Читать книгу B.R.M. (Bathroom Reading Material) for Youth Workers - Jeremy Halstead - Страница 11

Fundraising is necessary for most youth leaders and ministries. My suggestion is to find a handful of successful, enjoyable, high profit fundraisers and learn to do them well, then make them annual events.

I also suggest that you set up accounts for each of your students. You can either set up an account for each family, or for each student. In my current ministry our accounts are set up as family accounts.

You can divide the profits from your fundraisers by one of two ways: by the hour or by the piece. Here is how these two ways work: if you host a sweetheart dinner in February, then the students and parents who work are paid an hourly wage; if you sell nuts and candy in the fall, then the students are paid by the number of bags they sell.

When you do a fundraiser that is divided by an hourly wage, always include an extra worker: the general fund. By giving your general fund an equal share you insure future funds for your ministry.

Make your fundraising a teachable moment to both your students and your church by tithing on your earnings. Every fall, after we run a concession stand at an annual auction I like to tithe the next day by sticking a roll of one dollar bills in the plate. Since I sit on the front pew of the church, most of the congregation gets to see our big fat tithe (plus it is fun just knowing that the ushers have to unroll the bills and count each one).

Early in my ministry career I had a good friend who worked in the food service industry tell me that food will be my best fundraiser, simply because everyone needs to eat. He also told me to sell a quality product, with a generous portion, for a fair price, and I would make money.

Our annual fundraisers are:

February—sweetheart dinner with grilled steak or chicken, salad, green beans, baked potatoes, and dessert

Easter—handmade quarter pound chocolate covered candy eggs in the following flavors: Peanut Butter, Cherry, Coconut, and Butter Cream

April—luncheon for the Red Hat Chapters in our county. The menu is determined according to their theme

July—direct traffic and parking at our county fair. We work four hours a night for eight nights

September—run the only concession stand at a local tree nursery’s annual auction. This is an all-day affair, where we serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. Our workers are scheduled in four hour shifts

October—nut and candy sale through a local dealer

November—being in Ohio, home of the Buckeyes, we use our Peanut Butter egg recipe to make candy buckeyes and sell them prior to the Ohio State vs Michigan football game

Throughout the year as other fundraising opportunities arise we do our best to capitalize on them as well.