Fund Raising
Fund raising is one area where it is very important to have a support group in place. Your group, be they family, friends, or co-workers, needs to help you in this all-important area.
- Host a dinner: Find a local establishment willing to host your event for a discounted fee. Lean on your support network to help get lots of people invited to the event. Use an online invitation system like E-Vite. It's free, easy to respond to, and keeps track of all the people who will be attending your event.
Plan on charging twice the price the restaurant is charging you per person attending. Have your closest supporters help you gather raffle items. People who work at colleges can often get donated college items. Friends in retail can get some items from their stores. People in the food industry can get gift certificates. The key is to be creative and get some decent items to raffle to the attendees of your dinner party. A well-put together dinner event can generate more than $4,000 towards your cause. - Sell bracelets from AKA Missing with your child's name printed on them. These impulse items can be put at local convenience stores and other businesses.
- Raffle items. Have friends and others donate raffle baskets. Examples:
- Teacher offered tutoring basket 4 one half hour sessions
- Carpet cleaning company offered free area rug cleaning 12 x 12 or smaller
- Gardener/landscape design offered 2 one-hour yard consultations
- Portrait studio offered free family photo 8x 10
- Sell 50/50 raffle tickets.
- Locate corporate sponsors - This will require some persistence but large companies do give money to charities. Try targeting places that you are familiar with. The bank you do business with, merchants you trade with, etc. Corporate sponsors will be given tax-deductible receipts and listed on the web site.