connect playstations, xbox or even the wii together, where people can compete with eachother. Each kid or adult will have to pay a fee to enter, and the person who wins will win some kind of prize and the rest of the profits will go to the charity or non profit organization. By getting food and music donated or sponsored, it will be a fun way to get families to go and everyone involved.
I think a good way to raise money would be to have an outdoor barbecue, in either or a local park or field. You could charge people a small fee a person and they can eat all day, socialize, listen to music and even look at the scenery. And if you bring your whole family you could pay a lower price to get in to the barbecue. People can bring their blankets and chairs to relax and even bond. You can also have people of the organization maybe do a short comedy or show informing people of their organization. People of the organization will get to meet with a lot of individuals because they would be making the burgers, hot dogs and veggie burgers. Overall, this idea is very low cost and I think a lot of people would be willing to go to it, especially if it is for a good organization.
An interesting way to attempt to earn money for non-profit organizations would be by reaching out to celebritys in the local area for some type of appearance in public. Whether it be musicians, athletes, actors, or actresses, people love seeing celebritys, and would be willing to pay jsut to mingle with them at some sort of event. Maybe a concert, a picnic in the park type thing, maybe some sort of competition between the guests. Anything that would give the general public a chance to interact wiht people they idolize.
Another way to earn money for a non-profit organization is to hold a silent auction or a regular auction. Surely there will be someone willing to donate items to be bidded one by the people. Everyone loves good press so donating things towards charitys and other non profit organizations is always good for public relations. So then its as simple as collecting the money from the winning bidders.
A very effective way to raise money for a non-profit organization would be first to go around to different companies and establishments such as a sporting event or even a resort of some sort, any business at which you could receive a donation of a large sum of money, such as a weekend getaway or great tickets to a sporting event, and explain to the business what you are all about and what you are trying to do with the raised money. Second, you hold a benefit dinner, which will make you even more money, and hold a silent auction with the prizes that you have collected. So you will be making money from the dinner and also a large sum of money from the auction prizes.
There are plenty of ways raise money for non profit organizations because it is easy to find people who like to volunteer because it makes them feel good about themselves. You could host some sort of bar-b-cue where all the food is donated from local markets and it s served and cooked by random volunteers. Charge a small admission fee of somewhere between $5-$15 and if held in a nice area there should be plenty of people who would ocme down and feast.
Perhaps sending a bunch of cute girls to local malls to explain to people the how awesome of a charity they would be donating to, if they in fact, they choose to make a donation. Definately not the most practical idea, but I think most of the good ideas have already been said.
Benefit concerts are always a great way to raise money. You gather bands/artists from multiple genres and hold a giant concert to support one main cause. Seeing that the weather is nicer and spring is here…money can be saved from booking a venue by having the concert outdoors. Ticket charge should be at least 10 bucks a person, and all the proceeds go towards the specific cause.
I agree with Michael’s idea about holding an auction. I volunteered at my high school live/silent auction for six years, and I found it to be very profitable and, for the most part, easy. Also auctions can pretty much be held at any time of the year, and since there is usually a large variety of items up for bid, the interest an auction wouldn’t be limited to just one type of person.
I think that a good idea would be to have a donation box at certain places that have a high turnover of people paying with cash. Most people now don’t like to carry change so when you get back for example $.87 instead of dealing with it, they could put it into a donation box that benefits a certain cause. Also, the people working at the establishment could ask you in addition if customers would like to donate. That little form of “peer pressure” combined with getting back loose change would result in a considerable amount of donations.
Also a silent auction would be another way to generate funds. It is important to find a captive audience somewhere and also an item that there would be interest in. Based on the idea that they are getting something while also helping to benefit a charity would propel the potential for increase fund rainsing.
I do agree with all these ideas. The auction seems to be the best but right now, i don’t think it would be a good idea to try to raise money right now. People aren’t really giving money way right now. I know a lot of waitresses whose tips are down because of this economy. If people aren’t even tipping people for a service, what makes you think they would give money for an non-profit organization? I believe it is possible but location is everything.
I think autions of almost any kind are a great way to make money. The best way to make money on it would be to have something of great pride and value that the richer population would want. Majority of the rich people may be able to spend there money more careless than the not so wealthy people. It would also force them to show off who has more money and if your lucky it would end up in a very high biding battle do to the fact that one of them wants to come out as the one of higher wealth.
At my highschool, we had these cards which were called gold cards. People could purchase them for $10 per card, and on the back of the card it lists discounts and buy one get one free items at a variety of different places. There was one free month of tanning at Darque Tan, buy any size coffee and get a free donut at Dunkin Donuts, and buy a whopper and get a free soft drink at Burger King. We sold these cards to raise money for my soccer team and it was the major fundraiser that we used and it brought the most money in.
I would like to take credit for initiating the idea of a silent auction!!! It was mentioned like five times after I said it!! You guys need to get more original…
I think a good way to raise money would be to do walks, bake sales and maybe races. I think the best way to raise money is to do what people like to do the most. I think young and older people can come together and have fun with it and we will benefit from it…which is awesome. I guess you could hold alot of activities that would work and help raise money, people just have to realize how much it would actually help. I think its a good idea to do all these things to help raise money.
A good way of raising money could be to have a can and bottle drive. To do this could look at the towns recycling days and possibly put an ad in the local paper asking to leave cans and bottle separate. Then could pick up the cans and bottles and deliver them to a local recycling center. Would take a lot of cans and bottle but it would work.
A good way to raise money for a non profit organization would be do have a charity walk in the community and the members of the walk can have a sponsor who can give a banner of their company or business so they get a benefit of their participation. Also local food places could donate lunch and beverages for the members of the walk. Its something simple and also has a good affect on the people doing the walk.
Its obvious that we’re in a horrible economic state and that its probably harder than ever for organizations to raise money. I think one tool that isn’t as well used as it should be for such things is the internet. Every non profit org. should have something such as a facebook. Probably have the people or more in the world are on that thing it seems. There is even a ’causes’ application and people are really into them and supporting them. I think we could easily get volunteers off there by asking people ‘will you volunteer’ with say 3 check boxes labeled Yes, No, or Maybe. This way we can make it available for all to see what the organization is about, when plans are happening and what they need. They even show up on every friends wall as a notification to catch their attention. It also says ‘(blank amount of friends) are attending’, and maybe if they see their friends are attending to help they may help as well! I think one thing that people can’t say no to is food. There could be a donation box, probably an outdoors thing, where everyone donates what they want with a suggested donation. Then the organization + all the volunteers can make their own dishes, and just have a buffet with the donations. It could be a great event.
I’m not a religious person myself, but I believe hosting a series of events at a local church would be a great way to raise money for any non-profit organization, especially one as inclined to help “troubled” youths come together in such a manner. What church would be opposed to bringing music and new everlasting friendships to those who may have otherwise never been exposed to either. These activities could include auctions, cookouts, a family fair, live music, etc. What’s more, all of these events could happen on the same day at the same church. With such a large variety of activities going on all at once it’s sure to attract people of all ages willing to pay for the entertainment that is there as a “fun” way to spend a Sunday afternoon, as well as a good fundraising, money makin machinee. Also I’m thinking you have to include a full bar somewhere in there…. Not only would it bring in more revenue, but it would get our generous patrons feelin even better about the cause they’re supporting and the money they’re losing. I think it’s a greatt idea.
A great way to raise money for non profit organizations would be to have a charity concert thats free or a series of sporting events such as a bunch of retired atheletes to play with normal people in football, basketball or any other sporting games making it fun but with the somewhat celebrities creating a more interesting way to raise funds for non profit organizations. Also, there could be free meals or types of dances, fairs, stand up comedy to maybe gather more people who would like to spare a little money to organizations that may hep people who are hurting in this financial time. If awareness is brought out to the public it helps the public feel that they need to do something for these organizations that help those in need.
I think that a good way to raise money is to get local business involved. Simply ask them to host a night in your honor and have them donate 20% of the night’s proceeds to the non-profit. Advertise the event with flyers and invite friends a family for a good meal and a good cause. This will not only help out the non-profit but also be used as advertisement for the restaurant. Jalapanos A local business in Gloucester is always helping out good causes. During the night there could be a 50/50 raffle. So you could sell 3 tickets for $5 and once you choose the winner he or she will receive half of the money as a prize and the rest will go to the non-profit.
maybe getting a whole bunch of neighbors and friends involved with a car wash around your neighborhood would help doing something to get the economy up and donate the money to the business.
I think a good way to go about making some money in order to provide for a non-profit organization would be to either gather all the things you have which you no-longer need/want and have a yard sale. Another way of generating money could be by making greeting cards on the computer which you can do for free at the school or just by purchasing an ink cartridge. You can do an unlimited number of events in order to raise money you just must find the best technique in order to fulfill your target markets needs and wants.
In hard economic times like we are going through right now, it is always harder to get people to make donations. I think that during times like these, the easiest way to raise money for a non profit organization would be to join up with some kind of event that was going on. For example, if a church or some other organization is having a yard sale or some kind of fundraiser perhaps get the people from the non profit in there to help volunteer in exchange for a percentage of the proceeds. Or, another thing a non profit could do would be to have any kind of event where they don’t need a lot of supplies and any supplies that they do need get donated. For example, a movie night. For a movie night all you need is a projector or big tv, a movie, and a room to have the event in. The hall could get donated and someone could let you borrow the equipment. Also, with events like this you can have refreshments with a bake sale. Everything would be donated therefore it would be pure profit.
I think a good way to raise money would be to have a recycling day. It could be an all day festival that uses nothing but recycled products for a cookout or something. People could bring their bags of recyclable stuff in order to receive admission to this festival. It could raise money from raffles, games or people that didn’t bring a bag of recyclables could pay for admission to this festival. They could have local bands play there to help raise money and maybe even rides.
Having a multicultural day with entertainment and games would show the public that this is not a religious organization and would also branch away from just music while still building bridges. Admission could be charged as well as sale of ethnic foods. The organization could also consider selling items like t-shirts, hats, cds and mugs with their logo on it to raise funds but also promote the cause. This would need to be a community-oriented event open to everyone of all ages with a strong emphasis on culture and not faith so that people who are not religious will be willing to donate to the organization.
I think that a great way to raise money would be to have a wiffle ball tournament. I think that each team should have to pitch in a certain amount of money in order to participate in the tournament. The winner should receive somewhere around the lines of 20-25% of the money and the rest of the money should go towards the fund that you are raising the money for. I think it would be a good idea to get outside, have fun, get some exercise, and raise some money for an organization all at the same time
There are many ways to raise money for a non-profit organization. Some of these include a car wash, sponsored concerts, sporting events, t-shirt sales at all events, and many other ways to make money. Depending on the weather car washes and sporting events would be a bust but concerts wether they are indoors or outdoors, people will go
people like to be entertained and anything along the lines of entertainment i think will be successful. An event where people could participate in games, have food, and listen to music could be good. If a carnival like event was set up where now it would be a family thing it would also be cool , n we could have local bands come play, and people that own restaurants and are willing to donate there time could bring the food and have voluteers run consessions stands.
Another good way to raise money for a non-profit organization is to encorporate our technology obsession. The best way to do this is maybe make a way so people can donate money from their phones by sending text messages or somehting. Possibly have commercials or somehting on t.v so people could watch then either call, text, or e-mail in donations. A system liek his wouldnt require many volunteers. The volunteers would only be neccesary to answer calls or texts and to help make the orignal message as to why the patrons should donate their money to this cause.
• Creating a “Fun Fair” for families who reside in a community rich with ethnicity, religiosity and cultural diversity. Also, a community with a high rate of domestic violence and divorce and multi-family problems. There is a considerable need for family-based activities to promote healthy family functioning as well as cohesion in a community.
My idea is to bring the community and families together through a “Family Fun Fair Day”. With this, not only can families come to play but they can also participate in a contest to make the best activity for the Fun Fair! My thought is that we could go to the community (i.e. a church or school) to see if anyone would like to perform music for the “Family Fun Fair”.
Creating a “Family Fun Fair Day” offers the community an opportunity to come together to celebrate one another. The event of a “Fun Fair” provides a venue for not only healthy family activity but also developing support to families in need. The “Fun Fair” is not only an event being held but more importantly offers a venue for the community to learn about resources which may provide both support and care increasing healthy
Goals:
• Bring families together
• Involving families in developing the “Family Fun Fair Day”
• Provide a safe and “healthy” activity-based event to families
• Develop healthy family leisure activities
• Inviting Community Resource Vendors to have exhibits and educational materials at booths
I believe a community yard sale could raise a lot of money. I know that I personally have a lot of junk lying around my house and I would find it hard to belive that most people don’t. If you could gather enough people to donate some of their time and old junk a lot of money could be gathered. Who doesn’t love a good yard sale? You know what they say, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”!
I am giving my idea without first having read anyone else’s…
I think that they should have CDs of their performances, and sell them though their website, during concerts/events, etc. CDs are very inexpensive to make, can sell for a lot, and would be something that people would buy.
Auctions are another great way to make money, especially for something like this. If they could get local businesses to donate merchandise to auction off, they could bring in money that way too.
…I have another idea.
After having reading everyones ideas, it does seem that the consesus is having an auction – I think its a good idea (as you can see from my previous post). But what about instead, maybe do a raffle? That way only one thing would need to be auctioned off, and people wouldn’t have to spend as much. In an auction, people know that they will have to dish out lots of money to get what they want – that is the nature of one. With a raffle, though, you are buying a chance for a lot less.
Am I being very unrealistic in suggesting raffling off a Kyak(sp?) I have no idea what they go for, but it seems like something people would like to take a chance on. If not that, maybe a mountain bike?
I am just thinking that a raffle might be a better route to go…
Given the times we are in with this whole economic crisis, I think a good way to raise some money would be to get involved with high school sporting events or young kids sporting events. Seeing how the goals are to bring kids from every type of background and culture together, sports are a great way to involve kids and learn to trust, work together, and believe in one-an-other. I just don’t feel like just putting on performances, and singing is the only way to do this. So maybe host some sporting events now that the weather is warm and cool. Or make it like a fair type deal where *yes i feel like I am stealing ideas here but* raffles and games, always work well when trying to raise money. It just seems there should be more then just a performance to raise money.
I think you should have an underage drinking pary. Think about it. All those poor individuals who are missing out on all the fun…. Well this they’re chance. You just gota buy 5 or 6 kegs, and charge $5 a cup (maybe even 10!) and you’ll make sooo much money. promise
A good innovative way to raise money is a technique a theater is using in the UK. It’s a giant inflated pig with 12 little holes in which spectators can look at an amazing play that is taking place inside the creature. I read a news report in Spanish which indicated that a total of $500 dollars were necessary to build the pig, however, they charge $5 dollars for the 10 minute show and in the first day of performing they collected a total of 1800 in a total of 5 hours. If a strategy like this one is taken into consideration here in the U.S, especially in a tourist or busy area. I believe it’s the perfect attraction to make money on weekends or for the summer. Here is a link of the theater company. (http://www.wras.org.uk/index2.htm)
Americans love to eat and what better way to make money off of them than to through events based around food. A community BBQ cook-off would be a really good idea. Charge 10 dollars to enter and 5 dollars a plate for the rest of the community. It would be like a Block Party if you add games and “yard sales” but it would be much bigger. The cost of something this big is surprisingly low as well.
I think a great fundraising activity could be a carnival. You could have carnival games and have people donate prizes for the winners. Alot of small businesses would donate a gift certificate or a coupon to network their own business. I think you could have the people put on their shows and have raffles and silent auctions.
There are several strategies that can be utilized in trying to build and support a non profit organization, especially one such as Follow Hymn. For example several highschools pride themselfes on their ttheatrics. So seeking highschools to support as well as supply students would not be such a bad idea. Also as the spring and summer time draw close, outdoor theatrics would not be a bad idea especially in public places and sponsors and donators would not be hard to find. For example, local business love to support their community.
A creative strategy in which would draw a lot of people to an event and raise money could be through a Photography Fund Raiser. Through this fundraiser all ages will be invited to share their photography with the community on one special night.The theme for the photography will be to take pictures of things that are positive in your community. (i.e. a soup kitchen, helping the elderly, children playing, serene landscape, etc..) The ages will be grouped from 7-12, 13-17 and 18+ and will be judged on Best Composition, Best Composition, and Most Creative.Those who attend will be asked to pay ten dollars for admission and they will be served martinis and hourderves The night of being judged one winner from each age group will be given a prize from the organization. All donations and proceeds will be given to the non profit organization that is sponsoring the fundraiser. Through this photography event people will be allowed to share each others thoughts on the community and show one anther’s creativity through a their own vision of what is positive and what is important to each individual. So not only will people be gathering together in a community to share thoughts and ideas but it will be allowing the non profit organization to raise money as well.
I think a good way that people could raise money for a non- profit organization would be to get groups of different musicians and have a benefit concert. Being a musician myself I believe it’s a great idea. People love live music and if you could get a variety of different music genres to support the cause and play their music then I think it would be more appealing. If the event could be held outdoors, weather permitting, all the more better. You could have raffles, food, drinks and outdoor activities (volleyball, wiffleball, kickball, ultimate frisbie). And all the while the while different bands could be performing. You could encourage everyone to bring their own intruments and the crowds could join in Acoustic Guitar and Drum circles. I have personal experience in being involved in such an event. My brother made an independent horror movie and it was obviously “low-budget.” In order to raise the funds required to produce the movie we held a benefit concert. My band at the time headlined the event and it was a great success. None of the bands got paid but we raised enough money so my brother could finish the movie. Great success!
A great way to raise money is to have small local fair. People can have tables and sell their craft items or whatever. You can sell food & drinks which always make a good profit. Have items donated and have a raffle. Churches & Schools do fairs like all the time in the winter, but to have one in the summer would be great as well.
I think a great way to raise money is a silent auction. I have been to a few for my friends who have had bad injuries and the money went to their families to try to pay for the medical bills. Usually our whole town gets together and everyone brings something to be auctioned off. Everyone knows its for a good cause so they usually do extremely well. They are fun as well and people always donate food and beverages for everyone. I think this would be a great idea!