Youth Fundraisers That Work!
March 16, 2011
We all agree that the economic recession has had a negative impact on our church budgets. Fundraisers for youth groups have long been an accepted practice in many churches, as they help fund mission trips, education and work in the community. That fact has never been more real than currently, as we all scramble to maintain our focus on discipleship and growth for our students, making priorities and maintaining energy and momentum within the group. The Timothy Project has asked youth ministers to respond with their own ideas, and we are grateful that many of you took the time to share what may be helpful to another group. Your generosity is appreciated!
Fundraising:
-encourages the group to work together for a common cause
-can expose some youth to leadership opportunities, if given the chance
-can raise significant money
-can get youth and adults working side-by-side
-will hopefully “target” non church members for funds. Too many times we only “sell” or “target” church members. They are the ones already tithing the budget, which means they get hit twice (or 5 times) to help pay for the Youth Ministry activities.
-can be an accounting nightmare, unless you have someone good at keeping numbers straight
-gets lost in the shuffle of all other fundraisers kids must do
-teaches the youth that trips/events/ministry needs resources in order to happen
-teaches the youth that ministry is not cheap
-can bring a community together, rallying around a certain cause or event
David Woody, Providence Baptist Church of Daniel Island, SC
In church, in business and in our everyday lives the old adage still applies: “Plan your work, and work your plan!” The more financially successful fundraisers are generally the ones that require more planning, volunteers and coordination. The results can be very worthwhile. One church/community silent auction netted $25,000 toward a major overseas youth mission trip. Other fundraisers, with less extensive needs but of an immediate nature, can bring in anywhere from $1,000 to as much as $8,000-$10,000. Here are some ideas, arranged by categories with basic info about each. If you have further questions, or further suggestions, please contact Cliff Christian at cliff@thetimothyprojects.com.
SILENT AND LIVE AUCTIONS
This is potentially one of the single biggest fundraisers you can arrange. NOTE: This fundraiser should be done every 3-4 years only, not annually!
-Make it clear what the primary purpose of the fundraiser is, which may get you some unsolicited larger donations
-Begin planning three months out
-Have a solid team, with a willingness to contact potential donors for auction items (this is critical)
-Donations should come from merchants in the community as well as church members
-The more items the better and should include products as well as services such as automotive (tires, service etc), computers and service, massage therapy, orthodontist and dental (selling a $5,000 set of braces for $3,000 is a number that really adds up). Many restaurants will participate as well as retail, art, concert and sports tickets and memorabilia etc. Your church contacts will help give it focus. Gift certificates are also popular. If there are used items up for sale, they obviously should be gently used. This does not need to give the appearance of a yard sale.
-Larger ticket items should be sold at the separate live auction that day. You may be able to find a licensed auctioneer willing to donate his services (we did at my church), but there may be church members adept at this kind of thing. In the live auction you can include things like vacation home rentals (owned by church members), the medical/dental services, a trip from some travel agency (I once was able to receive a donated ski trip to Colorado with air fare for two. It sold for $2,000). A valuable piece of art or jewelry, furniture, clothing, musical instrument, hand-stitched quilt, etc.
-Bidding on silent auction items should be done within a prescribed time frame, such as 9 am to noon. Depending on the number of live auction items, part of that could be held concurrently.
-It is a nice touch to offer free dessert and drinks for all that come, as well as some background music. You are trying to create an atmosphere of excitement. Maybe even some kind of video presentation of the purpose of the fundraiser could be set up in a place that would not detract from the action.
Andy Jung, Trinity Baptist Church of Raleigh NC. Tammy Isgett, First Baptist Church of Asheville, NC
RESTAURANTS AND FOOD SERVICE
Some of these can be done rather quickly and provide significant funding.
-Depending on your town, there are restaurants that will connect with you for food service fundraising. At our church, we connected with Carabbas, and their staff came to our church, used our facilities and prepared a delicious dinner (two entrée choices, chosen in advance by members). They did this for their cost, and we set our ticket price and cleared about $1,500. Carabbas did the cooking and clean up so that worked well. We offered both dine in and take out. Restaurants usually offer this service only once a month, so get on the schedule early. This can be done on a Tuesday night or some other non-weekend night.
-Applebees, FATZ café and others will hold pancake breakfasts at their restaurants on a Saturday morning. They will charge the church $1 per person and do the cooking, and you set the ticket cost ($5?). Includes pancakes, bacon or sausage and coffee. The church provides the bodies, the servers and the clean up. One church raised $1,200 for two hours of pancakes.
-A BBQ/pig pickin’ is always popular. You will need most of the food donated and church members doing prep. It is a good way to draw-in the community. It could be combined with a free outdoor concert (how about bluegrass) for the church and community.
-Sunday after-church luncheons are a staple for most youth groups. You might consider varying the theme to create interest. Hamburgers, chili, Mexican, even ethnic food, to reflect an area of the world that is a mission focus for your group. One church does a salad and potato lunch. Youth sell the tickets for $7 each, and each youth is required to bring a salad and dessert for 15 ppl. The cost is only about $1-2 per plate, and the rest is profit.
Ideas for this and others provided by Ellen Sechrest of Boulevard Baptist Church in Anderson, SC
-Freezer meal fundraising is a unique way to do what I think it a key to fundraising: Try and take advantage of products and services that are ALREADY BEING PURCHASED by church and community people. You will have a larger, willing market. This will require considerable planning and volunteers but has much potential. If you have a food services director for your church, that person would be critical in helping coordinate the effort. You would come up with several different menu items, such as soup in two different container sizes, chicken pot pies, lasagne, vegetable casseroles etc. These options would be made available to church members in advance, and they would have order forms and choose from the items. Then the food would be purchased and prepared and frozen. One church took orders for 1,300 serving items and raised $6,000. It required them renting another freezer to accommodate the volume. This has appeal for people in having a week’s menu prepared for them!
OTHER IDEAS
-One church does a plant sale in conjunction with a local nursery. The youth pre-sell bedding plants and hanging baskets. They make $5 per flat, $2 per pot, $8 per hanging basket. Significant income, and the time is right to explore this one!
-Many churches have some yearly fundraisers that are counted upon to help extend their budgets. Christmas trees are very popular in areas distant from where they are grown. Those are pre-ordered and paid in advance to eliminate risk and waste. One church I spoke with routinely clears $20,000 yearly.
-Selling pumpkins is something Methodist churches have done very successfully with the Pumpkin Patch initiative. It is also something that can be done by other churches if not interfering with an ongoing effort. An Episcopal church near where I live does very well each fall.
-Car washes and bake sales have fallen out of favor with most youth leaders, maybe because of their frequency in the past.
