FUNdraising Ideas. Heartland Combined Federal Campaign 1500 E Bannister Road, Room 1160 Kansas City, MO (816)

FUNdraising Ideas Heartland Combined Federal Campaign 1500 E Bannister Road, Room 1160 Kansas City, MO 64131 (816) 823-1295 www.heartlandcfc.org FU...
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FUNdraising Ideas

Heartland Combined Federal Campaign 1500 E Bannister Road, Room 1160 Kansas City, MO 64131 (816) 823-1295 www.heartlandcfc.org

FUNDRAISING IDEAS Fun and creativity are a few secrets to a successful employee fundraising campaign. They help keep employees engaged by communicating the CFC message in an engaging way. Coming up with new and fresh ideas every year can be difficult. That's why the CFC has assembled some of our team’s most successful ideas into this book. A little planning, creativity and enthusiasm will put your campaign over the top.

Contents CFC Special Events 101 Basic Planning Checklist

3 3 4

Making Your Campaign Fun

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FUNdraising Ideas:

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Sporting Events Booths & Shops Food Auctions

7 9 11 13

Additional FUNdraising Ideas

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FUNDRAISING IDEAS CFC Special Events 101 If you have ever organized a birthday party or had people over to dinner, then you’ve organized a special event. You probably already have all the necessary skills, you just need to apply them to your agency’s campaign! Think backwards: Envision your event. Is it a campaign kickoff, an information fair, a presentation with a speaker, luncheon, or a sporting event? Where will this event take place? A conference room, an auditorium, or outdoors? Who do you plan to invite to this event? People within your agency, your entire building, the general public? Will there be decorations, entertainment, door prizes or a raffle to entice people? Picturing the event as a finished product helps you to better determine the: Purpose of event – entertain, inform, energize, some of each? Amount of people that can attend. A room/space that can accommodate the purpose and people. Decorations. Details that may increase participation, like entertainment or raffles. Break the event into smaller components: Purpose – raise funds and awareness for the CFC. Space – availability, attractiveness, accessibility. People – who to invite, inform, involve. Attraction – celebrity, knowledgeable speaker, info fair, food available, freebies. Help – how many volunteers do we need, how many expenses can we cut with free donations? Important Tips: Have back up plans and be flexible. Stay calm. If you are nervous or frantic, the rest of your planning team will likely follow suit. Have a sense of humor and enjoy the event.

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FUNDRAISING IDEAS Basic Checklist □ Date & Time: Determine theme Schedule speaker(s) / display(s) Schedule venue, allow enough time for set up and clean up Set program agenda Determine sound systems, video equipment, etc. necessary for program Make sure no other major events conflict with your date/time that would draw attendees away from your event □ Venue & Amenities: Proximity to bathrooms Parking, if necessary Handicap accessibility Driving directions, if necessary □ Event Publicity: List of invitees (department-specific? open to everyone?) Invitations, announcements, flyers, email, etc. o Make sure to include: who, what, when, where, how to get more info and rsvp number Determine who will handle all event-related RSVPs and questions. Determine how many invitations, flyers, etc. will need to be printed. Receive permission from each invited department before posting anything in their space. □ Food, Raffles, Incentives: Will food be: catered, prepared in-house, ordered and picked up, etc. Determine how much food will need to be made/ordered and set an RSVP cutoff. Raffles: solicit unique prizes from members of your own agency or solicit local businesses for donated items. Cut costs where you can by soliciting food/supply donations from local grocery stores, businesses and restaurants. Allow for plenty of time for solicitation and collection of donated items. □ Volunteers: Recruit for: o Invitation/flyer distribution o Raffle/door prize solicitation, collection o Event set-up o Event clean-up □ Decorations: Is there a theme? Are purchases necessary?

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FUNDRAISING IDEAS □ Confirmations: Date & time Venue Speaker(s) and/or display(s) Special equipment Agenda Program speakers Photographer □ Pre- and post-publicity: Will any media be present at your event? Be sure to include publicity for this event (both before and after it takes place) in your agency’s newsletter. □ Day of event: Develop a timetable to make sure everything is set up on time. Assign people to manage: o Set-up o Clean-up □ Thanks to all involved: Always be sure to thank all of the volunteers that helped make your event a success. PLEASE NOTE: CFC special events can only designate all of its proceeds to a CFC-funded agency if it is clearly posted in all event materials, as well as at the event. Every attendee retains the right to designate their entry fee or any other donation during the event to the charity of their choice. They simply need to fill out a pledge form with the amount they donated during the event, designate the money to the charity of their choice, and attach any checks/cash donated during the event.

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FUNDRAISING IDEAS Ideas for Making Your Campaign Fun Making your campaign fun and worthwhile attracts attention and participation, resulting in a more successful campaign. Below are some fun ideas: Develop a teaser campaign the week before your kickoff date to build interest. o Encourage employees to “Be a Lifesaver” and leave a roll of Life Savers on each desk. o Employees can “Be a Star!” Use star invitations for CFC special events. Be creative! Dunk tanks, pie throwing contests, jails and CFC messages taped in bathroom stalls are all proven successful publicity strategies. Weekly recognition for the department, section or work team that has the best giving record will create friendly inter-office competition and support. Don’t worry if your budget doesn’t allow for prizes. Many agencies do quite well with free prizes. Consider: o An extra day of vacation o The use of a reserved parking place o Asking management staff to donate prizes such as:  A dinner at a manager’s home  A free dog wash  A homemade specialty  A day at a favorite fishing hole Remember to say Thank You. A public presentation of awards to those who joined the Eagle Donor Club reinforces their commitment to the CFC and sometimes encourages others to give. Always gain the donor’s permission before publicly recognizing them. o Don’t forget about your steering committee. A small token shows that their hard work was appreciated. Kick off your employee campaign with an ice cream social or a potluck luncheon. o Have senior management serve the food. o Take a coffee and donuts cart around the office and extend personal invitations to attend the rally. Hold a garage sale with items donated by employees. Work sections/teams can compete against one another for the most money raised. Remember: One man’s moth-eaten moose head may be another’s prized trophy. Don’t forget your camera! o Snap pictures of employees touring agencies. o Take pictures of bare feet and run a contest to see who can identify them. o Guess the identity of everyone’s baby pictures. o Remember: A picture is worth a 1,000 words!!

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FUNDRAISING IDEAS Sporting Events “For all kinds of office athletes” Sporting events and friendly competition are great ways to raise money and increase team building within your agency. Aerobic-a-thon Employees get pledges for the length of time they plan to stay in the competition. Set this up during a lunch hour or after work. Activities could range from a jump rope contest to a balancing contest.

Air Plane Pull Pit enlisted personnel against officers or set up an inter-departmental competition. Each team pays a fee to enter.

Bike-a-thon Charge an entry fee. Participants collect pledges for the number of miles they ride.

Bowling Tournament Solicit a local bowling alley to reduce normal fees. Charge participants the regular price with proceeds going to the CFC. Participants can get pledges for the number of pins knocked over.

Croquet Tournament Set up a croquet course on a nearby lawn. Charge an entry fee and provide a prize for the winner.

Executive Chair Race Set up a relay course for executives to ride through. Use office chairs or tricycles. Let observers "bet" on their favorite contestants. The contestant with the highest dollar amount of support receives an advantage in the course. (head start, one less lap, etc.)

Fun Run Charge an entry fee to compete and provide a prize to the winner.

Golf Tournament or Putt-Putt Contests Work with a nearby golf course to get reduced rates. Charge players the regular price with proceeds going to the CFC. Humorous prizes can be handed out later at a potluck dinner. (shortest drive, highest score, etc.) Set up a miniature golf course within your office, lobby, or work area. Charge each player to play and award a prize to the player with the lowest score.

Horse Race Set up a race track for executives to run through on stick horses. Let observers "bet" on their favorite contestants.

Office Olympics Set up an obstacle course in the lunchroom, through several offices or outside. One station can be for typing a couple of paragraphs, another station for filing, another for photocopying, etc. Ask contestants pay an entry fee. Award the winner with a prize.

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FUNDRAISING IDEAS Ping Pong-a-thon Charge an entry fee and hold a ping pong tournament. Reward the winning team with a prize.

Slam Dunk Contest Charge a fee to compete and provide a prize for the winner.

Super Hoop Hold an organized basketball tournament with employee teams. Charge admission to the game or collect pledges for baskets scored. Give away spectator prizes at half-time. Get a local radio station to emcee.

Team Sports Competitions Form teams between departments, divisions, branches or regions and get pledges for goals scored, baskets made, etc. Provide refreshment stands.

Tennis or Racquetball Tournaments Charge admission and an entry fee to participants. Award the winner with a prize.

Tricycle Races Before the race, employees pay to have sandbags or rolled pennies tied to opposing department managers’ trikes. Hold the race in the lunchroom or outside. The first one to the finish line wins a prize for the department (i.e., pizza party, afternoon off, etc.).

Tug-of-War Pit employees against executive staff or hold an inter-departmental competition. Charge each team a fee to enter.

Volleyball Tournament Organize employee teams for an inside or outside tournament. Collect pledges for points or for the longest volley.

Walk/Run/Jump-a-thon Ask competing employees to get pledges for their distance walked or for each jump.

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FUNDRAISING IDEAS Booths / Shops Many agencies set up booths or shops to create greater excitement and increase fundraising dollars. The following examples have had great success in many agencies: Bag & Basket Booth Feature baskets, handbags, gift boxes, tote bags, shopping bags, knitting bags, coin purses, cosmetic cases, book covers, hampers… anything used to hold and carry items of all size.

The Bake Booth The bake booth is a gold mine that can be run as an independent fundraiser or added to almost any other event. Secure an energetic chairperson who will recruit everyone in the group to make something for the bake booth. Supply the bake booth with two kinds of goodies: Small, portable goodies like brownies and cookies, which the customers can munch on while they are shopping. Goodies that your donors will buy to take home, such as breads, cakes, etc. Consider supplying ice cream at an additional cost to go with the portable goodies.

Book Sale This is a very simple fundraiser that takes little time and effort. Ask your employees to bring in gently used books. Hold a small book fair during lunch hours.

Chili Cook-Off Have a chili contest. Ask a representative from every department or section to judge the event. After the judge tasting, sell the remainder to your employees. Give a prize to the winner. Gadget Booth Set up a booth featuring various cooking gadgets and equipment for indoor or outdoor cooking enthusiasts. The Game Exchange Booth Ask employees to contribute new or used toys and games, bringing them to a designated drop-off site. Price to sell; whatever does not get sold can be donated to a children’s agency. Glass and China Booth This is a great time to move those “never used” or “can’t stand” pieces that you love to hate. Price items to sell and donate anything that does not sell to a local thrift store. Hostess Gift Booth Set up a booth featuring easily transported gifts for hosts and hostesses. Such items could be pretty aprons, trays, bar gadgets, flower arrangements, table mats, candle holders, pretty dishes, food delicacies, etc. Ice Cream Social Have an outside celebration selling ice cream cones and floats.

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FUNDRAISING IDEAS Jewelry Booth Feature donated and collected jewelry from employees and outside sources. Many people can also make or repair jewelry to sell. Consider selling hand-made jewelry boxes as well. This is a great way to show off the talents of crafty employees. Misc. Ideas Additional fundraising ideas include: Pizza sales Candy bar sales Secret recipes Peddler’s Cart The Peddler’s Cart is a moving booth. Use a handcart that can be taken from department to department. Ask a volunteer to move it every couple hours. Pet Corner A booth featuring all things pet-related. Consider expanding the stock to include gifts and other articles for birds, fish and other pets, not just dogs and cats. Donated items could be: Dark towels to clean pets Carrying cases Collars, tiny ribbon bows Brushes Toys Scratching posts Bells for birds Ornaments for fish bowls Pet-themed holiday stockings Another fun activity could be a Dog Wash outside charging a nominal fee per dog. Have fun! Plant or Flower Booth Volunteers who wish to participate can bring house plants and cut flowers for bouquets. The team then sets prices and puts the plants on displays. Psychic Fair Have an employee dress up as a psychic or gypsy to tell fortunes or read tarot cards. Sweets Booth This booth can include a wide variety of baked goods, candies, jellies, jams, preserves, marmalades and other preservatives. (pickles, relishes, etc.) White Elephant Booth What is one person’s junk, is another person’s treasure. What a great way to clean out that closet!

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FUNDRAISING IDEAS Food There is no more impulsive or fulfilling a purchase than food and sweets – especially at lunchtime. These types of fundraisers are typically the easiest to solicit and sell. The following are just a few ways to a donor’s heart: Bake Sales Ask employees to bring their favorite cakes, cookies, or breads. Even a small office can raise a lot of money with minimal effort. Sell per item or by the dozen.

Candy Bar/Popcorn Sale Purchase or make your product and sell to your staff throughout the campaign week.

Cheesecake Sale A favorite sweet you can sell per slice or whole.

Chocolate Bonanza Sell chocolate bars with your campaign theme printed on them.

Ice Cream Social Charge per scoop.

Lunch Time Meals Sponsor a lunch of spaghetti, chili, barbecue, or another favorite food. Charge a flat fee for all you can eat, enough to cover expenses and a small contribution.

M&M/Jelly Bean Jar The famous “guess the number of beans in the jar” cannot be forgotten. Buy a guess for 25 cents. The person who guesses closest to the number in the jar, wins the jar.

Pancake Feed Start the day off right by having a pancake breakfast. You can make your own or Chris Cakes can come and do all the work for you. This company can come to your agency to help you with this fundraiser. A flat fee can be charged for each person.

Picnic Basket Auction Both the baskets and their contents are enticing at this unusual auction. Hold this event in a local park or outside in your agency’s green space. Employees or local delis and restaurants donate the baskets and their contents.

Pie eating Contest Each participant pays to enter to win a prize, but everyone gets to enjoy this event.

Potluck Dinner This is a great money maker. Have everyone bring a dish for lunch; charge a small fee to eat.

October fest Celebrate the CFC by barbecuing or making sausage lunches.

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FUNDRAISING IDEAS Salad Luncheon This menu is easy to prepare. A salad luncheon, when held in a central location, can be a popular money maker. The luncheon should cost a flat price. With the salad, offer donated homemade bread or cake.

Tailgate Party Create a tailgate party in the parking lot or company cafeteria with all the usual football fair: hotdogs, chips, soda, peanuts, etc.

Wine Drawing Raffle off chances to win a collection of wines from several different wineries. Ask local liquor stores to donate the wines.

More Bazaar Food Decide what other foods you would like to sell according to your theme, the weather, and your facilities. If you have an outside barbecue, you can cook hot dogs or bratwurst. If you have a kitchen, you can also sell corn on the cob, tacos, pizza, omelets or whole dinners. If you don’t have a kitchen, you can sell sandwiches and candy. You can also sell coffee, hot chocolate, lemonade, soft drinks, or fruit juices.

Additional Tips & Tricks The main thing to remember when planning a food-related fundraiser is the cost to put this event together. Make sure that the cost per ticket to participate exceeds the cost to fund the event by at least 25%. Keep the food as simple as possible, and have plenty of waste containers around. Be conscious of food allergies. Determine the most popular foods in your agency and focus on selling those.

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FUNDRAISING IDEAS Auctions An auction is probably the best money raiser. If it is held in conjunction with a fair, an auction usually accounts for at least half, if not more, of the total amount raised by the event. Auctions are also among the most popular fund raising events. They have high entertainment value and are colorful, dramatic and full of suspense. They are bustling, big, amusing events, full of friendly competition and lots of activity. People often come just to watch and end up bidding on an item. Auctions are hard work to plan, but the work is typically fun. There’s an excitement about an auction that spreads not only through the audience but also behind the scenes to the volunteers.

Variations A BOOK AUCTION can feature the sale of autographed copies of popular books as well as limited copies of rare books. Requests to authors and publishers for books should be made early to allow for time to collect the donations. A CELEBRITY AUCTION involves contacting local and national celebrities and asking them to donate autographed and personal items to your event. For example, you might receive: A scarf worn by a famous actress An autographed script from a soap opera Slippers from a ballerina An autographed record album from a musician A piece of pottery designed by an entertainer An autographed ball from a sports team Many celebrities have items specially created for them to give to charitable events. In addition, certain celebrities may be willing to donate their time and have lunch with the winning bidder, go shopping or play tennis. At a DATE AUCTION some of the community’s most eligible men and women put together enjoyable date packages. Each person’s package is sponsored by a local business and auctioned to the highest bidder. At an ENTERTAINMENT AUCTION contributors can offer items such as: A day on a yacht A party at a pool A band performance A dance performance A behind-the-scenes look at a performance A round of golf at a country club

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FUNDRAISING IDEAS Don’t forget to include entertainment that can be purchased by parents for their children, such as a: Slumber party Juggler, clown or magician for their child’s birthday party Sleigh ride Computer games

Additional Tips & Tricks Many of the items offered at auctions are unique and cannot be easily replicated. This adds to their value and increases bids. Think unique! Combine everyday CFC participation with your auction publicity. For example, give “Caring Coupons” to individuals for attending rallies, answering daily quizzes, quickly returning their pledge cards, etc. At the end of the campaign use the coupons to bid on auction items. Save money with your auction by having everything donated. Auctions should never detract funds from the CFC. Rural groups have asked farmers for hay, farm equipment, sides of beef, and even cattle to auction. City groups can ask artists to donate their talents to design publicity items. Everyone can ask stores to give you merchandise. Best of all, ask people to donate their services and talents. Dinners, lessons, and recreation donated by employees make the best auction items since they bring in high bids but cost you nothing.

Sample Auction Items Art - paintings, photographs, sculptures, prints Crafts - jewelry, pottery, weaving, carpentry Cartoon originals - especially political cartoons (Solicit your local newspaper’s cartoon artist for a donation.) Executive Auction: Get the Executive staff to donate half of a workday to the CFC. Auction each executive off to the employees. The executive must take over the employee’s job for that half day. Home Grown: Employees donate random items for auction such as cakes, cookies, monthly parking spots, a weekend at their summer cabin, or a home cooked dinner. Services such as a car detailing, a month of lawn mowing, and wallpapering also may be auctioned. Recreation: Offer the chance to ride on a sailboat at a lake, ride a horse at a ranch, drive a race car, have a wine tasting at a vineyard, or drive a snowmobile at a farm. Inside tour: Tour backstage at the Kauffman Center, the aquarium or a museum, guided by the director. Meals: Ask exemplary chefs in your agency to donate their services to a dinner for 12, a fondue potluck, or the ultimate romantic dinner for two. Lessons: Instructors of all levels can donate lessons in belly dancing, scuba diving, speed reading, wood working, self defense, bowling, auto repair, Chinese cooking, knitting, etc.

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FUNDRAISING IDEAS Additional FUNdraising Ideas “Almost anything goes.” Pet Picture Match Game Invite employees to try their luck at matching pet pictures to their owners. Charge employees to vote. Award the entry with the most right answers with a fun prize.

Balloon-o-grams Deliver balloons with messages attached to them to employees throughout the agency. Charge per balloon.

Balloon Pop Ask businesses to donate a variety of prizes. Before filling each balloon with helium, put a note inside each balloon. Write the name of a prize on some of the notes. In other balloons, put a note with a CFC fact. Have employees purchase and pop the balloons.

Bingo Sell bingo cards to employees. Ask local stores or vendors to donate prizes.

Blue Light Special Host daily or weekly “Blue Light Special” rallies throughout the office. Serve food and have a CFCfunded agency representative speak on a particular topic.

Boogie for Dollars Throw a dance or even a dance-a-thon. Charge admission, or have entrants get pledges for time danced or for number of dances.

Car Wash This is a very popular event. Employees pay to get their cars washed in the parking lot during the work day.

Children’s Drawing Contest Give employees “official photographs” of one or two top executives to take home for their children to draw. Charge a fee for each entry; have employees vote on the winning entry for a small fee.

Coin War Set up large empty water bottles for each department or floor in a public area. Have employees drop their spare change into the bottle. Coins are positive while paper money is negative. Employees can sabotage other bottles by dropping paper money into them. The group with the most money wins, with the money going to the CFC.

Comedy Hour Ask a local comedian or improv group to donate their services over the lunch hour. Have employees buy tickets to attend.

Compliment-o-grams Make up special forms and sell them to employees as an anonymous way to give a compliment to someone in the office. Compliment-o-grams must be delivered by a trustworthy employee sworn to secrecy. Charge per compliment.

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FUNDRAISING IDEAS Cookbook Sales Have employees donate recipes and put them together in a cookbook. Give away samples of food while selling the cookbooks.

Dress Down Days Employees pay to wear casual clothes on a specific work day during the campaign period. Each employee that participates gets a Dress Down Days button or sticker. Variations include “Silly Hat Day,” “Sport Team Day,” or “Ugly Shoes Day.”

Dunk Tank Set up a dunk tank in the parking lot. Have executives take turns on the “hot seat.” Charge for each try.

Employee Mixer Organize a social mixer for employees. Have a restaurant or club donate the space, drinks and appetizers. Invite employees to attend for an entry fee.

Flower Event Have a local florist donate flowers. Sell the flowers at the office to employees.

Games Play fun games such as Trivial Pursuit, Win Lose or Donate, Wheel of Fortune, etc. Theme the questions and topics around CFC facts.

A Ghoulishly Good Time Many agencies choose to tie their campaign in with Halloween. Host a Halloween party, create a haunted house and have a pumpkin carving or costume contest.

Health and Giving Event Have each department host a health event such as yoga class, stress reduction workshop or nutrition and personal trainer consultation. Charge employees to attend each event.

Just Watch Out for Ants Why not make your agency picnic a CFC event? Invite the CFC to set up charity booths and have your loaned executive speak. Do fundraising activities throughout the day.

Key Club Employees purchase a key from a container full of keys that will hopefully open the lock affixed to a valuable prize. Donors should not be allowed to see if their keys open the lock until the end of the contest, when many keys can be auctioned off as a package prior to the closing of the event.

Karaoke Club Employees pay to have a fellow employee sing. That employee must sing or pay a fee not to sing.

Kiss the Pig Contest Executive staff members collect one-dollar votes all day. The executive with the fewest votes at the end of the day has to kiss a pig in front of the entire office.

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FUNDRAISING IDEAS Las Vegas Games Set up a miniature casino in your office playing with fake money for prizes. There are rental shops that can make the atmosphere as real as possible.

Look-Alike Contest Employees dress up like famous personalities such as Marilyn Monroe or Elvis. Employees pay to vote on the best costume. The contestant receiving the most votes gets a prize.

Most Humorous Photo Contest Employees bring humorous photos to work and vote with quarters for the funniest. The winning photographer gets a prize.

Mystery Package Employees bring a gift in a brown bag to be sold or auctioned during the lunch hour. The gift should not cost more than a few dollars and can be something interesting, humorous and/or useful.

Play Station Contest Set up three or four video matches in a small conference room. Employees pay to play and try to beat the previous players’ scores. This can take place over several days with many repeat players. The winner at the end of the contest wins a prize.

Off and Running Many agencies like to have big kick off events, such as a continental breakfast, to open their campaigns. This is a great time for the agency head to share their endorsement for the CFC and talk about upcoming campaign activities like employee meetings and fundraisers.

Quiz Make up an IQ test based on CFC facts. Award prize(s) to employees with the most correct answers. This is a fun, challenging way to increase knowledge about the CFC.

Raffles Some companies like to hold their own lottery during the week of their campaign. Sell lottery tickets for $2 each or three for $5 for all kinds of prizes, including days off. Everyone’s name stays in a drum while gifts are drawn daily or after each time a specific dollar amount is reached.

Spelling Bee Organize a spelling bee with participants paying an entry fee. Have other employees pay to place bets on the winner. Award the winners with a special incentive.

Soak the Boss Employees pay to throw a wet sponge or water balloon at an executive staff member.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You Have a breakfast, lunch or dinner to thank your employees for participating in the campaign. Give out thank you tickets to people who gave a prescribed amount. Ask contributors to pay for their meal with additional proceeds going to the CFC.

Treasure Hunt Sell daily clues to a mystery location where a treasure is hidden. The first employee to guess the location wins the treasure.

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FUNDRAISING IDEAS Vacation Day This is probably the most effective and appreciated incentive. Have employees “buy” a vacation day by contributing a day’s wages to the CFC.

Mission Accomplished Once your agency has reached its campaign goal, hold a finale celebration. Invite all employees (regardless of whether or not they donated) and invite your Loaned Executive to give a thank you presentation. Serve refreshments and have prize drawings.

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FUNDRAISING IDEAS

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