We have spent 1586 words so far talking about preparing to plan your fundraisers and nothing about actually planning the specific fundraisers.  Well now it’s time.  My goal with this post is not to give you practical fundraisers and my top 10 list of money makers, but to open your mind up a bit to think outside the box and be creative with your fundraising.  Some of the best fundraisers I have seen in different parishes have come from original ideas that were thought of out of the gifts of the youth ministry program and the rest of the parish, so this post will hopefully help you think about that a bit more.

Amount of Time Commitment

Before you think about what to plan, decide what type of commitment(s) you have.  Decide how much time you are willing to commit to raise this money and how many volunteers and youth you have that will commit time and energy to fundraising.   Is the group that you have gathered committed to organizing and planning or will you be doing all of that?  Do you have great cooks and committees in the parish that will help, but that you do not want to burn out?  You may not be able to answer these right away, but it will just get you thinking about what you are committing to before you do it.  If history has shown that the youth want the money but are not willing to do the work, then it is good to think about that ahead of time.

Stick With What Has Worked

The obvious first thing to consider is what has worked before.  Are you confident that if you have a breakfast or supper once a month that you could make a good amount of money?  Then keep that going.  There is strength in consistency.  As you plan new events, it is always good to keep that in mind also.  It can be extremely easy to find a core group of adults to help if it is monthly or annually.

The other thing to consider is if there is an event that the parish already has that you could piggy back off of.  We got creative with our parish bazaar and used our jail fundraiser.  This is a fundraiser that would only work in an atmosphere where there are already a lot of people spending money.  Look at things your parish already does.  Sure, we took some heat because the success of our fundraiser was taking money away from the rest of the event, but in the end they just accepted it.

Another idea would be, if breakfasts do work rather well, find ways to improve breakfasts, advertise more, and help it to grow and grow.  Knights of Columbus Fish Fry’s are huge because they are a national thing.  Where did that start?

Big or Small?

Next, looking at how much you need to raise, you can use that to decide how many events you will need to do.  You can categorize these events in to sizes (small, medium, large).  Heck you could even super size an event if you thought it was going to be that good.  Several smaller fundraisers might meet your priority list a little bit more than a couple bigger events.  So now is the time to pull out your priority list you made with your volunteers. There are really two times to use that list, when figuring out the types of events you want to plan and also after you have planned the events, figure out ways to incorporate ALL of the priorities you have.

Most of all, you will find that there are volunteers who love doing the bigger events and some that would rather just contribute regularly, be behind the scenes, and just help in little ways.  Look at the people that you have available, who you could ask to be involved, and decide from there.

Notice a theme?  FIND PEOPLE TO HELP YOU!  My number one priority that I would put on my list would be the building up of the youth ministry team.  Your goal should be to simply help coordinate everything.  You can coordinate some events and delegate others.  Set a goal to do minimal hands on work and spend your time searching for help and showing gratitude to those that do.

I believe there is a common belief that an event has to be big and bring in lots of people to draw in sponsors and bring in the bigger money.  There are so many ways you could do this with smaller, more consistent events, as well.  We will be covering that in part four though.

People Do Not Like Change

As you plan events, this is important to understand.  You could have the best idea in the world, market it well, and the first year still lose money on it.  Great ideas oftentimes will take a second or third try before people start loving it and recommending it.  Imagine how quickly word would spread about a Father/Daughter night fundraiser if you made it a night they will never forget!  You may have to take a hit the first year, so find another way to bring in income for that time around.

This also explains why so many churches do breakfasts and dinners.  The people of the parish enjoy them, they know what to expect, they know where to go, where to park, and usually how to give money.   Planning for this year, should include planning for next year and the year after that.  The events do not have to stay the same.  Maybe you even have an idea for a ‘super sized’ event, but you need to start at a medium for now with plans to watch it grow each year.

Burnout

Most importantly, plan to protect from burnout.  Making money for your youth is not more important than the commitment your volunteers (and yourself) have made to the parish.  Protect people’s time.  The time they do give should provide fruit for them to want to do more, not want to leave the church kitchen forever!

Can Selling Stuff Work?

Working for the church you get tons of mail for fundraisers.  Do I think they can work?  Absolutely.  If you look at the programs that do sell stuff and make a good profit (Girl Scout Cookies READ THIS!), you will see that they have done much of what is mentioned in this post.  Start small and think HUGE.  We started selling Christmas wreaths in our parish and built it from selling at the church bazaar, to following up with last year’s orders, and going to businesses taking their orders.

The last post will be giving you some practical ideas on executing your plans and tips for growth.

Enjoy!