Top 5 Easter Fundraising Ideas

So does your organization have any Easter fundraisers planned? There are lots of great Easter fundraising ideas that are easy and can be planned rather quickly.

1. Easter baskets -- Create large easter baskets, not just kids baskets but some that grown ups will like too. Hold a raffle or silent auction for the baskets.

2. World's Finest Chocolate -- There's still time to order Easter Bunnies, Almonds and Peanut Butter Eggs by the case. All chocolates sell for $5 each. The price to your non profit group is just $2.50, so your group makes 50% profit on this fundraiser! Call the Toll Free Customer Service Line at 1-866-450-5794 for more information.

3. Breakfast with the Easter Bunny -- Set up a special breakfast at a local restaurant, cafeteria or fast food place. Negotiate a special price for you group. Have a photo booth for pictures with the Easter Bunny. Include one photo per child with the ticket and then charge extra for additional photos. You can get some fun little giveaway prizes for the kids from Oriental Trading Company.

4. Easter Luncheon -- Have a Spaghetti or other type food luncheon.

5. Easter Egg Hunt -- Hold an Easter Egg Hunt for children in your community. This is a great way to build PR within the community with a fun event.

Important Last Step:
To really create a great fundraiser, choose at least TWO of the above fundraising ideas. You will get much more participation and raise more money with a combination of offerings.

For example, hold a free egg hunt after the luncheon. Our church does this every year. On Palm Sunday after regular services there is a Spaghetti lunch. Tickets are sold for at least two weeks prior to the lunch. Many people stay for the lunch, especially families with small children. When the lunch winds down, the Easter Egg hunt begins. It's always a fun time and the kids love it.

So how else can you combine these ideas to raise money for your non profit organization? How about an Easter Basket silent auction at the lunch or breakfast event? Here's another idea...sell World's Finest Easter candies, and give away tickets to the Breakfast with the Easter Bunny to the top earners. Have your prize award ceremony at the breakfast.

Events such as these appeal to people's desire to celebrate the holiday. Make it fun for them and they will give more back to your organization, this year and in years to come.

For more information on planning dinners and silent auctions visit: The Beginner's Guide to Fundraising

Avon Fundraisers

Eileen Angel recently told me about her experience walking 30 miles to help fund cancer research. You can read about her inspiring story in the new article: AVON walk for Breast Cancer.

After participating in the two day walking event sponsored by AVON, Eileen decided to become an AVON representative. Now she helps others who want to fundraise by offering AVON fundraising opportunities. With an AVON fundraiser, 40% of the revenue goes directly to the non profit organization within 2 weeks of launching a project.

Eileen commented, "It is so much easier to ask someone if they would like to purchase a product (shampoo, deodorant and more) they normally buy, at a reasonable retail price, and telling them that they will also be helping a worthwhile cause."

***Eileen is offering a special just for Step By Step Fundraising customers! If you complete an AVON fund-raising project before the end of March, 2005, then Eileen Angel will donate a gift basket which can be raffled off to earn your organization more money. For more information contact her at giftbasketsbyangel@cox.net

Valentine's Date with a Pig

Recalling my single days, I can think of a few bachelors that the label 'pig' might have fit quite well. But for three teachers at a San Diego high school, their Valentine's date really was a pig!

Find out about this fun and unusual fundraiser, and see a photo of the famous pig: Kiss a Pig Fundraiser

Unusual Fundraisers

Looking for some unusual fundraising ideas? How about camping out on a rooftop to raise money for a school? One elementary school principal did just that to challenge the PTA fundraiser to reach thier goals.

Here's a really weird fundraising idea...cow bingo. What in the world is cow bingo? Find out about this and other Unusual Fundraisers.

Easter Fund Raiser

The Easter fund raiser products from World's Finest Chocolates are going fast. In fact, I just heard from the company that they are recommending orders be placed by February 21, 2005 to ensure your Easter products are delivered on time.

This Easter chocolate fund raiser has Easter Bunnies, Peanut Butter Eggs, Almonds, Caramel Whirls, Easter Mint Meltaways and Pecan Clusters.

Click here to see all Easter fund raiser chocolates

Call the Toll Free Customer Service Line at 1-866-450-5794 or visit the Easter Fund Raiser page for more details.

Cookie Dough Fundraisers

Cookie dough fundraising has long been a staple of school fundraising programs. Find out how to increase the sales and effectiveness of cookie dough fundraising with the ideas in this new article:

Cookie Dough Fundraising Ideas

Team Fundraiser

There are many great ideas available for team fundraisers. Whether you are with a sports team, a dance team, or a Relay for Life team, there are many team fundraising ideas that work. As a team you have have the advantage of working on this fundraising project with a dedicated group of other fundraisers.

Here's a list of resources to get you started:

Online Magazine Sales

My Sports Dreams

Sports Team Fundraising Ideas

More Fundraising Ideas

Quick Tips for Event Planning

I recently came across a good quick tip sheet on how to plan a fundraiser, posted on the website of California Alumni Association at UC Berkeley. I especially liked their description of developing the fundraising plan. It reminded me of the many intangible aspects to choosing the best fundraiser, including the attitude and availability of the group's members, competing events, and even the date of the event.

Factoring in all of the aspects of choosing a fundraising event is something that I cover in more depth in the Beginner's Guide to Fundraising. While sometimes our inclination is to pick an event that "sounds good" to us, it is wise to take our time in the initial planning and get as much feedback as possible. It's very important to take in consideration all of the influences that could make or break the fundraiser.

Easter Bunny Fundraising

I admit, I'm a chocoholic. Just about every holiday presents a new opportunity to enjoy a piece of heaven on earth. Easter is no exception, with Easter bunnies, and many other chocolates. One of my favorite treats has always been the Peanut Butter Eggs by Reese's. So when I saw this Easter fundraising program from World's Finest Chocolate, I was instantly intrigued!

Besides the eggs, this fundraiser also has Easter Bunnies, Almonds, Caramel Whirls, Easter Mint Meltaways and Pecan Clusters.

All chocolate items on the sheet sell for $5 each. The price to your non profit group is just $2.50, so your group makes 50% profit on this fundraiser!

Call the Toll Free Customer Service Line at 1-866-450-5794 for more information.



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Getting Corporate Sponsors

In the February newsletter, sent last week, I talked about how to go about getting corporate sponsors. Here's a exerpt:

WHO to Ask for Corporate Sponsorships

Always consider how your fundraising event or program will benefit the business. If a business does not have some kind of vested interest in your organization or event, it will not be likely donate. Their interest may be either because of matching interests (they support your cause), they see value in the advertising or marketing opportunity you offer them, or both.

Businesses receive many requests for charitable contributions each year (some receive hundreds or even thousands.) They need a compelling reason to donate to your specific group.

HOW to Ask for Corporate Sponsorships

The most common way to ask for a sponsorship is through a letter. Donation request letters are a balancing act between showing the benefit to the sponsoring business and describing the reason you are asking.

I recently came across a great article that gives more detail regarding both who and how to ask for sponsorships. You can view this article at this site:
http://www.nonprofits.org/npofaq/17/28.html