Most of our summer trips are over and none of us are thinking about next summer’s camp or mission trip yet (if you are, you’re a freakishly amazing administrator), but many of us are planning our fall ministry and need to include some fund raising events. Here are 71 ideas my denomination put together for a sr. high conference that took place earlier this summer.

Auctions

• Desserts
• Lawn care service
• Dinner auction
• Donation from Venders
• Babysitting
• Silent Auction
• Raffles
• Students for Service

Pledges

• Bowl-a-thon (pledge per pin)
• Walk-a-thon (pledge per mile)
• Bike-a-thon (pledge per mile)
• Rock-a-thon (using rocking chairs)
• Trash-a-thon (pledge per bag)
• Corporate car wash (donations from Businesses)
• Dime-a-Dance

Dinners

• After church brunch
• All Saints day flower sales & dinner after church
• Cafe Night
• Dinner in concordance with church meetings
• Pancake Breakfast
• Dinner Theater: Friday, Saturday, Sunday matinees (ask for a free will offering)
• Potato or salad bars
• Event Banquets/breakfast/dinners
• Spaghetti feed
• Basket Lunch-Find church attendees to sponsor student’s through prayer and/or a monetary amount, then thank them with a creative lunch basket.
• Sweetheart Banquet
• Put on Dinners at people’s homes for a fee (provide entertainment)

Donations

• Change drop
• Free will offering
• Scholarships
• Loose change offering
• Slushie machine
• Pledges from the congregation
• Sponsor-A –Student
• Pop machine Invest in students & become a stockholder

Community Helps

• Have a booth at a fair
• Free Car Wash-Students get pledges for how many cars they can wash in so many hours
• Phone book deliveries
• Partnership Days-Match up a student with people to serve and to work for donation
• Car detailing
• Phone book deliveries

Events

• Drive-in movie
• Benefit concerts/music/speakers
• Golf tournament
• Talent show
• Deliver flowers for florist

Recycling

• Bottle Drive
• Aluminum Can drive
• Paper drive

Sales

• Bake Sale
• Christmas decorations
• Christmas trees
• Cinnamon rolls
• Craft Sale
• Concessions at a local school
• Donuts
• Community yard sale
• Fruit
• Sell coupon books
• Candy
• Sell flowers & plants
• T-shirt
• Super bowl Sub Sale — “First & A Foot to Go” people place orders and the youth make delivers to homes during game

Miscellaneous

• Adults “Adopt-A-Grandchild” for prayer and financial support.
• Flamingo Insurance — Sell flamingo insurance to church members in various amounts which guarantee that their homes will not be the flocking ground of pink flamingo lawn ornaments. Place as many lawn ornaments as you can on uninsured lawns, and charge a service fee for their removal. To add even more fun, one member can hire a flamingo hit on another member by paying more than what that person bought their insurance for. Provide the opportunity for the insured to increase their insurance amount.
• Students write an adult sponsor a letter before and during the event with prayer requests, then when they come home have dinner with the sponsor.
• Support letters
• Monthly payments-start early and have families contribute monthly to the fund

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I haven’t used them before, but I’ve talked with the owner of SamaritanFundraising.com and it seems to be a pretty solid option for an on-going youth group fundraiser.

Posted on August 17, 2009