Department
of Youth, Young Adult, and Campus Ministry
Orthodox Church in America
PO Box 675 Syosset, NY 11791
http://yya.oca.org
yyacm@oca.org
ideas for FUNDRAISING
There are two reasons that youth raise funds: one, to donate funds to a certain cause (charity donation etc.), and two, to offset expenses of youth activities. As important as these two reasons may be, it is more important that fund raising not be the most common activity. When at all possible youth activities should be paid for based upon a set budget (hopefully established by the youth in coordination with the entire parish or district) and fundraising should be reserved for specific projects. So when called for, making necessary funds might be done in one of the following “fun” ways. Consider seeking opportunities to hold fundraising events in areas that will attract notice of people other than your parish family in order to draw in funds: contact local fair organizers to see about having youth booth at next fair; hold car wash at large parking lot that is in moderate traffic area (obtaining permission of owner of lot); for sales – contact area malls; on list of clients for services rendered (cleaning, lawn mowing) seek new clients among people in the community near the parish who are not members.
1.
Have the group plan and hold a Car Wash.
Make a list of three or more sights where fundraiser could be held. Call
owners of lots in question to obtain permission to hold fundraiser.
Designate one member to be in charge of acquiring supplies.
Have another member in charge of making signs to attract customers.
Gather group at church to travel together to the place where you are
holding the car wash. Before leaving
Church, have “prayer for beginning of every good work.”
Wash cars. Take necessary
breaks and have members bring lunches.
Upon return to Church for departure, give thanks in prayer to God for
blessing the day’s efforts.
2.
Have a Youth Auction where groups of youth group members are auctioned
to perform chores and services for parishioners.
Designate day and place fundraiser is to be held.
Pair off kids in groups of twos or threes to be auctioned to parishioners
for whatever service they are able to perform:
clean garages; mow lawns; paint houses; shovel snow; plant flowers; clean
yards; trim foliage. Groups
meet to travel to place of work together.
Have groups say a prayer before beginning work.
If home where they are working has an icon corner, ask the homeowner
if it is okay to have prayer before working there.
Once work is finished, thank God for blessing the work.
3. Bake
Sales are always delicious ways to raise money.
Generate ideas of baked goods that could be sold and designate members
to bake these items. Also, determine
before hand place where sale is to be held.
Consider having it in a place other than the Church Hall.
Publicize the event by contacting local papers to put it on the calendar,
generate flyers, and make signs to post on the day of the event at the place
where the sale is being held.
4.
Selling greeting cards, candy, wrapping paper, bulbs, wreathes, handmade
jewelry: Crafts like these
may not sell for much, but if time is put into generating nice things they can
be sold for small amounts. Have
meeting to set dates and times for holding the workshops to produce items for
sale, and also discuss where and when items are to be sold.
They could be sold: at a
Church Bazaar, area fair or school picnic, youth group flea market.
5. Offer
a gift wrapping service or take advantage of similar programs at Barnes
and Nobles during Christmas Shopping Season.
6.
Pizza or Submarine Sandwich sales.
7.
Walk-a-thon: Pocket change is acceptable as a donation.
Designate departure place and time and destination together with total
mileage of the walk. Have people donate money per the mile and walk from Church
building to local landmark of choice.
8.
Flee market/Rummage sale: Sell
all your items you no longer need or that are donated for sale.
9.
Used book sales: One
mans useless book is another mans next read.
Have parishioners donate old books they no longer want for sale.
10.
Monopoly or board game tournament: See who can outdo who at favorite board game; small donation
for entry into tournament.
11. Nintendo/home
entertainment tournament: See
board game idea above and apply it to an entertainment system game in which
people might want to compete. Have
people of all ages as participants.
12. Organize
raffles with tickets to sporting events, free passes to movies, or gift
certificates to local eateries as prizes.
13. Youth
Group Weekend Maid Service: May
not be initially appealing to youth members but could prove quite resourceful
in generating funds; I mean everybody wants their house cleaned!
Have group generate client list and schedule of jobs.
Gather on day of job and travel together. Upon arrival say a prayer before beginning work.
14.
(Where available) Recycle collection for exchange for cash:
Earn a little financial support for youth group while protecting the
environment.
15.
Have a Youth Choir concert with a free will offering.
Pick a date plenty in advance to publicize and hold rehearsals.
Hold concert and offer a light snack or meal after performance.
16.
(To add to crafts for sale) contact local office for Department of Conservation
to get ideas for top three things that would promote good ecology in your area
and design a refrigerator magnet with these top three on it to sell at
craft sale.
17.
Have a Lip Sync contest. Have performers pay small fee for entry. Offer
prizes for most original performance, best lip sync, and best costume.
18. Prepare and sell tickets for a Spaghetti dinner.
19.
Hold a theme party:
50’s dance, Luau, Asian, Russian, Latin, or maybe black and white as
the theme where all things are black and white including the costumes.
20. Perform a Play.
21. Guess the number of jelly beans in a jar. 10 cents per guess - The person who has the closest guess wins a prize.
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Department
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