Fundraising Ideas?

After the May 24 weekend wwe (the rescue) are going to be havin a major fundraiser. We hope to raise $150,000 to pay off the morgage on the building, and start some renovations.

We've already got some things planned. We sent a letter to the city and so far we are going to be shutting down a street right by the rescue, and setting up a bandstand there and having a music marathon fpr the Saturday/Sunday.
We also sent a letter out to Home Hardware to see if they will donate a BBQ so we can sell hot dogs and beverages.

We are also planning on having a large yard sale during the same weekend.
Also 2 of the London Knights ( a local Hockey team) adopted 2 kittens from us a few weeks back and they were so amazed with our centre that they are going to help out however they can for that weekend. (and get the rest of the team too) We were thinking maybe we could do a 2008 calendar with them as well.

Anywhoo.

We are having a meeting tomorrow night about the major fundraiser, and we're looking for more idea's of what we should do. I can't think of anything we haven't already done before. a Pet Talent show? A mixed breed dog show? Anything that interests the public... I'm not sure. I'd be interested in everything, so I dont' know what the general public would like.

Also we are looking to raise $5000 seprately before then. Saturday we wnet through all the cats files on who still needs to be spayed and neutered. (all our males over 6 months are neutered.)
After going through them all, we were shocked to find out we have 47 female cats in the centre that have yet to be spayed. thats about $4700 for the spays alone. Also 7 males to be neutered.
We have a date at the St Thomas mall this upcoming weekend to sell chocolte bars.. but I don't know how much we can use from that, as we have monthly bills that come out to about $2500-$3000. Thats not including vet fees.

I was thinking about starting something like, Sponsor a Spay... but I don't know if anyone would do that. We can even get pictures of all the female cats who need them, put their names on them and put them on our fundraising board for when we go to malls and such. But again.. I'm not sure if people will do this. So I need input.. is this something that you think people would donate towards?

Thanks in advance to any input

( http://www.petsfriends4life.com )

You could have a Bake Sale, you could place collection jars in the stores at the checkout counters around town, you could have a Pet Fashion Show where pets wearing their finest could be strolled down a "catwalk" (charge for both admission to the show and entry to the show), you could have a raffle, you could offer Community Awareness seminars (charge a small fee).

I love fundraising.

As for the Sponsor-A-Spay idea. I love it. I currently am sponsoring 13 cats through the local Humane Society. All have been spayed/neutered now but I still pay for their food and vet expenses.

Around here the humane societies have jars set by the cash register's of various businesses to collect change. The animal rescue that I just joined mentioned having a spring rummage sale.

How about a car wash? We did that for the Childrens Miracle network and raised alot of money if I remember correctly. Maybe you could contact a girl or boy scout troop to help you do it. When you sell your candy bars, have information on your cats on the table so people can see that their money is going for the animals.(You might find a home for one or two that way also)

Forgot we are also have a magic show this upcoming weekend and will be selling bakes goods there as well. Having a seperate bake sale sounds good too.

I love the fashion show idea.

We do have jars set out at some local businesses, but the other rescue in town HATES us. It's a long story but generally, the lady who runs this rescue used to run the other one until she quite and took 90 cats with her. They didn't like how she wasn't caging them and they were in the process of having all the volunteers sign a petition to kick her out.
Anyway, because of that the other rescue tells the businesses to not accept our jars, just theres. So we have limited places. We do have some set up in the Wendy's, the Pet Valu, and the Vets, along with some variety stores and printing places. We get some money from there.. but not alot.

Yup! Everytime we go to the mall or wherever to sell candy bars, we take a board with pictures and information on what we do, along with pamphlets and cards. We used to be able to bring a 4x4 cage and some kittens to the mall, but they don't allow us to do that anymore.
Car wash is a good idea when summer comes.. too cold right now! This is one thing I recommended for the Hockey team.

I know when my brothers are doing fundraisers for their class, they sell Krispy Kreme Dougnuts and they always raise a fortune!

That sounds good.. but I don't know if we have Krispy Kremes up here.

Originally Posted by Leto86

That sounds good.. but I don't know if we have Krispy Kremes up here.

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Oh yeah.... I forgot about that!

What about a walk-a-thon where people get friends and co-workers to sponser them to do the walk.
I'm not sure if your shelter involves dogs, but if it does, the walk could include dogs being walked.

What about a charity poker tournament? No money, only chips. You charge a fee to play. Winner gets a prize. Texas hold'em is very popular right now. Some pubs host them and many people go just for fun, even though there's no money to be won. I think you can rent the chips and cloth table covers. I know in Toronto, there are poker leagues everywhere and they could offer advice on how to set it up. Maybe a pub in your area already does this and they could help you with it.

What about a crown&anchor betting wheel at the event? You could rent the wheel and tape photos of cats, etc. over the crowns and anchors. We did this at my friends Stag&Doe party to raise some money for the couple. I think this would be legal if it's for charity. You should check however. You could do it so the winner gets a prize or drink/free coffee ticket, instead of the money they put down.

The sponsor a pet idea would be great. Would it be so a person with lower income could adopt a pet without having to pay the full neutering fee? Obviously, a strict screening interview would be necessary to avoid persons taking advantage.

Originally Posted by babyharley

I know when my brothers are doing fundraisers for their class, they sell Krispy Kreme Dougnuts and they always raise a fortune!

Click to expand...

Selling Krispy Kremes is a great fundraiser.

Originally Posted by LSULOVER

Selling Krispy Kremes is a great fundraiser.

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It really is- they made loads of money and its super easy!

I would check out the Krispy Kreme website (not sure what it is...) and see if its availiable to you in Ontario!

Nah we used to have a Krispy Kreme in London but it went out of business after like a year. There hasn't been another one opened since.

head shave
pool tourniment
golf tourniment
raffle off a quilt (if you know somone that makes quilts)

As for the animal day, you *might* be able to set up a "kitty obstacle course" similar to what I've seen at cat shows, but using your imagination and it not being something people can practice beforehand (except for maybe half an hour or something before the competition).

You could do a dog obedience contest or class for that matter (charge for them to bring their dogs and learn). The dog that listens the best.. unusual animal tricks..

For the unusual animal tricks charge an entrance fee, maybe put half of the fee towards the prize, or something, and then charge $1 or $2 a person to watch the event.

Definitely the "best dressed animal" would do well as a contest. People love to dress their animals up. Charge an admittance fee. Also offer pictures, if possible (a digital camera and a photo printer would work ideally here, or if you don't have that, use a polaroid), and charge enough to cover the expense of the film (if polaroid). If someone who works there has one, then the cost on the digital camera and the photo printer would be nominal and you'd stand to make a lot more money off of it.

You could also break the "dressed up pet" contest into categories, and charge individually for each category or a larger fee for overall. If you make it $1 per category.. or $10 for all categories, there's little overhead in that. Might consider "wildest pet", "best-dressed", "cutest", "baddest/toughest", "old-fashioned", parent and pet matching costumes/outfits.. so "cutest couple"

Video tape it and offer a copy of the video for $15.

How about an auction - everything from soliciting donated items - frmo beauty salons, restaurants, gift certificates, etc golfing tee times - I know it sounds like alot of work ,but if you drafted a letter and then sent it out ...you do need to follow up with (preferably) an in person visit, but at least a phone call. Get a local radio station or tv station involved. Do you have a non-profit station around? Usually the local tv or radio will do a spot for you. Here is a thought - how about an eligible bachelor and bachelorette auction - that should rais some BIG bucks!

If you are trying to pay off $150,000, then you need to think big. Holding an event, regardless of what is there doesn't pay off unless you get a lot of people to attend it. When you get the logistics of your event planned, call every radio and TV station and newspapers in the area and ask for advertisement. Call the city hall, police and fire departments and ask them to pass the word. If you have billboards in your area, call them and ask if they can advertise - most people around here hear about events thru billboards.

Ideas for the event? Music can be a draw, as will anything that will entertain children. If you do an event that features family pets (such as costume contests), you might limit the crowd to only those that have pets. You want this open to the general public.

The biggest 2 events we ran at our shelter were the annual garage sale where we collected donated items for months in advance. We were a small shelter and still managed $3500 in one day. The other was the open house for the shelter, where we did some of these things:

- Silent auction for big ticket items donated by local businesses
- Raffle for smaller items donated by local businesses - drawing every hour the entire day
- Games such as "guess the fat cat weight", and "count the kibble". We gave donated items as prizes for both of these.
- Face painting (local artist who did little pictures on peoples faces) - kids loved this one
- Sale of pet items that were donated (beds, toys, treats, etc)

And get the local TV station out to film the event. Even if it plays that night on the news, it gives you press coverage which is always good.

Have local grocery stores or bakeries to donate a big cake, snacks, punch, etc and serve it for free (with a big donation jar next to the table).

Ask caterers or other foodie people if they can set up a booth and sell their products with of course a donation to your cause.

If you want to hear more about the games, PM me and I'll send you the rules.

If you have a newsletter, start advertising the event now.

Yes, businesses in the area are often into donating things for an auction because it will further their business. They'll often offer a gift certificate, or a service, et cetera, and it's free advertising, especially if you print up a flyer with the names and addresses of each business that donates something for the auction and what they donated (I'd suggest a basket with everything in it, or a number of baskets). If you get local animal themed places, you might get a donation of one free obedience class, or one free grooming session.. batting cages, driving ranges, etc might offer a free lesson or free time.

On the bachelorette auction note, since it's pet themed, you might make the "date" with their pets.. this would probably work better with dogs, but.. who knows.

You might also consider a "pet singles" meet and greet type of thing, where you use a "stone" with a number marked on it. Give the boys a blue one, and the girls a red or pink one, and the point there is to wander around and find the other person with the matching stone. It gives them an opportunity to meet other people, and if you find the matching person, you can give a certificate for a drink or a hotdog or something.

What about hooking up with one of the local farmers of organic veges. We have farmers markets in parks around the city all the time. Maybe they could charge extra and the shelter keeps the extra money. May may be too early for this. Not sure.

What about jewellry. Beading has become very popular lately and you may know someone who can do it. I took a class using special wire and crimp beads, and can make nice necklaces for super cheap. I gave many out for xmas gifts and people really loved them. I can make a necklace for about $2 and it could sell for at least $15 I think. Here is an example:
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If I you want I could make some for you and send them, if my schedule permits.

I'd offer too, except I'm just not that craft talented. Unfortunately my talents lie within running my mouth and voicing my opinion, about everything If anyone else needs help though, and I can conceivably help from my area, let me know!

BTW, beautiful jewelry, Fred!