Fundraising Ideas
AIM High March to College Fundraiser Ideas
Not sure how to start fundraising for the March to Colleget? Tired of the same old fundraising ideas? Trying to figure out how to generate the most amount of money for the least amount of effort? These ideas should help jump-start the process.
A couple of things to remember – keep it fun and light, get your students involved and know that you are generating funds that help support a great and meaningful mission. Good luck!
Workplace fundraising ideas
- Competitions, raffle, bidding or buying for an item, privilege or prize
- Company-wide raffle for a special parking space, to vote for an employee to wear a crazy costume (maybe the company mascot) or hat for a day, an extra day off, to dress down for a month
- Jeans day – Pay by the item ($5 gym shoes, $5 jeans, $10 for team spirit wear)
- Lunch with an executive, partner or other sought after connection
- Sportswear day – people can wear hats and shirts of their favorite sports team
- Filthy Mouth box – have to put money in a box if they swear during the work day
- Job swap
- Corporate closet blow out – ‘sell’ the corporate premiums that are piling up in a closet
- Set a goal and if it is raised, shave off mustache, beard or hair
- Penny wars – create competition by teams or departments with natural rivalry
- Company-sponsored activities
- See if your company will match all donations made to the event
- Have a company-sponsored cocktail party or other event where you can charge admission and accept donations
- See if your company will pay for employee event registration to encourage their participation
- Buy a new TV, IPad or other attractive incentive and raffle it off to employees.
- Computer sale – raffle or ‘sell’ off old or used computer or other equipment (two companies have had great success with this)
General ask for $$
- Send heartfelt emails to your co-workers, with a link to donate. Maybe target employees who have previously mentored with AIM High.
- Create a poster showing the $1,000 goal and tack on post-its with different dollar amounts that total $1,000. So maybe you have increments of $100, $50, $25, $20, $10 and $5. Your co-workers could pull off the amount they want to donate and you have a built in ‘thermometer’ of where you are toward your goal. Once they pull off their donation post-it, you can replace it with their name as a thank you.
- Set a bowl for change on your desk at work with a poster or card about the event. Bring the bowl with you to staff meetings or other places.
- Incorporate the fundraising with your Job Shadowing day. Once your co-workers meet your student and learn about AIM High, they will be smitten.
- Can you get your HR, marketing department or community relations people to do a story in the company newsletter, post on the internal website or send out a company-wide email? Maybe they will be willing to put a display about AIM High or the event in the lobby, cafeteria or other highly traveled space.
- Ask if you can speak at your staff meeting to let people know about the event and share your heartfelt story.
Event activities
- Pay to Play events like March Madness, poker game, a basketball competition, weight loss competition. You can split the pot or have all monies donated.
- Split the Pot Raffle - Sell raffle tickets and then split the total amount raised with the winner.
- Host a breakfast or bake sale with store-bought or homemade items and charge admission
- Thank you-grams – take orders to give co-workers bags of candy or treats. Maybe on Bosses or Executive Assistants Day.
- Host a cook off – the best Chili, ribs, hamburgers, etc. and charge a tasting admission fee
- Find a massage therapist who would be willing to donate his/her time to come into the office or a day or two in exchange for promoting his/her own services. People would ‘pay’ for massage services.
- Book sale in which everyone brings unwanted books and others ‘buy’ them.
- Artist sale in which some of your talented co-workers donate items of hand-made cards, jewelry, paintings and more. (or they sell them with a mark-up that is then donated)
- See if your artistic students have art or other craft product that they would be willing to donate for auction.
Friends and Family
- Send heartfelt personal emails, with links to donate online, to your colleagues, friends and family about the event. Target college alumni who may connect easily to helping kids reach their dream of going to college.
- Include information about your student, what he or she wants to do with their future, how the program has changed his/her life. Include a letter from the student to make an emotional connection.
- Post on social media outlets like Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn with a link to donate online. Maybe you and your student (with proper permission) can make a video and post it to your profiles?
- Ask people when you see them at your book club, kid’s sports games, church, dinner club, or other group outings.
- Whose children have you bought Girl Scout cookies, wrapping paper or Boy Scout popcorn from? They may want to support your efforts now.
- Get your spouse or your kids involved by sending out information, making videos or sharing on Facebook or Twitter.
- Host an at-home party or cocktail hour with a donation for admission
- Create a community service project through your children’s Girl or Boy Scout troupe or through a service program at school.