Thursday, May 03, 2012

Fundraising Ideas for Your CSM Mission Trip!

"God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply" - Hudson Taylor


We know that pulling together a mission trip can take A LOT of work and planning. Beyond recruiting trip participants, going through some pre-trip training, and working out the transportation details, you still need to figure out how to pay for the trip!
Here are some fundraising ideas we've come across:

  • Pink Flamingos. A flamingo (or flamingos) gets placed in your yard. You have to pay $5 (per flamingo) to remove it and have it placed in someone else’s yard. For $20 you can buy anti-flamingo insurance. This is a lot of fun, and productive, but very labor intensive. (taken from ReThinking Youth Ministry Blog)
  • Child-care night. We’ve done this on Valentine’s day and sometime during the holiday season. (taken from ReThinking Youth Ministry Blog)
  • Silent Auction - The best fundraisers are the ones with no cost and plenty of profit. If well-organized, this fundraiser will cost you nothing and can be a fun fellowship event. Solicit whatever donated items people might want to offer: furniture, toys, tickets to events/performances, gift certificates to local establishments, artwork, sporting equipment, etc. Often for this event I encourage youth to offer a service for auction, such as babysitting hours or lawn-mowing. Set all the items out on tables with bid sheets and note a minimum starting bid and bid increase amount for each item. I find it helps to couple this event with a church dinner that is already on the schedule so that people will hang around longer and keep bidding. (taken from ReThinking Youth Ministry Blog)
  • Eat out! Some fast food restaurants host fundraisers! Be sure to check out Krispy KremeBaja Fresh and Boston Market. Check out a great article on how to get started with restaurant fundraising!
  • Scholarship. Did you know that there are scholarships out there youth groups looking to serve in missions? Kurt Warner (football quarterback) is currently accepting applications for 2013 Spring Break and Summer trips! Check out his website and click on "Mission Possible!" to find out more.

Do you have an idea to share? Post it here or email us!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I've really enjoyed reading this article, you've included some great fundraising tips and ideas. I've recently discovered Tony Charalambides fundraising blog, you should check it out!