Ways to Raise Money for Charity

I am sure all of you have heard the popular saying, 'Charity begins at home'. But if you are really keen on helping out with some noble cause, and you yourself are not in a position to fund it properly, then you can look at the different ways to raise money for charity that are possible. But this too isn't a cakewalk, and proper planning and thought needs to go into the charity to make it a success.

At such times, the most important thing is to reach out to people and encourage them to help you, as everyone usually has the tendency of wanting to contribute to something noble, but they just do not know as to where to start from. You will get tremendous response in everything that you undertake with a good heart. Always remember to go back to the people who have helped you, at an end of the event, to let them know as to how much money they have helped raise for the charity, as there cannot be a better morale booster than knowing how they have contributed in helping the world become a better place. Here are some great ideas on the different ways to raise money for charity. Choose one that you find easier to organize, or even any one that you may feel is closest to your overall cause of charity.

Best Ways to Raise Money for Charity

Hold Bake Sales

Silent Auction

This is an age-old way to raise money for charity. All the ladies who are interested in baking can hold a bake sale in their community. To ensure repeated participation from the members holding the sales, it is important that they be compensated with what they have spent to hold the sales. All additional money that they have helped to generate can be used for the charity proceeds. Even men who are interested in baking would love to take part in something like this, so make sure you contact as many individuals as possible. To make things interesting and get better results, you could also give a token prize to the best baked cake.

This is a slightly long and difficult process of raising money for charity. Here, you will first have to approach a few larger organizations and stores, and convince them to donate a few items for your auction. I am sure that once you are able to convince them that the cause is good and your intentions are honest, it will not be too difficult. Next, organize a silent auction, wherein the items to be auctioned are displayed at the center of the venue, with a drop box next to it where the people can write their bid amount and drop it in. Later, always inform those who have donated the items and let them know how much money they have helped raise.

Drop Your Change

Walk-A-Thon

I am sure you must have seen these donation boxes at the cash counter in stores and malls, wherein there is a picture or a message on the box stating where or for which cause the money would go to. You can use this idea and do the same thing in your school, college or office cafeteria. I have seen these boxes fill up with a lot of change in my office during lunch time. It is a tendency of people, that when they see a donation box for a long time at a particular place that they frequent on a regular basis, they will tend to contribute sooner or later, with whatever amount they can. The individual amounts in this case may be small, but with everyone contributing, it will be of great help.

This is a good way to raise money and also help everyone stay fit at the same time. You can collect pledges from your friends, family and neighbors for every mile that you walk. You can even organize an event where a few more people will join you walking. This will not only help raise more money, it will also let more people participate and contribute towards a good cause. If you want to do it on a bigger scale, you can get in touch with an event company, who will most probably help you organize a bigger event for a nominal fee. This way, they get some publicity, while you get your event done on a bigger scale with more charity contributions, but with less of personal funds and effort.

Donate Raw Food Material

Organize A Fair

This is another interesting concept that was implemented every year in my school, and met with great success. Identify a set of about eight raw food items which are non-perishable, like sugar, cornflakes, raw rice, etc. Assign a particular item to each grade in the school or college. The students in each grade will have to get about 2 - 3 pounds of the item assigned to them. Appoint a class representative who will collect the items and store them properly. This is an excellent method to collect food items from everyone, and no one person has to shell out too much. All the students will have a sense of contribution when they do their bit for charity.

Organize a small fair in your neighborhood over the weekend. Make sure you set up music, food stalls, game stalls, and the likes. You can also organize a special event like a magic show or a talent competition for kids, which can be the main attraction of the fair. You can organize this fair in two different ways. The first option is to fund it yourself, and simply get volunteers for all the stalls and events. The second way is to get a group of people who are each interested in taking up a stall or event. From the proceeds, compensate them for the material they use, and the rest can go towards the charity. Make sure you give this event enough publicity so as to attract a lot of crowd.

Raffle

Online Fundraiser

This is by far the most common method used in fundraising events. Everyone just loves the idea of contributing to a good cause, and at the same time being in with a chance of winning a prize. This also can be done in two ways. In the first method, you determine a buying price for each ticket, and get the prizes sponsored by local businesses and stores, whom of course you will give publicity to at the event. In the second method, called a 50/50 raffle, keep half of the proceeds as the big prize for the winner, while the other half goes towards your charity. Besides advertising about the raffle, a good way to bring in the crowds in to have a celebrity be given the task of drawing the lots.

The Internet allows us to do anything that we want to. This is true in the case of fundraising too. You can use the Internet to generate funds for your charity. There are many websites that allow users to take their help in holding a charity. On any search engine like Google, just type the words 'go fundraiser' and you will get quite a few websites that help out in charity fundraising. Once you finalize this part, then all you need to do is contact as many friends, family members, colleagues, through email or phone giving them all the details about the website and the fundraiser as a whole. This is an inexpensive way of organizing a charity, and the response can be overwhelming too.

Sports Day

Fashion Show

On a weekend, you can organize a sports day as a means for raising funds for a charity. If you and your friends are members of some club, then this event becomes easier to organize. Talk to the authorities at the club, and you may get the venue at a discounted rate. Then decide on the games to be included, like tennis, basketball, snooker, and something for the kids too. Decent prizes will need to be kept for the winners in all the games. The participants and the spectators will have a great time, and in the process will be contributing towards a noble cause too, which is simply the perfect way to be a part of a charity.

Organizing a fashion show is a cool way to raise funds for a charity. Here, firstly you will have to book a hall as the venue. You can then contact the local stores and boutiques to participate. They would be very interested in showcasing their creations and apparel to the masses on a public platform. Next, you can either get hold of professional models, or even ask friends and acquaintances to walk the ramp. Many first-time and upcoming models would love to be a part of this show, so as to get some sort of much-needed exposure. Then you can also get relevant sponsors, who can have their Ad banners placed at strategic locations at the event venue.

Car Wash

Music Concert

A charity car wash event is a great idea, especially for high school and college students. If some place in the school or college can be used for this purpose, all the better. Also get the school or college to announce and advertise the event, so as to get as many families as possible into showing up for the service to be rendered. In case the institution is huge and you expect a lot of people showing up, then good, but if that is not the case, you can keep it open to the general public in the neighborhood too. Make sure you have all the material in place, and most importantly, enough volunteers enrolled to make the event a grand success. Lastly, charge less than the market rate for the car wash.

Organizing a music show for a charitable cause is a great idea too. If you have a lot of friends who play in bands, half your work is done. If not, then you should try to get a hold of new and upcoming talent in your city, who would be more than eager to perform at a gig, gain exposure, and may be spotted by some company looking for new talent. You will need to book a hall or theater for this purpose. Decide how many bands you would like to be playing, and also the quantity of audience you expect to show up, while deciding the venue. If possible, you can also invite a celebrity guest to the show. Such an event will have to be planned in advance, to maximize ticket sales.

Besides these ways to raise money for charity, you can even take some of these ideas and tweak them around, and come up with your own unique ways to help a charitable cause. Just remember that the cause and the method of raising funds should appeal to most people. If this is taken care off, then half the battle is won, and your efforts towards the charity is sure to be a great success.