Archive for March, 2009
Wandering Canadian played at York Church fundraiser October 19th, 2008 
Church Fundraising Ideas
By Jeff McRitchie
We all know most churches operate on tight budgets. You could raise money for the church by selling candy bars or magazine subscriptions, but those programs can be risky. If you are looking for a moneymaker that offers you the opportunity to maintain control of materials and costs while providing a great product to your parishioners, consider the possibilities of publishing unique documents right there in the church office. You can sell your books at church before and after services.
Establishing a church press is not nearly as difficult as you may believe it is. Most church offices already have most of the necessary equipment. You will need access to a printer, a word processing program, a copier, paper, and a binding machine and related supplies. If you are worried about binding equipment, don’t be! Binding machines are affordable and easy to use. Look into the various types of binding machines to choose one just right for your office. Common binding types include plastic comb, spiral coil, UniBind, VeloBind/Surebind, thermal, ProClick, and wire. Once you have assembled the right equipment, publishing your own books is simple.
Now that you have decided to publish your own books to use as church fundraisers, it is time to decide what type or types of publications you will create. The following list offers some suggestions to get you thinking creatively about the possibilities.
Cookbook
Solicit recipes from parishioners. Have church members email you the recipes to save time on typing then categorize the recipes according to type (desserts, appetizers, beverages, etc.).
Member Directory
Build a sense of community by putting together a church directory. Include contact information provided by parishioners. Boost the fundraising potential of this publication by selling ads to local businesses or to businesses owned by or employing church members.
Collections of Sermons
Collect copies of sermons quarterly or annually and compile them into a handy reference and devotional for church members.
Collections of Inspirational Quotes
Ask the church community to share their favorite religious quotes and passages. Assemble them into a book for all to enjoy and learn from each other.
Chicken Soup for the (Your Church Name) Soul
Most people of faith have personal stories to tell about what their faith means to them. Collect personal spiritual stories from your parishioners and assemble them into a single publication sure to entertain and inspire everyone who reads it.
As you can see, there are many possibilities for making money by publishing special books unique to your church. Once you have decided on the type of publication, you will need to spend a little time getting organized. Publications projects usually work out better when they are planned in advance. Choose a project chairperson and assemble a committee of volunteers to work on the project. Divide the work into stages and set deadlines for each stage. Think about inserting notices for the project and the upcoming deadlines into the church newsletter or on the church website. Carefully calculate the cost of the publication and determine how much more to charge per copy to meet your fundraising goals. The members of your congregation will love seeing their names in print and will likely purchase copies for their relatives and friends.
About the Author
Jeff McRitchie is the director of marketing for MyBinding.com.Before joining the team at MyBinding.com he was an associate pastor in charge of worship for three years. He writes extensively on topics related to Binding Machines, Binding Supplies, Laminators, and more.
Image by danflo via Flickr
Can you refer any organizations or corporate businesses to help fund a trip?
I am a 16 year old president of a church youth group. We are planning to go to Philidelphia in July. Right now we are possibly looking at $600 dollars a person. I am trying to find business that will donate cash or something we could use (food or drinks) to help cut some of those cost. Please refer and one willing to help or even fundraising ideas. Thanks.
I traveled as a student ambassador when I was a couple years back, and I had to do a lot of fundrasing. I would recommend meeting with different local business, or writing letters to them explaining what you are raising money for. Local business are a better place to look for help because they are more likely to sponsor things that are in their neighboor. Far as corporate sponsorship I would not recommend it because they recieve a lot of request and it would take a long time to recieve any sporing. Setting up at a craft fair is a good idea. Some of the craft planner will wave the fee. Selling candy like suckers can be good because at craft fair most parents bring kids and there is not much their for the kids. This can also be a good outlet for donates from a community and getting the word out. Newspapers will sometimes publish article that can help get the word out, if you contact the newspaper they might put something in the newspaper about it and this can help get donations.
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What are some good fundraisers for raising money for camp?
Our girl’s youth group is raising money so that we can all go to girl’s camp, or at least pay less than we usually have to.
What are some really cool creative ideas to raise as much money as possible?
We can’t have an auction be our main source of money because our Bishop doesn’t want all of the church members to have to basically pay for the camp every year, especially if they don’t have a daughter even going to camp.
So, anything to appeal to the public?
We’ve tried garage sale,
But not everybody participated, and yeah.
So; Ideas?
Hi Lynne,
First off, here are a few sites you might want to check out for fundraising.
http://www.fundraising.com/
http://www.fundraisingweb.org/
http://www.youthpastor.com/Resource/index.cfm/Youth_Ministry_Fundraising.htm
http://www.churchbizonline.com/youth_fundraising.htm
Suggestions I would make are:
1. A Bake Sale – After (or before) church sell baked goods to the congregation. You can also sell some good coffee. If you don’t want to bake see if the local donut shop will give you a deal on donuts to sell.
2. Chores – Offer to do chores for members of the church. Car washing, yard work, etc. could bring in some good money.
3. Dinner and a Show – Put together a show with all the girls doing 8-10 skits (kind of like Saturday Night Live) while parents and friends eat a dinner you all made. Spaghetti is easy to make a lot of.
4. Restaurants – Some restaurants like Round Table Pizza and Carl’s Jr. have a fundraising program where you invite everyone you know to eat dinner there one night (basically having a big party) and your group gets a portion of the money.
5. Parent’s Night Out – At your church or someone’s home provide an evening where parents of the church can drop off their kids. While you and the other girls babysit the kids the parents can have a nice evening out.
6. Door to Door Car Wash – Find a safe neighborhood and go door to door asking residents if they would like a car wash. Make sure you have a hose, soap, rags, etc. Either have a parent drive the stuff around in their car or keep it all in a cart that you can pul from house to house.
7. If all else fails kidnap the Bishop and hold him for ransom. As long as it’s all in good fun.
Good luck!
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Started in St. Ann's church basement, in P.E.I., as a potluck fundraiser, this event now serves more than 25,0
Started in St. Ann’s church basement, in P.E.I., as a potluck fundraiser, this event now serves more than 25,000 a season. What is it?
Lobster Supper =) 43 years later and still going strong =)
St. Ann’s Parish has successfully received guests since 1964. We are designated as one of the “World’s Famous Lobster Suppers”. Lobster is king, but we also feature a choice of entrees and a children’s menu. We serve meals that have made us world renowned. Our excellent quality home cooked food and friendly service makes dining at St. Ann’s an enjoyable experience!
St. Ann’s Church, located in Hope River Prince Edward Island is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlottetown. The present church was constructed in 1954 by Father E. Dalton; it is the seventh in less than 130 years!
In 1963, Father Denis Gallant, the pastor at the time, decided to serve Lobster Dinners in the basement of the church to raise money to help pay off the existing $35,000 mortgage. Early the next year, the church basement was setup to serve approximately one hundred per sitting while only open one day per week. A full course Lobster Dinner in 1964 cost $1.50 (Lobster was $0.50 cents per pound cooked)!
Today, our food is still prepared fresh daily by the ladies of our community. During the peak of our season we employ approximately thirty local people, whose dedication makes St. Ann’s Lobster Suppers a huge success.
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