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Published February 7, 2024
Fundraising is an important way to strengthen the impact of your group or organization. If you work with children, it’s particularly helpful to organize events that excite and motivate them. When everyone is committed to the cause, you’ll be able to reach, or perhaps even surpass, your goal.
Tailoring your activities to a diverse range of ages, skill levels, and interests requires a bit of creativity. Continue reading to learn about some successful kid-friendly fundraising ideas to keep young people engaged.
Sell Candy Bars
One of the easiest and most traditional fundraisers is selling candy bars. Kids can easily participate by selling candy at their school, church, parents’ offices, or local businesses. The proceeds of the candy sales can directly impact your organization and help you buy new uniforms, take a group trip, expand your current offerings, and more.
Fortunately, many candy bar companies provide fundraising discounts. You can contact the manufacturer to find a local distributor to supply the candy bars. Once you have the product, divide the candy among your team members and task them with selling their entire lot. A candy bar fundraiser teaches young people the importance of interpersonal communication, goal setting, and determination.
Organize a T-Shirt Competition
Many kids love to express their creativity through arts and crafts. Therefore, a T-shirt competition is a great way to let young people use their imagination for a good cause. Encourage children to create an original T-shirt design based on your group’s mission or core values. Once you have all the submissions, ask the group to vote for their favorite design.
You can partner with a local screen-printing business to print the winning design on T-shirts and sell them to family, friends, and community members. Shirts are a great way for people to learn more about your organization and raise important funds at the same time.
Host a Talent Show
Another successful kid-friendly fundraising idea is a talent show. Young people have a diverse array of skills, including singing, dancing, and more obscure talents. A talent show is a great way to showcase your group’s abilities in a fun, judgment-free zone.
To make the talent show profitable, charge a nominal fee for participants and audience members. Heavily advertise the event to ensure school and community members can attend. On the day of the show, you can also set up a concession stand to raise even more money.
For a bit of friendly competition, recruit a panel of judges to assess the talents and award a grand prize at the end of the show. You can also award prizes for specific categories, such as “most unique talent” or “most underrated talent.”
Plan a Bake Sale
Bake sales are one of the most popular fundraising ideas because they’re relatively easy to organize. Plus, everyone loves delicious baked goods! If you’re working with younger children, a bake sale is a great way to introduce them to the world of fundraising.
Once kids choose a recipe they’d like to make, they can drop off their treats at a designated location and sell them to school and community members. To make the bake sale as successful as possible, create pretty dessert displays by using platters, cupcake stands, and baskets. Be sure to ask all participants to include a note if their treats include any known allergens, such as nuts, gluten, or dairy.
Organize a Car Wash
A car wash is the perfect way to raise money and bond with group members at the same time. To make sure you have enough space, ask a local school or business to use their parking lot for the event. Kids can help make signs to attract passersby, assist with washing duties, and collect money.
You should also distribute flyers or post an announcement on social media prior to the day of the car wash. By doing so, you’ll be sure people know about the event ahead of time, and you won’t need to solely rely on people driving by.
Provide Gift-Wrapping Services
Gift wrapping is a great holiday fundraiser idea. You can partner with a local business to provide gift-wrapping services throughout the month of December. Consider reaching out to a bookstore, toy store, or clothing store to see if they’re willing to work with you.
Once you teach the children in your organization how to properly wrap a present, they can provide the service for a modest fee. Keep in mind that if you work with younger kids, the wrapping probably won’t be perfect, but it’s the thought that counts. Shoppers will love knowing so much care and attention went into creating a beautiful presentation.
Host a Community Field Day
A field day is a great way for members of the community to get outside and participate in fun physical activities. You can host a field day on the weekend or after school and charge a small admission fee for children to participate.
The beauty of a field day is you can tailor the event to suit children of all ages. You can choose to include traditional activities, such as flag football and kickball, or more unique sports, such as ultimate frisbee.
Consider hosting your field day during late spring or early fall to maximize attendance and get the best weather conditions. Although summer boasts warm, sunny days, many families head out of town, so planning the event during the school year is better.
Form a Read-a-Thon
A read-a-thon encourages children to read while raising important funds. Young people can earn pledges based on the number of books or pages they read or the total number of minutes they spend reading.
Most read-a-thons last about a month, but feel free to establish a timeline that works best with your group. Be sure to create an easy tracking system before the event starts so kids can update their progress in real time. Participants can ask their friends, family members, and community members to be donors. Once a participant reaches their goal, their donors will contribute on their behalf.
Host a Pizza Party
Kids love pizza, so hosting a pizza party night is a fun and delicious way to raise money. You can partner with your local pizzeria and reserve a special night for your event. A portion of the sales from that night will become donations for your organization. Before the event, encourage families and community members to dine at the establishment to support your cause.
You can also ask the restaurant if you can create a special pizza for your group. Then, if someone orders a slice of your creation, one hundred percent of the proceeds will benefit your organization. A pizza night brings in more business for the pizzeria and helps you raise money at the same time.
Vertical Raise makes it easy to take your fundraising efforts to the next level. Our online donation platform exponentially increases the reach of your event. We specialize in a wide variety of activities, including baseball fundraisers, to help you raise more money in less time. Get in touch today to set up a customized platform for your next event!
