Friday, April 19, 2024
HomeFundraising Ideas For Church Youth Groups

Fundraising Ideas For Church Youth Groups

Fundraising For Church Groups

Top Church Fundraising Ideas

There are many different groups within a church that may wish to conduct fundraising campaigns. Church groups include mens and womens groups, youth groups, social interest groups, and local and international mission initiatives. Here we outline some of the groups and needs for special church fundraising campaigns.

Christmas Decoration Set Up And Take Down

While everyone loves having their Christmas decorations up, no one likes putting them up or taking them down once the holidays are over. People are more than happy to pay someone else to do it, especially if the money goes to a good cause. Offer to set up and/or take down Christmas decorations on the weekends right before and right after Christmas for a small fee. Advertise to the entire community via flyers, social media, and word of mouth.

Church Speed Dating Fundraiser

Host a Christian speed dating event at your church for congregants looking for love. Your church can set up a simple potluck dinner or an elegant catered mixer for hopeful lovebirds.

Ticket sales to your event can be used to raise money for your congregation.

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Reasons Not To Do Youth Group Fundraisers

To raise support for fun trips without any Christian edification

Look, the reason why we are a youth group is because of Jesus. Youth groups are not a social club. While youth groups do have a social piece, youth groups are a part of a church. They are under the wing of Christian education and exist to form discipleship. While we can and should have fun elements involved, the goal of whatever we are raising money for should be to help them grow in their faith.

Now, I do say this with the awareness that some of you out there are doing ministry with kids that are in extreme poverty and have no fun opportunities in their lives. In these scenarios, I completely understand that maybe the money raised is simply to go out to eat or go have a fun night of mini-golf. If the mission of your youth group is to reach underprivileged kids and you want to raise funds so they can do other things that their peers do, then by all means! However, there is still an opportunity to bring faith into any trip or event. There are always opportunities to have a discussion about God while you all are eating or use it to build bonds with the kids so that you can go deeper with them when the time is right.

Fundraising Ideas For Youth Groups

71 fund raising ideas for youth groups

You can use any of the aforementioned church fundraising ideas for your youth group but since youth group members have more flexibility than your average churchgoer, theyre capable of carrying out different fundraisers. If your youth group is trying to raise money for camp, a mission trip, or anything else, try one of these creative youth group fundraisers.

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What Youth Group Fundraisers You Should Do

I have had massive success with most of the fundraisers I suggest below. Some I share on this list I havent done personally, but can tell they have great potential for success and plan to do them in the future!

Sponsor a youth

This is a great youth group fundraiser! Rather than selling or doing anything, you can create a campaign that leads people in the church to sponsor a youth to go on a retreat or mission trip. Individual church members, Sunday school classrooms, small groups, and even differing ministries of the church can sponsor a youth to help them fund their trip.

In order to do a sponsor a youth fundraiser, you need to:

  • Communicate with the church clearly about the fundraiser and what you need.
  • Create an application for the youth and a parent or guardian to complete as to why they want and need to participate. This will help filter the kids that really need the help and create accountability and ownership in the process.
  • Come up with a plan for the youth and the sponsor to interact so a relationship can begin and blossom.
  • Ask the sponsor to not only help financially help the youth, but to also pray for the youth.
  • After the retreat or mission trip, have the youth reach out to thank their sponsor with either phone call, a meeting, or a handwritten letter expressing their gratitude and the highlights of the trip.

Host a Dinner/Meal

Starter Ideas:

Ticketed Event

Some ideas you could do for a special event:

Organize a Walk/Race

Host an a-thon

Types of athons

Mission Trip Letter Writing

Difficulty:Earning Potential:

Write letters to potential sponsors for your upcoming mission trip as a compelling mission trip fundraising idea. Then, invite the other team members to do the same.

Try writing letters to members of the church you grew up in, relatives, Christian contacts from school, and other people in your life who may be interested in funding your mission trip.

Youd be surprised how many people will not only appreciate the work you plan to do but also want to contribute and get involved to support it.

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The Most Profitable Youth Group Fundraiserswe Got Them Right Here For You

Winter WonderlandSnackin in the USA

These tips can help any youth movement, youth association, or youth organization raise the funds they are looking for.

They are wonderful to help provide funding for:

  • Specialized programs
  • Church activities
  • Community service too.

Youth-led organizations play an important role in society. They help the next generation get involved with Civic engagement, the democratic process, church involvement, as well as taking on community responsibility.

Here are some examples of some of these:

  • American Youth Congress
  • Big Brothers and Sisters of America
  • Boys and girls clubs of America
  • Girl scouts of the USA

Reasons To Do Youth Group Fundraisers

Fundraising Ideas for a Small Church

The first one is the most obvious:

Because you need money!

Unfortunately, a lot of churches do not have the funds to allocate to the youth budget. So in order to do everything that you want in the youth ministry, you need to raise money.

To bring ownership and responsibility

There is something to say about youth working for their objective. If youth just sit back and allow all the adults to take care of the funds for their trip or whatever they are raising money for, then they have no accountability or responsibility in raising their own support. Since we are trying to build character and Christ-like virtues within our youth, working towards their goals is a noble pursuit that helps youth develop further.

Teambuilding

Youth Group fundraisers are so much fun and they bring an opportunity to team build. Almost every fundraiser I have ever ran had the youth fully immersed in the project. This helped bring cohesion and teamwork within the group. I only fundraise for retreats or mission trips, so it was a way for the youth going on those trips to bond even more beforehand.

Bridgebuilding

Have you ever heard of youth groups described as A One-Ear Mickey Mouse? In that description, the church is the big circle and the youth group is a small circle that is part of the church, but really is out on its own. Well, fundraisers can build help build or reinforce a bridge between the congregation and the youth group.

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Church Fundraising Ideas For Youth Groups

JustFundraising® offers an array of product fundraisers that your youth group would truly enjoy selling. Our selection of flavorful lollipop fundraisers, our new chocolate dipped pretzel rods, and our ever-popular One Dollar bars are always a hit with youth groups. We know that if they love them, theyre going to be great at selling them.

Create And Sell Custom Calendars

Wall or desk calendars are the perfect fundraising product. They can promote your churchs mission and are easy to create and sell.

Start creating your calendars in the middle of summer. That way, youll have plenty of time to advertise and sell them to members of your community before the new year starts.

Add images from mission trips and other church events, and add quotes, statistics, or other facts about your church. Sell the calendars in your churchs office and online so that anyone can purchase one and support you.

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Put On A Ticketed Dinner Event

Ticketed dinner events are a good way to raise money for your church while offering a service to your members. Spaghetti dinners, fish fries, potlucks, pancake dinners, and low-country boils are all popular versions of this concept, but the possibilities are endless!

Draw congregants in by advertising your dinner as a meal and a show where the choir provides some entertainment. You can also turn your dinner into a full night out by setting up a dance floor and planning a fun setlist to get your diners on their feet dancing once theyve cleaned their plates.

Encourage your diners to buy their tickets in advance to help you keep costs to a minimum. It also gives families a chance to plan ahead for their night off from cooking and doing dishes. Consider allowing people to eat at the church or take their food to go so even those who cant stay for socializing can get a tasty meal.

Ner With Another Church

40 Unique Youth Group Fundraising Ideas

Two heads are better than one, and two churches can be more effective than one when it comes to church fundraising! By partnering with another church, you can promote your mission trip fundraising opportunities to a wider audience.

Ensure you partner with a church that has a similar mission to yours. You might even already have long-standing relationships with other churches in your area where you support each others activities and programs.

Ask your church partners if they would be willing to share information about your upcoming mission trips and promote your donation page to their congregants. In exchange, you can offer your support for your partners future church fundraising efforts.

These acts of goodwill can lead to long-lasting bonds between your church and other churches that help boost each others programs and activities for years to come.

There are many unique and engaging church fundraising ideas you can use to successfully raise what you need. Why not give these a try and see how much further you can take your church programs?

If youre looking for more information on how to fundraise successfully for your church, check out these additional resources below:

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Popular Diy Church Fundraising Ideas And Event Fundraisers

1) Easter Egg Hunt

This is an easy-to-organize church fundraiser that requires very little cost. All you need is an area with good hiding spots for the eggs, such as small forests and parks. Consider doing it in a pleasant local park so everyone can enjoy the views. You could even include a golden egg to add a little excitement and offer a little extra to whoever finds it.

Simply charge a small fee to participate and let the kids loose!

2) Text to give

A real game changer in the church fundraising industry. Text to give gives you the opportunity to raise money with a quick text to your supporters. Start by choosing the software for your campaign which will send a quick text to your supporters. They can donate in a matter of seconds, it just takes a few clicks!

People always have their phone with them, and rarely carry cash so this is a state of the art way to raise money in the 21st century.

3) Peer to peer fundraising

People are more likely to support a cause or organization that someone they know personally is connected to. Thats why peer-to-peer fundraising is a great personalized approach to raising money.

Your church members can reach out to friends and family in a more personal manner that doesnt feel forced. This will allow full transparency for the fundraising campaign and facilitate the possibility of someone lending their support.

4) Trivia Night

5) Garage Sale

6) Shoe Drive

7) Charity Concert

8) Babysitting Fundraiser

9) 50/50 Church Raffle

10) Morning Coffee

When We Were Young Guessing Game

A When We Were Young guessing game is a great way to raise money for your ministry while also helping your congregants get to know each other better.

Ask everyone to submit a fun story or tidbit about something from their childhood. Once youve collected every submission, there are many ways you can host the game. Print every story or fun fact out on sheets of paper and display them gallery-style in your church lobby for a set period of time. Your congregants can walk through to read every entry and pay to submit their guesses for who each submission belongs to.

As a virtual alternative, have each of your congregants set up a personal fundraising webpage. Post submissions one-by-one on your social media sites and ask people to donate to personal fundraising pages to indicate who they think the story or fact is about.

This is a great fundraiser for small churches where everyone knows each other well and your whole church community can make submissions and guesses. To adapt this game to a larger church, consider having church leadership and staff make submissions, and then the congregation makes their guesses.

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Holiday Tour Of Homes

Difficulty:Earning Potential:

Have you ever explored nearby neighborhoods in search of outstanding holiday displays? Turn the journey into a church-wide affair by making it an annual fundraising event!

Sell tickets that people can purchase to go on a tour of local homes decorated for the holiday season. Theyll get ideas for their own decorating and enjoy visiting their neighbors in the process. Not to mention, this is a great opportunity to show off your communitys local charm to out-of-town attendees.

You can even have carolers from your church stationed at some of the houses while other congregants sell hot cocoa. The sales can go directly to your church while everyone gets in the holiday spirit!

Church Youth Group Fundraising Ideas For Summer

United Methodist Church Women’s Group – Fundraising Interview

Summer is a great time for youth fundraising they have more time, the weather is excellent, and there is general enthusiasm about holidays that you can harness.

This is an excellent time to plan activities centered around youth outreach rather than hardcore fundraising .

Note: Ensure that you plan these activities well in advance. Summer is also the time when families leave for vacation. Giving families a heads up about the activities planned will help them plan the holiday around your events.

1. Prayer walk

Get the youth in your community to walk to a local hospital and pray for the patients there. The prayer walk can also simply be at a park where you meet, pray, and walk back.

How can you raise funds?

  • Every youngster who participates can register with a token amount of $10.
  • Parents can sponsor their children to register.
  • The event can be sponsored by church donors.
  • You can ask your online community to participate virtually and pledge $10 for every km walked.

2. Volunteering at vacation bible school

The local VBS can be an excellent opportunity for youngsters to spend their free time during the summer holidays doing fruitful work. They can positively impact the children who come there and also collect money for your cause.

How can you raise funds?

  • Parents of children who come for VBS can sponsor a volunteer.
  • Volunteers themselves can raise money online for their time.

3. Text to tithe

How can you raise funds?

4. Church picnic

How can you raise funds?

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Track Your Progress With An Online Fundraising Thermometer

allows your church to keep track of your fundraising progress. Display the fundraising thermometer on your church website to let your members see just how much further you have to go to reach your fundraising goals and how much youve raised to date. Heres what you need to do to create your own:

  • Enter your fundraising goal
  • Plug in how much youve already raised
  • Choose the color that will mesh well with your site
  • Copy the generated HTML code to your site

Then, its as easy as simply entering in the new amounts and updating your thermometerwhich we recommend doing on a weekly basis. The thermometer will continue to rise as you raise more money for your church.

Small Church Fundraising Ideas

Our brochures are perfect for helping your youth group ministry fundraise for Pastor aide or to raise money for your Church building fund.

Our affordable snacks are only $10 which means most of your patrons will be happy to make a small donation for the church.

Additional ideas for church youth groups include:

  • Patron list fundraiser

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Barter And Trade Fair

A barter and trade fair is similar to a garage sale, but instead of purchasing items or services with money, people will trade items.

Your church can raise funds by charging each person an entry fee or a free for every item/service attendees bring to barter. Plus, you can sell snacks and drinks to raise even more!

Use your monthly newsletter or post flyers around the neighborhood to let your congregation and the community know about your event.

Ner With A Restaurant

Fundraising Ideas For Church Youth

Several restaurants, including Panera and Applebees, partner with local nonprofits to host fundraising nights. All you need to do is three, easy steps.

a. Find a restaurant.Search for a restaurant near you to host your fundraiser.

b. Choose your dates. Pick times that work for your youth and the restaurant.

c. Promote the event. Share the fundraiser in your church announcements, and make sure to share the event on your churchs social media pages.

If you cant find any participating locations near your church, you can ask a local restaurant to donate food to host a meal at your church. Attendees pay for their meals, and the youth group serves the food. You can even provide entertainment or use the meal as a platform to share about the upcoming mission trip.

Many ministries discover that fundraising ideas for church youth groups involving a restaurant partnership produce incredible turnouts!

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