More Neat Fundraiser Ideas for Your Organization

If you're like most people, you're constantly pressed by school kids in the neighborhood (or by co-workers who are the parents of those kids in the neighborhood) to support their yearly fundraiser. You fork out 10 or 12 dollars for cookie dough that will stay in the freezer until you decide to throw it out, or 5 to 7 dollars for a roll of wrapping paper that could have been purchased at your local open-twenty-four-hours-per-day superstore for a fraction of that cost. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the kids' organization is pocketing a very small portion of those donated dollars, and that most of it is going to the company providing the merchandise for the fundraiser. On some occasions, I have offered to simply donate five dollars to the organization, rather than buy something I didn't want or need. The five bucks was probably going to be more than their profit on any single item from the fundraiser catalog, anyway.

On the other hand, I am more inclined to contribute to "clever" fundraiser efforts. Projects that eliminate the parasitic middle man from the equation are a breath of fresh air in this world of non-stop fundraisers They usually require a little more effort on the part of the organization, but done correctly, this can be a lot more fun than just going door-to-door with a catalog of useless overpriced trinkets. In the spirit of encouraging fundraising projects that cost little to create, and keep the profit margins high, I would like to suggest a few ideas that your organization might consider.