Your church is one of the greatest community spaces that exists in your area. It serves as a hub for spiritual support and can upgrade the quality of life for others with its programs.
For members to enjoy your church’s benefits further, you might want to go out of your way to offer even more community support. This could be new building projects, events and activities, outreach programs, philanthropy, or anything else that aligns with your vision.
After all, there are no limits to the amount of good your church can do for the community. However, bringing your church’s vision to life isn’t always as simple as it looks.
There are a lot of hidden costs involved in planning, building, and taking all the necessary steps to implement the vision. Fundraisers are always a good idea to save you the stress of finances. Here, we’ve come up with some insightful church fundraising ideas that may benefit your church.
6 Church fundraising ideas
When it comes to church fundraising ideas, there are plenty out there. Whether your church is big or small, many can be easily managed and impactful if done well.
With Americans giving $499.33 billion to charities in 2022, it’s safe to say people have money and desire to donate, and they might be more willing to give back to community projects if it directly benefits them!
Stuck on how to raise money? Here are some great church fundraising ideas to consider:
1. Crowdfunding
One of the classic ways to fundraise is simply by crowdfunding for your church. You might be doing it already; it involves raising money from donations within your congregation and further. But, to get a wider reach, you’ll want to go beyond collecting money at the end of each service and explore the digital side.
To do this, you’ll want to create a donation page where you can receive money. Websites like Kickstarter, Gofundme, Patreon, and others allow community members to donate using their cards.
Once you’ve created your page, you’ll want to share your vision with others to receive donations. Then try doing the following:
- Utilize social media: If your church has social media pages, share your crowdfunding campaign on social media. You might even want to encourage church members to share the page too!
- Add videos: Often, videos provide a personal touch. So if you record a video showing your vision and why you want to achieve it, it could be powerful and get others to jump on board.
- Regular updates: Throughout the campaign, you should provide regular updates to inform others about the progress.
Top Tip: Create a custom hashtag or encourage your followers to take selfies once they’ve donated. This will help draw more attention to your fundraiser.
2. Thrift event
A great way to fundraise is by throwing different types of events where you can sell items to raise money for your church. One event you may want to organize is a rummage sale. First, create a donation drive to gather unwanted and unused from your congregation. Books, shoes, clothes, furniture and household goods are usually top sellers at a rummage sale.
Next, request volunteers to help sort, price and stage the sale in your church’s yard or community room. Finally, market your sale via social media, yard signs, press releases and email campaigns.
3. Auctions and raffles
Strapped for cash to get items to sell for your event? Getting local businesses involved is one of the best ways to gain support for your fundraising idea. Doing this involves less planning and work too! Two events to consider are either a raffle or an auction involving prizes.
Both events require outreach to local businesses to ask if they’re willing to donate items for charity. Don’t limit them to be physical items; experiences like dinner for two at a local restaurant, a spa day, gift cards and movie vouchers are popular items for this type of fundraising
How a Raffle Works
The concept is quite easy to arrange; members buy a raffle ticket from you to win the prizes donated by local businesses. Raffle tickets can be sold door-to-door by your congregation with a drawing at a specific date or as part of a special fundraising event.
Top Tip: Always conduct a raffle at the end of an in-person fundraising event. It will entice your attendees to stay until the end and encourage people to spend more money.
How an Auction Works
Compared to a raffle, an auction involves slightly more organizing and time. Depending if you have a live auction or silent auction, you’ll need an auctioneer or announcer. Auctions are best suited for in-person events and while they may take a few months to prepare, they’re quite lucrative and can help you make a lot of money to support your vision.
Top Tip: To maximize the funds raised, you can sell tickets for the auction, making all attendees pay in addition to making money from the items on the auction.
4. Cookie dough fundraiser
You might want to think of a bake and taste event to make your faith based fundraising stand out. Simply invite your congregation and those in the community to come and taste different types of cookie dough and cookies before buying them. A cookie dough fundraiser is also a good way for your youth and mission groups to raise funds for trips and adventures.
Find a premium cookie fundraising company, such as Dessie’s Table® CookieOVdough. You’ll receive all the items in a tasty package. You’ll get an all-in-one fundraising package, our team to help, pre-packaged cookie dough, labels, and more. Doing a bake and taste event and selling Dessie’s table cookies will allow you to make money not only for your congregation but also for your people with disabilities.
5. Create custom t-shirts
If you’re organizing a fundraising event, you might wish to create custom t-shirts for your congregation. You can sell them during the fundraiser, after church services, or through an online store. Not only are these nice fundraising items, they help to market your church!
6. Host a dinner or bbq night
Bring the congregation and community together by hosting a meal at the church to raise funds. Depending on your preference, you can host a lavish gala dinner or a casual BBQ night. Charge a fee that covers the cost of supplies and allows you to raise money for the church. Ask volunteers to help with set up, cooking, serving, and clean up. You might even find a local grocer or restaurant willing to donate food items in exchange for some word-of-mouth advertising.
If you opt for a bit more of an elegant or formal dinner, organize a ticket gala dinner. This event can be themed with a formal dress code, caterers, and even include a church choir performance as the entertainment. A benefit gala can also include an auction allowing you to make as much money as possible in your fundraising.
What to consider when marketing the fundraiser
You’ll want to market your fundraiser effectively to make the most of it. Remember to:
Create a strong event message
Create a bold and impactful message highlighting your church fundraiser’s details. A relevant and persuasive message will go a long way to attracting attention and donations to your event.
Use different communication channels
Gain a wider reach by using different social media platforms, bulletin and community boards, the church’s website home and event pages, and even taking part in different offline advertising forms to gain attention.
Stick to visuals
To get noticed, you’ll want to use a range of videos and images for content related to the fundraiser. The right visuals can evoke emotions and encourage participation.
Final fundraising thoughts
To summarize, many fundraiser ideas exist to help you raise money for your church. Before setting out on any fundraising event, take time to think about your congregation and your community.
Think about their interests, plan the event, and then create a strong message and campaign around it. If you’re short on resources, get local businesses involved and ask them to donate or sponsor your event.
If you’re stuck for ideas, holding a cookie dough fundraiser definitely won’t go amiss. Everything is organized for you with our cookies from Dessie’s Table; you just need to start selling them! It’s a good way to make money for your church and those with disabilities.
