Student Organization Fundraising Guide
Northern Arizona University
Spring 2011
Holding a Fundraiser on Campus
All on-campus student events must be approved by the Office of Student Life—this includes any
fundraisers. Please plan in advance so that you are able to secure the proper permissions—this can take
anywhere from a week to 30 days depending on the type of event you are planning. To begin the
approval process or for help planning a fundraiser, stop by the Office of Student Life any weekday from
1:30 to 5 pm and a staff member will be available to meet with you.
Restaurant Fundraisers
These restaurants may set aside dates where a portion of their profits go to your organization. Details
vary, so contact the restaurant you are interested in working with for more information. If your group
knows of other restaurants that host fundraisers for student organizations, please let us know so we can
add them to this guide!
Bigfoot BBQ
120 N. Leroux in the Old Town Shops
(928) 226-1677
http://www.bigfootbbq.com/fundraisers
Buffalo Wild Wings
2700 S Woodlands Village Blvd, Suite 550
(928) 774-3550
Chili’s
1500 S Milton Rd
(928) 774-4546
ColdStone Creamery
2080 S Milton Rd
(928) 779-2856
Granny’s Closet
218 S Milton Rd
(928) 774-8331
http://www.grannys-closet.com/site/index.cfm?sec=OurNews&reviewID=203
Pizza Hut
1860 S Milton Rd
(928) 774-3259
or
4429 N Hwy 89
(928) 526-5224
Wildflower
530 E Piccadilly Dr
(928) 233-5010
http://www.wildflowerbread.com/pdf/wfcares-info2.pdf
Concession Stands
Sodexo hires student organizations to run the concession stands at the Skydome during football and
basketball games. The contact person for more information is Alan Keay, alan.keay@sodexo.com
Outside Companies
Recycling Fundraiser: Ask faculty, staff, students, and local businesses to donate and recycle their used
consumer electronics. Recycling Fundraiser pays up to $300 per item. They also provide free shipping
and customizable marketing materials. For more information, see http://www.recyclingfundraiser.com
or call 1-888-326-7466.
Campus Fundraiser: Provides online fundraisers (surveys and textbook purchasing) and event
fundraisers (magazine sales and “enjoy the city”) aimed at student organizations. Programs are free to
get started. For more information, see http://www.campusfundraiser.com or call 1-888-923-3238.
GoodSearch: Earn money for your student organization every time you search the web. Go to
http://www.goodsearch.com and set up an account for your organization. Then ask your members and
their family and friends to search in the name of your organization.
GoodShop: When your members buy things online through http://www.goodshop.com a percentage of
the purchase comes back to the organization.
Fundraising.com: This site has all sorts of fundraising ideas and products to sell.
Oriental Trading: This is a great source for small trinkets or other items to sell as a fundraiser,
particularly around the holidays. For more information, see http://www.orientaltrading.com
General Fundraising Ideas
One Million Penny Collection: At the beginning of the year, tell organization members that the
organization wants to save a million pennies by a certain date. Every time the group meets, the penny
can is passed around for members to donate their pennies or loose change. You can ask other
organizations to do the same. If you gather a million pennies, you will raise $10,000.
Gift Wrapping: Offer a holiday gift-wrapping service on campus for students, faculty, and staff. Charge a
fee for the service or accept tips. Check with the local mall, Barnes & Noble, and other businesses to see
if you can set up a gift-wrapping service at their site.
Holiday Candy/Gift Sales: Create “candygrams” for Halloween or Valentine’s Day and sell them to fellow
students. Sell seasonal gifts like flowers, mini pumpkins, stuffed animals, or holiday ornaments.
Bag It at a Grocery Store: Contact your local grocery store and ask if your organization can bag and carry
groceries for their customers for one week. Make signs explaining that all contributions will be donated
to your organization.
Sports Tournament: Host a volleyball, kickball, dodgeball, cornhole, or other tournament. Invite
fraternities and sororities, residence hall groups, and other student organizations to participate. Charge
an entry fee for every group that participates and offer a grand prize for the winner.
Car Wash: Hold a car wash in the parking lot of a local business. Charge or accept tips. Or contact local
car dealerships to see if they would be willing to pay your group to wash their cars after in rains or
whenever needed.
Yard Sale: Collect unwanted items from all of your members and hold a yard sale. Be sure to advertise
the event and arrange for members to take turns running the sale.
T-Shirt Sales: Raise money by designing and selling t-shirts, water bottles, notepads, bumper stickers,
calendars, or other items with your organization’s logo printed on them. If you plan to use the name or
logo of Northern Arizona University please make sure you bring your design to the Office of Student Life
so it can be approved before you order any items.
_____-a-Thons
 Bike-a-Thon (pledges for number of miles/laps ridden)
 Bowl-a-Thon (pledges for number of pins knocked down)
 Dance-a-Thon (pledges for number of hours/minutes danced)
 Free Throw-a-Thon (pledges for number of free throws made)
 Jog-a-Thon (pledges for number of miles/laps jogged)
 Rock-a-Thon (pledges for number of hours in a rocking chair)
 Skate-a-Thon (pledges for number of hours/laps ice or roller skated)
 Swim-a-Thon (pledges for number of laps swum)
 Walk-a-Thon (pledges for number of miles/laps walked)
 Whatever kind of “Thon” you can think of!
Silent Auction: Ask for donations of gift certificates, tickets, memorabilia, and other items from local
restaurants, museums, music groups, theaters, sports teams, etc. When the donations come in, group
them into prize packages such as dinner and a movie, autographed ball and team t-shirt, museum tickets
and gift cards for lunch. You may need to purchase a few small items to round out the packages. Invite
guests to attend a silent auction where they bid on the items. It’s a good idea to set a starting bid for
each package that is 50-75% of the actual value of the item.
Benefit Dinner: Host an upscale dinner, lunch, brunch, or tailgate event and invite faculty, staff, and
community members to attend. Pay attention to linens and decorations so that the event feels special.
Consider having some sort of entertainment and set aside some time to talk about your organization.
Sell tickets to individual guests and also by the table. This also works well combined with a silent
auction.
Don’t Come Fundraiser: This is similar to the Benefit Dinner idea, but you don’t actually hold the event.
The idea is that there are a lot of busy campus and community members who would like to support your
organization but don’t have time to attend an event. Be as creative as you want—send out invitations
with a fancy menu and a famous guest of honor. If you are a sport club, host an event where your team
members don’t play the Cardinals or the Suns. If you are a music-based organization, send out
invitations for an event where you don’t perform Beethoven’s 9th Symphony or Handel’s Messiah. Sell
tickets for your event and be sure to send a handwritten thank you note since guests don’t actually
receive anything for their donation.
Battle of the Bands or Lumberjack Idol: Host a competition for bands or individual singers. Invite
audience members to attend at no charge. To choose the winner, audience members must vote for their
favorite contestant by depositing money in a corresponding can. The band or singer whose can has the
most money at the end of the night wins. Offer a cash prize or some percentage of the total donations
to the winner.
Membership Dues: One of the easiest and most obvious ways to raise funds for your organization is to
collect membership dues. Set an affordable amount for your dues, and collect them early in the
semester.
Do you have other ideas to add? If so please submit them to the Office of Student Life so we can share
them with other student organizations!
Fundraisers that are NOT ALLOWED:
Bake Sales: Due to food safety regulations and our contract with Sodexo, student organizations are not
allowed to sell homemade baked goods or other foods on campus. You may hold a bake sale if you
purchase cookies, cupcakes, or other items through Sodexo and resell them for a profit.
Human Auctions: This includes events where students or staff members are auctioned off to the highest
bidder as a date or to provide services to the winner. Silent auctions (see above) are a good alternative.
Raffles, Casino Nights, and other Gambling Events: Arizona state law has strict regulations governing
who can run raffles, casino games, or other games of chance. In almost all cases, student organizations
are not permitted to hold these types of events by the state and therefore NAU does not allow these
types of fundraisers. Please contact the Office of Student Life if you would like more information.
Any Event Where Alcohol is Involved