Church Fund Raising Ideas
Is your Church planning a fund raiser? If so, there are many effective avenues you can pursue to help generate money for your Church. The following ideas are great ways to raise money for youth group programs, helping to fund missionaries, to pay for a short term trip for a Church group or for any other Church business.
One way to raise money is to start a mailing campaign. It us usually possible to generate approximately $2500 by sending out about 75 well written letters to family members and friends. Don’t hesitate to spread the net wide and not just contact family and friends but also local businesses. Be sure to send out thank you letters to all who give.
Rummage sales and bake sales also are helpful was to raise money. A small newspaper add and several families donating goods that they no longer use can bring in some real income. A bake sale can be done on its own, or at the same time as the rummage sale.
Another effective way to raise money for your Church is for a youth group to run a car wash. This is a fun way for the group to bond and raise money at the same time. It is also a good idea to sell car wash coupons ahead of time. Many will buy tickets just to support your cause and will not show up and others will show up from the world of mouth from those who prepaid for their car wash tickets.
Golf or mini-golf tournaments are a fun way to raise money and build a bond within your Churches congregation and the outside community. For the golf or mini-golf tournament, contact the course first as they should have a group discount and may even let your group come for free since you are with a non-profit organization. You can advertise your tournament inexpensively by hanging flyer’s and contacting your local newspaper to post the charity tournament as a press release.
There are many restaurants that sell discounted and often give away free meal tickets to Churches for fund raising. Simply buy or get these tickets for free and then you can sell these tickets and raise your money.
A way that is quickly becoming one of the most popular Church fund raising ideas is selling Christian t-shirts and apparel. There are online Christian clothing companies that can sell cool Christian children or adult T-shirts, long sleeve T-shirts and even hooded sweatshirts at a discounted price so that you can resell these at a profit. If you are going to buy these shirts for a Church group, free personalized text printing on the sleeve identifying your group is available. These Christian t-shirts are so affective because they evangelize with style and are popular with kids, teens and adults.
If you are planning to raise money for your Church, you can try the ideas listed above. Remember to make a plan, use official Church letterhead, and be well organized and professional when dealing with outside organizations. With a little preparation and possibly using a couple of the ideas above, you will have raised the needed money in no time.
The author is publisher of the Online Christian Shopper (http://www.onlinechristianshopper.com) Christian clothing and jewelry Web portal. To see the group discount rates for selling Christian apparel for your fundraiser visit http://www.onlinechristianshopper.com/grouporders.html
Budget Shortfalls Spell Trouble for Non-Profit Organizations
Many charitable organizations that provide crucial services to people in need receive funding on an annual basis from the US Federal government and state governments. In most cases, this money comes in the form of grants, which the government will appropriate for a given purpose whether it be for scientific research, community building, or health initiatives.
Unfortunately, in 2006, the Federal government actually decided to decrease the amount of money appropriated to these charitable organizations; and to make things worse, state funding for these projects has stagnated altogether, leaving charitable organizations scrambling to find new methods of fundraising.
Unfortunately for these non-profit organizations, fundraising isn’t always as straight-forward as it might appear. In fact, it almost always involves some form of risk. If enough people don’t show up, if enough people don’t donate, or if enough people don’t respond in the intended way, then the charity can actually end up losing money, rather than raising it to carry out their important functions in society.
Furthermore, many fundraising activities consume a massive amount of time and money and often return small amounts for those Herculean efforts. On the surface, this might not seem like a huge problem, but it is when you take into consideration the opportunity cost: all staff have to turn their attention to fundraising, rather than performing their normal duties.
While writing grants to private foundations might be an option for some non-profits, it is not always the best option, as it is a costly, time-consuming process and almost always a fruitless one. Unlike government grants, private grants are much harder to come by if you don’t have specific connections to the board of directors.
This leaves non-profits in a bad position: they have to continue carrying out roles that form the cornerstone of society (all tasks that the government doesn’t perform, but probably should), but they have a decreasing amount of funding to spread between all of them, making this task increasingly harder with each passing year.
If nothing is done to support non-profit organizations, including schools, churches, centers for scientific research and outreach, we could see a major collapse in charitable activities based out of the United States in the very near future. Organizations that normally provide services that are not available to the public could literally dissolve in front of our eyes, so get involved and attempt to make at least some type of change.
Play an active role in solving the fundraising problem schools, churches, charities, and all non-profits are facing by making your everyday purchases online, through http://www.FamilyOnlineMall.com that transfer a portion of the profits to a charitable organization of your choice. No sign-up fee.
The Mission Of The Better Business Bureau
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) since its founding in 1912 has proven that the mass of marketplace problems can be solved fairly through using voluntary self-regulation and consumer education. The BBB system is a private, non-profit organization created to monitor and report marketplace activities to the public licensed by the Council of Better Business Bureaus and governed by their own local Boards of Directors. The BBB in the United States extends across the nation, from the coast of Hawaii, to Alaska, and Puerto Rico.
Their mission is to promote and foster the highest ethical relationship between the public and businesses through consumer and business education, service excellence, and voluntary self-regulation. The Better Business Bureau today is supported by more than three hundred thousand local business members nationwide, dedicated to fostering fair and honest relationships between consumers and businesses, encouraging consumer confidence and contributing to an ethical business environment.
The Better Business Bureaus core services include:
Business Reliability Reports
The business reliability reports allows finding reports and information about a specific company that one may be looking for.
Dispute Resolution
The BBB system makes the results of its different dispute resolution programs publicly obtainable in the confidence that such transparency will help consumers and businesses assess the value of the Bureaus services.
Truth in Advertising
The Better Business Bureau system since its founding in 1912 has made advertising self-regulation a part of their mission. During that time, misleading and fraudulent advertising and the lack of any effective regulation led to BBBs formation, for the purpose of promoting truth in advertising. Until today, review and voluntary correction of local advertising is till a core service offered by the bureau.
Consumer and Business Education
The Better Business Bureau also has a program that promotes consumer and business education through online education forums such as Identity Theft, Understanding Privacy, e-Exporting, GetNetWise, and Online Shopping Tips, all of which greatly helps in the improvement of consumer and business education.
Charity Review
The BBB Wise Giving Alliance gives reports on nationally soliciting charitable organizations that are the subject of donor inquiries. These Alliance reports include an evaluation of the subject charity in connection to the voluntary BBB charity standards. It also offers guidance to donors on making informed giving decisions through their various tips publications, charity evaluations, and publishes quarterly Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Guide.
The purpose of the Better Business Bureau is not to act as an advocate for businesses or consumers, but to be a mutually trusted intermediary basing neutrality to resolve disputes, facilitate communication, and to provide information on ethical business practices. The bureaus integrity is based on public trust of being a neutral third party that they have held for over eighty years.
T J Madigan has been established in online business since 1998 and is director of a number of successful online projects one of which is http://www.articles.net.au your best source for FREE articles and information.
Podcasts For Nonprofit Organizations: Development for Leaders, Board Members, Staff and Volunteers
There are some terrific podcasts available on the subject of nonprofit organizations. They cover topics including:
* Starting a nonprofit organization
* Fundraising
* Leading and managing
* Using technology effectively
Listening to informative podcasts is a great way to learn.
You can listen to podcasts on your computer or with a portable mp3 player when you are away from your home or office.
I have turned my car into a classroom! Rather than listening to the radio, I listen to podcasts I have downloaded to my mp3 player. There are special accessories that allow you to play your mp3 player through your car radio.
If you have an interest in the nonprofit world, consider listening to the podcasts described below. They are the best I have found. I continue to learn from them and I know you will as well.
501c3Cast for Nonprofits
The 501c3Cast is an independent podcast that is all about helping nonprofit professionals, not-for-profit volunteers, and other “do-gooders” in the philanthropic world.
This podcast is my personal favorite. Listen to it and you will learn a tremendous amount of news and information on a variety of topics pertinent to your role in the nonprofit world.
Go to http://www.501c3cast.com to discover more about 501c3Cast for Nonprofits.
BoardStar: On Being Board
Would you like to learn what makes a nonprofit Board perform at it’s best? BoardStar will provide you a multitude of ideas that can be implemented to strengthen a nonprofit Board.
Go to http://www.smallpackageproductions.com/boardstar to discover more about BoardStar: On Being Board.
NetSquared: Remixing the Web for Social Change
If you want to learn about the very latest use of technology to support your passion to change the world, the NetSquared podcast is your answer. This is a great resource to learn how social networking, social bookmarking and virtual worlds (like SecondLife.com) can benefit your nonprofit organization.
Go to http://netsquared.libsyn.com to discover more about NetSquared: Remixing the Web for Social Change.
BusinessWeek – Top Givers
This BusinessWeek podcast is full of interviews by several people on their Top Givers list. Learn why and how some of the most generous philanthropists give back.
Go to http://www.businessweek.com/mediacenter/podcasts/philanthropy/current.html to discover more about BusinessWeek – Top Givers.
Craigslist Foundation’s Nonprofit Boot Camp
Do you want to know how to start and run a vibrant nonprofit organization? That is exactly the reason the Craigslist Foundation holds their annual Nonprofit Boot Camp. This podcast contains many of the keynote speeches, workshop sessions and interviews and is filled with useful information.
Go to http://www.siconversations.org/series/nonprofitbootcamp.html to discover more about Craigslist Foundation’s Nonprofit Boot Camp.
To learn more about ways to make a difference, go to http://www.everydaygiving.com and sign up the free special report “9 Questions to Consider Before Volunteering.” Roger Carr is the founder of Everyday Giving.