Fundraising can be fun with the right combination of people and ideas.
Although many people dread fundraising, there's no reason that it has to be a drag or a chore. In fact, you can put the fun back in your idea of fundraising with a bit of creativity, a positive attitude and a team dedicated to the fundraising cause.
Drama
Drama can be a fun and exciting fundraiser that gets everyone involved.
You can put on a silly play in the community theater, but you can have just as much fun making it a real Broadway-like experience. Choose a play and put on a dinner theater or a murder mystery theater performance, or host a local stand-up comedian. Solicit food donations from local businesses and ask high school students to volunteer as waiters. Pay for programs by selling advertising inside. Or, you can put on a community improv tournament. Charge each team a fee and sell refreshments. Put together the cues ahead of time and sell "cue space" to local businesses.
Personal Development
Give something back to the community that supports you.
Give busy professionals a crash course in a variety of topics. Ask local merchants and other professionals to donate one hour per month to give a course on their specialty. For example, during tax time an accountant could offer tax pointers. You could also rent a large conference room and sell booth space to local businesses. Ask them to give attendees significant discounts on their services, then advertise the discounts and sell tickets to the event.
Family Nights
Give community families a way to reconnect every month.
Make money for your cause and give the community something to look forward to. Set up monthly family nights; charge a per-family fee and change the event every month. Have a family karaoke contest, bowling tournament or movie night. Sell refreshments or solicit food donations from local restaurants. You could also incorporate themes for each night, such as 80s night or a Hawaiian luau. Every few months, change the family night to date night and let couples come for some children-less fun.
Social Events
Help community members make new contacts.
Get the community together every month for an enjoyable and beneficial event. You could reserve space in a family restaurant and host a speed-dating event for community singles, or hold a golf or basketball tournament. Play at night to add excitement. You could also enlist the help of schoolchildren and hold a car wash in the school parking lot or use community donations to hold a huge rummage sale. Or, hold a business mixer; sell tickets and give established business people and entry-level workers a chance to mingle. Sell cocktails and serve finger foods to give the event an air of sophistication.
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