How to have the perfect fundraising Holiday Bazaar?
Members at my church are older and seem reluctant to change. Average age is 70. We need fun activities to bring back our younger population and bring in new members. Our church is literally dying out. We have become a poor church because of low enrollment and fived incomes. We need a shot in the arm. I thought a Holiday bazaar would be a great place to start. Something fun for our members and something that would entice ex-members back and new members from our community. The church is located in a poor section of the city. The actual membership used to be affluent which was a turn off to the neighborhood. I want the neighborhood to feel wecolme and feel like they belong.
hold a garage sales
- start by asking for donations in the neighhourhood, and filter out the good ones for sales
- ask the church members too but if they are 70, hopefully they wont throw out their clothes? perhaps they have some nice antiques and they can ask their children/grandchildren to contribute too
set up some food and drinks stall
(get the older folks to mann as people will buy from them)
make muffins and cookies to sell
- i suggest this because they are really easy to make, cost is low, and can sell for good price.
- i have a really easy muffin receipe. email me if you want it.
- and i am sure some church members can make some mean food too!
think of what games are popular in your city (childhold games, etc) and create them for the bazaar fair
balloons
colouful and cheap. if someone knows how to make sculpture balloons, you can sell those too.
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hold a garage sales
- start by asking for donations in the neighhourhood, and filter out the good ones for sales
- ask the church members too but if they are 70, hopefully they wont throw out their clothes? perhaps they have some nice antiques and they can ask their children/grandchildren to contribute too
set up some food and drinks stall
(get the older folks to mann as people will buy from them)
make muffins and cookies to sell
- i suggest this because they are really easy to make, cost is low, and can sell for good price.
- i have a really easy muffin receipe. email me if you want it.
- and i am sure some church members can make some mean food too!
think of what games are popular in your city (childhold games, etc) and create them for the bazaar fair
balloons
colouful and cheap. if someone knows how to make sculpture balloons, you can sell those too.
References :
some ideas:
Old fashioned christmas party – make decorations/ice cookies/serve refreshments
Holiday Shops – invite businesses/vendors to sell xmas crafts/decorations/gifts
Holiday Dance – hire a dj, charge per couple, serve cocktails
Holiday Xmas concert – have your choir or a local band play a concert and charge a nominal admission – you could maybe even do a xmas talent show, where anyone can be in it – but they have to do something christmas related.
As far as getting the word out, you need some marketing.
You could just hit the streets and start knocking on doors. Say Hi, My name's ____ from xyz church, I'm not here to pressure you or ask you join, but i'd like to give you this (a card w/a candy cane or ornament or something) and wish you a happy holidays and let you know that you're welcome anytime….
You could also see about putting an ad in a local paper (make sure ppl actually read it though) just saying something along the lines of "our doors are always open" – list some of the fun things the church offers, etc.
Hope some of these ideas helped – happy planning!
References :
Well…
~first, ya have to have the money to have a party…
Ask your local businesses for donations…
Personally approach your ex-member friends and ask them to help…
Go to your parents and see if they will donate…
Just different things like that…
~Second, you have to plan everything.
Ask your friends to participate in a Christmas Nativity play…
Personally go door to door inviting people to come… They feel more welcome that way…
For the older ladies and gentlemen, make a Bingo night but they have to pay a minimum of 5 dollars… (If they are nice, they will donate more)
~Third, have fun at the party!
Smile when you can so the people there feel welcome at the party…
Be a great hostess…
~Finally, have fun yourself!
People have fun when they see others having fun and realize that they can have fun too!
*Smile, make the world wonder what you are up to…
References :
My brain…
I used to coordinate the holiday bazaar every year as a fundraiser for our local crisis pregnancy center. I loved it!!!!!!!
First , I would get the word out in flyer's and in the newspaper that we were looking for donations of baked goods and gift items for sale. Be sure to let people know what the money will be going towards.
Then I would go to my local grocery store and talk to the manager and they were always happy to donate some apple cider and cookies, sometimes even cups and napkins.
Then I would put out announcements by flyer's and posters, and again in the paper. If your area has a paper that bunches all the bazaars in one place, people usually cut that out and make a day of going to several bazaars for shopping. Also, the local Christian radio stations would make announcements for us. Most of this has to be planned well ahead to be fit into the schedule.
It is a great way to do something as a community and to remind people that if they are going to spend money anyway for Christmas present, why not make sure that money goes to something to further the Kingdom instead of a rich man's pocket.
And to those who donate……..it will come back to them tenfold.
I hope this helps in some small way. Have faith…..it can happen.
And remeber the ambiance, when people do come. Music, good smelling candles and food, and friendly greetings. Have one or two people there just to greet and make people welcome and direct them where to go. It will leave a lasting impression.
References :
I used to work at Salvation Army holiday bazaars every year when they had them.
Make sure you have signs out front and on the nearest intersection so that people can find them. If you can afford it, put a small ad in the local paper. Also advertise at your chamber of commerce.
As far as the bazaar itself, the ones that I worked at had a hostess sitting at the main door where you put your name in for hourly doorprizes. Those don't have to be expensive at all. Then there were vendor tables in the foyer as well as the adjoining fellowship room. One year, the nursery just inside the main door was turned into a bake sale room complete with tables and chairs. The next year, it was moved to the main fellowship room which seemed to work out better.
There was another room that was just rummage sale stuff.
Also had Christmas cds playing on the stereo system. Not so loud that you can't hear yourself think, but it does add to the ambiance.
Most of the vendors were people from the community. Not sure honestly how or where they were recruited from. Again, you could run an ad in your local paper asking for vendors if budget allows. If possible, you would also try to get in touch with people at other churches to get names of vendors they have used for bazaars. Another idea is to make flyers and send them out door to door.
Is anyone at your church or any outside friends/relatives crafty at all? Don't know if most people would have time to get alot of stuff made in that short of time but it can be done.
If anyone in your church is up to it, you could ask them to donate bake sale items.
Ask local businesses for donations.
I wish you the best of luck! Have fun with it.
References :
We once did a fundraiser called "dinner and a movie". We prepared a meal (we did spaghetti, salad, and the works) and then showed a movie on a big screen t.v. It went over really well and raised lots of money.
*Also, a garage sale would be a good fundraiser. You could even have a garage/bake sale.
*If you have enough youth, a car wash always does good.
* We also did a cookbook fundraiser. This is a way to get the community involved by asking for recipe entries.
* Around here, a "krispy kreme" donut fundraiser always does good.
I like your idea of a Christmas bazaar. You could get different people to sing, sell some kind of dinner plates, do a cake walk, do an auction (or even a silent auction-i love those-e-mail me for details.if you have never had a silent auction), play bingo, do a live manger scene, do "go fish" for the little kids. Face painting always does good at that sort of thing. There are lots of stuff that you could do. Although, this sort of thing takes lots of money and lots of people. You might want to get the whole community(not just church people) involved and maybe host it at your church.
Good luck and have fun…..Merry Christmas…..Happy Holidays!!!
References :
Have a garage sale, and then let people in the neighborhood about the church, when the services are etc.. and most of all invite them to attend services, people need to know they are welcome and that other church members are friendly. Also how about a White Elephant sale, people in the neighborhood can donate things, and then sell things at a low price, people will flock to any sale you have. We will be praying for your church to expand. God Bless!
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