Fundraising Ideas – Church Fund Raising

Article Written by : Refinery News

Church fundraising events can be a tiresome affair although the outcomes of the ministries and projects can be rewarding. Following are a few regular ideas as well as a few novel ideas that you can use the next time you need to organize a fundraiser.

– Organize a benefit walk or run and have local companies and organizations sponsor the event. You could also ask the participants to purchase a ticket for a small price or pay a registration fee that would go in the contribution.

– A fun event that you could organize is a “Mystery Dinner”. Couple this with a young team of talented individuals who can be the entertainment for the evening. The “Mystery” portion of the dinner is the menu. Include forks, knives, spoons and napkins also as part of the menu and give the items interesting names and limit the number of items that guests can order. Once you’ve organized it all, sit back and watch as your guests trade knives for a slice of bread or a spoon for a couple of meatballs.

– Drive a nail project. Purchase a bunch of nails and stick them to a postcard. Have church goers purchase the nails and have them sign the postcards with their names and addresses. This way once you have completed the project you can write a thank you note to all your contributors.

– Buy a piece of a puzzle – ask a few volunteers from the church youth or the Sunday school to create a poster and cut it in to pieces of a puzzle. You can ask the church congregation or people you meet on the street to buy pieces of the puzzle.
As with any fundraising campaign you should make sure you have a talented team of volunteers who can get the work done. Also make sure you don’t organize too many fundraising events closer together.

Fundraising Ideas: Church Event Organization

Like any fund raising event, a church fund raising event requires careful planning and organization to ensure everything runs smoothly and remains stress-free. Basic steps to keep in mind:

Goals and objectives – set realistic expectations that you know are achievable, both in terms of the capacity of the event and your expectations.

Resources – find resources that are available, use what the church already has. There is no point in spending money and time outsourcing resources, or purchasing items.

Timeline – create a realistic timeline and make sure you stick to it.

Committee – put together a committee made up of responsible and hardworking volunteers who you can rely upon.

Meetings – frequent meetings can help to keep things in perspective and make sure everything is on track, they also bring out hidden issues that you did not realize existed.

The Committee

A solid committee can make or break any fund raising event. If you do not already have one, ask members of the congregation to volunteer. Next, assign specific tasks to each person. Utilize each committee members’ skills well. You will need people to handle the finances, secure donations, handle the advertising and marketing of the event and duties on the day of the event.

Church Event Ideas

When it comes to the actual event itself, there are so many choices when putting together a church fund raiser. Some of the ideas include a bake sale, silent auction, car wash, picnic, benefit walk, rummage sale, etc.

Stay Organized

Keep things well organized during the planning and execution phases. Make sure the church congregation is kept informed of the event. Note-taking during meetings will help you stay organized in order to review progress and ensure everything is running according to your timeline.

Do not take on too much. Having volunteers involved not only divides up the work load but also keeps you organized.

Fundraising Ideas – Cancer Walk Relay for Life

The American Cancer Society’s Cancer Walk Relay for Life is a great way to celebrate life for those who have survived. It is also a fun way to raise money for the research supported by the society.

The Relay for Life is the American Cancer Society’s ‘signature’ fundraising event. An all-night event, teams of people take turns walking or running to raise funds for this cause. The walk boasts around 3.5 million participants.

It all started with Dr. Gordy Klatt who decided to raise money for his own American Cancer Society office by running a 24-hour marathon. The first year in 1985, he ran or walked around the track at Baker Stadium, University of Puget Sound for 24-hours, covering a total distance of 83 miles. Friends and family donated $25 to run/walk 30 minutes with him. He raised $25,000. From then on, the cancer walk, ‘Relay for Life’ has grown into a major event, with thousands of communities joining to fight cancer and help raise awareness and funds.

Once the 24-hour relay is over, the most important part – the ‘fight back’ ceremony is conducted. Following the mantra ‘Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back”, this 25th hour celebration is to honour those who have survived cancer, fought back and those who lost the battle.

If you want to support this cause, put together a team and participate in a local ‘Relay for Life’ event. Registrations only costs $10 and you can help raise funds. If you feel like donating some money to the ACS, rest assured it will go towards research, education and promoting quality medical care for those with cancer. If you need to contact the Relay for Life team, you can call them at 1-800-ACS-2345 or fill out the contact form on their website.

Charity Donation Forms

Donations to charities often ensure that those who are less fortunate have a home, food to eat and clothing; the basic needs for any human being. While large donations certainly help charities cope with their needs and undertake projects that make a bigger difference, smaller donations in larger quantities help organizations stay afloat and keep doing good deeds. One way of ensuring these smaller donations is to incorporate a easy to use web donation form.

These forms are generally simple and very easy to fill out. Some charities list their on going projects and provide the opportunity for donors to add funds to a specific project or cause. Most forms provide flexible payment options such as using PayPal, mail-in check or using a credit card. Different organizations require different details, but in essence, most forms are a two step process; fill the form and submit the donation.

There are a few things to keep in mind when you are filling out online forms. As with any industry there are many scam artists who play on your conscience and take your money. It is always good to use a website of a repute charity or organization to donate funds to avoid being a victim of a scam. You should also always make sure that the payment gateways are hosted on secure servers that would protect your information from being stolen. You should also check the charities registration number and make sure that it is a registered charity. If the security is in place, your small donation will go towards making someones life better.

Used Car Charity Donations

Many charity organizations accept used cars as donations. Most of these organizations sell the car and use the money for their charity work. Donating your used car, apart from the noble cause, can also provide you with tax deductions. Also most people prefer to donate their used cars to charities in order to avoid the hassle of trying to sell them.

Most charities have easy methods of accepting a used car and most have online application forms and fast processing. When it comes to taxs, you can claim the car’s fair market value if the car is worth less than $500 or is in good working condition. You can claim a deduction equal to the actual sale price of the car if the car is worth more than $500. However you should make sure that the charity is qualified and registered with the IRS in order to claim such tax deductions. Information can be found on the website or with the IRS. You should also remember that if the total donation is more than $500 you need to fill a separate form.

You can determine the value of the car by checking the blue book value. You should also take the cars condition in to consideration when determining its value. Most charities provide free pick up and tow from any location. While many charities accept used car donations for free you should keep in mind that some charities charge a small fee. To find charities that accept used car donations you can check the yellow pages or simply use a search engine to check online. Most charities provide online forms.