Fundraising Friday: Just a Buck

At Relay one year, we talked about doing a fundraiser called "Just a Buck".  There are a variety of ways you can implement a "Just a Buck" fundraiser.  We'll talk about two of them in depth here.

Relay Bingo

The first idea for implementing "Just a Buck" is actually a pretty simple idea.  We call it "Relay Bingo", but it's not really "bingo" per se.  Simply print the following image on a standard 8.5"x11" sheet of paper (or get fancy if you want to).

Once you have it printed, find yourself a manila envelope.  It can be one of the larger ones or a half-size one.  You could even use a ballot box type of setup.  Write "Relay Bingo" on the envelope or box so you can put it next to your Bingo board.

Your co-workers, clients, church family, whoever your audience may be can simply throw a dollar or two into your envelope or container and sign their name in a box.

EASY $100!  Good luck!

Just a Buck

This idea for "Just a Buck" takes a little planning, but it could be a lot of fun, and depending on the type of event you choose to hit, quite lucrative.  The concept is to solicit "just a buck" from attendees at a sporting event—for example, a Brown's football game or a Phantom's hockey game.  You can even choose to work with a college game or a high school game.  The sporting season you choose is completely up to you...soccer, basketball, baseball, football, volleyball...whatever ball you prefer.

One of the first things you'll need to accomplish is to get permission from the event's organizers to place your team of volunteers at the entrances to the event with money buckets.  Always get permission first.  In this case, asking for forgiveness after the fact is not a good idea.  You also want to make sure you fully understand the conditions and any rules for your volunteers.  After all, you represent the American Cancer Society and the Relay For Life.

Next, find enough volunteers for each entrance of the venue you chose.  You want to make sure you have as many buckets walking around as you can. 

Make sure you volunteers wear Relay For Life clothing or team clothing.  Get yourselves some matching t-shirts with Relay For Life on them and possibly your team name.  Go all out!!  Relay shirts, Relay hats, Relay bling, Relay, Relay, Relay!

Contact your local American Cancer Society office (or your Team Ambassadors) to get some purple Relay For Life buckets.  Any kind of container will work, but the purple is a great attention getter.

Have fun!  The most important part of any team fundraising event like this is to have fun!  Yes, this is a serious business, but in the grand scheme of everything, the fact that Angie wore a few less pieces of purple or Carlos arrived half an hour late is really not that big.  Be glad they came.

To pump up your team, assign one or more people as cheerleaders whose only task is to take care of your volunteers.  Potty breaks, hot chocolate, jokes, hugs, dancing, mini contests—anything to keep them having a ball.

Let us know if you try either of these fundraising ideas and how it went!

Happy Fundraising!

Kari

Categories: #RelayFFS , fundraising , fundraising friday , relay bingo