Christian Fundraising

Christian Fundraisers

Church congregations and youth groups have some of the funniest and most unique charity events. What you don't believe me? Well a youth group in my local neighborhood would argue otherwise. They organized a mock kidnapping of the minister at their church to raise money for their Christian group events. The funny thing was that the minister was all for it. Now this particular group was especially organized and bent on keeping up the façade that their minister was really kidnapped. They orchestrated the whole "kidnapping" like this:

Kidnap the minister - During a Sunday morning service, while the minister was leading the congregation in a prayer, the youth group entered the church all dressed in white. They waited until the prayer was finished and then made their way up to the front of the church. They announced that the minister was being kidnapped, and that they would hold him for 24 hours until the $1000 ransom was paid. Then a member of the youth group took over for the rest of the service. About half way through a "kidnapper" in white re-entered the church and ran up to the front holding a video tape. The tape was of the minister saying that his kidnappers were merciful, but would the congregation please make donations so that he could go free. At this point "kidnappers" circulated throughout the congregation collecting "ransom money" in their sacks. By the time the service was coming to a finish the kidnappers returned with the minister and announced that they had collected over $1,500 in donations.

Angel tree fund raiser – We told you about angel tree fundraisers in our cancer fundraiser section; however this charity idea can be used in absolutely any setting – church, office or school. Especially with the relevance to angels in a religious context, this fundraiser is not just limited to Christmas. There is little cost for this type of charity event, you simply need the following:

1. A real or plastic Christmas tree – or another type of tree, depending on the time of year. Ask for volunteers from your congregation or youth group to cut angel shapes out of construction paper.
2. Attach a cut out angel to the branches of the tree.
3. Post a sign in front of the tree and posters around the church explaining that you're raising money for the church.
4. Price the angels at $5 - $10 dollars each – depending on your fundraising goal and how many angels you have on the tree.
5. Allow congregation members who purchase an angel to dedicate their angel to someone special. It may be in memoriam, by writing their name on the angel and reattaching it to the tree.
6. If this is a Christmas fundraising event, you can ask the church choir to congregate around the tree to sing hymns. Put a donation box out for out of pocket donations for members who enjoy and appreciate the festive music.

Church bake sales – We also mentioned this tried and true fundraiser in our general charity page, but bakes sales are always done – and done the best – by church groups! It might be the abundance of homemade goods that show up for these events, but there is no doubt that if you by dessert at a church bake sale, it's going to be better than anything grandma makes. Another plus of church bakes sales is that they are super easy to organize, and chances are that there are a ton of people in your congregation with unique and tasty recipes that they're eager to share and donate to a good cause. All you truly need for this fundraiser to be a success are generous bakers, who will agree to make homemade cookies, cakes, squares, breads and pastries to donate to your charity cause, and hungry donors. Make sure to advertise your upcoming bake sale in your church programs and on posters in the month leading up to the event. Have tables set up and ready as the congregation leaves service. You can either have bakers sell their delicacies for set prices, or auction them off at a church picnic event in a silent auction. This would allow multiple donors to look at the baked goods and write down a donation amount. The pie would then go to the highest donation.