Fundraisers and Ideas!

Team Fundraisers

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This page will list Relay For Life fundraisers. If you have a fundraiser to submit, send the information to sawrelayforlife@yahoo.com . Please help make these fundraisers a success!
And you just might have a good time, too.

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Note: The ideas below were taken from online sources. We do not necessarily endorse all of these ideas - they are here to spark your creativity. If you see any that are inappropriate, please inform us at sawrelayforlife@yahoo.com and they will be removed.

Fundraising Ideas

Here are some ideas to help your team get started!

Office Auction Hot Line

Set up a special voice mailbox at work with weekly messages announcing auction items. Outline the items, including their face value, in a flyer. Employees call the hot line to records their bids. Update the recorded message daily, announcing the highest bids received to date. Each Friday, announce auction results for the week and the next week’s items. Ask co-workers to donate items or services for the auction

Interoffice Bingo

Sell bingo cards for employees or students to purchase. Call bingo numbers at lunchtime, during breaks, or throughout the day over the PA system. Get local stores to donate prizes for all winners, or “split the pot.”

A Dollar an Inch Contest

Do you wear a tie to work? Why not let co-workers pay to snip you tie shorter and shorter? The uglier the tie, the more money you will make! Set a fundraising goal and for each donation, let the donor cut off a piece of your time. Example: $1.00 gets one inch, $5.00 gets two inches, $10.00 gets three inches, and so on!

Baby Picture Match

Invite employees to try their luck matching baby and/or pet pictures to pictures of team members or co-workers. Award the entry with the most right answers a casual day, a day off (check with the boss first), or some other fun incentive. Charge employees $2.00 per ballot.

Casino Night

Remember to Relay all year long! How about a Casino Night this winter? What are the ingredients for a successful Casino Night?

    A few blackjack tables
    One bingo game
    A bean bag toss
    Food and drinks

Invite co-workers, friends and families. Ask local businesses to donate prizes for the winners.

Children’s Drawing Contest

Give co-workers, church members or club members an official photograph of a top executive, the principal, pastor, local celebrity, etc. to take home to their children to draw. Charge a $5.00 entry fee and have employees vote for the best drawing by paying per vote. Give prizes for all participants. Display winning portraits for all to see.

Casual Day

Sell Relay For Life casual day Badges allowing employees purchasing them to dress casually on certain days. Employees purchase badges for $5.00 each. The badges can carry an expiration date, depending on the amount donated.

Car Wash

Traditional Car Wash: Ask a local business to host your car wash. (car rental agencies, car dealers, fast food restaurants, etc.)

Boss’s Car Wash: Employees donate $5.00 to have their car washed by the boss, preferably in professional dress! Charge extra for a Polaroid that captures the moment!

Secret Family Recipe

Sell a favorite family recipe, (Grandma’s Famous Cheese Cake) to interested co-workers and friends. Tempt them first with bite-size samples. Don’t tell Grandma you sold her out!

Lunch Time Golf Putt

Set up your own putt-putt course at work. Charge entrants to play and award a winner each day.

Flower Sale

Secure a donation of carnations, roses or lilies from a local florist. Sell flowers at Valentine’s, Mother’s Day or Easter.

Party With a Purpose

Have a “Party with a Purpose.” Invite close friends to dinner or brunch and ask for a donation. Have guests really Party with a Purpose—ask them to match their donation to the amount they spend last Saturday night. Dinner and a movie? $60.00 donation. Cocktails and dancing? $30.00 donation. Pizza and a video? $15.00 donation.

Holiday Gift Wrap Services

Have a Gift Wrapping service at a local Wal-Mart or other busy department store. Ask for donations of gift-wrap, and wrap customers’ presents for a fee. Ask the host store to match your fundraising total.

Spaghetti Dinner

Hold a dance and spaghetti dinner to raise money for Relay. Include Karaoke too! Make it a pancake breakfast on Sunday morning and invite a local children’s choir to entertain your guests.

Newsletter Fundraising

Inform co-workers about the event by placing an ad or plea for donations in the company newsletter. Don’t prejudge whether people will give. Let them say no or ignore your request rather than not ask.

Waiting for a Cure

Have your team wait tables at a local restaurant or bar willing to sponsor an event. All of your tips from customers benefit the ACS and your team’s total.

Sabotage!

Compete against another Relay team or between departments in your work place to see who can collect the most pennies for Relay. All silver and paper money in the penny jars count AGAINST the total number of pennies, so each team tries to sabotage each other’s jars with bills and large coins. Award a prize to the team with the most pennies after a month.

Easter Egg Hunt

Include the egg hunt, egg decorating, face painting, bake sale, hot dogs and sodas. Sell everything!

Pumping Gas For a Cure

Ask a local gas station to support your team by allowing you to pump gas at their self-serve pumps. Collect tips from customers. Wear your Relay For Life T-shirt and place large sings at the pumps and at the roadside.

Cakeless Cake Sale

Instead of working and slaving to bake a cake, brownies, cookies or pie, try the Cakeless Cake Sale! Ask supporters to make their donation represent an “imaginary” cake! Try the following poem with an “order form” attached.

    A bit of news we have today
    A Cakeless Cake Sale is on the way
    In these busy days, who has time to bake
    Pies, cookies or even a cake?

    You’d be surprised if you counted the cost
    Of material, heat and the time you’ve lost.
    Baking for sales is extra work,
    Yet nobody ever wishes to shirk.

    So we’ve thought of a plan that’s truly grand,
    And we feel quite sure you’ll understand.
    In this envelope please donate the price
    Of a cake or pie or something nice.

    We’re sure you’ll give with a willing heart,
    Without fuss or bother, you’ve done your part.
    This is the end of our little tale,
    Wishing success for our Cakeless Cake Sale!

Good luck and thank you for your support in the fight against cancer. There is no finish until we find a cure…

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The ABC’s of Fundraising

Ask- The easiest way to raise money is to ask your friends, neighbors, relatives, and anyone you know to make a donation to the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life event, which you are taking part in. Explain your commitment of 24 hours and why you are involved – maybe because of a loved one battling cancer.

Auctions- Many teams are putting together live or silent auctions. Teams can make a whole event out of it, and even join together (multi-team fundraiser) to produce the most money with less stress. Collectibles are hot items. You can even auction off your boss – have the boss or department head as your assistant for a day at work.

Babysit- Do extra baby-sitting and give your pay (or at least part of it) to your teams effort. Or, baby sit as a team during a community event.

Bake Sales, or No Bake Sales- Co-workers pay so they don’t have to bake!

Banks- Be creative, make a bank to put on your desk at work or kitchen counter.

Bingo- Hold a bingo night at a local club, church hall or at your place of business.

Birthday Party with a Purpose- Have guests bring donations in lieu of gifts to a birthday/retirement/anniversary etc. party.

Block Party- Put together an old-fashioned block party in a parking lot, or close off a neighborhood street (with permission). Have a band donate a few hours, have a BBQ, face painting, hay rides, etc. Have fun and raise money for your team! Be creative!

Boss for the Day- Allow people to bid on being boss for the day – high bid wins.

Bowl-a-thon- Have team members collect pledges for each pin they knock down.

Brown Bag Lunch- Donate the money you would have spent by eating out.

Candy Bar Sales- Sell candy at work or have someone at a business let you set up a little display box. Purchase candy at wholesale warehouses (Costco, BJ’s etc.).

Car Washes

Challenge- Challenge another team/organization to raise more than yours.

Change Makes A lot of Cents- At the end of the day, put your loose change in a container to donate to Relay.

Coin Drive- Have a contest between groups to see who can collect the most coins.

Concession Stands- Set up a concession stand or booth at a community event.

Cookbooks- Collect recipes from employees, friends, co-worker and assemble them. Themes could work well here. Sell them.

Cutest Baby- Have a Cutest Team Member Baby Contest. Either at Relay or beforehand at your workplace. Place a photo of each team member as a baby on the bulletin board or display board. People donate a set fee to vote ($1).

Dances for a Cure- Hold a dance at a school, club or hall. Ask a band or DJ to donate their services. This could be the prom maybe you never had or a theme (50’s, 60’s or 70’s) dance.

Day of Cleaning Drawing- Team members donate several hours for spring/fall cleaning. Sell tickets for $5 each.

Die Cut Cards- The Suns and Moons paper cut outs (available for a minimal cost through the ACS office) can be sold at businesses, companies or anywhere people frequent. Paper cutouts of different shapes with the Relay logo on them can also be used (ice cream cones at ice cream shops, bowling pins at bowling alleys etc.)

Dog Walk or Dog Sit- Have your team walk neighbor’s dogs for a donation. Dog Sit when friends/co-workers go on vacation for a fee.

Donut Days- Solicit donut donations and sell them.

Dress Down Days- Ask your employer to allow employees to dress down for the day for a fee.

E-Mail- Remember to e-mail, even your out-of-state friends for donations.

Errand Service- Enlist your team members in running an errand service.

Face Painting

50/50 Drawings

Flamingo Alert- Put a pink flamingo in someone’s yard. Once a donation is made, it will fly away. For a set amount, people can designate the next person it should go to, as well as purchase flamingo repellent so it will not land in their yard. Other lawn ornaments can also be used.

Flower Sales- Sell bouquets, potted flowers or individual stems (roses or carnations).

Garage Sales- Individuals, teams or multi-teams.

Hat/Cap Day- For a specified amount, students can wear a hat to school for the day.

Ice Cream Socials- Sell ice cream for dessert at your place of work.

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Lawn Service- Mow someone’s lawn for a donation.

Letter Writing- Send letters out to your friends and family explaining what you’re doing and why. Write them your personal goal and ask for their help. To add humor, write the letters on behalf of your pet or young child.

Matching Gifts- Don’t forget to ask your company if they match donations.

Money Jars- Set up money jars or coin boxes at your place of work. Good places are banks, diners/restaurants, hairdressers and stores.

Movie Night- Invite your friends over for a night at the movies. Provide popcorn and soda and charge admission.

Nonalcoholic Cocktail Party- Have a nonalcoholic cocktail party at Relay and ask for donations. Or, organize a moving one where each team has different appetizers and drinks available and people go tent to tent.

Odd Jobs- Call on neighbors and ask to do odd jobs for them.

Pancake Breakfasts- Hold a pancake breakfast at a hall or church, or at work on specific days.

Percentage of Sales- Designate a percentage of one day’s sales or proceeds and let the public know so they will buy more.

Photos- Offer photo opportunities with a local celebrity or cardboard stand ins for a specified donation. Do this at a local fair or festival.

Place a Plea- Place a plea in your employee/organization newsletter or church bulletin asking for donations. Place a picture of the person your team is walking in honor or memory of in a highly visible place to remind team members of the importance of their participation.

Quilt Making/Raffle- Have your team make a quilt to sell chances for.

Raffles- While you can’t officially hold a raffle without running the risk of investigation, you can sell tickets for a chance at winning a prize. Some ideas to sell chances for include theme baskets, night out packages, etc. Be creative. Also consider including furniture, collectible coins, clothing, grocery gift certificates, toys etc.

Recycle Cans

Shave a Head- Have someone agree to have their head shaved once a certain amount has been raised.

Sign Relay T-Shirt- For a donation of $5 (or other amount) the contributor can write the name of the cancer patient or survivor they are walking for directly on your Relay T-Shirt.

Skunk Them!- Put a stuffed skunk on a co-workers desk. They need to pay a donation to be de-skunked.

Spaghetti Dinner- Have your team put together a spaghetti dinner.

Sports Tournaments- Organize bowling, hockey, basketball, volleyball, soccer or other sports tournaments.

Sports Party- Have a party for the Super Bowl, NCAA Basketball Championship games, Indy 500, Daytona 500, Masters final round etc. Ask for a donation when guests arrive. Serve refreshments and perhaps sell chances for a prize.

Turkey Sub Sales

Video Sale- Hold a video sale and have each team member bring videos they don’t watch anymore. Especially children’s videos that have been outgrown.

Wear Company Logos- Tell companies you will walk wearing their hat or shirt for half an hour and a $25 donation.

Be Creative and don’t forget to HAVE FUN!!!

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