Fundraising is necessary for every organization, and small churches are no different. As a small church leader, you need to be creative with your fundraising ideas to continue to serve the community in a way that makes the most sense for your congregation. Finding fun, creative and exciting church fundraising ideas can feel challenging. Why? Well, you’re constantly putting out fires. Still, finding some of those church fundraising ideas isn’t impossible! fundraiser for church ideas
Highland Presbyterian Church
Church fundraising doesn’t always have high returns. But some churches raise funds without out-of-pocket expenses through a shoe drive fundraiser–one of our partners, Highland Presbyterian Church, needed to raise money for their new roof and painting project. The refurbishing was too expensive for the church, so they had to fundraise $370,000 for the roofs and fix the stone façade to make it all happen!
They decided on doing a shoe drive fundraiser because it didn’t require them to pay any out-of-pocket costs. One thing they did was to partner with New Castle Christian School. So, they got the broader community involved in collecting shoes. Moreover, they also did the fundraiser virtually, put out collection boxes, and did personal phone calls taking donations! In total, they collected 119 bags full of shoes through this campaign.
So, what church fundraising ideas could work for you in addition to shoe drive fundraisers? We’ll explore them in a moment, but first, let’s look at the preparation. (Take a look at why you should start a fundraiser for small amounts).
Consider Your Church’s Purpose
First, you need to consider your church’s purpose when coming up with fundraising ideas. You’ll want to think about the interests of your members and what they would enjoy doing together. If your church is in an urban area, you might want to think about hosting a fundraising event that includes doing community service together.
Planning a fundraising event is a great idea for small churches. You can schedule an event that will be fun and easy to execute. However, it’s always important to keep in mind your community and things of interest to them.
Remember, planning a community-wide event will generate revenue for your church. If your church is in a residential area, you might want to consider holding a carnival as your fundraiser. An option to consider in the suburbs is to organize a simple yard sale. However, this doesn’t work in many big cities. Nevertheless, a carnival or pie sale could work virtually anywhere with some planning. So, think of your community and what works best for them.
Host a Food Truck Fundraiser
Food trucks are all the rage, and for a good reason! They serve delicious, quality food that is at a fair price. In hosting a food truck fundraiser, you can get your members involved in cooking and serving the food to people who come through to order. You can also offer donation incentives like an hour of childcare or a free haircut if someone donates a certain amount of money.
Think out of the box if you’re unsure where your church should host the food truck event. For example, if you host a fundraiser near an outdoor mall, guests will likely have plenty of places to shop and visit your food truck. A park might be another option where people could play games with their kids. Either way, make sure you have plenty of seating space available so that people don’t feel cramped up while waiting on their food.
Sell Baked Goods in the Community
One of the easiest ways to raise money is with baked goods. If you have congregation members who enjoy cooking and baking, start selling the food as a fundraiser for your small church. Have them cook or bake up some goodies or offer to buy a few batches from them. Then set up a table at the grocery store, outside school drop-off areas, or in front of your church on Sundays.
Of course, you could also set up a stand near a mall. These are all great places to sell. If people are out shopping, they’re more likely to stop and buy something. The best part about this fundraising idea is that it won’t cost much more than the ingredients! Make sure that you have a wide variety of things so that everyone can get what they want (chocolate chip cookies for one person, apple pie for another).
Have an Ice Cream Social in the Summer
Purchase an inexpensive or use the freezer of your church for your summer ice cream social. The idea is a simple one that keeps people cool during the hot summer months. You’ll need to do a little preparation for this one, like buying ice cream and toppings, but it’s worth the effort.
If you keep enough ice cream on hand, people will love coming to the ice cream social, even after the event has ended. By the way, this is an excellent fundraiser to add to a shoe drive fundraiser. In other words, you could collect shoes during your ice cream social. All you need is to have collection boxes around. That way, people know to bring their gently worn, used and new shoes. Of course, you’ll want to ensure you promote your fundraisers in advance.