Especially during the winter holidays, people get lots of gift cards for presents. Sure, you will most likely want to go shopping and spend them yourself, but what about gift cards you receive that are for stores you don’t care much about, or that are partially spent and are adding up in your wallet?

Chances are you have a gift card in your wallet right now with just a few dollars on it (or that’s for a store you never get to) that you’ve had for over a year. You’d like to use it somehow, or get rid of it, but you certainly don’t want to throw it away. If you saw a box where you could simply drop it and have it be for a good cause – you might just donate it, wouldn’t you?

With this fundraiser you simply collect gift cards, new or partially spent, through a drop box or jar that’s easily accessible to your potential donor. You would set this up similar to how you would set up a jar asking for people’s change as a donation. Secure the box or jar to a counter for example, add a sign, and you’re ready to go.

As with any fundraiser, be sure to announce it on your website and Facebook page or any newsletter you’re sending out. This fundraiser also works well as an add-on fundraiser; think Walkathon, crafts, sales at a game etc.

The perfect time to start this fundraiser may be at the end of a year or beginning of a new year, when people are flush with gift cards for presents.

What can you do with donated gift cards?

You can sell your gift cards at websites like PlasticJungle.com or GiftCardGranny.com, which will pay up to 92% of the gift card’s value. You can choose from receiving a cashier’s check, an Amazon gift card, or a PayPal payment into your account.

They will also buy partially spent gift cards, or cards with store credit. You can find out the value of a gift card by calling the number on the back of the card.

For other sites that buy gift cards, search get cash for gift card.

If you receive gift cards of a very small value, instead of trading them in, it may make more sense to hold on to them and use them yourself. For example, if you receive cards for office supply or wholesale stores you could buy your office supplies there, items for a booth fundraiser etc.

In any case, gift cards are almost like cash, so make sure you keep any donated gift cards under lock and key until they can be traded in.

(Image: iStockPhoto/alexsl)

Related posts:

• All Wrapped Up: Fundraising With Gift Wraps And Greeting Cards
• Scratching Up Funds…Fundraising With Scratch Cards
• Gift Wrap Service Fundraiser
• Ongoing Fundraiser: Small But Steady Profits With eScrip
• Box Tops For Education Fundraiser

Raising funds in the form of in-kind donations may not be as straight forward as simply asking for cash, but can be lucrative and help your group through a slump when cash donations don’t meet expectations. However, in-kind donations are not just an alternative to cash donations, but should be considered year round as an additional way to complement your regular fundraising activities.

(Ideas on where to get in-kind donations.)

Make it easy for the donor to give to you

- The easier you make it for the donor, the more donations you will get. If you have restrictions on when you can pick up items for example, you’re already putting a strain on the donor. Don’t make your donor change his or her schedule – change your schedule to accommodate your donor’s.

- If you nit-pick through items that aren’t perfect, you may come across as not appreciative. Present yourself and your cause as being grateful for the donations you are receiving, even if they’re not perfect. Especially when you first start out, it’s important to keep an open mind and just go with the flow. In time you’ll be able to identify which companies or industries generally have the most useful items to give away.

- If you have room for storage, consider taking items that a donor would like to give you, but you don’t necessarily have any use for. You’ll be doing them a favor and you can sell the items or trade them later on. Just make sure the donor knows that you may be selling them. If you go this route, you have to also make sure you have the volunteer resources to handle and sell these items.

A great example of an organization that takes in-kind donations is Habitat for Humanity. They take just about any building material or home related item. They will happily pick up items from your home or business, store them, and, if they have no immediate need for them, resell them in their ReStores resale outlets to raise funds. If you have a ReStore location nearby, you may be able to pick up some low cost supplies or furniture you may need.

Ways to use in-kind donations

- Support your cause directly. The most popular way is probably using donated goods to help individuals directly, like collecting and donating gently used clothing or canned foods. But whatever your cause may be, you may be able to get the materials you need donated: donated roof shingles and nails to fix up a house for a returning vet; donated trash bags for a river clean-up, etc.

- Offset your operation expenses. This of course depends on what you’ll be able to get donated. But if you can tailor your search for in-kind donations that directly offset office expenses like a computer, printer, paper and other office supplies, you’ll be able to free up more donated funds that can go directly to your cause. Professional services, donated meeting space and public service announcements also usually count as in-kind donations.

- Sell donated goods to raise cash. If you’re planning on holding a silent auction for example, you may be able to solicit donated products, event tickets and so on from local businesses. New businesses may be especially eager to donate goods, gift cards or gift baskets to get their name out.

You may also have a source that can give you good quality items (whatever they may be) that you have no use for. Do not turn these items down. Assuming you have a place to store them, use these items to trade for other items (you can use your local Freecycle group), or you can sell them outright on sites like eBay, or through classifieds. Be sure you let your donor know that you may sell the items for cash or trade them in.

Advertise your need

This may be obvious, but can easily be overlooked! Start with good old fashioned networking with your personal and business contacts and make it known what items you’re looking for. Advertise in your local classifieds, your newsletter, emails, website, your social networking accounts and so forth. You may also have local mixers or meet-ups available to you that are organized by the city or private parties for the purpose of networking and exchanging information.

Simply asking for what you need may be all it takes to attract generous donors. If you run a non-profit, remind donors that their donations might be tax deductible, and that they’ll receive a mention in your newsletter.

Don’t forget to publish a “wish-list” of items that would be useful to you, but leave it open for other items as well, as you may be surprised what can turn up!

Show your appreciation

Beyond saying thank you and sending a thank you note, keep in mind that everyone loves to get something for free! So what can you offer your donors in return for their donations that’s easy for you to give? Considering offering free advertising in your print or email newsletters, your website, a shout out on your social networking accounts, fliers etc. For someone who donates consistently to you every year, consider reserving a special place for them in your newsletter, or give them more advertising space, if it’s feasible.

(Image: iStockPhoto)

Documenting in-kind donations

For each in-kind donation you receive, issue a receipt that the donor can keep with their files and keep copies of the receipts and a list of in-kind donations for your own files as well. This will make it much easier for both parties come tax time.

The receipt will act as an acknowledgement that a donation was given/received and should include the name of the person who gave you the donation, their signature, date, description of the item (and possibly a photo), location of the donation and your group’s information. The actual valuation that will be reported to the IRS by each party is up to each party. Consult a tax professional to determine the value of the donated items and expected depreciation, or read IRS publication 561. IRS Publication 526 has information on what type of donations can be deducted.

If your group is not a registered non-profit be sure to disclose this fact well in advance and before any donation takes place. If you’re honest and up front you may receive a donation anyway.

Managing donated items

Because you may be dealing with used items, or items that have been stored for a while, an important consideration for in-kind donations is safety and usability. For example, if you take furniture, opt for the non-upholstered kind, unless you know for sure an upholstered sofa was stored in a clean location and isn’t infested with bugs. You should never take any pillows or other personal items that could cause some kind of infection or infestation. It’s not recommended to take used car seats for children unless you’re sure they’ve never been in an accident. When taking a used computer, make sure all information from the previous owner has been deleted. In short, consider where the items have come from and where and how they’re going to be used.

Initially, asking for in-kind donations will take some effort and strategy, just like asking for cash donations. But in time you will have the frame work of another great way to support your cause in good times and bad. Don’t leave this opportunity to support your cause on the table! If you make looking for in-kind donations a part of your regular fundraising strategy, you will not only help your charitable group succeed, but you will also give more opportunities for people to get to know you and give to your group.

What are some in-kind donations you have received? Please share with us and leave your answer in the comments below!

Related posts:

• In-Kind Donations and Low Cost Products and Services for Your Group – Part 1
• 5 Low-Cost, No-Cost Fundraiser Ideas
• 5 More Low-Cost, No-Cost Fundraising Ideas!
• Low Cost And No Cost Marketing Tools For Your Fundraiser
• Don’t Forget About These Simple And Low Cost Fundraisers You Can Run With Few Resources And Few Volunteers

Asking for in-kind donations isn’t as straight forward as asking for cash, but will be another way to support your cause: when funds are hard to come by, in-kind donations will be a source of support for your group; when your funds are sufficient, it takes the strain off of your budget and allows you to fund more projects.

For the sake of simplicity, we’re combining resources for in-kind donations and for very low cost products and services in this article. Generally, donated items and donated professional services count as in-kind donations.

Following are some considerations and ideas about in-kind donations and low cost products and services:

Places to find free or low-cost items

- Store closures: when stores close, and after their initial sale, the owners are often anxious to get rid of remaining inventory, clean out the space and leave. You may get a hold of free shelves, signs, cash registers, computers, desks and more. Even if you can’t get these items completely free, you can usually get them for pennies on the dollar. Be sure to be ready to pick up items on the spot, so have a truck with you and helpers to load it if you’ll be getting bulkier items.

- Manufacturers: stop by your local Chamber of Commerce, or search online and find out what is being manufactured nearby. You may be able to get products donated that directly help your cause, depending on the manufacturers in your area. (For example, supplies for your school’s music department, or flooring for your new youth center?) Even if their products aren’t directly useful for your cause, you may be able to get other materials like plastic wrap, boxes, paper, imperfects, etc. that you can use for your office operations.

- Offices: you may already know someone who works in a large office. Find out if they have any discards from presentations or proposals. Often there will be excess paper, binders, folders or other materials that are not needed anymore once a project is finished. Rather than throwing these things away, they may be happy to hand them off to you. Maybe you can make arrangements to come by once a month to pick up any of their reusable or recyclable materials.

- Copy shops: they may have paper left over from a special order, supplies that were ordered but never used, materials for signs and so on. Speak with the manager and see what you could take off their hands and use for your cause. It may save you money and give them a tax write-off.

- New Stores and businesses: if you’re planning on having a silent auction for example, local stores and businesses may be willing to donate items, event tickets and gift cards for gift baskets. This would be a great way for them to get the word out about their products or services while helping a good cause.

- ReStores resale outlets, Goodwill etc.: these stores don’t offer free items, but any store that takes donations will have incredible deals on the items on their shelves. For larger purchases they may be willing to give you an even better deal.

- Taprootfoundation.org: Taprootfoundation.org you can apply to receive pro bono professional consultation services if you’re within the Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. metro areas.

- Wholesale stores and outlets: you may find sharply marked down sale items, or get free supplies like plastic and paper bags that have been used to ship items and are not needed any more. Sometimes outlets will even discard unsold merchandise. Yes, some companies will throw away unsold merchandise (incl. clothing, food), because it may cost too much to dispose or recycle the items otherwise. Make it easy for them to donate to your group and you may make a big difference in your group’s budget.

- Other charitable groups: maybe there is another charitable group you can share resources with, even if it’s just display tables for a fundraising event.

- Your local Freecycle group: sign up for your local Freecycle group and see if you can get any items that will help your cause, or if you can trade items you don’t need. Like any other site that offers free items, be careful who you’re dealing with. The group’s manager may not scrutinize new members or not manage the group very well which can make using your local Freecycle group challenging. It may be worth a try though, especially if you need specific items on a regular basis.

- Try Listia: a website that works like eBay but without the exchange of money. List items you don’t need to receive credits which you can then use to ‘buy’ items you need. Granted, Listia offers lots of collectibles and other small items, but there are also electronics like DVD players, cameras, computers and small furniture. You currently get 450 free points for signing up.

- Individuals: one of the most popular in-kind donations are food items which are often asked for from individuals. But supporters maybe be more than happy to donate other items as well. If you advertise your need on your website, your email list or a local newspaper, someone may come forward with the item(s) you’ve been asking for.

(Image: iStockPhoto/mangostock)

You could also ask for professional services as in-kind donations. Accountants, tax professionals and consultants may be willing to donate their time and services to help you out.

- GrassRoots.org: Grassroots.org provides web services like hosting, web design and consultations to non-profits.

- Volunteer sites: You could try volunteer sites like Idealist.org or Volunteermatch.org to not just find volunteers, but also to find someone who might donate their professional services.

Other places for finding free or low-cost items: any outlet store, restaurants, local contractors and builders for residential homes, designers, auctions, public sales of abandoned storage spaces, local classifieds, paint stores.

What sort of in-kind donations you can ask for

This will depend much on what your cause is, but some items (like gift cards) are universally useful:

- Universal: coupons, gift cards (even $5), tickets/passes to events (for auctions), empty ink cartridges
- To help individuals: clothing new and gently used, school supplies, furniture, tools and supplies for home repair, toys, housewares, pet food, professional services
- For your office: paper, pens, pencils, trash bags, computer, printer, paint, professional services

There may be items for in-kind donations that you haven’t thought of yet: Find out what kind of manufacturers are nearby, browse a Freecycle group, or post an ‘open’ request on your website and your other communications. Someone may want to donate a valuable item and need help determining its value (get official appraisal), or transporting it to you.

For more tips on in-kind donations, please click over to part 2.

What are some in-kind donations you have received? Where have you been able to get valuable in-kind donations? Please share with us and leave your answer in the comments below!

Related posts:

• In-Kind Donations and Low Cost Products and Services For Your Group – Part 2
• 5 More Low-Cost, No-Cost Fundraising Ideas!
• 5 Low-Cost, No-Cost Fundraiser Ideas
• Low Cost And No Cost Marketing Tools For Your Fundraiser
• Don’t Forget About These Simple And Low Cost Fundraisers You Can Run With Few Resources And Few Volunteers

eScrip is a simple program that lets you earn money from your grocery purchases for your school or group. Depending on your region there might also be other merchants that participate in the program.

In order to sign up for an eScrip program with grocery stores for example, your supporters need to have a loyalty card from a participating grocery store and then register that card with eScrip. eScrip will collect the funds (a small percentage of each purchase made with registered cards) from the grocery company and then send quarterly payments to participating groups.

How to sign up:

Go to eScrip and click on ‘sign up’; it’s free. See if your school or group is already registered in the program. If not, here is the information on how you can apply for your group to participate.

As a user you create your own account, add your grocery loyalty cards and define which school the proceeds are supposed to benefit. Done!

Get the most out of this fundraising program:

This is the kind of program, where the more people sign up, the more successful it will be. Add information about this program to your website and to all your newsletters. Remind your supporters to sign up for grocery cards – which can be done in-store, or online – and then to sign up for this program.

Some stores also offer this program with their home delivery service, so adding a link to that store on your website would be especially useful! Home delivery is great for busy moms, seniors, or anyone with health problems that prevent him or her from leaving the house.

EScrip also offers an online shopping mall that pays a percentage of each purchase to the school you’ve signed up for.

Schools and other groups constantly have to look for more ways to raise funds, and having a simple ongoing fundraiser like this one may not yield thousands of dollars every month, but will provide a steady stream of predictable profits for your group. This type of fundraiser requires some preparation and steady reminders to use certain loyalty cards at certain stores, but the fact that this is an otherwise completely free fundraiser makes this one worth implementing!

Related posts:

• Don’t Forget About These Popular Ongoing Fundraisers!
• Don’t Forget About These Simple And Low Cost Fundraisers You Can Run With Few Resources And Few Volunteers
• Box Tops For Education Fundraiser
• Fundraising with Gift Cards
• Deciding How To Spend Fundraiser Profits

Be A Good Partner

Be a good partner to your recycling redemption company by following their guidelines. Be sure to:

• Obtain their latest list of accepted cartridges and cell phones
• Update the list regularly and pass it on to donors
• Sort through donated cartridges and cell phones and weed out broken and beyond repair units
• Follow the company’s schedule for redemptions and payment
• Follow shipping instructions, and package large donations conveniently for easier processing (see below)

Recruit Donations

Remember that you are not limited to your immediate support base for cartridge and cell phone donations; you can reach out to other individuals and groups, too. Some good ways to increase donations are by:

• Calling area businesses and asking them to set aside their used ink cartridges; assign someone to pick the cartridges up to make it even easier on the company.
• Encourage your group’s members to collect ink cartridges and cell phones from their employers, friends, family, and others. You might consider supplying a second outreach letter that can be given to peripheral supporters.
• Set up community collection boxes; attach a letter or sign explaining what can be donated and who will benefit (your group). All you have to do then is regularly check and empty the boxes. Note that some businesses might welcome a drop box at their office, too—they can drop their cartridges and old cell phones in, and so can their employees and clients.

Note that some redemption companies will allow you to supply shipping bags to individuals and groups that they can simply mail in (postage pre-paid) on your behalf; that way, you won’t have to worry about making the rounds to collect donated cell phones and empty ink cartridges.

Protect Your Profits

You can ensure that your collections are protected by packaging them well and according to the recycling companies suggestions before shipping; that way, more of your units will be accepted and paid for. Some tips for packaging large shipments of ink cartridges and cell phones follow:

Lastly, be sure that your packages are labeled correctly so that they get where they are going. If pre-printed materials are provided, use them—they will ensure that the correct addresses and postage are used, and may include an ID number that lets the company know who you are.

You can feel good about this easy recycling ink cartridge and cell phone fundraising project!

(FundingFactory offers a fundraising program for ink cartridge and cell phone recycling. Sponsored link.)

Related posts:

• Green Fundraising: Recycle Ink Cartridges
• How To Make The Most Of A Cell Phone Fundraiser
• Recycle Bottles And Cans To Raise Funds
• Recycle Electronics For Cash
• Five Tips For Grant Writing Success!

Ongoing fundraisers are designed so that they virtually run themselves. Registration and information sharing is all it takes to get this kind of fundraiser going.

Beyond that, all that is required is an organized effort to collect and/or redeem or claim your group’s funds. Sometimes, though, sponsors even take care of that for you and simply put the check in the mail.

Ideas For Ongoing Fundraisers

There are a number of nationally available, well organized ongoing fundraising programs. There are even a few you can set up yourself and maintain on a smaller, local scale. Following are some ideas and providers of easy ongoing fundraising programs:

National Brand Fundraisers

Several national product manufacturers and large companies are teaming up and offering ongoing fundraisers. Most of these programs consist of a process of collecting and redeeming coupons from product packages in exchange for goods or cash.

General Mill’s Box Tops for Education Program is a very popular example; you’ll receive 10 cents per label. (Read more about Box Tops For Education.)

The makers of Campbell’s Soup have offered an ongoing fundraiser based on label collection for many years and will pay your group in the form of educational materials and playground equipment.

Tyson’s Project A+ pays 24 cents for each label turned in.

Other more localized suppliers have helped communities closer to their business’ home such as the Kemp’s Dairy with it’s Nickels For Schools program. Check your local dairy, or pizza restaurant for similar offers.

Ink Cartridge and Cell Phone Recycling

There are several companies who will pay fundraising groups for collected ink cartridges and cell phones that meet their acceptance standards. These companies in turn refurbish and recycle the still useful cartridges and parts. This easy ongoing fundraiser is a simple matter of collecting and mailing in ink cartridges and cell phones. This easy ongoing fundraiser is great for the environment, too.

Read more about Recycling Ink Jet Cartridges, or click over to FundingFactory, which offers a popular ink-jet recycling and cellphone recycling fundraising service.

Loyalty Programs

Some retailers (like Target) and service providers are wiling to kick back a percentage of profits to groups whose supporters patronize them. Often a card or registration of some kind is needed to identify supporters and designate the recipient program. When these patrons make a purchase or hire the services of the partner company, they earn cash or redeemable bonus points. The company benefits from better business, the group benefits from easy money, and the program runs itself until ended by one or the other party.

Homegrown Ongoing Fundraisers

There are other programs groups can set up and manage themselves on an ongoing basis. Bottle and can collections and spare-a-penny tip jars are two fairly easy ongoing fundraisers that don’t cost a lot but can return pretty well on the low investment.

The potential to profit from ongoing fundraisers is significant, but it does take a concerted effort to get supporters to participate continually. The effort is small, so most do not mind it, but it is easy for busy donors to forget, so periodic reminding is a must to succeed with an ongoing fundraiser. Most groups find that ongoing fundraisers are better when run as supplemental income of sorts, with two or three larger efforts being run for the bulk of their funds. Either way, there is virtually free money out there to be taken in ongoing fundraisers; you need only to tap the source!

* * * * *

To easily receive updates on new articles, fundraising ideas and more subscribe to FundraisingIP.com today.

Related posts:

• Don’t Forget About These Simple And Low Cost Fundraisers You Can Run With Few Resources And Few Volunteers
• Ongoing Fundraiser: Small But Steady Profits With eScrip
• Raising Funds With Free Fundraisers
• Ideas For Mini Fundraisers
• Easy Profits With Stationary Fundraisers

—-

This is a great fundraiser if you already have some volunteers ready to help your group, or you have a good size e-mail list. There is no selling, no asking for donations, no minimums and no left-over candy bars with this fundraiser!

About InsiderPages.com:

The website helps you find a local business based on recommendations of others in the area: “Insider Pages was created to help people find the best local businesses through recommendations from their friends and neighbors. At InsiderPages.com, people share reviews of local businesses and find great services they can trust.”

How the fundraiser works:

Since the website’s service is based on reviews of businesses, they’re always in need of more reviews in order to create a useful service for their website visitors. Writing reviews are how your group will earn money: Your group’s members and volunteers, and their friends, families, and supporters, write online reviews of local businesses they use, such as doctors, hairstylists, home contractors, mechanics, or local restaurants. For each review they write, Insider Pages makes a donation to your organization of $1.50 for the first review of any business and $.50 for each follow-on review.

Let’s say you get 50 people to each write 10 first reviews, that would earn $750 for your group. The reviews on Insider Pages are pretty short, and writing 10 reviews wouldn’t take much time at all. According to Insider Pages, most people will write between 20 and 50 reviews for a fundraiser.

Note: Reviews of restaurant chains (McDonalds, Outback Steakhouse, KFC, etc.), gas station chains, movie theater chains and national or regional chain stores (Target, Dollar Tree, Home Depot etc.) DO NOT qualify; only truly local businesses.

The rules are pretty simple:
1. Participants have to be at least 18 years old.
2. Each fundraiser lasts three weeks.
3. You get a check in the mail for your group!

If you’re not familiar with the website, why not try it out and
search for a business in your neighborhood and read the reviews.

To sign up, go to InsiderPages.com.

Related posts:

• Raise Funds On SocialVibe.com
• Raise Funds Online – With Or Without Your Own Website! Part 1
• Raise Funds Online – With Or Without Your Own Website! Part 2
• Recycle Bottles And Cans To Raise Funds
• Raise Funds in your Neighborhood with the G-Team

Let’s keep the list going – here are five more low-cost and no-cost fundraising ideas:

Cook-Offs

Chili, chowder, pie, dessert…whatever your group’s favorite may be. Invite expert and amateur chefs alike to enter their fabulous (very large) dishes in a cook-off event for top honors. Charge a fee for participants to come sample and vote on the best foods your town has to offer.

Your biggest challenge with a Cook-Off event: advertising and getting interested contributing chefs to participate (tip: offer them an advertising opportunity). Cook offs can work well in combination with the next idea

Breakfast (or Dinner) With…

A well known local personality, or Santa or the Easter Bunny for the little ones… this takes some organization and a good support base of volunteers, as the meal is labor-intensive. You can also increase your profits if you can get local grocers and/or businesses to donate mixes and paper goods. Pre-selling tickets will help so you know how many you have to serve for.

Your biggest challenge with a breakfast event: organizing enough volunteer labor and fronting the money to buy the supplies. This event might also work well with a

Bake Sale

An oldie but goodie; bake sales enjoy good investment returns because there is very little money to pay out. Ask group members and supporters to donate their best baked good (preferably pre-wrapped for sale), then find a location with good foot-traffic to hold the sale. Pastry sales will be especially well-received at breakfast events.

Your biggest challenge with a bake sale: getting donations of baked goods.

Movie Night

Movie nights are successful fundraisers for school and community groups with a large child-based membership. Set up a few television sets (the bigger the better) and choose a movie to show. Charge each attendee a ticket fee and sell popcorn and drinks to make even more. Movie nights are well-attended when you hit the right audience because they offer a cheap family night out.

Your biggest challenge with a Movie Night: advertising to reach out to interested participants. Movie nights for children might be combined with

Night Out For Parents

Offer babysitting services for a fee combined with fun arts and crafts and a movie night for kids. Be sure you have good contact and emergency contact information for each child. These work well for school groups, daycares, or teen centers with lots of teenage babysitter hands on deck. You will likely need to limit the number of children, so selling a ‘ticket’ for the night may be a good idea so that you are not left short-handed if someone doesn’t show. Parent’s nights often work well during the holidays or in partnership with a craft fair so parents can shop without prying childlike eyes.

Your biggest challenge with a Night Out for Parents: securing reliable, trustworthy volunteer babysitters.

And there we are. Five more great ways to raise big funds without shelling out first. Proof positive that any group can find a way to raise the funds they need!

Read about our first 5 Low-Cost Or No-Cost Fundraiser Ideas, or click over to our “Free Fundraisers” category.

Related posts:

• 5 Low-Cost, No-Cost Fundraiser Ideas
• Workable Ideas For Non-Profit Fundraising Events
• Don’t Forget About These Simple And Low Cost Fundraisers You Can Run With Few Resources And Few Volunteers
• In-Kind Donations and Low Cost Products and Services for Your Group – Part 1
• Low Cost And No Cost Marketing Tools For Your Fundraiser

To help your group get started fundraising for little or no money, here are 5 low-cost or no-cost fundraising ideas:

Prom Dress Fundraiser

Prom dress fundraisers are especially good if you don’t have a huge selling force, and with a good donation base for dresses, the potential to profit is large. All your group needs to do is to solicit donations of used prom dresses that are still in fashion and in good condition, and then find a location for a sale. You can ask local merchants and function halls to donate racks and space. Pricing dresses between $25 and $45 should turn a good profit.

Your biggest challenge with a prom dress fundraiser: getting dress donations, securing a good location, and advertising the event.

Spare A Dollar

Spare a Dollar campaigns have gotten very popular with school groups; their support base is large and interested in their success. All you have to do to run one is draft a letter explaining your need and asking people to donate a dollar (or two) to your group. These are well-received because there is no shelling out for pricey products.

Your biggest challenge with a Spare a Dollar campaign: getting group members to participate and reach potential donors.

50/50 Raffle

There’s hardly an easier or cheaper fundraiser than a 50/50 raffle; what’s more, these dual money-makers are very well received. Your group will need raffle tickets (generic store kinds are just fine). Sell the tickets for $1-$5. The winner gets half the pot. The rest goes to you. These raffles work best at large events where there are lots of people.

Your biggest challenge with a 50/50 Raffle: finding the right place to stage the event (these don’t work well as individual sales except when tickets are available ahead of time, backed by major sales day-of).

Collection Drives

Anything that you can collect and redeem for cash has the potential for big returns on investment. Can and bottle drives, ink cartridge and cell phone recycling are all potentially profitable. One of the best strategies is to set up community collection bins where people can easily drop off donations; you just have to sort and return them.

Your biggest challenge with a collection drive: getting the word out so you get continuous donations.

Bring & Buy Sale

The Bring & Buy sale is an easy, no-cost fundraiser. All you really need is a hall, some change, some advertising, and a few tables. Each attendee is to bring an item to sell and buy before they leave. You can also put out a few extra items to get the ball rolling and charge a nominal door fee if you like.

Your biggest challenge with a Bring & Buy Sale: advertising the event and getting people to participate.

There you have it – five great ways to raise money for virtually nothing! There are so many great ideas out there, let’s just keep this list going! Read 5 More Low-Cost, No-Cost Fundraising Ideas.

To send in your ideas, please contact us.

Related posts:

• 5 More Low-Cost, No-Cost Fundraising Ideas!
• Don’t Forget About These Simple And Low Cost Fundraisers You Can Run With Few Resources And Few Volunteers
• In-Kind Donations and Low Cost Products and Services for Your Group – Part 1
• Low Cost And No Cost Marketing Tools For Your Fundraiser
• In-Kind Donations and Low Cost Products and Services For Your Group – Part 2

Free Fundraiser Options Abound

When it really gets down to it, there are a great number of free fundraisers that you can use to raise big funds on a shoe-string, or even a non-existent, budget. These can take many forms, including,

• Donation-based drives and event fundraisers
• Fundraising partnerships and programs offered by a number of retailers, organizations, and businesses
• Product, brochure and catalog sales that require no up-front expenditures (the goods are paid for by the buyers)
• Raffles and contests

What Can Your Fundraiser Company Do For You?

You can run your own free fundraiser by choosing something like a can or donation drive; if these types of fundraisers aren’t for you, though, talk to some fundraising companies and see what they offer in the way of free fundraisers. Fundraising companies understand that groups are cash-strapped, and have developed many very good product-based and catalog/brochure sales that require no payment until pay is collected for items ordered. See what a fundraising company can do for you at no cost or obligation.

A Few Free Fundraiser Examples To Get You Started

Between what your group can arrange yourselves and what fundraising companies offer, there are many free fundraiser options for groups that either have no beginning budget or do not care to spend their available cash that way. Here, in closing, we offer a list of ideas:

• Magazine drives – can be run through order-taking or even completely online for free with some companies
• Can and bottle drives – collect recyclables and redeem for cash
• Product/brochure sales like cookie dough, scratch cards, stationary, food
• Loyalty programs with partner companies such as grocery stores, drug store chains, and franchises
• Business fundraising opportunities such as banks that offer funds for ATM card use
• Events like bring & buy sales, 50/50 raffles, lotto calendars
• Auctions – online auctions with donated goods, silent auction fundraisers when paired with partner events
• Donations campaigns such as request letter campaigns or Spare-A-Dollar campaigns
• Collection fundraisers like recycling ink cartridges and cell phones
• Company-sponsored fundraising programs like Box Tops for Education and Campbell’s Soup labels

>> Read more about No-cost or Low-Cost Fundraising Ideas.

This list stands as proof that fundraising can be done with no money in the bank at all and we hope this list will spurn even more free fundraiser ideas for you!

Related posts:

• Easy Profits With Easter Chocolate Fundraisers
• Go Groceries! Raising Funds With Everyday Foodstuffs
• Fundraisers To Raise Funds And Team Spirit
• Easy Profits With Stationary Fundraisers
• Don’t Forget About These Popular Ongoing Fundraisers!