When it comes to raising funds for churches and youth groups, creativity and community involvement are key. At Capital Business Solutions, we understand the unique challenges faced by nonprofits and religious organizations, and we’re dedicated to providing the training and consulting services needed to maximize your fundraising potential.
Our nonprofit software training team compiled 20 innovative and effective youth group and church fundraising ideas that can help your youth group, church, or community center engage supporters, raise funds, and make a positive impact in your community. Whether you’re looking for simple fundraising events or large-scale initiatives, our favorite church fundraising ideas are designed to inspire and support your mission.
Church Fundraising Ideas
Churches play a vital role in community outreach and providing support to those in need. Effective fundraising ideas for churches are essential to sustain these efforts, expand your church’s initiatives, and reach your fundraising goal. Each of these easy church fundraising ideas is designed to engage your community members, attract new supporters, and ensure your church can continue to thrive, get church members involved, and serve the broader community.
#1 – Text to Tithe with Virtual Payment Options
Many members of your congregation probably don’t carry cash and even fewer write checks nowadays. When the offering plate is passed around during church service, they’re unable to donate. Make community engagement easier and encourage participation for them to tithe with a virtual payment service like Snowball or OneCause.
Promote your “Text to Donate” campaign to your congregants with this easy church fundraiser idea. When you invite members to a texting platform for donation, they understand that virtual donations is a convenient tithing option.
#2 – Sell Church T-Shirts
Church leadership can offer the great fundraising idea of getting congregation members to show their pride in your church by selling t-shirts with your church’s logo, a favorite bible verse, commemoration of mission trips, or mission-based information. Sites like Bonfire let you design shirts and sell them online, doing all the work for the production of the shirts while giving you 100% of the funds raised. You can also purchase the shirts in bulk to sell in person to your members at a peer to peer fundraising event.
#3 – Host an Auction
When it comes to church fundraisers, an auction or silent auction is always a great way to raise money and get the community involved. Ask members of your congregation and local businesses to donate items or gift certificates to be auctioned off at an event that the church hosts. Invite local residents to the event, offer light drinks and snacks, and let the bidding begin.
Increase donations to this fun event by selling raffle tickets or charging a small entry fee at the door. This way, you continue to build community connections and raise awareness for your faith based organizations while maximizing fundraising efforts.
#4 – Have a Church Yard Sale
Everyone has things that they no longer use and would love to get rid of, so reach out to community members by having a church-wide yard sale. Have church members donate these items to your church building yard sale. Volunteers can sort and sell the items on church grounds, promoting the fundraising event to the greater community.
You can advertise the yard sale on your church’s website, social media accounts, and with flyers on bulletin boards in public places. Encourage attendees to bring their own unused items to donate at this or future fundraising events. You can also try having specific types of yard sales, where the focus is on selling only specific items like books or children’s clothing, making this church fundraising idea a fun way to continuously get the community involved in raising funds for your mission.
#5 – Host a Shoe Drive
Shoe drives are another great way to declutter space while raising money for your church. Most importantly, by holding a shoe drive at your community building, you are doing good for people around the world.
Organizations like Funds 2 Orgs collect gently worn shoes and will pay your church a certain amount per pound of shoes donated. They send the shoes to micro-entrepreneurs in developing countries to sell in their own communities. Your congregants get rid of things they don’t need, your church will get the funding it needs, and entrepreneurs get shoes to help their business and community thrive. That’s a win-win-win fundraising solution to generate revenue and promote generosity to good causes.
#6 – Sell Engraved Bricks
Selling engraved bricks is one of the best church fundraising ideas if your church is raising money to expand or repair a building, walkway, or church parking lot. Allow congregants to spend money to have a message engraved on a brick and charge by the line or letter (whichever you prefer).
Once the church building is complete and the bricks are in place, invite friends and community members to an unveiling ceremony to view them. Your church members will feel recognition and pride as they become a permanent part of the church’s story and mission, all while supporting unique fundraising ideas for churches.
#7 – Have a Walkathon or Bikeathon
Organizing a race, walkathon, or bikeathon can be hard work, but it’s worth it. Have church members get people to pledge a certain amount for each mile walked, run, or biked and collect the money in the days following the event. You can even find additional ways to raise money by selling merchandise like shirts and water bottles on race day or having local restaurant owners or retail shops sponsor participants.
#8 – Custom Calendar Sales
Everyone needs a calendar to keep track of life events and busy schedules. One of our favorite easy and fun church fundraising ideas is to create a church calendar a few months before the new year with a service like Snapfish.
Design the calendar using photos from the previous year, favorite bible verses, facts about your church, and anything else you want to include. Set up a table to sell them at your church building after services or by creating a QR code for congregants to order them online, raising money and maximizing your fundraising efforts for future missions.
#9 – Create a Cookbook
Church or community center cookbooks are always one of the most popular, classic church fundraiser ideas beloved by members. This is because everyone has a special recipe they want to share, and everyone loves to eat. Have church members bring a copy of a recipe they want included in the cookbook along with a little information about the recipe, like whether it’s a family recipe that’s meaningful to them or a new dish they recently tried and loved.
Have one or two trusted members of the church community compile the cookbook and either print and bind it yourself or have it done with a service like FedEx Office. You could also create a PDF version for people to use on their phones, tablets, and computers, maximizing how you raise money for church fundraising.
#10 – To-Go Meal Fundraiser
Another one of the most beloved church fundraising ideas, organizing a to-go meal fundraiser, is often enjoyed by members because everyone likes to take the night off from cooking every now and then. Have church members volunteer to prepare a meal (BBQ and the sides are always a popular option) and having a friendly competition to see who can sell the most to-go meal boxes.
Be sure to recruit volunteers and participants with signs, flyers, banners, social media, and word of mouth. Contact local restaurants to see if they want to be included in the efforts to raise even more money for the church and local community.
Church Fundraising Ideas for Youth Groups
Youth groups are instrumental in guiding and nurturing the next generation, providing them with a sense of community, purpose, and support. Fundraising is a crucial aspect of sustaining youth group activities and programs, allowing for meaningful experiences and opportunities for team building and growth.
#11 – Have a Car Wash
Car washes are one of the tried-and-true church fundraising ideas for summer youth groups. Advertise the car wash to your congregants, on your church website, social media feeds, and by word of mouth to ensure you get plenty of traffic.
On the day of this church fundraising event, set up in your church parking lot, or if it’s too secluded, a more public lot (with permission). Charge $5 per car, and watch the donations roll in. You could also extend this idea by turning the car wash into a “Car and Pet Wash.” Encourage sales by allowing participants to bring their dogs and go home with a clean car and a clean pet.
#12 – Make the Grade
Some youth group church fundraising ideas not only bring in money but can encourage members to get good grades. At the beginning of each school semester, have students that want to take part sign up. Once they’re signed up, they’ll ask people to donate $1-$2 (or more, if you want) for every A or B they receive. At the end of the semester/grading period, they’ll bring in their report cards and the youth group will receive their pledges.
#13 – Christmas Decoration Set Up and Take Down
While everyone loves having their Christmas decorations up, no one likes putting them up or taking them down once the holidays are over, which makes for some good church fundraising ideas for the holiday season. People are more than happy to pay someone else to put up their holiday decorations, especially if the money goes to a good cause.
Offer to set up and/or take down Christmas decorations on the weekends right before and right after Christmas for a small fee. Advertise to the entire community via flyers, social media, and word of mouth.
#14 – Gift Wrapping
Another Christmastime favorite when it comes to church fundraiser ideas is to offer holiday gift wrapping. This can also be done around other holidays like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Valentine’s Day. Set up a gift wrapping station at church or ask a store if you can set up in a well-trafficked area. Charge a small fee per package and watch the donations come in as people check one more thing off their Christmas to-do list.
#15 – Sell Cookie Dough
Who can resist cookie dough? It’s a simple and profitable fundraising idea for youth groups. Choose a cookie dough program online (you can find several with a quick Google search), and have youth group members sell to people in your church, their neighborhood, friends, family, etc. You’ll be surprised at how much money you can raise with this sweet fundraiser.
#16 – Movie Night
Movie nights are fun church fundraiser ideas because you can make it a youth group-only event, or open it up to the entire congregation. Just choose an appropriate movie (you may have to obtain rights to screen it), charge people a small admission fee, and sell concessions like popcorn, candy, and drinks. Everyone will love seeing a movie while supporting your youth group’s mission.
#17 – Retro Game Night
Similar to movie night, having a retro game night is a lot of fun for all members of the community. Have people bring their favorite board games, or use ones you already have, and charge a small admission fee. You can also sell concessions to raise some extra money. Make it a monthly event for a consistent church fundraiser idea.
#18 – Sell Lollipops
You might think you won’t be able to make a lot of money selling lollipops, but you’d be surprised how popular this fundraising effort can be. There are several companies that sell a variety of lollipops in fun shapes, colors, and flavors for a nominal fee. You then sell them for around $1 each. Most kids or parents will usually have a dollar or two on them and they can’t resist having a treat for a good cause.
#19 – Host a Parents Night
Sometimes parents need a night off. This is where a good youth group fundraising idea comes in. Organize a social night for parents at the church and charge a small admission fee. The night could include dinner and a movie, game night, or just time for adults to spend time together. For extra convenience, offer babysitting services for an additional fee, hosted by the members of the church’s youth group. This ensures that parents with small children can attend while having children nearby with trusted members of the church community.
#20 – Odd Jobs
There are almost certainly people in your congregation with odd jobs they need help with. Create a weekend odd job schedule for your youth group members and have congregants sign up to have their job done for a fee. This could include yard work, small household repairs, painting, cleaning, organizing, or anything else members may need help with at their homes or places of work.
Boost Your Efforts with Our Church Fundraising Ideas
Maximize the impact of your church fundraising efforts with our expert guidance and innovative software solutions. At Capital Business Solutions, we specialize in providing nonprofit software training and consulting services tailored to the unique needs of churches just like yours.
Our software training, including comprehensive training on Raiser’s Edge fundraising software for nonprofits, can help streamline your processes, engage your congregation more effectively, and increase your fundraising success. Contact us today to learn how our solutions can elevate your church’s fundraising strategies and support your mission.
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