Fundraising

August 11, 2004 1:29 PM

I've committed myself to raising a not-so-small chunk of change for charity, so I'm looking for some good fundraising ideas.... (more inside)

Here's the deal - I'm doing a triathlon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and I've committed to raising almost $4000. I've gotten halfway there by directly soliciting friends, family, coworkers, etc., but now I'm trying to find some other ways to raise the remainder of the money. Google-ing for ideas gets me a lot of companies that provide candy/ magazines/ crappy products for you to sell (I'm not into that).
What I'm looking for is some creative and non-annoying ideas to raise the rest of the money - I don't mind investing time, but my budget is minimal.

posted by dicaxpuella to work & money (10 comments total)

approach businesses on the route, and have them pay for a bodypainted/temp tattoo logo on you?

put up a webpage and beg?

get a wigmaker to donate? (the chemo-hairloss thing)
posted by amberglow at 1:37 PM on August 11, 2004

A person doing a long-distance ride for an HIV charity did the following: approached a local hospital foundation for matching funding, and got permission to set up his bike (on rollers) in the coffee shop in the hospital's lobby in order to raise awareness and collect donations while working out.
posted by stonerose at 1:55 PM on August 11, 2004

Ask your friends to clean out their attics, basements, garages, etc. and then have a big yard sale with all the stuff they don't want.
posted by initapplette at 1:56 PM on August 11, 2004

put a text ad on metafilter.

sell stuff on ebay.
posted by bshort at 1:59 PM on August 11, 2004

Do people ever bet on these things? Maybe you could raise money through gambling somehow ('fraid I don't know much about pools and such like).
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 2:13 PM on August 11, 2004

Open an IRC server and hold the topic hostage until you've hit your goal.

:-)
posted by mr_crash_davis at 2:19 PM on August 11, 2004

bake sale.

Open an IRC server and hold the topic hostage until you've hit your goal.

Oh! and to those that donate, put their names in the topic like "stynxno rocks!" That'll help. :p
posted by Stynxno at 5:16 PM on August 11, 2004

I have a friend that did the Team in Training marathon and convinced a bar to charge a $10 cover, with reduced drink prices, that they did not ordinarily charge. A friend played guitar and businesses donated stuff for a drawing (everyone got a ticket at the door). The raffle prizes were small- free car wash, free meal, etc., but businesses will give this in exchange for exposure. Put their logo on a sign and include the biz names in your publicity. Good luck.
posted by Frank Grimes at 7:06 PM on August 11, 2004

Hit your friends and family up for a few more quid by shaving your head.
Act reluctant and that will give you more money.
Stupid stuff like that gets people interested and makes them feel powerful or something.
Good Luck.
posted by kenaman at 12:18 AM on August 12, 2004

I know of a recent fundraiser that painted shamrocks on driveways. The paint and brushes were donated as was the time to vandalizeenhance the driveway. No, really, people paid money for this. It was like $20 or $25 to permanently vandalize someone else's asphalt. Raised close to $10,000.
posted by plinth at 1:02 PM on August 12, 2004