Mortar Board fundraising ideas
Fundraising is a key activity for many Mortar Board chapters. Want
some ideas for successful and proven fundraising projects?
Car wash
During the warmer parts of the year, find a store that will allow
you to hold a car wash in their parking lot. You will
need to provide buckets, towels, sponges, soap, etc. Be
sure to advertise this event well, and choose a back-up date
in case of bad weather.
50-50 raffles
Holding a 50-50 raffle is a great way to raise money and reward
some lucky individual. Choose a popular, well-attended
event at which to hold your raffle. You will need a roll
of tickets, chapter members to sell tickets, and a container
in which to hold the ticket stubs. When the time comes,
choose one winning ticket out of your container, and notify
the owner of that ticket.
Karaoke night
Hold a karaoke night on your campus. Borrow or rent sound
equipment or find a DJ to play music for you. Set an admission
price (we suggest $5). Also, find grocery stores or individuals
to donate snacks and soft drinks to be served.
Care packages
We all know how overwhelming finals can be. Why not create
care packages for parents to send to their students? Find
donations of candy, fruit, other snack foods, or goofy toys to
be placed in the care package, or buy these things in bulk. These
items should be appropriate for both men and women. Send
information to parents describing different packages, outlining
contents and price. You may also wish to include a small
and simple greeting card for the parents to sign to be included
with the package. You may consider partnering with a commercial
company that creates care packages for fundraisers.
Gift-wrapping
This is especially good during the holiday season. Collect
gift-wrapping supplies such as wrapping paper, boxes, tape and
ribbons or bows, or have them donated. Find a store that
will allow you to spend an afternoon/day wrapping gifts for customers. Have
each person give you a donation, or charge a set price for each
package, depending on it size.
BONUS! You can also make this a Reading is Leading project. Bring
as many members as possible to the event, have half of them wrap
the gifts, and the other half read to the children who are out
shopping with their parents. Be sure to find books that
you can read to the children.
Guessing games
We have all tried to guess how many objects are in a jar. Why
not set up a similar activity on your own campus? Find
a large jar or other clear, large container; choose something
to fill it with (be sure to count the objects before placing
them in the jar). Have each person who wants to guess pay
a set amount of money. The person whose guess was closest
to the actual number of items in the jar wins the jar or some
other announced prize.
Restaurant take-over
Some restaurants allow groups to come in a “take over” for
an evening in exchange of a certain percentage of the profits
and all of the tips. Have members work as servers, bussers,
dishwashers, etc. for the cause. This works best in small
restaurants.
Yard sales
Collect unwanted items from the community and hold your own public
yard sale. Like they say, “one man’s junk is another
man’s
treasure.” Be sure to advertise this event well,
and consider holding it indoors in case of bad weather.
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