Church Fundraising

Let’s face it – church fundraising can get monotonous, especially when year after year you rely on the good old bake sales, multiple-family garage sales and car washes.  Sure, it’s all great fun and a fantastic way to fellowship, but everyone grows tired of the same old thing eventually.  If the truth were known, these activities are often not that profitable either, which can be a real downer if your church is looking to raise a substantial amount of money.  Here are a few original, fun and even quirky church fundraising ideas you may want to keep in mind for future use.

How about an adult spelling bee?  This can be great not only for raising some additional money, but offering a few side-splitting laughs as well.  Instead of adults competing on an individual level as kids usually do in school, this could be set up tournament style.  Teams of 3 or 4 adults pay a significant fee to participate; alternately, an adult spelling bee could be organized somewhat similar to a marathon, with teams collecting pledges for each word that is correctly spelled by their team members.  This is sure to provide plenty of entertainment and a few laughs, so you see that church fundraising doesn’t always have to be serious.

Hold a rubber duck race.  This is perfect for those churches in areas where a creek or river is nearby, and great when paired with a bake sale.  In this event, funds are collected through entry fees; each participant paints and decorates their own “rubber ducky”, then when everyone is ready the race begins!  Church members and neighbors in the local community cheer on their favorite “duck”, and fun is had by all.  This is great fun for the youngsters, the sale of baked goods and cold beverages helps your church to raise even more money.  This is the perfect church fundraising event for spring and summer months, especially on a beautiful day filled with sunshine.

The sale of discount cards are another fantastic church fundraising idea – and probably the most profitable you will find if you’re looking to raise a substantial amount of money.  These credit-card sized cards offer dozens of discounts and savings on goods and services in the local area, perfect for times such as today when people are looking for every way possible to save.  These cards are good for one year from the date of purchase, so the customer will have the opportunity to experience savings that go far beyond the $10 paid for the card.  Local merchants benefit, the customer experiences huge savings, and your church raises an incredible amount of money – what could be better?  Another great thing about these cards is that they can be used in conjunction with any other product or activity you choose to raise funds.

Church fundraising doesn’t always have to involve a ton of work or preparation.  Get the congregation together, and let everyone give their input; creative and profitable ideas can often come forth when great minds get together!  There are endless ways that your church can generate the amount of money needed to fund any cause, so get those creative juices flowing and try to think “outside the box”.  Church fundraising can be fun again, which will help to increase the interest of the entire congregation – and possibly get more people to participate.

Mark South
Easy Church Fundraising