10 Better Ways You Could Fundraise

Need some new ideas for fundraising? Here are 10 great ideas from youth workers to add some variety to your fundraising season:

 

 

1. MONEY WALL

Put 144 (or more) envelopes on a wall with dollar amounts listed on the front. Have people in the congregation choose which envelope best suits them and invite them to fill the envelope with the listed amount on the front. A wall of 144 envelopes will raise $10,800 if every envelope gets filled.

2. SERVICE FOR HIRE

Have congregation members post odd jobs or service projects on a bulletin board that they would be willing to pay a teenager to complete. Youth can then take the postings at will and complete the job while earning money.

3. 10% TOWARD MISSIONS

Partner with a local restaurant to give 10% of people’s bills toward the mission trip. Distribute coupons in church or elsewhere saying, “Use this coupon at Mamma’s Kitchen on Nov. 12^th and 10% of your bill will go toward our church’s mission trip.” The restaurant will benefit from potentially more people coming in and so will your trip.

4. SILENT AUCTION

Set out tables with items on them with bidding sheets at each item. Set a minimum bid for each item and give attendees a timeframe for bidding. Probably during Sunday service times when everyone is present (e.g. 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.). Items can come from a number of sources:

• Donations from students and members of the congregation, such as baked good, furniture, new or gently used items, homemade jewelry or other crafts, etc.
• Donated services from students and others who wish to support missions such as yard work, baby sitting, cleaning, etc.
• Donations from local businesses such as gift cards or donated items.
• Donations gathered and assembled into baskets of themed items, such as a bath basket, chocolate basket, tools basket, etc.

5. THE FLAMINGO PROJECT

A classic. Members of the congregation can pay the youth group to place a bunch of flamingos in another person’s front yard. People can also buy “Flamingo Insurance” to prevent the youth group from decorating their front lawn with plastic flamingoes.

6. CHURCH MINI GOLF TOURNEY

Set up a mini golf course around the inside or outside of the church. Be creative in making obstacles for each hole. On a Sunday, charge people for a putting club, a ball and a scorecard. Have prizes for the best scores. (This can also work with Frisbee golf outside.)

7. SUPER BOWL SUBS

Pre-sell sub sandwiches for Super Bowl Sunday, get the produce donated, and have youth put the sandwiches together. Have people in the congregation pick up their sandwiches after the service in time for the big game.

8. NOODLES & DOODLES

Invite students to submit their best original artwork based around a common theme and presell tickets to the event. Have the art displayed at the event as a gallery and follow it up with a pasta dinner, with the student artists as servers. Follow the dinner with an auction of the artwork, auctioning the remaining pieces off in a live, fast-paced auction.

9. PIE-A-MONTH SUBSCRIPTION

At a larger auction event, have one of the prizes be a Pie Club Membership. Have several members of the congregation bake 5–10 pies each month to deliver to the lucky owners of these memberships for a year. Or have a baking gathering in the kitchen each month for the youth group during which they cook that month’s pies.

10. DODGE BALL TOURNAMENT

Charge $10 per competitor and $5 per spectator. Get a bowling trophy, cut and reapply the arm to make it look like a dodge ball trophy. Get key members of church leadership to participate with a full bracket if possible.

____________________________________________________________________
Sam Townsend helps write training, programming and marketing materials for YouthWorks mission trips. When he isn’t hanging around teenagers at church or digging into seminary homework, he is generally looking for a good conversation and a hole-in-the-wall restaurant to have it in. Sam still considers his first couple summers working for YouthWorks in Virginia and Pennsylvania communities some of the most transformative times of his life.