Fundraising Ideas

By organizing a fundraising event, you not only contribute financial support--you also raise vital awareness for Birfano. This awareness often leads to wish referrals of children who would have otherwise never known they qualified for a wish.

Unlike many other organizations, we do not place a minimum on the amount of money that must be raised in a fundraising event. We recognize that every effort made for our Birfano Children is important and we value each contribution received from a fundraising event.

The options for raising funds for Birfano are endless, so we encourage you to be creative in organizing the event to make it as special and memorable as possible for everyone who participates. Here are just a few examples of fundraisers that have been successful in the past:

IDEAS FOR FUNDRAISING PROPOSALS

Themed Dinner:
This type of events is great for large groups of people because it requires as many as 20-50 volunteers dependent on the size of the event. Each participant will recruit sponsors to pledge a certain amount of money for every mile walked in the event. Approach your friends, family, and neighbors to pledge their choice of dollar amount for each mile completed together by you and your dog. For example, I pledge $5 for every mile that Sue and her dog Sparky complete in the event.

An organization such as the Kiwanis Club holds a dinner with a theme:
Your club or organization could host a dinner event with a theme such as Hawaiian Luau Night or Happy Days 50's Night. Tickets can be sold to members and family members of the club for a designated amount. The price of the ticket is applied to the donation for Birfano. The senior members of the club could serve the food to each guest and dress up in the appropriate attire for the theme of the dinner.

Penny Drive: [Back to top]
This is a great fundraiser for elementary school children because it is an easy way to teach children early the benefits of helping other people. Each grade can participate in this event and compete against each other to see who can bring in the most change. The children collect their spare change around the house and drop it into a donation box each day/week for the total donation to Birfano.

Car Wash: [Back to top]
This event can be held at the school or a public parking lot and can be coordinated by children of all age groups. A club or organization within the school can make posters advertising the event with details of time, place, cost, etc. and have the car wash as an ongoing event each month or quarter during the school year.

Wear a Hat for a Birfano Child: [Back to top]
Students wear their favorite hat to school to show their support for Birfano. Each student makes a donation of $5 to Birfano for the treat of wearing their favorite hat to school. High school students can be encouraged to wear the hat of the college they wish to attend.

Read-A-Thon, Bike-A-Thon, or Walk-A-Thon: [Back to top]
Any age child can hold these types of events for pledges going toward Birfano. For example, a Bike-A-Thon is where children get pledges from family and friends for achieving their goal for the number of miles they agreed to bicycle during the event. Encourage participation by the children by getting prizes for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners for receiving the most number of pledges.

Bake Sale: [Back to top]
Donate the proceeds from a bake sale held in your school or neighborhood once a month. This is a great idea for clubs or organizations within the school to participate in the event because larger numbers of people will create more variety of baked goods.

DRESS DOWN DAY: [Back to top]
This is a great idea for any professional office. Change the dress code from professional to business casual. Employees will give a specified dollar amount to the event coordinator in the office in exchange for the privilege of wearing casual clothing in the office for a certain period of time.

Executive for a Day: [Back to top]
Hold a raffle within your company for a chance to win the rights to the front parking space in the office. This event could be held once a quarter to ensure that each person gets a chance to have this honor. Each interested employee pays a specified dollar amount to the event coordinator within the office in order to participate in the raffle. The event coordinator will come up with the time period that the winner is able to park in the front parking space according to how much is charged.

Free Cone Day: [Back to top]
This is a great way for small business owners to inform the public of the product they sell. The product is offered to the public for free on a specific day for a limited amount of time in exchange for a donation to Birfano. For example, a new ice cream shop in the neighborhood could give the customers free ice cream on Wednesday, May 2nd from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in lieu of a donation.

King or Queen for a Day: [Back to top]
A raffle is held within your company for the chance to become King or
Queen for the day and be pampered by their colleagues. Each interested employee pays $1 or $5 for the raffle ticket to the event coordinator. Each company will have a different idea what the winner will receive. For example the winner could have coffee brought to their desk for a $1 donation. The winner could have lunch served to them on a silver platter for a $5 donation.

Lunch Catered for the Day: [Back to top]
This is a great idea to build office morale within each department. Each person pays a designated amount of money for a catered lunch to be brought to the office. For example, each person pays $15 and the event coordinator uses $5 out of every donation to pay for the lunch. The remaining amount of money will go toward the donation to Birfano.

FISH FOR A WISH: [Back to top]
Each person involved in the event asks their friends, family, and neighbors to sponsor them in this event. For example, I pledge to give $1 per pound for each fish that Joe catches during this event for a specified number of hours. The money is collected at the end of the event and the proceeds from pledges are sent to Birfano.

POLAR BEAR PLUNGE: [Back to top]
Each person involved in the event ask their friends, family, and neighbors to see if they will sponsor them in this event. Pledges are collected based on the number of times they act like a polar bear and jump into the cold water. For example,I pledge $5 for every time Joe jumps into that 42 degree lake. The pledges are collected at the end of the event and the proceeds are sent to Birfano.

BOOK SALE/GARAGE SALE: [Back to top]
Collect used books from your friends, family, classmates, and neighbors and sell them for a small price. The proceeds can be sent to Birfano. Categorize the books into fiction, non-fiction, mystery, etc. and price them according to the age and demand of the book.
A garage sale is also an easy way to raise money for Birfano. Gather used records, books, clothes, furniture, etc. and hold a garage sale at your home.

SPORTS TOURNAMENT SUCH AS BASEBALL, SOCCER, OR TENNIS: [Back to top]
This event would require a large number of people if the event will be held in a tournament format. Each person pays an entry fee to participate in the event and the proceeds go to Birfano. Teams are assigned based on the number of people who sign up for the event. Prizes can be given for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. You may contact your local sports retail store to see if they would donate prizes for the winner in order to get recognition at the event.

MAKE A DONATION IN HONOR OF A SPECIAL OCCASION: [Back to top]
A donation can be made to Birfano in honor of a special occasion in your life such as a birthday, marriage, bar mitzvah, or graduation. For example, suggest to your friends and family in lieu of gifts for your 50th birthday make a donation to Birfano instead.

PROGRESSIVE DINNER HELD IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD: [Back to top]
This event would require participation from several neighbors or friends. Each neighbor or friend that is attending the event will pay a specified fee to participate. The progressive dinner is broken down into courses and each person hosts a different course served in their home. You go from house to house rotating after each course. (For example, drinks and appetizers are served at the Jones' while the main course is served at the Smith's home).

FIELD DAY HELD DURING A FAMILY REUNION OR BAR-B-QUE: [Back to top]
Each family member makes a donation of $10 to Birfano to be able to participate in the events of Field Day. There are many activities that can be fun for the whole family to enjoy in a family members' backyard or park. Some activities would be an egg toss, three-legged race, potato sack races, or 50-yard dash. All donations collected would be given to Birfano.

LOCAL NEIGHBORHOOD RESTAURANT DONATES 10% OF TOTAL PROFIT ON A SPECIFIED NIGHT: [Back to top]
Contact your favorite neighborhood restaurant to ask if they would donate 10% of their profits to Birfano on a designated night. This could be held once a month as an ongoing fundraiser or as a one time only event.