Fund raisers

[Stitchahula]

Hi everyone I was wondering if any of you have ever had a fund raiser? I've been kind of thinking about doing one but I don't have any money for out of pocket expenses. I was wondering if any of you have ever done 1 where you get people to donate the hall, food, entertainment, ect.. We are planning William's 2nd annual blood drive for the fall and we are trying to get the bone marrow people there as well. So I had thought about trying to do a fund raiser around the same time because the paper here had a pretty good article on him last year for the blood drive. Any help anyone could give me would be great even if it's only to say you can't do a fund raiser that way.

[TheVBs]

You can definitely do a fundraiser that way. I've never personally been in charge of one, but I've helped, and I've read about some in our local paper.

The hardest part is just getting out there and asking. Once you get going though, it gets easier. If you can make copies of the article your paper ran, you can give them to people you talk to.

Try the local hotels, see if they'll donate a hall and the food. You can ask local businesses if they'll help sponser the event (by contributing to some of the cost of the hall/food for those who are donating it). Local businesses can also donate items for door prizes or for a silent auction. If you can get the ball rolling and get your paper to run an article about it, you may get a lot of people volunteering help/donations.

I hope this helps and best of luck!

[TheDuckRocks]

As for the hall you might try any non-profit organizations in your area that might be willing to donate the hall. Maybe the VFW, Moose Lodge, churches, schools or the local fire department might have the kind of place you're looking for.
I would keep the food seperate as you might be able to get a number of places to donate a small amount of items with the sum total adding up to what you need. With the economy being what it is asking for a little could get you farther than asking for a lot from any one place or person.
The first thing that I would do though would be to enlist the help from 2 really good, non-argumentive, hardworking, completely trust worthy friends to help you and delegate.

[Stitchahula]

thanks, now I would just need to find those people to help. If anyone else has any ideas I'd be really grateful.

[Mickey'sGirl]

Would the organization you are raising funds for be able to provide you with some guidance?

[Stitchahula]

She would be able to help but I feel bad going to her if I can figure out how to do it on my own. Basically she and her DH started to foundation and run it almost single handedly. She is there to help us with our questions regarding medical care and is there to help us with emotional support. All the while dealing with trying to handle her own childs medical issues. The doctors doing the reasearch all have to go to her to try to get her to help fund their newest research. So I'm hoping to be able to do this without having to bother her for anything other than taking the check.