Church Fundraising

Church fundraising can be fun, or it can be an incredible amount of work – more than you may want to deal with.  Today, there are literally hundreds of activities you can participate in or product to sell that make it all easier and more profitable.  Right now we are in the hottest season of the year in many places, and church fundraising activities can often fit the season.

In hot summer months, car washes are an easy way to raise the money you need.  Pre-teens and teenagers in the youth group often set up in a heavily trafficked area so that they can attract the attention of those who pass by and may need their car washed.  Another great church fundraising idea for summer is a water sports setting; just gather together super-soakers, water balloons, water guns, slip and slide mats, and wading pools, a sort of mini water park.  Visitors can donate in order to participate in the fun, which can include water war where teams are split up and try to prevent the other team from crossing the center line by “blasting” them with super-soakers.  These types of games and activities are super fun and refreshing for kids during the peak months of summer.

How do you get the youth group excited about joining in the efforts of church fundraising?  Sometimes it’s hard to get pre-teens and teenagers to do anything without some sort of incentive.  If you are selling a product and the teens don’t seem too enthusiastic, offer a prize to the top seller.  This could be anything from a Walmart or Hastings gift card to cold hard cash.  You can get the younger generation today to get involved in fundraising when there is something in it for them!  You may even decide to reward those who come in first, second and third place so that there is a little more competitive atmosphere.

You can enhance your church fundraising efforts by providing samples of the products you sell; for example, if you decide that candles are the product of choice, provide samples that customers can see and smell.  It’s natural for anyone to be more enticed to buy if they can actually touch and see the product they are shelling out their hard-earned money for.  This is why catalog sales are sometimes difficult; the customer sees a picture of a product and perhaps a description, but it’s often hard to visualize what it will look like when they see it first hand.  This is why many people love discount cards for church fundraising – the product is available on the spot, there is no waiting, and the value to the customer is incredible.

Discount cards not only offer more value to the customer, they help support your entire community.  Merchants join in to offer savings and discounts on all sorts of products and services, which helps them attract new business.  This means an economic boost for your area, and savings that customers truly appreciate.  The profit margins are exceptional as well, making them the product of choice for your church fundraising needs.

Of course, the best way to raise all of the money you need is to combine your efforts through fun activities and product sales.  Bake sales, auctions, church cookbooks and car washes are great, but when combined with a fast-selling product that customers find value in, your profits increase dramatically.  For $10, discount cards offer the customer an opportunity to save much more than they spent on the card, and you don’t find that in many products today.  Church fundraising can be both enjoyable and profitable, if you choose the right products and activities to promote.

Mark South
Easy Church Fundraising

Church fundraising cards have quickly become the top product when you need to raise money for any need in the church.  You may need new carpet in the sanctuary, a new refrigerator for the kitchen, or funds to take the entire youth group on a fun summer trip.  No matter what you need the funds for, church fundraising cards allow you to raise the necessary funds quickly and easily, while supporting your local community at the same time.  In today’s economic climate, keeping money in your local area is essential for the good of the community.

Today, many people do not have the money they may have had several years ago.  Jobs have been lost, hours have been reduced, and the incomes of many families is just not what it was.  Church fundraising cards are affordable for nearly anyone, being that they only cost $10, and the value of the card is incredible.  The goods and services offered are those that are commonly used by everyone; food, auto maintenance services, hair cuts, family entertainment, and much more.  Since the customer gets exceptional discounts on all of these goods and services, the perceived value is enormous.  The money that can be saved by using church fundraising cards can potentially amount to hundreds of dollars!

Think about the products you normally offer when holding a fundraiser.  Does a candy bar or cookie dough offer value that will continue well in to the future?  When you need to raise money and want to do so with less effort, it just makes good sense for your group and the local community to go with church fundraising cards.  Since the discounts offered on the back of the cards apply mostly to local merchants in your area, it helps their business and brings in new customers as well, so they are happy to participate!

Another aspect of using church fundraising cards in your efforts to raise money is that they make easy and efficient work of it all.  The company you purchase the cards from do a great deal of work in securing the merchants and preparing the cards, so that all you have to do is pass them out to those in your group that will do the selling and make great profits!  Many churches choose to use the cards in combination with other activities such as bake sales and car washes, so that they can quickly accumulate the funds they need.

Any way you look at it, church fundraising cards offer support and exceptional value all the way around.  Your group is able to raise the money they need quickly and without a great deal of effort; you’re supporting the customer by offering real value in a product they can use and appreciate, and local merchants get a boost to their business as well.  Supporting the economy in your own area is important today, and using church fundraising cards for your project is a great way to do everything you can for neighbors, friends, merchants, and everyone else who lives in your own back yard.

Of course you want to raise money for your needs and activities, but isn’t it time you offered something that truly helps your own neighborhood?  Church fundraising cards are the smart choice – they’re profitable, they aren’t cumbersome for small children, and the planning involved is minimal.  What more could you want?

Mark South
Easy Church Fundraising

Just mention the words “church fundraising,” and you’re likely to see downtrodden faces and people running in all directions to escape – especially if they’ve been through this before, and realize what a load of work it can be.  These days, it nearly seems a normal part of the annual schedule to hold at least one fundraiser.  There are always needs in the church, whether the choir needs new robes, the fellowship hall needs to be expanded, or there are so many teens that a gym needs to be built for all of the activities going on.  Don’t let church fundraising scare you – there are easier ways to raise all of the money you need than what you’ve likely been through in the past.

If you have a large membership consisting of many age groups, church fundraising becomes easier.  For example, the elderly ladies of the church can combine all of their best recipes to create a cookbook that members of the church can sell to their friends, family and co-workers.  Teens are often found holding a car wash at a fast-food restaurant on the busiest street in town.  Bake sales are another common method that is used to raise funds.  Hold a huge yard sale, or even auction off items that church members no longer want or use.

The easy solution for successful church fundraising is discount cards, because of the value they offer and the exceptional profits.  If your church as ever sold products such as candy bars, popcorn, cookie dough or candles, you know the profit margins aren’t that high – and that you have to sell tons of the product in order to reach your goal.  Other things like catalog sales require extra work; not only do customers have to choose which product they want to order, you have to compile all of the orders together, send it off with the correct amount of money (after gathering funds from perhaps hundreds of people), and wait for the order to arrive – at which point you must go BACK out again to deliver the items to the customer.  Not much fun, is it?

Discount cards make church fundraising easy because you have an item the size of a credit card that offers great discounts and savings on services and products in your local area.  Everyone loves to save money, especially in tough economic times like we are currently experiencing.  Savings at fast food restaurants, on oil-changes, hair cuts, flowers and family activities are an example of what you may find on these cards, which are good for a year.  The customer saves a ton of money, the local merchants benefit from new business, and your church easily raises the funds they need.

People love these cards for church fundraising for another reason too:  Planning is a breeze!  If you’ve ever been involved in the planning stages of a fundraiser before, you know that it can end up being a lot more detailed than you anticipated.  How many of a certain product do you have to sell to raise the money you need?  How can you possibly raise the funds with x amount of participants?  There are many factors involved, and it takes careful planning.  With discount cards, it’s easy, and the company where you purchase them often does most of the groundwork for you, such as securing the local merchants participation and printing up the cards.

Has church fundraising become a real hassle, something that you no longer look forward to?  Change up your usual routine, and try something different next time.  Once you see how easy it is to raise the funds you need with discount cards, you’ll never go back to the old way of doing things!

Mark South
Easy Church Fundraising

Church fundraising is an activity that seems to come around year after year, because there is always a need for money.  You may need funds so that the little ones can attend church camp, the kitchen may need to be made bigger, or you need an additional van because church membership has grown.  No matter what you need money for, church fundraising doesn’t have to be something that everyone looks toward with dread, knowing that it will takes tons of planning and hard work.  Do it right, and you will find that you can double your usual profits with less than half the effort!

Always keep in mind that church fundraising isn’t all about the money, though that is the primary goal.  During these types of projects, members often find that being involved with the church helps increase faith, and allows members to socialize with one another.  Christian fellowship is vital to keeping the church and its members connected, so that the church continues to flourish.

Back to the topic of church fundraising; you may be making it much more difficult than it has to be!  If you are selling candy bars in the hottest months of the year, not only do you have boxes of candy to keep track of with little ones, you have the potential problem of melting.  Cookie dough, popcorn, jerky, flower bulbs, Tupperware – all of these things are great, but do you really make good profits?  This is the first thing you should consider before you begin your fundraiser.  You should know exactly how many people will be participating, exactly what the profit margins of the product are, and have a close estimate to how many of the product you believe each person can sell.  Never go in to church fundraising blind!  You will work yourself to a frazzle every time.

In many situations, it may be a good idea to combine church fundraising projects in order to raise money quickly.  You may want the teenagers to hold a car wash in town in a busy area, while the ladies of the church hold a bake sale.  Invite all of the members of the church to bring in their best recipes and have a church cookbook printed.  Hold auctions at the church, inviting all members to bring in those items they have stored away that they no longer use.  Use a little creative thinking, and you will find that there are literally hundreds of church fundraising ideas that are easy to do.

Along with the low and no-cost activities the members of the church can be involved in, add in a profitable product such as discount cards to really see profits soar.  These cards are the perfect way to support not only the needs of your church, but the community as well – and customers realize that.  The value offered to the customer is incredible, making them easy to sell at only $10 each.  With a dozen or so local and national merchants listed on the back of the card offering discounts on everything from food to family activities and oil changes, the customer can easily recognize the fact that they will save much more money over the life of the card (one year) than what they paid for it.

Remember, church fundraising is as much about fellowship and fun as it is about raising money.  Use some of these simple tips and ideas, and you will find that raising the money you need for your project isn’t nearly as laborious as it may have been in the past!  Church fundraising can be fun, easy AND profitable.

Mark  South
Easy Church Fundraising

If you have been involved in planning fundraisers for a while, you have no doubt noticed that church fundraising cards have become the number one product to raise money.  Why are these cards so popular?  There are several reasons that will be discussed in this article, but perhaps the one most attractive aspect of church fundraising cards are the high profit margins they offer.  When you need to raise money for a project, this is the one solution that offers far less work and planning while allowing you to raise the money you need quickly.

Here are a few reasons why church fundraising cards have become THE product to go to when you need money:

1.  Customers love them, not only because of the extreme value they offer but because they realize they are supporting your cause as well as merchants in their local community.  They save money on food, activities, flowers, haircuts and other things they normally spend money on anyway.  Since the cards only cost $10, they are easily within most budgets.

2.  The more church fundraising cards you buy and sell, the higher your profit margins!  In fact, if you have a very large group it is easy to make profits of 70-80% and more.  Just imagine how many candy bars or cookie dough kits you would have to sell to make $3,500.  With these cards, sell just 500 and you have made that amount of money.  If you have on average 50 people participating in your fundraiser, it’s easy to sell 500.

3.  Merchants don’t mind participating, as it gives added exposure to their businesses and brings new customers in.  Church fundraising cards have 12 to 15 merchants listed on the back, most of them local.  These cards offer discounts at these merchants, so people who have not visited the merchant before will now likely do so in order to save money.

4.  It’s easier and less stressful for everyone involved in the fundraiser.  Planning can be a real headache, and often involves much more than you bargained for.  With cookie dough, candy bars and other products, little ones (and bigger ones) have a lot to keep up with; the product, money, catalogs, order sheets, etc.  Church fundraising cards make the planning nearly effortless, and those doing the selling can easily carry them in a pocket or purse.

Another aspect of these handy cards that people love so much is that the company providing the cards do a substantial amount of the work for you.  They often contact and secure merchant participation, design the cards and print them for you, with your logo right on the front!  There is very little left for your group to do other than go out and sell the cards to make amazing profits.

Even if your group is small, say 20 to 40 people, you can still raise a substantial amount of money for your project.  In fact, with a group of only 20, you can easily earn $1,000 or more!  Churches are always in need of money for one project or another, whether it be a trip for the teenage group, a new piano, expansion of the Sunday school rooms or a youth activity building.  The next time your church needs to raise money, consider church fundraising cards before you do anything else!  In years to come, there is no doubt you will rely on this popular and profitable product again and again.

Mark South
Easy Church Fundraising

For many who have been through the process before, church fundraising is a subject that brings on apprehension and dread.  It seems like an incredible amount of planning and work, and it can be at times – particularly if you choose the wrong activities or products.  If you have been involved in the planning portion of church fundraising before, you might feel that it was a great deal of work, and something you never want to do again.  In this article, you will find out just how easy it really can be to raise the money you need for a new church building, the youth group or any other need!

There are dozens of church fundraising ideas, most of which you have probably heard of or even tried before.  Many people do one event or sell a product in order to raise the money they need, but why limit yourself to only one activity?  By combining products and events, you can raise the money much quicker, and with fewer headaches.  For example, you may want your youth group to offer discount cards to neighbors, family and other members of the community, while at the same time running a car wash in town (great during the summer months) or having a bake sale.  If you’re really feeling ambitious, go for even more products and events in your church fundraising efforts.

In order to make things as simple as possible on everyone involved, it’s best to determine exactly how much money you need before you decide how you will raise the funds.  This way, if you are selling products you can figure out how much on average each person would have to sell in order to meet your goal.  For example, you need to raise $6,000 and you have 20 in the youth group, so basically each person would need to sell $300 in product.  This is an unrealistic goal if you are selling candy bars, so keep things like this in mind.  With church fundraising, you also want to make sure that the products you choose offer great profit margins, so that you can raise the funds you need with less effort.

Also, consider how much work is involved when choosing a product to sell.  If you decide to design t-shirts, there will be some work involved.  Someone has to create the design (or many people may be involved in this), then you need a company to print the t-shirts for you.  With candy bars, consider that small children may have a hard time lugging the box around, and that they can be messy – especially in summertime months.  Catalog sales require time spent by the customer browsing the pages, placing the orders, waiting for the shipment to come in, then going out once again to deliver the goods to the customer.  This may not be the best church fundraising idea, but if it has worked for you in the past don’t discard it either.

With church fundraising, sometimes simple is best.  When you want exceptional results with minimal effort, choose products that are readily available to the customer at the time of payment and offer spectacular value.  Discount cards are the perfect product, as they offer incredible profit margins and customers love them because of the savings they get.  Participants simply carry around these credit-card sized cards, offer them to the customer, and experience easy sales!  You can’t get much simpler than that, and there is practically no planning involved.

When you think church fundraising, think car washes, bake sales and other simple activities – combined with discount cards!  Easy work, easy profits, and customers love them so much they will be glad to buy them again next time you decide to have a fundraiser.  In fact, they will look forward to it – and who can blame them?  Everyone loves to save money on things they would have spent money on regardless of whether there was a savings or discount.

Mark South
Church fundraising

Church fundraising cards are fast becoming the most popular and profitable fundraising item today.  If you have been involved in these projects before, you know it isn’t always easy – or profitable.  In fact, raising the money you need for your church or youth group can be some of the most stressful work you have ever done.  When you want excellent profits and a product that practically sells itself, church fundraising cards are clearly the best way to go.

If you were to be honest, most of the products that are commonly used to raise money for churches provide little value and are useless.  Who really needs a candy bar or package of frozen cookie dough?  Sure, these products are delicious, but they offer very little value and people don’t need these things when the economy is tight.  Church fundraising cards offer exceptional value because of the savings they offer on so many products and services most people use anyway.  Who doesn’t need to eat, get a haircut, or have their car serviced occasionally?  Even in the worst of times, these activities go on as normal, and everyone wants to save money when they can.

When you prepare for a fundraiser, it’s natural that you want an item that offer high profit margins.  This way, your group doesn’t have to work nearly as hard as they would if they were to offer a product with low profit margins.  The group sells a profitable and valuable product, and you make the profits you need easily!  Church fundraising cards are the perfect choice whether you need to raise $500 or $5000, and the more you buy the bigger your profit margin.  On average, one person sells 10 cards which is easy since they only cost $10.  Let’s look at an example supposing you have 50 people who will be involved in the selling.  When you order 500 cards (50 people x 10 cards per person), your profit margin is 70%, meaning you make $3,500 at a minimum!  This is astounding, considering how many candy bars you would have to sell to make this kind of profit.

Another benefit of using church fundraising cards is that the company you purchase them from does much of the work for you.  They often contact local and national merchants to secure those who will participate, print up the cards and ship them to your door!  If you think about it, there aren’t many fundraising ideas that you can come up with that require such little work on your part.

Why do consumers love church fundraising cards?  Well, what’s not to like?  They offer incredible value at local merchants on products and services they would pay for anyway, but now the consumer gets that service at a discount.  Consumers also realize that not only are they supporting your church and your efforts to raise money, they are supporting the local merchants and community at a local level – and they are getting a fantastic deal!  When you look at all of the benefits, it is actually hard to understand why any group would attempt to sell a product other than church fundraising cards.

If you are looking to do something totally different this time and cut out much of the planning and work involved, consider church fundraising cards.  Value to the consumer, large profits for you, support for your local and national merchants and an easy sell for your group – besides being recession proof.  It’s hard to imagine how raising funds for any group could get easier than this.

Mark South
Easy Church Fundraising

With church fundraising ideas, it often seems that we get stuck in the same old rut time after time; spaghetti suppers, raffles, bake sales, car washes and so on are so common now, and people are looking for new ideas.  Whether you need to raise $100 or $5,000, there are countless ways to make your church fundraising efforts more successful and more enjoyable.  This article offers tips and ideas that take you outside the box for a bit, and enable you to raise the money you need in new and exciting ways.

Here is a church fundraising idea you’ve probably never thought of – social media class!  In today’s society, nearly everyone communicates online with friends and family.  If you have a member or two in your church who is experienced in the workings of Facebook or Twitter, set up a classroom where the elderly of the church and other members can participate and learn how to keep in touch with grown children, grandchildren and friends.  You can determine how much to charge based on how long the class is and how involved.  If the first class goes over well, you may decide to have a second session that involves additional sites and more involved information.

Another fun church fundraising idea is to have a chili cook-off, since nearly every family has a secret chili recipe that they claim is the best in the world.  All who enter should pay a fee, and the winner is entitled to a cash prize, say $50 to $100.  Judges for the cook-off could include the mayor, a local dentist, a city alderman or anyone else who may be considered a local “celebrity” of sorts.  Have the judges rank not only the taste of the food, but the timeliness in preparing it as well as the technique.  Sell samples or entire bowls of the chili to those in attendance.  This is a great way not only to raise funds, but to help families by providing an activity that is fun and family oriented.

Church fundraising can get boring and mundane, particularly if you do the same old activities or sell the same products over and over again.  Many churches hold fundraisers often, as they need a new building for the youth group, a new church bus, or money to send the young kids to camp every year.  There are many expenses associated with many churches, especially those with a large membership.  By thinking a bit outside of the normal activities, you can come up with dozens of ideas that will make church fundraising ideas fun and fresh again for all who are involved.

Even the things you have been doing for years can be changed up a bit, so that it seems like something a bit more unique.  For example, you might consider holding a “stuffed baked potato” banquet instead of the regular spaghetti supper. Everyone loves a good baked potato when you include chili, bacon bits, shredded cheese, sour cream and all of the works to top it off with.

Sure, you can still sell products on the side, and the more things you can get involved in the faster you will raise the money you need for your project.  No matter what type of activities you plan to raise the needed funds, always consider discount fundraising cards.  They are super easy to sell, offer great value to the customer, and help you more than any other product because of the tremendous profit margins.  When combined with some new activities, discount cards make your church fundraising efforts more profitable than ever.  Have a great time with the members of your church while  obtaining the funds you need quickly and with little effort.

Mark South
Easy Church Fundraising

If you have ever gone through a stressful ordeal in your attempts to raise money for church needs, church fundraising cards offer a simple solution.  Raising money for the youth group, a new church bus, a new building or any other need can be a huge undertaking.  Choose the wrong product, and you have to make a tremendous effort to sell enough of the product to meet your goals.  Church fundraising cards do away with all of the stress and hassles, and make even the planning stages easy.

What makes church fundraising cards different from selling candy, cookie dough and other popular fundraising products?  For one thing, there is no bulky product to haul around from one place to another.  These products have been popular for years, and have been successful for raising money for church needs.  However, there are simpler ways to raise the money without toting around bulky products that don’t offer much value for the money.  Church fundraising cards offer tremendous value, which is important in times when people have little money to spend and want the most for their money.

What is essential in planning any type of fundraiser for your church is that you choose products or activities that allow you to make a good profit margin.  Why work harder than you have to, by selling products that you must sell an impossible number of in order to collect the money you need?  With church fundraising cards, the profit margins are higher than with most of the popular products available today.  In fact, the more you order the higher your profit margin, so if you have a large group of people involved in selling you can raise a significant amount of money easily.  This makes the planning easy, and there is no worry about taking orders, shipping, and other aspects that cause additional work.

In your fundraising efforts, it makes a difference what age group you are working with.  It can be very hard for small children to tote around products and catalogs, and keep up with it all.  Taking orders, adding sales tax, and then having to go back at a later date to deliver the orders can be stressful and time consuming.  With church fundraising cards, the product easily fits in to a back pocket or purse, and there is no ordering or shipping to worry about.  From the planning stages to the actual selling of the product, every detail is easy for all who are involved in the project.

Customers are happy to pay $10 for church fundraising cards, which makes them super easy to sell.  These cards offer tremendous value, as they offer savings and discounts on products and services at local and national merchants in your area.  Whether it is fast food, a haircut or service on your vehicle, you can save more money over one years time than you actually pay for the card.  Friends, family and neighbors appreciate the fact that in buying church fundraising cards, they not only support the needs of the church but the local community as well.  When you think of all of the benefits, it just makes good sense!

If you have been involved projects to raise money for your church or youth group before, you know it can be a real headache and tons of work.  When a new project rolls around, consider church fundraising cards – it’s a decision you will be glad you made, and everyone involved will find it easier than ever before to raise the money you need.

Mark South
Church Fundraising

Let’s face it; if you have participated in many church fundraising events, you know it can be more work than you bargained for.  Sometimes the product isn’t too profitable, other times it just isn’t the right product for your group, or there are too many hassles.  How can you raise the money your church group or youth organization needs easily, without so much stress and work in the planning stage?  This article offers you some great tips and ideas the will make church fundraising something you actually enjoy again.

Sometimes you can raise all of the money you need simply by selling a good product, one that offers value and gives you a good profit margin.  When it isn’t possible to raise all of the funds you need through product sales, think of other things you can do in combination with product sales, such as bake sales, auctions and car washes.  These things are usually pretty easy to organize, and every little thing you do adds more to the funds you need.  Sometimes you will find that having many people input their thoughts and ideas helps you come up with fundraiser ideas that are unique and profitable.

Church fundraising should be fun for everyone involved, and not something that everyone dreads. There are some other little things you can do that take no work or thinking at all on your part, such as recycling.  You may want to consider placing cans or plastic tubs not only around your church, but in other public areas so that people can place plastic, aluminum cans, old cell phones and printer cartridges in them.  Make sure these containers are clearly labeled as to what items are supposed to go in them, then take them to a recycling center when they’re full for payment.

You might also consider having a church choir concert to raise funds, especially if you have a large choir.  Sell tickets, and let the congregation enjoy some great music while they fellowship and enjoy other members of the church.  Others from outside your church family are likely to come if you advertise in the local newspaper or put out fliers.  Church fundraising doesn’t have to be hard – sometimes it just requires a little creative thinking to get those innovative juices flowing!

It often helps make your church fundraising efforts more successful if you ask around for ideas, particularly of those who are going to be involved.  For example, if teenagers are going to be the ones actually selling a product or participating in an activity, ask them what they think are some good and profitable ideas.  You might be surprised at some of the things they come up with, and they will likely make more money because they will be selling a product or doing an activity they actually enjoy.

If you do choose to sell an item along with your other activities and efforts, discount cards are a great choice because they are affordable for most any budget, and offer you a good profit margin.  They offer exceptional value to your customer, support your church’s money needs, and support local area merchants in general.  Church fundraising is often made much more difficult than it has to be!  Put a few of these ideas to work, and see how fast you can raise the money you need for your church or youth group.

Mark South
Easy Church Fundraising