Ten Tips for Raising Funds
Missions and giving is one of the most important areas that children can be involved in. Creating a compassionate and generous heart should be one of our main goals as leaders. Here are a few tips to make a fun and creative environment that points children and leader towards giving.
- Nickle Night – have the kids bring nickels to church for offering, have a clear jar to put them in so they can see the progress as each class drops them in.
*Different take on nickel night. For 1 month have a different coin each week (penny, nickel, dime and quarters), keep the glass or plastic jug so they can see the different layers
- Breakfast tacos before service – decorate the foyer in fun festive colors and Mexican tablecloths, gather some adults that can help the kids make these before church and sell
- Sunday Supper – spaghetti dinner $10 plate - kid’s talent night (take advantage of some kid’s in ministry/fine arts participants, small, short 1-2 minute skits, let them do artwork, kids share little stories or reports from the missionaries that the church supports, etc) promote missions and all the proceeds go to missions **invite a missionary or two to join you for the evening
- Free throw shootout – pledges per free throw made
- Pajama night - $1 to wear pj’s to Rangers or GM clubs for a night. Maybe 4 times a year (once each quarter) and highlight a missionary for 5-10 minutes.
- Dessert auction – have ladies (and men) make desserts and donate them. Sunday afternoon church auction off the desserts. Make sure the auctioneer has fun with it.
- Smash Bash - $1 per smash with a sledgehammer on an old beat up car. Check with a junkyard to donate a car
- Restaurant/Store Fundraiser – restaurants like Chick-fil-a and stores like Kendra Scott will help you with fundraising by giving you a portion of the proceeds for the night. Work with them in advance to make sure all details are covered so you can promote
- Missions Mania – create a family evening at the church with games pertaining to missions. Charge an admissions fee $5, there can be trivia station (every 20 minutes a new missions trivia game is started (this gathers a group of players) $5 gift card for the winner, darts game on map and bulletin board (the draw a country from a bag and get 2 tries to hit it with a dart), try desserts from other countries (have church people prepare), all games geared around missions and missionaries.
- Color Fun Run – Family event!! Charge an admissions fee (usually $20), provide a white t-shirt with church name, use a churches facility (parking lot or field), invite missionaries to come and be the ones that throw the color powder on the participants. Afterward, let the missionaries share a 5-minute window about them and their country.
Key proponents to make these work:
Proper and effective advertising: BE CREATIVE!!! flyers, announcements, Facebook, word of mouth, email reminders. Get the kids involved in the advertising.
Ask for donations: Many stores will donate the food or gift cards to purchase the food – have a donation letter ready on church letterhead
Talk about missions with the kids and church. Home and foreign missions. We have all been called: some across the street and some around the world.
Plan in advance. Do your research. This will help make sure you have all the necessary supplies, approvals, and volunteers that you need.
Ask for volunteers! Many will be willing to help if you let them know in advance.
Mike Stachura said, “the mark of a great church is not it’s seating capacity but it’s sending capacity”. This is a statement that I will never forget. So whether you go to McDonald’s or Mozambique, Walmart or Wales, we are all called to be a part of missions. Giving, Praying or Going……
