We need last minute fundraising ideas.

November 30, 2006 3:36 PM

A very small student group needs to raise $50 in a week. Finals are soon, so nobody has any free time. We need ideas.

I'm the staff advisor for a college student group that's barely limping along. They haven't done any fundraising, but if they do a little now they get a lot more funds for the spring. Fifty bucks is nothing, really, but there's only two active members and finals are coming up fast. They both have jobs and tons of schoolwork.

The traditional bake sale is out (they don't cook, nobody has time to sit there and staff it.) Asking for donations has been suggested, but I think that opens them up for a lot of griping next semester from the students who a) gave money, b) didn't get involved, and c) aren't happy that there aren't more things happening. There's about 50 students in our program, so a raffle would have to be really, really successful to work.

What are other ideas for raising funds? Nothing underhanded, please.

posted by hydrophonic to education (32 comments total)

*ring*ring*

Hi, mom! As one of my x-mas presents, could you send me 25 bucks to help keep this group I love alive? Thanks!
posted by chrisamiller at 3:53 PM on November 30, 2006

Then add this:
*ring*ring*
Dad?.....
posted by The Deej at 3:55 PM on November 30, 2006

Grandma?
posted by jourman2 at 3:58 PM on November 30, 2006

What's the $ for?
posted by asavage at 4:02 PM on November 30, 2006

$ 50.00 , ~ 50 members do the math.
Give them the option of having a fund raiser or everybody pitch in soda pop money ($1.00). You say students , but not Kindergarten, Elem , HS or college ... (finals is a clue). Their time may be worth the buck to raise the "seed" money.

Plan B: find old oak tree with mistletoe in the branches , knock it down , tie small red ribbons on the sprigs , head to the Mall and sell it in the parking lot , etc... ( don't eat it)
posted by Agamenticus at 4:03 PM on November 30, 2006

What kind of group is it? Maybe it can be something along those lines. Do they have any skills/talents/particular academic prowess?

Do they have capital enough to buy something to resell at a higher price or set up said fundraiser (say rent a massage therapist for the day to set up in a public area and have stressed finals students pay a dollar a minute for a massage when said massage therapist is only getting $200 bucks for the day or something?)

Is this a large college or a small college?
posted by Gucky at 4:06 PM on November 30, 2006

Recycling? Craigslist?


Bueller?? Bueller??
posted by Carnage Asada at 4:11 PM on November 30, 2006

They haven't done any fundraising, but if they do a little now they get a lot more funds for the spring

Sell advance tickets now for some function to take place in the spring. Cheap if they buy them this week. Much more expensive later.
posted by vacapinta at 4:11 PM on November 30, 2006

Go to local businesses, and ask if they would like to donate some overstock merchandise to your foundation/group. Tell them about how it will show good public relations, and how you will put their logo and phone # on the flyers advertising the sale. Sell the donated merchandise to parents of the other students. Flowers? Wreaths? Calendars? Gift wrap? Pitch the idea to local businesses and take it from there. Good luck.
posted by ifranzen at 4:25 PM on November 30, 2006

Where I went to college student groups would sometimes sell hot dogs in front of the bars at bartime during the weekends. I know it kind of sucks to be out at 2 AM when it's winter and with finals coming up, but you could probably make the fifty bucks in one night.
posted by christinetheslp at 5:07 PM on November 30, 2006

Everyone probably knows what they're taking in the spring, so maybe you can organize some kind of book sale. Lots of people are already effectively done with most of the books they bought come finals.
posted by shownomercy at 5:11 PM on November 30, 2006

Headvertising?
posted by selfmedicating at 5:13 PM on November 30, 2006

See if someone's workplace (or their parent's workplace) has a breakroom where you can leave out a box of candy canes (or candy bars, or powerbars, or whatever). Mark them up 100% or so and leave a box for people to leave money (on the honor system). My dad has done this at his office when I used to sell candy bars for high school band. You can buy Snickers bars on sale for about a quarter a piece - put them out, charge $.75, and - Step 3, naturally - profit!
posted by rossination at 5:25 PM on November 30, 2006

Apply crowbar to wallet, pry open, remove cash. Geez, fifty bucks? Donate yer blood...
posted by fixedgear at 5:36 PM on November 30, 2006

One of my student groups in college made a pretty good amount of money tacking up advertising posters on bulletin boards around campus. We felt a little bad about putting up the posters that we hate so much, but the college had a lot of public outdoor bulletin boards for that kind of thing, so it wasn't quite as bad as putting them on department bulletin boards or that kind of thing. I had to spend maybe an hour one winter evening with a stack of papers and a staple gun, but I think that made something like thirty bucks for the group.

I don't know how you would find the companies that pay you for that kind of thing, although you could probably spend more than the ten seconds I just spent on google and figure something out.
posted by limicoline at 5:47 PM on November 30, 2006

E-mail/call alumni friends with jobs. $25 isn't a lot for a person with a job. I got hit up for cash for an underground newspaper at my alma matter; I wrote the check.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 5:48 PM on November 30, 2006 [1 favorite]

Ask professors / staff to donate?
posted by perpetualstroll at 5:58 PM on November 30, 2006

Post what the student group tries to do, please. If we knew the purpose you might get help from some of us here. But with only 2 active members it surely begs the question as to why they don't have other active students. Kind of weird, don't you think?
posted by JayRwv at 6:09 PM on November 30, 2006

Each of the two active members ponies up $25.

Really, anything else will cost the two active members more than $25 in time-cost. If it takes more than 3 hours, they're better off just supplying $25 each.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:07 PM on November 30, 2006

Is this a large college or a small college?

Small program in a large urban college.

What's the $ for?

Student groups receive funds each semester from an overseeing council, provided they have their act together. Showing that they've participated in fundraising activities is one way to show that the act is together. This semester the funds they received went towards refreshments when we've had guest speakers and social activities, and towards (botched) recruitment efforts.

But with only 2 active members it surely begs the question as to why they don't have other active students. Kind of weird, don't you think?

Well, the group has a lot of big ideas but very little follow-through, and there've been personality conflicts with the president. Just this week, we've been cleared to form a student chapter of the professional organization related to our program, so next semester there should be a lot of changes. I'm hoping this brings in a lot more members, better structure, more activities, and new officers.

I want to avoid having students make up for their lack of fundraising by paying out of their own pockets. It's not how the allotment of student funds is supposed to happen, and it opens the door to resentment, especially with all the expected changes next semester.

vacapinta's right on with the idea of charging for something now and delivering it later, since our biggest obsticle is the time crunch.
posted by hydrophonic at 7:16 PM on November 30, 2006

To be perfectly honest, if fundraising efforts are really a metric of success as far as the student government is concerned, and you only have a week with nothing done (I'm assuming this isn't a top-up thing), then your students have failed. Considering the whole finals situation, the restricted time frame, the fact that you don't want to rely on donations, and the apparent lack of initiative from the group's members, I find it hard to imagine how you're going to raise even $50 from a student population far more concerned with exams and final essays.

I'm normally not a fan of having students in a group pay their own way, mainly because it just opens the door for the student government to ream them in future budgets. But in crunch cases like this, I don't see why not; all bets are off in terms of budgeting next semester anyways, and if $25 from the two active members is what it takes to keep the group going until then, then that's what it takes.

If you still don't want to go that far, I suggest dropping the "no donations" thing. Seriously, one of the students can ask profs they know if they can do a quick request for donations at the end of lectures, with a drop-off box or preferably (if allowed) actual collection after the announcement. If they can make even the most fragile of cases for why their group should exist, they'll get a buck from a couple of students, and you only need fifty. Students aren't cold-hearted, they just have a billion other things to worry about. So make it as easy as possible for them to donate.
posted by chrominance at 7:56 PM on November 30, 2006

Oh, and also, you say the group has had speakers, socials and recruitment drives. Surely this is enough to show the council they have their "act together"? Or are you concerned about the president wanting to crush the group?
posted by chrominance at 7:58 PM on November 30, 2006

Oh, and finally, just so I don't sound completely like a wet blanket: it's exam time, and you're in Chicago where it's getting colder. Set up a table outside the main library or study hall and sell fair trade coffee. (Surely not all the libraries and study halls have coffee shops in them.)
posted by chrominance at 8:00 PM on November 30, 2006

Sell plasma. You can probably study while doing it.
posted by !Jim at 8:34 PM on November 30, 2006

hydrophonic : "vacapinta's right on with the idea of charging for something now and delivering it later, since our biggest obsticle is the time crunch."

Actually, a better idea is to charge for something now and DON'T deliver it later - just offer to return the money to whoever has paid. This way you can raise the money quickly (Example: "Paris and Nicole Spring Strip-Show - only $10 now, $100 later" followed by "Paris and Nicole Spring Strip-Show Canceled for lack of audience - please apply for refunds"). But you would probably end up with a lot more than $50 after the refunds, as many people would forget or lose their tickets or whatever. Not very educational. Nor quite ethical. But then again, the finals are at hand and all you have is two students.
posted by nkyad at 8:36 PM on November 30, 2006

Yep, plasma's the way to go. Two donations and you've got your money.
posted by DieHipsterDie at 9:14 PM on November 30, 2006

Assuming you're Of Legal Age, have you thought of internet pornography/merchandise? It needn't be anything really uh extreme: if you Google around you'll find a fetish for just about anything. Even smelly socks. Seriously, I'm not poor because I'm chubby, middle-aged, smelly and homely, but because I'm too damn lazy to exploit those assets.
posted by davy at 9:37 PM on November 30, 2006 [1 favorite]

I don't see why you and the two active members can't "loan" the group the $50 it needs now, and then resume fundraising after finals. Then, after you make enough money, you can "reimburse" those who ponied up the $50. I'm sure there's a legit way to do it. Or you could do the normal thing, and ask the members for donations. I don't see what your problem with it is. It seems like the easiest solution, and the members would only have to contribute a minimal amount. And it seem that you're drawing the conclusion that inactive members that donate money will be more vocal about what they want the club to offer. Isn't that a good thing? And anyway, a member who donates $2.50 isn't going to suddenly get a lot more emotionally involved in the future of the organization, so I think you may be slightly exaggerating the detriment here. Maybe clubs aren't supposed to raise funds this way, but being that your two active members have more important things to do work their asses off to support a 50-member strong group on their own, you will probably have to suck it up. If you can do it within your deadline, have a post-finals party/kegger/whatever with a suggested donation.
posted by apple scruff at 10:18 PM on November 30, 2006

apple scruff et al., asking for donations is the first thing the students thought of. It might come to that, and it's perfectly okay with the overseeing student oraganization council. (Creative accounting is not okay, by the way.) But for reasons stated above, I'd like to come up with other fundraising ideas. Hopefully ones that don't involve bodily fluids.

davy, your world sounds a lot more interesting than my world. In my world, telling students they should get involved in pornography would get me very, very fired.

My girlfriend suggested a silent auction, which I'm going to suggest to the students tomorrow. We could collect a bunch of books and art supplies, plus offer services to be delivered next semester (bake a birthday cake, babysit, etc.) At my girlfriend's grad program, one raffle prize was a game of Risk with the department head of Policy Studies.
posted by hydrophonic at 11:02 PM on November 30, 2006

If it's exam time, you have opportunities. I was a member of a student group at a small college that used to make a substantial amount of money in just a few hours a night, by selling pizza. Reselling, would be more proper.

Basically, they need to get permission from the school first (or at least, they should). Then, order up a few pizzas from whatever place is popular: Papa Johns, Dominos, etc. Get something un-objectionable. Plain cheese is good. Then set up a small table and sell it for 100-150% profit by the slice, wherever there are a lot of students.

In my college, there was a building that had an atrium that was a popular study location. During exam weeks you could always buy pizza by the slice there from various student groups (candy and sodas also). If they can find a concentration of students in a similar location, where food consumption is permitted (i.e. not the library) they should be able to get $50 in less than 2 or 3 hours. And they can probably study at the same time.

Everyone buying pizza at $2 a slice knows it's a scam, but does it anyway because it's convenient and irresistable (the smell gets to you, I swear). If they're willing to give it a few hours of work one night, I think they could have that $50.
posted by Kadin2048 at 11:05 PM on November 30, 2006

Number one fundraiser on my college campus? Fundraiser parties. Five dollar entrance and an igloo of "jungle juice" ... and there usually is a huge turnover rate. This will raise considerably more than $50 (we made $1,300 once in profits in three hours), but probably won't help in your case as it seems like you are being monitored by the administration...

To make it more PC for the powers that be, you could have a winter themed party with hot chocolate, or just sell hot chocolate outside in the commons.
posted by cynthia_rose at 4:14 PM on December 3, 2006

I once made about 300 profit in a day by buying huge muffins from Costo for $5 a dozen and selling them for a buck each at a high-traffic event. (The Reedpoint, Montana Great Sheep Drive) Everyone who bought them knew they were Costco muffins, and knew how little we paid for them, but no one cared, cuz they are worth a buck when you are walking around hungry for a snack. Takes some seed money. (Substitute Sam's Club for Costco if applicable in your area.)

Oh, and fresh, flavored coffee.
posted by The Deej at 8:27 PM on December 3, 2006