5 Great Charity Fundraising Event Ideas To Raise Money For Your Great Cause

If you have ever been responsible for raising money for a charity event then you understand the pressure that comes from trying to figure out ways to actually solicit donations. This is something that my wife and I encountered once we got involved with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Walk to Cure Diabetes.

Our son was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of 2, and ever since then we have felt a responsibility to raise money through the JDRF walk to help the foundation find a cure for our son and the millions of people like him that struggle with the disease. The biggest challenge we face each year is coming up with new ways to ask people to support financially.

Here are some fundraising event ideas that we have used or seen used that do a great job of bringing in donations to help you reach your fundraising goal.

A letter writing campaign is something that most people already do. However, if you have not started a letter writing campaign it is essential that you do it as it is the most important part of the managing your fundraising team.

I would suggest sending a letter to every friend, family member, and coworker that you can think of. While not everyone will donate - and that's ok - virtually no one feels put upon by receiving a letter. As the years go by if there are some people that never donate then feel free to take them off the list. However, you will be amazed at the generosity of people once they simply know about your fundraising efforts.

Make sure you start your letter writing campaign early. By the time you draft the letter, get it printed, stuff envelopes, buy stamps, and stick the letters in the mailbox a couple of weeks can go by. Do not let it sneak up on you.

A miniature golf tournament can be a fun way to raise money. It can build camaraderie among your fundraising team as well as the people that are familiar with your cause.

A miniature golf tournament can be difficult to pull together, but it is doable. First you need to get in touch with the golf location and let them know your plans. It is likely that they have done tournaments before and can help walk you through the steps of putting on a tournament.

Ah, who doesn't love a bake sale? If you have a large support group you can actually raise pretty good money with a bake sale. A bake sale is just what it sounds like. You - and your friends, hopefully - bake a lot of goodies, such as cookies, cakes, pies, etc. and then you sell them to people who enjoy eating good desserts.

You can set up at a cooperative school or church. Or if you are fundraising for a child who plays sports, maybe you can set up your bake sale at one of their games.

A garage sale can help your fundraising efforts without costing you a dime, but allowing you to clean out your house. It's a win-win-win. All it requires is a little organization, a willingness to get rid of you stuff, and a good alarm clock to be able to get up early on a Saturday morning.

Again, if you can coordinate with your friends and family you can combine garage sales and have an even bigger sale.

Fundraising really gets going when you have businesses getting involved. Businesses are typically more capable of giving large donations, and if they know you and your family they are usually more than happy to help out.

A lot of times you can use these sponsorships to help pay for costs associated with your event. Need t-shirts for your walkers? Try to get a small business owner involved, and put their logo on the shirt. Same with food. See if you can get a local grocer to provide snacks for the people on your team.

Again, people are very generous. They just need to be made aware of your cause and they are usually happy to help.