Most people feel very strongly about some type of cause or charity. Whether it is Animal Welfare, Autism, or a mission trip for your church, you want to raise as much money as possible. The more you raise, the more your organization will be able to do. This article will explore many ways you can begin to raise money for your charitable cause.
First, make use of the Internet. There is a great site called Firstgiving. They will allow you to create your own web page that they will host for you for up to 12 months. They do all this free, but charge a 7.35% transaction fee on funds raised. So for every $100 you raise they keep $7.35 leaving you with $92.64. They have templates you can choose from and easy to follow directions. All money is transferred right to your selected organization. If your organization is not listed, you can ask them to add it. What I like about the Internet is its ease of use. I raised a lot more money online when my daughter participated in an Angelman Syndrome National Walk-a-thon than I raised offline. You have the ability to reach more people. Not only that, but your friends and family who may live in other states can easily sign on and donate without having to send a check in the mail or risk having cash get stolen. This is exactly what my family in Florida choose to do since I reside in New Jersey. I was also allowed to upload my daughter’s picture and create my own little special message.
Second, see if a local organization can help you set up a Beef and Beer, or a golf tournament. Both of these are extremely popular and have raised a good amount of money. The Make a Wish Foundation raises good money here by doing a golf tournament. You can also consider making cans you can leave in stores around your neighborhood so people can donate. This is only good if you are not raising money in a hurry and the stores have good foot traffic. Keep in mind a lot more people don’t even carry cash any longer now that the debit card makes it so easy to purchase items. If I were to consider the cans it would only be in conjunction with something else. Make sure for all local options you check with your government to see if you are required to obtain a permit.
Third, sell. They have a really cool new item called the Scratch and Help. It looks like a lottery ticket. It has 15-20 spots you can scratch off with amounts ranging from .50-$3.00 underneath. Each person is supposed to scratch off 2 amounts and pay that amount. For participating the person also receives some coupons to popular stores like GNC. Each booklet costs $20 and can make $100 for an $80 profit. If you have 10 people helping you and each person takes one booklet around town that is an $800 profit. There are also plenty of other organizations that will allow you to sell candles and other products for your home. You can make a good profit off of the candles about $5.00-$6.00 each. When you decide which company you want to go with don’t fall for any that will make you below 50% profit. One person approached me and offered me 10% to sell their products. That would mean I would have to sell $1,000 to keep $100. Totally not worth it.
Finally, you can visit your local Pizza Hut or Domino’s and ask for a fundraising kit. They are extremely easy to sell and very profitable. Our church did this recently to raise money for our building fund. I believe each booklet costs $10 and in return you receive a bunch of coupons for buy one get one free pizza.
