ABC's Of Fundraising
Here are some great fundraising ideas to benefit Children’s Hospital Foundation:
Auction (Silent or Live) - hold the event at your business, in your neighborhood, or at church. Ask for
contributions of unique items. Display the items (or descriptions) prior to the event. Hold the auction over
lunch or at a convenient time.
Afternoon Boost- Accept donations for candy or other snacks in your office.
Band and choir concerts- Ask your school band or choir to donate their time by performing a benefit
concert for your cause. Charge an admission for the event.
Balloon Pop - Team members collect prizes as well as donate their own goods or services as prizes. Before
filling each balloon with helium, put a note inside with the name of the prize. People donate $1.00 to buy a
balloon and pop it to find out what they win. Or, the more they donate—the more they can pop!
Bake Sale – Accept donations for baked goods at work so employees will have treats for the weekend.
Bark in the Park- Offer dog washing or walking for donations. Check with local Pet Stores to donate
supplies.
Bike, Run, Hula Hoop, Jump Rope-A-Thon- Choose your favorite; space permitting, and get going.
You can turn almost any activity into a “Thon” and use it to collect pledges and donations.
Candy Count- Fill a jar with jellybeans and have people pay to guess how many there are in the jar.
Car Wash- an oldie, but a goodie. This works great for high school teams. Don’t forget the snack table! Sell
bottled water, candy, chips, lollipop bouquets, baked goods, etc. Use your imagination.
Coin Wars- this works well at colleges or large companies. Departments/dorms set up a jar for change drop
offs. The group with the most points wins a prize. Pennies are worth positive points. Sabotage the other
teams by dropping silver coins and cash into their jar! (Please roll change or bring to a coin star)
Computer Message- Ask your company computer expert to have a message "pop up" on employees'
screens asking for a donation. It won't go away until they give!!
Cookbooks- Collect recipes from everyone you know. Save on printing cost by emailing someone the
“cookbook” when they donate on your page.
Cut-A-Thon- Have local salons sponsor a cut-a-thon with proceeds going to Children’s Hospital
Foundation.
Dog Show- Invite people to show off their pets. People pay to enter their dogs. Offer donated prizes for best
looking dog, best behaved, least obedient, etc. Combine with a dog wash for even more money!
Dress Down Day- Employees/students donate money to “dress down”. Have a sign that promotes the event
such as, "Please excuse our appearance today, we are dressing down to benefit Children’s Hospital
Foundation”.
Easter Egg Hunt- Have people pay a fee to participate. Place papers describing prizes donated by local
businesses inside some eggs. Put candy inside others.
E-mail Signature- Include your Dragon Boat Festival webpage in your e-mail signature, example:
Cycle For Miracles benefitting Children’s Hospital Foundation
http://www.cycleformiracles.kintera.org
I will be participating in the Cycle for Miracles benefitting Children’s Hospital at Erlanger. Children’s Hospital
Foundation, with the support of friends like you, raises money to fund projects that advance care for the greater
Chattanooga area’s smallest patients. Please join me as I try to make miracles come true for sick kids! I would appreciate
any support you can offer to this worthwhile cause. If you would like to make a 100% tax-deductible donation, please
click on the email link above. Thank you for considering this request for your support as I work to make miracles happen.
Flamingos or Toilets – Place Flamingos in people's yards with a note around the flamingos neck asking
for a donation. Works great with old toilet also. For a $10 donation they can have it removed. For $20 they
can have you to move it to a friends’ yard. Same yard can’t be done twice. Make sure you have a large sign
explaining the event and that the money benefits Children’s Hospital. You can send out letters and emails to
family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors ahead of time to increase interest!
Go Green- Collect used cds and have a “recycled cd sale”. Don’t forget the sign explaining that all ‘recycling”
fees collected will benefit Children’s Hospital!
Guitar Hero- Hold a guitar hero contest. Charge for admission into the contest. Get area businesses such as
electronics stores and game shops to donate prizes and sponsor the event. Contact an area mall and see if you
can hold it in center court. Have big signs explaining that it is benefiting Children’s Hospital and be ready for
the donations to “rock and roll’ in!
Hat Day- Employees/students donate money to wear crazy hats all day at work. Have a sign that promotes
the event such as, "Please excuse our appearance today, we are wearing hats to benefit Children’s Hospital”.
How Much Change?- Guess how much change is in the jar. The winner receives all the coins and your
group makes money by charging people for guessing.
Jail & Bail - For a donation, participants can be arrested. For an additional donation, they can post their
own bail. Works great to get local celebrities, Business managers, etc involved.
Lemonade Stand, both “real” and “virtual” – Great for kids. Send out an email to everyone you know
inviting them to come to your lemonade stand. Ask friends and family who live too far away to buy a glass of
"virtual" lemonade. Provide them a link to your Cycle for Miracles fundraising page.
Lollipop Bouquets- Tie 3 lollipops together with colorful ribbon to make a bouquet. You might be able to
sell 1 lollipop for $.50 each, but you could easily sell a bouquet of three for $2.
Mardi Gras Fundraiser- Great parties like Mardi Gras events attract a fun-loving crowd. Book a good
band (or play some great cds) and line up some Cajun food for a buffet. Accept donations for beads, glow
necklaces, party hats, etc. Auction off something big like a trip to New Orleans or even a free meal at the best
Cajun restaurant in town.
Matching Gifts- if your company has a matching gift program, that's an effective way to double your
fundraising efforts. Check with your Human Resources department to obtain forms.
Movie Money- Rent short videos (cartoons and tv sitcoms are great) and have a movie week during lunch
hour. Charge admission and invite employees during lunch.
Neighborhood Idol- Rent or borrow a karaoke machine. Sell tickets and charge admission. Have a prize
donated for the best and worse singers, performance, or costume. Sing, sing, sing while raising money for
Children’s Hospital!
Pancake Breakfast- A good location with lots of road signage can really pack them in for a pancake
breakfast. Costs are low and opportunities to add-in extras are abundant. Offer raffle tickets, silent auction
items, and sell ad space or sponsorships on your placemats.
Pies the limit- Ask the popular (or unpopular) managers, teachers, etc, you know to agree to have pies
thrown at them. Collect donations for the opportunity to be a pie thrower.
Plant sale- Hold a plant sale with plants donated from local nurseries. Have a sign explaining proceeds go to
Children’s Hospital.
Recycled Book Sale- Collect used books and have a “recycled book sale”. Don’t forget the sign explaining
that all ‘recycling” fees collected will benefit Children’s Hospital!
Restaurants to the Rescue - ask a local restaurant or cafe to contribute a portion of the proceeds for a
day. See list of restaurants offering fundraisers.
Shop For A Miracle- Another good idea is to work with local merchants to put together a special shopping
experience. Host in a convenient space like a convention center, church meeting hall, or even a shopping
mall. Try to get as many items donated as possible while keeping things a win/win for your merchants..
V.I.P.- Very Important Parker gets prime parking spot for turning in most money. You can also AUCTION
prime parking spot!
Wine And Cheese Tasting- Sell tickets ahead of time for the event. These can be held at a local bar or
restaurant. They usually are excited for the extra business and are often willing to do these during slower
business hours.
Wishing Well - set up a "wishing well" at your local school, business, church, or store with a sign explaining
that all proceeds go toward Children’s Hospital.
Wrap a car- Get a company vehicle—or your own—wrapped! Put your Cycle for Miracles website on your
car or use this great company example: A Dump Truck Company painted 1 truck from their fleet purple. They
had information regarding the charity and a phone number and website painted on the truck. Every time
someone "spotted" the truck and contacted them they donated $1 to the charity!
Yard Sale- Not just your stuff, ask friends & neighbors to donate items to your garage sale or hold a Team
Garage Sale and have all team members bring items. Team holds large yard sale and donates proceeds to
Children’s Hospital. One person’s trash is another person treasure. Cash in on all that “treasure” you have
lying around your home.