Fundraising Tips

The first step in a great fundraising campaign is to set up your personal page and then send out letters (or emails) to everyone you can think of. Most of your donors will come from your letter writing campaign, but there are many great ideas for raising funds. Don't limit yourself! Make fundraising fun!

Following is a list of fundraising ideas/tips used by many TNT participants over the years. Most of them can easily be modified to fit your needs:

• Bad Hair Day: Promise donors that you will shave your head or dye your hair or beard a funny color if you reach your fundraising goal. Let your donors vote on the color and be sure to post great photos.
• Brewery Silent Auction: Get a local brewery to host an LLS night. Organize a tasting and silent auction (this is best as a group fundraiser).
• Brown Bag Day: Tell co-workers to bring their lunch to work and donate what they would have spent at a restaurant. This idea could also apply to coffee- instead of buying that $5 latte this week, drink your coffee at work and donate your latte fund to the LLS.
• Cake Walk: This bake sale can be done in your neighborhood or on a local walking trail. Have friends bake goodies for you or get a local bakery to donate baked goods. Line the trail or your block with baked goods and people walk through sampling the goodies for a donation.
• Candy Bags: Put together bags of candies for holidays like Valentine's Day, Easter, Christmas or Hanukkah and sell them for $5 each at work. For an additional fee, offer a singing telegram as you deliver the candy.
• Cardboard Regatta: This should be hosted on a shallow, calm body of water. Charge a participation fee and give each contestant supplies (cardboard, packing tape and a paddle). They must build their own vessel in a specific time. There can be many categories for prizes such as fastest ship, most creative ship or longest time afloat. For additional fundraising, set up a concession stand.
• Chili Cook Off: Arrange a contest and charge an entry fee and a donation to cast a vote. "Chili for a Cause" or "Cooking for a Cause" are just some fun name ideas.
• Coffee Bar: Set up a coffee bar at your office or church or a club you're a member of. Provide flavored coffees, creams and even hot chocolates. Make homemade scones to sell too.
• Concession Stand or Lemonade Stand: Whether it's in your neighborhood or outside at a park or concert (you may need to get permission), on a hot day, water bottles or lemonade or fun snacks are a great way to earn your fundraising.
• Costume Day: Tell donors that you'll wear a Wonder Woman costume all day long if you reach $1,000 by a certain date. Or come up with another fun costume, one you will actually wear all day if you hit your designated amount. Be sure to take photos or video as proof.
• Crazy Cards: Write out "crazy" commands on cards. Have your friends pick a card. Whatever the card says, they have to do that OR they can donate instead. For example, maybe the card says "do the chicken dance". Your friend can do the dance or pull out their debit card and donate. Don't forget to bring your video camera! And remember, the truly fun friends will do the crazy command AND donate.
• Create a Shirt: Websites like Zazzle, Custom Ink or Booster will allow you to create one or more shirts and sell them. You can create something with your name or the name of your honored heroes' names and tell everyone who buys one to wear the shirt on your race day to show their support.
• Date Night: Do you have access to a large room or gym at at local church or school? Rent it out or get it donated and host a "date night" for young parents who need to get out and need a safe place to leave their kids. Recruit volunteers to help organize games, crafts and make snacks for the kids and charge a donation for this child care/fun night.
• Delegate: Ask 10 friends to get 10 donations for you.
• Ding Dong Donate: Place a small envelope on all of your neighbors' homes with a note inside telling them about your fundraiser and requesting that they place cash in the envelope and return it to you (or replace it on their door at a specific pick up time).
• Donation Game: Instead of "drinking" games, do "donation" games at your party. For example, every time someone says a certain word, everyone has to put $5 into the donation jar.
• Envelopes: Sell sealed envelopes for $25 each. Buyers (donors) pick their envelope and whatever is inside is theirs to keep. It might be a $100 bill or it might be a piece of gum or it might be a note that says "you're a hero". It could even be a coupon for laundry detergent or a ticket to a local concert.
• Fashion Show: See if you can host this at one of your favorite stores and serve snacks. Or, get your pawed friends involved and host a dog fashion show.
• Father Daughter Dance: Host a father daughter dance. Get prizes, food, and supplies donated. Do you have a friend who could be the DJ? See if friends will help you decorate and try to rent a gym through your school district for a low fee.
• Fear Factor: Remember the television show "Fear Factor"? Do you have a "fear", one you'd be willing to conquer for the cause? Tell donors if they donate a specific amount you will hold a spider or pet a snake, whatever your biggest fear is, you'll face it because it's nothing like facing cancer.
• Fountain Coin Collection: Go to your local mall and ask them what they do with the change in the fountains. Ask if they are willing to donate it to the LLS. What a great wish to come true- a cure for blood cancer!
• Guess the Number/Weight: Put a quantity of items in a jar and have people pay to guess how many items or how much the jar weighs. The winner gets a prize (the prize can even be the jar so a jar of candies is a great idea).
• Haunted House: Set up your home or rent a location to host a haunted house. This doesn't just have to be during Halloween. Get friends to volunteer to be ghosts and monsters.
• Host a Cook Out: Charge $10 to attend a cook out at your house. Guests come over for food and fun and a good cause. Invite your honored teammate and have him/her speak.
• Ice Bath Challenge: Have friends donate $1 for every minute you're able to sit in a bath full of ice (be sure you're doing this after your long run to aid in healing of your muscles- it's like two birds, one stone).
• Improv: Host an Improvisational Theatre night at your house. Serve plenty of snacks and drinks and charge a donation to enter. These can be a lot of fun.
• Kisses For A Cause: Sell kisses for $10 each. Buy bags of Hershey's Kisses and attach secret (or not secret) admirer messages to them to be delivered.
• Lessons: Offer guitar lessons, dance lessons, cooking classes, tutoring in Spanish or Math, etc. What are you an expert in? Can you offer lessons as a fundraiser?
• Live Performance: Are you a musician? Can you sing or play an instrument? Host a live concert. Don't forget to invite your honored teammate to share his/her story with your guests.
• Make a Change: Place a large jar or bowl on your desk at work with a label that reads "Make a Change in the Lives of Blood Cancer Patients". Encourage co-workers to donate all their loose change. You would be surprised how many coins you might find in your couch or buried under your car seat cushions or in the bottom of your purse.
• Men in Heels: Got a group of courageous dudes willing to help you out? Tell your donors that for every $1 they donate, your husband, son, dad, etc. will wear your heels for one minute. Be sure to take plenty of photos/video for proof. And tell those guys, "If you think walking in heels is hard, you should try chemo!"
• Movie Night or Favorite TV Show Viewing: Host a movie night at your house. Set up a large screen if possible and do a theme around the chosen movie (i.e. dress as characters from Gone With the Wind while you watch the movie or sip tea and eat scones while watching the season premiere of Downton Abbey).
• Oscars, Grammies, Etc.: Host an Academy Awards party or Grammies party. Roll out some red carpet and have guests wear formal attire. Watch the awards while feasting on great appetizers and beverages.
• Pet Bake Sale: Make homemade dog biscuits and sell them at work or at a local dog park.
• Please Don't Stop The Music: Stand in the middle of your college campus (or park, parking lot, etc.) with hideous music blaring and a sign that says you won't stop playing this music until you reach your goal of $_____.
• Pool Party: Host a backyard pool party. Grill burgers. Tell everyone they are "making a splash for the cure".
• Pump It Up: Coordinate with a local gas station to serve as an attendant, pumping gas and cleaning windshields for a donation.
• Purple Ribbon: Tie a purple ribbon around your friends' fingers and say "you are not allowed to take that off til you've donated!" Or maybe you can use an orange ribbon for leukemia, green for lymphoma, etc.
• Raffle Ticket Drawings: Give your donors an incentive. For every $25 they donate, they will be entered into a raffle for some great item. Ask local businesses to donate items such as gift cards to restaurants or movies, a nice bottle of wine, one night stay in a bed & breakfast, etc.
• Restaurant/Happy Hour: Restaurants will usually agree to donating 10-25% of their profits during a given time if you show them a flyer. Also, consider a happy hour event. Some restaurants will offer a discount on beverages and appetizers.
• Ribbons: Place an awareness ribbon in your fundraising letter and ask donors to write the name of someone in their life with cancer on it. They return the ribbon with their donation and you wear the ribbons on race day.
• Sell Homemade Goodies: Baked goods or breakfast tacos are always in high demand. Sell your own homemade goodies at work. Attach a note to each item with a link to your online fundraising web page in case someone wants to make a bigger donation later.
• Services: Offer to clean houses, mow lawns, walk and groom dogs, be a personal chef for a day or babysit for a donation.
• Special Event: If you have a birthday or anniversary coming up, ask friends to donate in lieu of gifts.
• Spinning: Training for a triathlon or cycle event? Ask your spin instructor if you can hit up your fellow spinning classmates. Set a goal at the beginning of class and if it is met, everyone donates $1 per minute.
• Stunts: Are you a teacher or a manager of a company? Tell your students or employees that if you raise at least $__ you will kiss a pig or wear your pajamas to work or shave your head! Get creative. One teacher even agreed to sleep on the roof if her students raised at least $2000. They did so she slept on the roof!
• Taco Tuesday: Not that it has to be on a Tuesday, but find out if your boss will allow you to set up a taco bar at work. Bring in all the fixings and let people serve themselves. Preparing tacos is very inexpensive. You could also ask a local Tex Mex restaurant to donate.
  *other options include...
  Breakfast Taco Bar
  Pancake Bar
  Baked Potato Bar
  Salad Bar
  Oatmeal Bar
  Beverage Bar
• Team On Trainers: A TNT tri team did this - they set up bike trainers at a 24 hour convenience store. Riders rode in shifts for 24 hours. Snacks were donated to be sold many just made straight donations.
• Theme Party: Host an 80's night at your house. Turn on an episode of "Cheers". Serve jelly beans and hang Ronald Reagan posters. Tell everyone to wear their favorite 80's clothes. Choose another favorite decade or event such as Woodstock. Play music from the era and have a dance contest.
• The Voice/American Idol: Host a karaoke contest and charge an entry fee and/or a donation to vote on the winner.
• Vending Machine: Have you ever wondered how much money people spend on any given day at the office vending machine? Give them a chance to make their snack time meaningful. Purchase vending machine items in bulk and sell them for a donation.
• Wine and Cheese Party or Beer Tasting: Ask local wineries and breweries if they are willing to donate. Buy snacks (or ask your local grocery store for a donation). Have a tasting at your house. Invite your honored heroes to speak at the event.
• Win A Wine Cellar: Entry fee is $25 plus a bottle of wine. Have a few bottles already opened for tastings and provide a few light snacks. As guests arrive and pay the entry fee, have them write their name on a cork and place it in a jar or vase. After an evening of great conversation and wine sipping, draw a cork and the winner gets to take home all the wine!