The Most Popular Fundraising Idea
Use our most popular fundraising idea to raise money right now.
Other Great Fundraising Ideas
Cook-Off Fundraiser
Are you a talent in the kitchen? Do you have a lot of friends and supporters who love to cook? A cook-off fundraiser lets you and your friends have fun while raising money to support your upcoming service trip.
Have participants enter their culinary creations into a contest, judged by event attendees. To vote, ask attendees to deposit a donation in their favorite food’s donation box.
At the end of the competition, tally everyone’s donation collections and the chef with the most money wins. To maximize participation, be sure to promote, promote, promote!
Carol Singing
Are you looking to fundraise around the holidays? Do you have a group of supporters with beautiful singing voices? Hosting a caroling event might just be the perfect fit for mission trip fundraising!
Recruit your carolers to walk through your community’s neighborhood and bring Christmas cheer door-to-door. Have the carolers carry a donation jar to collect funds.
Make sure your carolers take a moment during their set to explain who and what they’re fundraising for. That way, your carolers will be raising cheer and awareness.
Have a Bake Sale
Bake sales are a classic fundraiser for a reason. They’re popular with supporters of all ages! They’re fun to prep for and even more fun to donate to.
You can advertise your bake sale in advance once to recruit bakers and later to promote the actual sale.
Get creative and be sure to provide options to accommodate any picky eaters! To fundraise, you can charge for the treats or collect donations or even both. Make sure to place signs up around to bake sale explaining the service project that the proceeds are going toward.
Recipe Book Sales
Selling recipe books is a great fundraising idea for mission trips because it’s affordable to set up, lets you ask for donations in exchange for a product, and will sell well in your church community.
Put together a cook book with the best recipes that you have. Then, sell the book within your community.
Have the book professionally bound or do a digital version of the book for free on the computer. Be sure to add a dedication in the book to the cause you’re serving.
Karaoke Night Fundraiser
Partner with a local restaurant to host a karaoke night to raise funds for your service project. Get the equipment donated and be sure to promote the evening well in advance.
To fundraise, charge a cover for the night and encourage attendees to vote for their favorite “acts” with their dollars.
You can also make arrangements with the restaurant that’s hosting to split proceeds and/or set up food and drink specials. If the restaurant plan doesn’t work out, you can always host at a community center or your church’s rec room.
Penny Drive
Penny drives are the perfect low-stakes fundraiser rooted in one principle: small donations can add up to a very large sum. They work well for mission trips because your church is an ideal spot to leave a collection jar.
Get started by setting up a collection jar in a high-traffic area, put a sign explaining your cause next to the jar, and collect donations from people who walk by.
It’s really that simple! You’d be surprised how much you can make with such a simple set up. Pennies add up!
Product Fundraising
When running a product fundraiser, you are selling products (often times products that are branded to your organization) in exchange for donations.
Pick a product (from t-shirts to water bottles to key chains), customize your product design, gather your inventory, and sell, sell, sell.
Put the time in to create a logo or brand that you can place on your products and use to help remind supporters of your goal with your service project or mission trip. Plus, include information about your volunteer trip in all your promotional materials.
Envelope Fundraiser
Envelope fundraisers aren’t that well known, but they’re quite easy to plan and execute well. To prep, you’ll need envelopes and a bulletin board that you can use at your church.
Put your envelopes on the bulletin board and assign each a dollar value. Then, donors interested in funding your mission trip walk by and put cash that matches the dollar value in the envelope they pick.
The overhead costs are practically non-existent. Just be strategic about the number of envelopes you put out and the dollar amounts you assign them.
Used Book Sale
Do you have a number of avid readers in your church community? Good! Your church is the ideal place to host a used book sale fundraiser to raise money for your mission trip.
Gather used books, find a communal space to set up shop, promote your fundraiser, and sell your books for a low price. Your can even lean into the theme and create a true bookshop atmosphere!
Promotion will be key here. Send out email blasts and share news about the event on social media. You need folks willing to buy books as well as people willing to donate, so focus on volume with your advertising.
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