IDEAS PLEASE: Family Event Fundraiser! Creative People please!?

Question

We are planning a fundraiser for a local non-profit. The event is a Duck Race. However, all day, there is a family fun day. I need fresh, creative ideas of activities/events that will bring people to the park that day. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Answer 1

garage sale

lemonade stand

bake sale

car wash

hot dogs/hamburgers stand

popcorn stand

kids play places (toys and bounce house?)

water balloon toss

water ballon fight

painting stands  

arts and crafts tables (kids or adults)

bounce house

have fun and keep safety and supplies in the back of ur head!

Answer 2

Go around to the local businesses and ask them to do demostrations. It would benefit them too.  If you have a Karate or Tae Kwan Doe school, you can ask them to come and do Demonstrations and it could bring them students if people see what it's all about.

You can ask local florists to display some of their work, and sell it.

You can ask the local ice cream shop to come and have the kids make their own sundaes.

Ask the local fire department if they can bring a truck and discuss fire safety and let the kids see the inside of the truck and offer rides.

You can ask the local police department to come and talk about personal safety and bring a car and a police dog and let the kids meet one and see one up close and personal.

I would see what else is in your neighborhood by way of schools that could do demonstrations, etc and community services that could educate people.

If you have a local farm, maybe they could bring by a pony for some rides.  Or some animals that the kids could touch and feed and pet.  

I would try to make it as interactive as possible so the kids can have fun, but it's also something that has some community involvment too.

Maybe you can rent a bouncy house for the day too for the kids, along with a cotton candy machine and popcorn machine, etc.  Make sure to have food and drinks, etc.

You can do relay races for the kids, potato sack races, three legged races, wheel barrel races, the egg on the spoon race, where they have to put the raw egg on the spoon and race to the other side without breaking it, shaving the balloon without breaking it, etc

I hope some of these ideas help and that you have a great family fun day!

Answer 3

Hey there!

I've been heavily involved with nonprofit fund raising for years....so here are some ideas I have that could be relatively low in cost for your cause...

1) Consider a mail campaign - depending on how many mailing addresses you have, you never know how many people might respond to your cause and just write you a check! This works amazingly well for several organizations that are short on time AND resources.

2) Consider running an online auction - this is an AWESOME way to get to the people whose mailing addresses you don't have (ie you've got their EMAILS)...your email base can feel like they're using their expendable income on great stuff AND its going to their community at the same time!

I've included a link of one of the online auction companies that I've worked with...cMarket. They also have another website, BiddingforGood.com, that opens your auction up to all their members so that people who you don't even know can donate to your cause and bid on your items!

3) Instead of having a garage sale at your home, try having a "garage" sale on eBay! Think of it as a virtual way to get rid of some stuff AND make a little more money...(make sure you include the cost of shipping those items online or else you'll end up losing money!).

4) Have a fundraising event - give people in your community something to look forward to, and host a gala....you can sell tickets, have an auction, raffle prizes, etc that will give your community something to look forward to AND a perfect opportunity to donate to something they care about.

5) One last tid bit - consider selling sponsorships for your event...this can help off set some of your cost INCREDIBLY. You'd be surprised how many local businesses want to be a part of your cause-minded event! You can ask for anywhere around $500 per sponsor, and if you put your auction online, you can ask for even more than that because they'll be getting just that much more exposure through your website and event emails!

Best of luck with all of this! :)

Answer 4

Have an afternoon auction.

You can ask 25-100 families/businesses that you know are attending to donate a gift. The gift must be wrapped or boxed .

Ask each person that is donating to write their family/business name and a suggested auction starting price. Have the auctioneer state the family name and begin the bidding. Have fun with this...and personalize it. We do this type of thing at our own family reunion each year and the money we make goes in the bank for next years party.