Fundraising Ideas in the Lead Up to Uniting Youth Camp
It's February already and Uniting Youth Camp will sneak up before we know it. Here's some great ways to get fundraising now to help your youth group get to camp!
10 Fundraising Ideas for Your Youth Group
It’s a new year and I’m sure that many congregations and youth groups have lots planned for 2024!
With this year’s Uniting Youth Camp also confirmed for October (more details to be released soon!), we thought it would be a great time to suggest different ways to fundraise to get your young people to camp, as well as ready for other activities they have this year.
Fundraising together as a community not only helps the financial goals for your plans, but it also helps young people learn great skills around team work, planning, goal-setting, leadership and being accountable.
1. Classic Car Wash
A car wash is a simple, yet effective fundraising idea for youth groups. Try hosting your car wash in a large, easy-to-navigate area, like your church’s car park! This will also help ensure your car wash can be seen from the street and will draw lots of people in. Have some members of your youth group stand with signs and wave on a few street corners to help boost your fundraising efforts. To host a car wash, you’ll need supplies for cleaning, including: Car soap Brushes, sponges and rags Buckets Hoses Hose nozzles or sprayers Water source Signs
2. Food and/or Lemonade Stand
Did someone say Bunnings hot dogs? With a a pop-up lemonade stand attached? Whether or not it's good old Bunnings, selling food and drinks is another tried-and-true church youth fundraiser idea. Your youth group students can help run the stand and prepare the food. Aim to host your stand during a busy time, such as during weekends. Seriously, Bunnings on a Saturday morning is not a bad option! Otherwise pick church events or community events that are open to a wide variety of stalls and have easy points of access. Try partnering with or seeking sponsorship from a local business to secure supplies for your stand at a free or discounted rate.
3. Craft Fair
One of the best things about hosting a craft fair as a church fundraiser idea for youth is that it can have a flexible price point for your products, depending on what goods you choose to sell. To get started, host a crafting night during one of your regular youth group events where everyone can get together and assemble crafts to sell at your event. Another option is to ask for craft donations or supplies from members of your congregation for the fair. You can even pair with local artists and businesses and sell booth spaces at your craft fair if you don’t want to assemble or deal with products to sell on your own.
4. Trivia Night / Talent Night
If your church congregation already loves getting together for events and fellowship, why not try hosting a trivia or <insert church name here>'s Got Talent night event? You can sell admission tickets to the event and people can team up with each other or join a preselected team.
Try selling food, drinks and snacks at your event to boost sales and consider chipping in some of the ticket money to provide a prize for the winning team or act. Boost your fundraising efforts even further by holding an Auction during an intermission - ask people to donate goods or services, auction off members of the youth group to mow lawns or use their talents in some way etc.
5. Sports Tournament
During a weekend or school break, a sports tournament is a great fundraising idea. It’s an easy way to get people exercising and moving and raise funds for your youth group. Charge a registration fee for each player/team and have your youth group help host the games. Events like a sports tournament are also a great opportunity to sell food and drinks items or even team T-shirts!
6. Bake Sale
To host a bake sale, ask members of your congregation to make cookies, cakes, pies or other desserts. To make the most of this church youth fundraiser idea, you can combine it with festivals or other events. Or simply hold it immediately following Sunday morning services. Or a different approach is to work with a local bakery to negotiate a cheaper price on a bulk order of lamingtons or ready to cook pies, then collect orders from your church and school contacts and deliver them to your customers once the bakery has made your order.
7. Parents Night Out
If your church has play group facilities, host a “parents night out” for your congregation. Babysitters can get expensive, so charging anything below the hourly childcare rate for your area will be a good deal for parents. And they know they’re contributing to a good cause. Give them a discount for second and third children. And be sure that you have both the space and the appropriate number of volunteers to accommodate the number of families that sign up.
8. Pet Wash
A pet wash makes a great church fundraiser idea for youth for groups that don’t want to do car washes. Encourage your congregants to bring their dogs and other pets to get cleaned up by your youth group. Sell redeemable tickets or include some special grooming add-ons. A pet wash is also an easy event to combine with another church youth fundraiser idea, like a bake sale or sporting event. To host a pet-washing event, you need some basic supplies, including: A water source Hoses Hose nozzles and sprayers, a power source Shelter (in case of rain), pet treats, towels, brushes or combs, youth group volunteers to wash the pets
9. DIY Workshops
Hosting a class or skills workshop is an excellent fundraising idea for youth groups. Your youth group can sell tickets to the event and advertise it to your congregation and on social media. Workshops like these are a great way to draw in people from your community who are interested in learning new life-enhancing skills. Some good ideas for classes include: Baking, Healthy Cooking, Sewing, Knitting, or crocheting, Yoga, Jewelry-making, Makeup, Soap-making, etc.
10. Garage Sale
A great church fundraiser idea for youth is to ask your congregation to donate used items like books, clothing, and furniture. Have a garage sale and use the profits for your fundraising project. You can even have your youth group members present to help load heavier items. If your church has access to a hall or other large space, you can hold the event rain or shine. (Although, if you plan to sell furniture, consider that many people will want to transport it on days when there is no rain). You may want to consider a way to provide receipts for buyers who buy larger, more expensive items. You also can hold events that are more targeted, such as a used teen clothing sale. Have your youth group (and their friends) go through their closets and find lightly worn items they’d be willing to part with, or items they’ve outgrown. Advertise the sale in your community.
Do you have some more ideas?
This is a short list, there would be 100's of potential fundraisers your youth group could do. Keep them involved in the process of choosing their fundraisers and motivated by having fun, letting them take the lead and making sure that there are opportunities to teach and learn throughout the year!
Can't wait to see you at Uniting Youth Camp!
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