Thus begins our first post on fundraising in youth ministry.  Whether we like to admit it or not, youth ministers are fundraisers.  Not simply because we do not have large budgets, but because we want so badly for our youth to have the opportunities to experience things that would not be possible without the funding.  We want our youth to experience large conferences and mission trips.  We want them to have the toys and resources that will draw them in to our everyday ministry with them.  Since many youth ministers are volunteers and/or do not make that much or any money, they are required to search elsewhere.

There are many issues that people face with fundraising.  Some pastor’s do not allow fundraising for whatever reason.  Some parishes just do not have a lot of money to be fundraised.  Many youth workers fundraise to simply to pay for the necessities in their ministry.  Neccessities is a broad term because some youth workers consider conferences and mission trips as neccessities.  Which brings us to the subject of our first lesson on fundraising…The Money, Why and When do you need it?

The first thing you should do after receiving your budget for the next year is to think about how much more you will need to meet the goals you have for your ministry.  Yes, fundraising should be thought about annually.  Figure how much money you need for that year (and longer term if needed) and when you need the money by and start from there.  These are not easy questions to ask.  It really takes some consideration of your overall ministry.

How Much Money Do You Need?

Hopefully by requesting your budget you should have set goals of what you plan on doing for the next year.  What expenses do you have that are not covered in your budget for your weekly lessons or daily ministry?  Of the bigger events you were planning, what is a reasonable registration fee for the youth?  How much will you expect your volunteers to pay to attend these events?  Be sure to start keeping a tab, so you know what you are dealing with.  A big reason fundraising efforts do not work is because many times people do not really know what they need, what they should expect from a fundraiser, or how they will get it.

Here is a good example of why do to this.  A few years ago I attended a Christmas Concert by a Catholic School that was taking donations that evening to be able to buy a Tuba.  The tuba did not make the budget, they had set a goal to buy the Tuba because they knew they needed it for the upcoming year when they would have more student Tuba players than Tuba’s.  They had a set amount of what they wanted and a specific goal in mind.  At this concert about half way through they made an announcement that someone had kindly donated the amount needed for the Tuba and that all extra proceeds would be used for something else (they did say what it was, but I do not remember).  So they even had a secondary goal in mind for when they met their first goal.  So set goals of how much you need to do the things you hope to do.

Here are some simple equations that can help you.

Budget

If you answered all of those questions above and created the budget appropriately, you have a very simple equation:

If you have goals for registration fees for events and how much you want volunteers to pay use this:

This equation can also be printed here:  Fundraising Equation for Youth Events

So take an honest look at how much you need.  This is incredibly helpful if someone who is desiring to give you money asks, you can give them an exact amount.  I have heard many stories of people who give in these situations.  Your organization and goals are incredible attractive to potential donors.

When Do You Need The Money?

This is a lot easier to answer because you know the deadlines.  Be sure to write everything down.  As we talk more about fundraising in our future posts you will find that knowledge of this information is key.  As we look into more details and planning for fundraising, knowing these facts will help you plan better and relieve a lot of the stress.  Also knowing that there is a possibility of there being a day when you do not need to fundraise (at least for awhile), will definitely bring joy to you and those helping you!

Enjoy!