Unique College Fundraisers

College students represent a much more mature population of fundraisers, and their fundraising projects should be reflective of that. College is about moving beyond high school and having fun (and sure - learning, too). So what fundraising college students need is bigger, better, more mature fun and unique ways to raise funds. Down with the cookies and coffee – it's time to put some fun back into college fundraising!



Shopping Spree
Who doesn't like to shop? But you're group is no doubt cash-poor, so how can you think about fronting the money for a shopping spree? Pretty simply, actually.

All your group needs to do is solicit donations of gift certificates from area stores (clothing is better) and run a raffle to award them. Collect as many as you can to make the package really attractive to supporters. You can raffle one big shopping spree, or split the certificates into two or three awards (first place could get the most shopping dollars, and then tier down second and third place respectively).

Besides the gift certificates, all you really need is advertising (flyers, etc.) and raffle tickets - which you can print easily enough yourselves. Just make sure you thank all donating shops and give them ad space as much as possible.

Dinner Auction
At this auction, you don't auction items – you auction the meals! You'll need to either cook a variety of courses or have a large field of volunteers (please, Mom?) cook up and donate dinner plates (you can also just have each participant bring a plate of anything they want). Plan to have meals arrive just shortly before the auction begins so you can minimize heating and storage. At the dinner, take bids for individual meals. A fun twist here is to keep the contents of the dish secret and just give clues to lead the bidding.

Beauty Pageant
A twist on the clichéd beauty pageant: run a Beauty Pageant with (courageous) guys to compete for the top beauty spot. Contestants must compete in each category your group chooses to be crowned your new "Miss"; include evening gown competitions, and possibly some fun competitions like a best legs, swim suit, biggest eater... To give a little more to your donors, combine the event with an inexpensive dinner night; Italian meals and roast beef suppers work well.

Test Drive
If you have access to some local car dealers, set up a test drive course. Pretty much all you need is dealers to bring cars, a large parking lot, and good advertising. Sell tickets for admission to the test drive and set up courses with cones. For one admission price, donors can test drive each vehicle. Allow dealers to advertise their dealership at will (as a trade off for supplying vehicles) and provide salespeople to pitch their rides (dealers may be more willing if you can combine the event with a parent's weekend or bring in older adult buyers, too). This concept works best if you can secure out-of-the-ordinary vehicles like sports cars, Hummers, off-road vehicles, or luxury cars. There are plenty of other opportunities to mix in raffles and concession sales with this fundraiser.

Poker Tour or Tourney
Poker is the hottest game going these days, and poker-themed fundraisers are bringing in big bucks. All you need is a large hall, skilled dealers and game supplies and tickets. Charge an admission fee for all players and attendees and organize a winner-takes all tournament; some areas may restrict gambling, so your prizes may have to be products or gift certificates rather than a cash pot, but you may be able to offer a cash prize as long as it isn't a traditional game pot. As an alternative, or in combination with a poker tournament, locate some experts who can offer instructional games and strategy sessions for players (of all levels). Again, there's plenty of chance here to add in raffles and other fundraisers.

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