| In this week’s update, the team at Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee provides you some creative ideas for fundraising with your team — especially for those of you who have already shared your Bowl for Kids’ Sake page via social media and email.
Big Sister Stephanie Smith (pictured above) recently celebrated her birthday in a BIG WAY. She gathered with friends and family at the YMCA, dressed in neon and side-ponytails, to dance the night away and raise funds for our agency. By asking her guests to donate to BBBS-ETN in lieu of gifts, Stephanie has raised more than $3,500 for Bowl For Kids’ Sake 2018! Below, we list a few creative ways to raise money to support matches of Bigs and Littles, while having a little fun along the way.
CREATIVE FUNDRAISING IDEAS
Asking for donations isn’t always easy, but fundraising for Bowl For Kids’ Sake doesn’t have to be intimidating.
Check out these creative ideas for your team fundraising, and remember that we’re about a month away from Bowl for Kids’ Sake 2018!
- Hold a drawing at work. Ask your employer if you can sell tickets to give your co-workers a chance to win a two-hour lunch, a half or whole day off, or a prime parking spot.
- Schedule a game night. Host a Monopoly, poker, bingo, or other game night and charge “admission” to benefit BBBS-ETN.
- Go green for Spring. Try selling fresh cut flowers or bouquets from your garden.
- Make a little change. Ask your local bank or the businesses you frequent to put a coin jar at their register. Be sure to decorate the jar so donors know who you are and what organization you are raising funds for. (The BBBS-ETN team is more than happy to prepare you with talking points!)
- Bake sale. Hold a bake sale at church, work, or school. Consider selling doughnuts, pastries, and coffee in the morning.
- Set a personal challenge. Grow a beard, take the stage at karaoke night, or paint yourself purple. It doesn’t matter what you do as long as your friends would pay good money to see it happen. Make sure you post your progress on social media!
- Good jeans. Ask your company and/or other companies in your building to sell tickets to a jean day for employees.
- Schedule a share-the-profit event. If you have a family member or friend that owns or manages a local business, ask them if they would like to donate a portion of a day’s profit to BBBS-ETN!
- Set up a snack bar. Create a cart where employees can purchase snacks like sandwiches, chips, cookies, juices and soft drinks. Open your snack bar for a week and have all the proceeds go toward your fundraising goal.
- Matching gifts. Many companies may give a flat donation toward your fundraising goal, while others may have gift matching programs. Check with your HR representative to see if your company offers this program.
- Nearly new sale. Collect your team’s gently used clothing or household items and host a weekend sale. Take photos of your items beforehand and post in Facebook groups or on Instagram stories to generate a buzz.
- Create a recipe book. Gather recipes from team and family members and compile the most delicious ones to create a recipe book to sell to friends and co-workers. You might even theme your recipe books to feature desserts or healthy meal options.
Or, throw a party with a purpose like Stephanie did!
By the way, if you missed our tips on how to recruit team members and how to ask for donations, click here to learn more. Need help setting up your personal site? We’ve got you covered.
And, remember—our team is always available to provide resources and answer any questions you might have—just call us at 865.523.9455 or email development@tennesseebig.org .
P.S.- After your fundraising page is set up, be sure to check in with your captain to ensure your team has its lane reserved! If you are a team captain and your lane is not reserved, click here |
