View Full Version : Fund Raiser Ideas?
zacdl
09-06-2005, 10:08 PM
Well as most of you DONT know, I am involved in the Boy Scouts of America.
The troop I am with is going to MN (Just 6 miles short of the Canadian Border) to go canoeing at a canoeing base there.
Now we have some problems. It costs about $500 per person to go up there, and the guy that figured it up allowed $250 per person for transportation.
Because of BSA regulations adults cannot drive more than 10 hours straight at one time.
They were thinking of renting a charter bus, and not having to drive all the way up there, or spend the night (About a 13 hour trip).
Now, the bus they looked into was going to cost $8,000.
Obviously $250 a person (There are 24 going) wont cover that.
Now, I was thinking you could fly. Round trip I was thinking somewhere around $250 per person, so that knocks out that cost. You would just have to add about $3,000 (My guess) to rent a couple full size vans (A full size fits 15 I think) to drive from the airport to the little town.
So my question is basically this:
Do you have any cheaper ideas how to get up there? Without causing more stress having to drive long hours?
Do you have any ideas on fundraisers, to both help the $750 per person cost, and to pay for the method of transportation we would take? So far some suggestions were a Pancake supper, Selling popcorn (Yea that famous BSA popcorn), some sort of supper (Spaghetti maybe?), Car Washes.
Larissa
09-06-2005, 10:12 PM
all of the fundraising ideas you mentioned sound good. You could also try a garage sale. My lil sis did that to raise money for a missions trip. You may have to do all of those things to raise enough money. I heard about one fundraiser where you put pink plastic flamingos in people's yards and they have to pay you to remove them...
Larissa
09-06-2005, 10:14 PM
oh, for the garage sale obviously it helps if you have friends and family that will donate old stuff for you to sell and as for the flamingos, I think it's a riot but some people may not have a great sense of humor.
Kasakato
09-06-2005, 10:16 PM
Its called walking. Most people have feet :p:
Try selling off stuff you dont need. Maybe a mass eBay auction?
zacdl
09-06-2005, 10:19 PM
"Its called walking. Most people have feet"
There are kids going along as well :) I think right now there are 6 adults and 12 kids signed up to go so far. They have school during the day, really the only thing that could be done is on weekends (Like Car washes and ideas like that)
Kasakato
09-06-2005, 10:21 PM
Well do it! Think of anything you like. Car washes are a great idea. Get the adults involved too. Maybe something to do with fish?
Kasakato
09-06-2005, 10:23 PM
Lottery or draw? With fish stuff? Find out what they like.
zacdl
09-06-2005, 10:42 PM
LOL, I doubt most of them are fish-freaks like we here are........
We thought (As a joke of cource) A lottery to win a FREE trip to Ely, MN (Because the bus holds 50 people, and we would have 24, we would have plenty of extra room)
tyella
09-06-2005, 10:54 PM
Zac,
I just got back from a Boundary Waters trip a couple of weeks ago. I hope you can muster the cash, because the kids will LOVE it! There were almost no mosquitos when I was there. I got more bites at the drive-in here in old Missouri in one night than I did the whole week I was there.
On topic, Ebay is great, but a bit slow. One week for auctions and a week or ten days to get payment. THEN you can ship.
I guess you could be talking about going on the trip next year though....?
mishi8
09-06-2005, 11:32 PM
Well as most of you DONT know, I am involved in the Boy Scouts of America.
The troop I am with is going to MN (Just 6 miles short of the Canadian Border) to go canoeing at a canoeing base there.
Now we have some problems. It costs about $500 per person to go up there, and the guy that figured it up allowed $250 per person for transportation.
Because of BSA regulations adults cannot drive more than 10 hours straight at one time.
They were thinking of renting a charter bus, and not having to drive all the way up there, or spend the night (About a 13 hour trip).
Now, the bus they looked into was going to cost $8,000.
Obviously $250 a person (There are 24 going) wont cover that.
Now, I was thinking you could fly. Round trip I was thinking somewhere around $250 per person, so that knocks out that cost. You would just have to add about $3,000 (My guess) to rent a couple full size vans (A full size fits 15 I think) to drive from the airport to the little town.
So my question is basically this:
Do you have any cheaper ideas how to get up there? Without causing more stress having to drive long hours?
Do you have any ideas on fundraisers, to both help the $750 per person cost, and to pay for the method of transportation we would take? So far some suggestions were a Pancake supper, Selling popcorn (Yea that famous BSA popcorn), some sort of supper (Spaghetti maybe?), Car Washes.
Have you forgotten bottle drives? :D Seriously, you could look into some of the programs that the local schools do. One that I've heard suggested is to sell grocery store gift certificates. Not sure if they still work it this way, but Safeway used to offer bulk gift certificates at reduced rates for fundraising groups (like schools). The groups then sold them for face value, and kept the difference.
Boohoo
09-07-2005, 12:24 AM
Bake sales, or seeing if your local grocery stores will let the scouts bag groceries for donations. 50/50 draws are a good fundraiser as well.
Tyler718
09-07-2005, 5:12 AM
I know this won't help you much this year, but the BSA Troop in Florida that my oldest son belongs to sells Christmas Trees during the holiday season. They place an order and 2 semi trailers are dropped off at the location where they sell them.
The initial purchase is what hurt, but after that it was a breeze. The profits they made were OUTSTANDING and tax free. They made enough for the trees for the next years purchase and to fund 3 trips for all the boys in the troop. If they wanted to do anything extra then they did the standard fund raising. (Car washes, bake sales, candy sales, etc....)
"T"
nursie
09-07-2005, 10:47 AM
When are you going on the trip? I have a few ideas, but some take time. I worked with my kids band for years and they had fundraisers all the time.
T's idea with the Christmas trees is very similar to our best fundraiser. We have a couple of companies we work with and sell wreaths and poinsettias every fall. If you are interested for this year, pm me and I'll see if I can get the info. Not sure if the companies we deal with go to OK or not, but it owuld be a start. The kids take orders and collect the money and then they deliver them. You will need people to sort the orders...they just drop them off.
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory has a store in our town, but is a national franchise. They have candy bars that put the usual fundraiser bars to shame. We did very well with that too.
In addition to your spaghetti dinner/pancake breakfast, have a silent auction and ask local businesses to donate items. A friend of mine works with her kids marching band and they make lots of $$ this way. They do it evey year and have quite a following. We have started it, and are building ours up.
Rex cleaner. Depends on your market if this goes well or not.
The usual pizza and frozen dessert sales. We did well with this until everyone else started doing it.
McDonalds and I think Fazoli's around here has fundraiser nights. Your group comes and helps out ..likle greeters, cleaning tables I think, and they donate a percentage of the evenings profit to your group.
The Krogers here will let your group cook hot dogs, brats etc out front to sell and they sell you the supplies at a reduced cost.
We work with a local nursery and they grow mums for us to sell in the fall. We had an in there because one of our booster group officers worked there. That has been very good too, but you have to set it up in the spring.
OrionGirl
09-07-2005, 11:13 AM
From the other side of the fence--the fundraisers I'd rather not deal with:
Magazine sales
Discount cards to local restaurants (I never manage to use them frequently enough)
But things I happily support:
Cutting lawns/raking leaves. A couple of the local kids groups provide the tools, then go around cutting yards and raking leaves and such, usually about $10 per yard, and the adults collect the money and it goes towards a trip.
Bake sales--check with your local farmer's market to see if you could setup there. Good captive audience, limited hours. Breakfast items go really well.
Recycling pickup. Not paper and such, but having the kids pick up the items you can turn in for money--aluminim cans, etc. It's not a huge amount, usually, but I happily give my aluminum cans to some one else, just so I don't have to drive them in.
Pampered Chef. Mostly just the smaller, easily carried items, but it's good kitchen stuff, and tends to make a ton of money. If you know a PC rep, sometimes they will donate their income from a party as well--I've done it for good causes. You need a large place to hold the party, but it can make a few thousand dollars in just one day in a big enough community.
tomm10
09-07-2005, 12:14 PM
In addition to your spaghetti dinner/pancake breakfast, have a silent auction and ask local businesses to donate items. A friend of mine works with her kids marching band and they make lots of $$ this way. They do it evey year and have quite a following. We have started it, and are building ours up.
This was what I was thinking. Have the dinner with a silent auction but don't stop at local businesses. Ask parents to donate to the auction. My dad used to donate an afternoon of sailing on his sailboat, others offered weekends at their vacation homes. Do a 50/50 raffle at the door that night as well. See if you can get a local comedian(s) to donate a set to the event or at least come cheap so that people will feel good about spending the money and getting something in return.
T
All good ideas! I will suggest them to the guy in charge of the fundrasing stuff.
Or you could play to the kindness of scouts (there is no such thing as a former-scout ya know) all over the country and set up a dutch auction on ebay for $10 donations. In exchange, your troop will hand write thank you letters and send pictures from the trip to each and every person that "buys" a donation. Get the local paper and news channels involved as well..
nursie
09-07-2005, 3:45 PM
Get a big ticket item donated...flat screen tv, motercycle...car...amnd sell raffle tickets.
If you have an American Legion or some such organization in your comminuty appeal to them for a donation...and have the kids volunteer to do some kind of service for them. Our legion has more $$ than they know what to do with and they do make hefty donations to our high school athletic program.
Also...if I remember right you are looking at a 50 passenger bus for 24 people...is there the possibility that you can share the bus with another scout troop interested in going the same place and half your transportation cost?
This is just one troop :) I dont think getting a TV donated would be going over too well.
Also this canoe base is a very popular spot, and they are booked pretty good, we just were able to get 24 slots.
Boohoo
09-07-2005, 6:24 PM
When are you going on your trip?
judgemax
09-08-2005, 9:56 AM
some of the fundraisers we have one with my local eagles branch ...i am in charge of the commitee cause i have so many brainy ideas ..some have worked soem have not been as sucsessfull...mostly cause people here like to drink rather than think!lol,,,
cook off-charging so much per o many entries..the boys can be the judges...the winner gets a gift cert..to a fancy restraunt!
a local boy scout fair-the boys can do small things like egg tosses and water ballons ..dunk the scout master ..except sell tickets to attend..and tickets for all of the attractions...and each atraction is 2 tickets...if you can get the boys gunho about this its a money making killer!
the boys can babysit..rake leaves ...clean out attics ..windows, have regular compainions for grocery carting ect..this paid very well for three months this campain was done and the elderly loved it! you can call it the helping you helping us campain...and send the boys around with flyers!
a white elephant action is always good ...and yes you can get people to donate tvs! this is all tax deductble for the donatees!
a dinner/dance, ask a dj to donate time ...or have all of your scouts bring in their own music collection and dj themselves...
you could also do an under 18 dance..(supervised of course) this gives adults peice of mind cause the kids are supervised!
fortunatly since the trip is a little under a year away, you guys have time to work on all of the good ideas everyone gave you!
have you called the bus company to find out about discounts?, and is the total of kids and parents? maybe some of the parents can help go and eat up some of the bus cost, here we have a bus company just charge the fuel, and a bus driver will actually donate his time ...this is also tax deductable for the bus company is there any one related to the boys , aunts uncles cousins,,,who drives a bus?well any way, keep us posted and let us know how your fundraisers are going and good luck!