Baseballmom Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 My son's baseball team is planning on going to the regional World Series. It costs around $1000 per player. We are looking for some fundraising ideas. We have already sold candy bars and pizza cards. Any ideas for a fundraiser that brings in some money in a relatively short time. We don't mind working, in fact we think the boys should work for this opportunity. Dorothy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 From what I've seen, sitting in front of a grocery store seems to be the quickest way to raise funds. I'm not a big fan of the concept, but it works. And it doesn't even matter what you're selling. Personally, I'm sick of buying fundraiser merchandise. Still, I drop a dollar or two in the can every week on my way out of the store! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMomof4 Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 Is a car-wash out of the question? How about mowing lawns for a donation? I'm not sure of the time frame, but our preschool did a cookbook. Everyone submitted their family recipes, but it was a longer term project. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildflower Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 We live very close to the Hamptons (you know where all the famous people 'summer') We have very close friends who live in Southampton (blue collar, not famous;).... Anyway on our way through Hampton Bays, the fire department had men stationed down the center of Main Street with collection cans in hand. I kid not! I was beside myself as Mercedes after Mercedes SUV threw a hundred bucks into the can! I just HAD to share that one, I am still floored by the gall of that move! Locally we have done many fundraising events where someone will let us use a piece of open property (farmland, but you could even use a large parking lot with donated tents.) for things like steak BBQ dinners, brings in a quick buck & a decent amount also. We have companies who do outdoor movies, our school district paid for all of the extra-curricular programs for the entire year off of one of those (school board went mad & wanted to triple the size of the budget and double the size of the school because of 50 kids! It was when their fear mongering and over reactions broke the town they cut them off completely) Do a google search, there are many companies. this is trhe first listing that came up on my search- http://www.outdoor-movies.com/ HTH! R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 Could they spread mulch on people's gardens/landscape areas? It's pretty profitable in the spring, but it may be too late. Our mission trip teens rake people's yards in the fall. How about selling spots for a huge yard sale? 10 bucks a space or a cut of what they make selling (per space is better). There's bound to be a parking lot connected to a business that isn't open on Saturdays that would let you have the space. It takes a little organization, but it can be done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 How long do you have?? Carrie:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baseballmom Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 How long do you have?? Carrie:-) We leave July 18th. Thanks, Dorothy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baseballmom Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 Could they spread mulch on people's gardens/landscape areas? It's pretty profitable in the spring, but it may be too late. Our mission trip teens rake people's yards in the fall. How about selling spots for a huge yard sale? 10 bucks a space or a cut of what they make selling (per space is better). There's bound to be a parking lot connected to a business that isn't open on Saturdays that would let you have the space. It takes a little organization, but it can be done. I thought of this too, but it is probably too late in Texas. Never thought of the garage sale spot thing, but we have already had a garage sale. I will think about doing it again. Thanks! Dorothy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baseballmom Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 We live very close to the Hamptons (you know where all the famous people 'summer') We have very close friends who live in Southampton (blue collar, not famous;)....Anyway on our way through Hampton Bays, the fire department had men stationed down the center of Main Street with collection cans in hand. I kid not! I was beside myself as Mercedes after Mercedes SUV threw a hundred bucks into the can! I just HAD to share that one, I am still floored by the gall of that move! Locally we have done many fundraising events where someone will let us use a piece of open property (farmland, but you could even use a large parking lot with donated tents.) for things like steak BBQ dinners, brings in a quick buck & a decent amount also. We have companies who do outdoor movies, our school district paid for all of the extra-curricular programs for the entire year off of one of those (school board went mad & wanted to triple the size of the budget and double the size of the school because of 50 kids! It was when their fear mongering and over reactions broke the town they cut them off completely) Do a google search, there are many companies. this is trhe first listing that came up on my search- http://www.outdoor-movies.com/ HTH! R In our city, baseball teams stand in the intersections all the time begging for money. I would rather have the boys work for the money. I don't know if we have any weekends open between now and the World Series because the boys will play in State and another out of town tournament before we leave on July 18th. So I think a BBQ dinner is probably out for now. But I will keep this in mind for the future. Thanks! Dorothy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baseballmom Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 Is a car-wash out of the question? How about mowing lawns for a donation? I'm not sure of the time frame, but our preschool did a cookbook. Everyone submitted their family recipes, but it was a longer term project. Good luck! I was thinking of taking the boys out to do a car wash. The only issue is that the boys don't have much free time on the weekends between now and July 18th. Do you think this would work during the week at lunch time? Or would people not stop for a car wash on their lunch break? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baseballmom Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 From what I've seen, sitting in front of a grocery store seems to be the quickest way to raise funds. I'm not a big fan of the concept, but it works. And it doesn't even matter what you're selling. Personally, I'm sick of buying fundraiser merchandise. Still, I drop a dollar or two in the can every week on my way out of the store! I totally understand you being sick of giving donations. That is why I am looking for something that either benefits others or gives them a good product without continually saturating our friends and family again. On Friday night Jason's Deli gave us 10% of their sales for anyone who brought in a flyer with our team name on it. We just handed it out in the parking lot to people already going to Jason's Deli. So they didn't have to do anything other than what they were going to do anyway. It was alot of work, we had over 20 people out there for 3-4 hours and made around $200.00. Standing out side of a store selling hot dogs or something else is hard to do around here because we live in an area with a lot of great baseball teams so you have to schedule these things at least 6 months out. But that is a good idea for next year. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelanieM Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Used book sale. Have everyone donate books for the sale, then arrange a day where people can come and purchase. You might even make the purchases donation based rather than pricing the books. You tend to get more when it's open-ended than you would if you charged .50 per book. Bottle drive. You could send the kids around collecting bottles to be turned in for cash. Sponsored home parties. If you know someone that has a business that does home parties (Pampered Chef, Usborne, etc.), perhaps you could have someone host a party for you in exchange for a percentage of the sales. You could do a series of these, asking each parent to host something. Walk-a-thon/wake-a-thon/play-a-thon/etc. Have the kids get sponsor donations for doing something like a 5k walk, staying up all night, playing ball all day, etc. Fun fair. Yesterday we went to a local school for a fun fair, and the kids had a blast! They had blow-up castles, balloon dart games, a silent auction, food, etc. You may not have time to do something huge like this, but perhaps you could do a small scale like setting up a couple of games and selling tickets. Raffles. Have people donate goods for prizes (the kids can ask local businesses for the donations) and then sell tickets. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 We leave July 18th. Thanks, Dorothy Next year, when you have more time, we would be happy to do some sort of Klean Kanteen or this other water bottle that we sell....fundraiser. We have a fundraiser going for our local HS and I love it...I'd rather purchase water bottles...than say....teddy bear crackers...like me husband did...from the little girls next door:-) Carrie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st_claire Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Why don't you just have every kid give the money to send themselves? The kid can get a part time job, or the parents can just pay, etc... Usually car washes, bake sales, etc... pay well below minimum wage when you work it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildflower Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 I just thought of one more- we had someone do a discovery toys party & DT donated a percentage of the profits... Please keep us updated I'm dying to know how this works out for you. Did you check out the movie link? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samiam Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Do you have any minor league teams in your area, or even major league? Both our local minor league baseball team, and NFL football team let groups work their concession stands for a piece of the profit that stand makes. I have heard they can make $2000-3000 per game. My son's All-Star team also did the "stand in front of the grocery store" thing last year to make money for a huge State tournament. Amongst other things, this was our biggest money maker....although I personally hate those things. For the Poster in the Hamptons area, our local fire station does a "fill the boot" campaign annually to raise funds for charities. They stand in the intersections and people usually drop $$ while at the stoplights. As a matter of fact, in our previous state, SC, they did the same thing. I don't see a problem with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peek a Boo Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 In our city, baseball teams stand in the intersections all the time begging for money. I would rather have the boys work for the money. I refuse to give anything to organizations that have kids standing in traffic intersections or teen girls in bikinis for car washes. Fire fighters always get donations from me. Just because they are begging for funds doesn't mean they haven't done the work to deserve my support. I agree that standing in front of grocery stores is the easiest, fastest way. My 2 boys just received $150 on Saturday for 3 hours of standing talking to people about Scout camps. DH rec'd many comments about how impressed people were w/ their speech and demeanor and wishing them well. That's pure profit. Well, except for the ink to print out a few small informational signs the boys hung from their shirts, lol. Really --so many people are happy to just GIVE. There's a reason you see so many kids out there letting people give to their cause: the audience/clientele changes by the hour. I'd locate a few stores that would be ok w/ letting y'all stand out there w/ a jar for money during the times that work best for your team. Divide into pairs and have each pair work a store. Another option: type up an intro letter requesting sponsorship amounts and send them off to businesses. The University of Dallas encourages prospective summer camp students to do this and helps provide brochures/letters. DS has received about $110 so far this way. It was just for him alone, but he included a cover letter, student resume, info about the camp, 3 letters of reference [scoutmaster, 4-H club manager, city mayor], and a list of quick contacts -all in a simple pocket prong folder. One business requested that he leave some donation buckets and extra packets for her to pass out on his behalf. There are billions of dollars and thousands of corporations out there wishing and hoping that people will present a need to them so they can fill it. they welcome grant writers --beggars-- who are serious about doing serious things for the community. The kids can either beg people to buy their stuff or eat their food or beg people to just give them the money and support a great cause. Either way, the people who are going to support the cause are going to give money. And don't kid yourself --there's some work that goes in to preparing your presentation/following up with potential benefactors. The real work will come in the training and experience the kids get from the activity being sponsored. And benefectors know that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornerstonemom Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Here are a few ideas: Car Wash Go to local services and ask if they would be willing to donate coupons that you could use to put together a coupon book and then sell those. Sell hotdogs and chips Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 a couple times a year. We have a great location at a busy intersection and at the entrance to a large subdivision. Everyone brings their stuff priced and 100% of profits goes to the team. We make about $1500 every time we do this. The boys work it along with the parents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baseballmom Posted July 16, 2009 Author Share Posted July 16, 2009 Never say never! Our team decided to stand on the corner for donations, not my choice! To our shock we made $1000. It was the weekend after the Michael Jackson thing. The boys did a Thriller type dance that they made up themselves (well, one boy really choreographed the others) and before we knew it people were lined up in a parking lot to give us donations. Here is a link to a video on You Tube. It is pretty funny! My son had never heard of MJ or Thriller. He is the really uncoordinated kid in the video, as he had no clue what he was doing. I played part of Thriller when we got home and he said "Oh, that is what we were doing!" All together with sponsors and our online giving campaign we made enough to cover 25% of the cost and we will pay the other 75% We leave Saturday morning for McKinney, Texas. Thanks for all of the suggestions, we will use some of them for next year.Dorothy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peek a Boo Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 Never say never! Our team decided to stand on the corner for donations, not my choice! To our shock we made $1000. It was the weekend after the Michael Jackson thing. The boys did a Thriller type dance that they made up themselves (well, one boy really choreographed the others) and before we knew it people were lined up in a parking lot to give us donations. WOW!! well, I'd say that they were doing something other than "just" accepting donations --they were providing entertainment! :D great timing, and good luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.