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Ideas for non-profit organization fundraisers
photogirlliz
Posts: 2,491
Hello Forum friends! 
Joey and I are involved in starting up a Fair Trade non-profit organization here in Springfield, MO. We have completed and submitted our application for Federal 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status (which we are currently waiting for a reply from the IRS), we have incorporated within the State of MO, we have partnered with a local foundation that allows people to make tax-deductible donations to us through them until our tax-exempt status is approved, we have gathered an interested group of individuals to start working on our first fundraising event, etc...
Now we are trying to come up with some creative fundraising ideas to help us get started and to carry out even after we have established ourselves a bit. That's where we hope you can help. We don't want to fall into the typical car wash and bake sale fundraising...we want to be a bit more creative and involved than that. Do any of you have any fundraising ideas or experience that could help us out? All ideas are welcome! Also, if you have any general advice about operating a non-profit, that is welcome as well Thank you in advance!
Joey and I are involved in starting up a Fair Trade non-profit organization here in Springfield, MO. We have completed and submitted our application for Federal 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status (which we are currently waiting for a reply from the IRS), we have incorporated within the State of MO, we have partnered with a local foundation that allows people to make tax-deductible donations to us through them until our tax-exempt status is approved, we have gathered an interested group of individuals to start working on our first fundraising event, etc...
Now we are trying to come up with some creative fundraising ideas to help us get started and to carry out even after we have established ourselves a bit. That's where we hope you can help. We don't want to fall into the typical car wash and bake sale fundraising...we want to be a bit more creative and involved than that. Do any of you have any fundraising ideas or experience that could help us out? All ideas are welcome! Also, if you have any general advice about operating a non-profit, that is welcome as well
Thank you in advance! "I am myself...like you, somehow."
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Why don't you try to get a group of local bands together to play a show...have it at the local VFW hall...you can charge about $10 per person to get in. Usually local bands will play for free if it's a fundraiser and you may even get a great rental at a place like a Knights of Columbus hall. Then your only other costs are promotional.
* silent auctions (you'll need donations of course) ... get a band to play at the event ...
* 50/50 draws at whatever event
* otherwise go with jason P's suggestion ...
We've actually thought about this. We have some friends who play in local bands and thought this would be a great way to get our message out, raise money, and listen to some good local music! Thanks!
Thanks for the ideas polaris! What is a 50/50 draw?
A few thoughts:
Produce a small fundraising event based on your field of expertise and available resources. If you are a photographer with contacts in that scene, you can hold a photo show/silent auction at a small studio. The artists who donate their prints will hopefully get some exposure, as will the studio. If you know people in the food/drink industry, maybe you can get them to donate appetizers/wine/beer to serve at an event. "Hipster" brands are usually very eager to get their product out to potential customers, so if you can bring in an upscale/hipster crowd, the brands will get valuable exposure.
Another idea is holding a charity event at a bar/restaurant. Many places will let you use their space on an off night. They get to keep the bar, and you get free use of the place. You can usually find bands/DJs to play for free, and you can request silent auction items from local businesses such a gift certificates from restaurants, salons, spas, hotels...any place that can offer something of value in exchange for the exposure/goodwill the get. Most local sports teams are happy to donate tickets, and perhaps you can get passes from local movie theaters/comedy clubs/concert promoters to auction as well.
If you know any aspiring publicists, get them on the case!
There is a lot of brainstorming required!
This is a really easy way to have a fundraiser, and the bands should be willing to do it for free (if they're decent people who just like to play music together, money won't be an issue to them). Sometimes I've seen Chinese or silent auctions, 50/50 raffles and door prizes going on at the same time. Good luck! Some day I'd like to start a non-profit.
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=179456&hilit=show+me+a+non+profit
:P
basically people buy raffle tickets where the winner gets 50% of the proceeds ... most people sell like 1 ticket for $2 or 3 for $5 ... take the total amount you collect and give half of it to the winner (random draw) ...
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
car wash
stand in the middle of the street and solict donations
sell 25 cent candy bars for 5 bucks at the grocery store.
Those are really fast and easy to make...if any of the college kids these days know how to do handcrafts.
Cell phone covers can be had for very cheap on a certain auction site (a few bucks) as well as stick on crystals...get a bunch of girls together and make blinged out cell phone covers-i don't know if those are still cool or not? :think:
- Christopher McCandless
I love this idea. Hire some hot looking men for free (and/or women) and rent them out for a few hours to the lucky highest bidder.
We also plan on opening a non-profit Fair Trade store, since there is currently not one in Springfield.