Teams of eight can fund raise at the monthly Relay meetings....but remember, it does not mean you HAVE to have something to sell.  Promote, promote, promote any fund raisers you have coming up.....print up some fliers and hand them out!  Get the word out.....and the meetings are a great place to do this.  Don't have your 8 people yet?  Start with that, so you can take full advantage of this opportunity!!!  See you tonight!

LET'S GET READY TO RELAY......

Fund Raising Idea #26.....Babysitting for Bucks.....simple plan.....Babysit and donate your hard earned money to your Relay efforts.  Now, something worth a try.  Tell the parents of the child what you are planning to do - to donate the money you earn to Relay for Life....they might just throw in a little extra.

CAKE WALK!!!  Be sure and be ready to participate in the Cake Walk at Thursday's meeting.....It will be so much fun!  And remember, teams of EIGHT will be eligible to win $500 Relay Bucks.  See you there....

 

Wow - up to Fund Raising Idea #25.....and I like this one...use your imagination!!!  Have a Raffle.....Or a "Chance to Win"......call it whatever you like.  Here is how it works - you can try and get an item donated, something that you think most people would like to have or would use.  Another idea, if you can't get something donated - you can pool your money and buy something.  You will know the cost of the item either way, then set your price and sell your raffle tickets.  If you have to purchase the item first, you will know at what point you earn your money back and then the rest will go to your team.  Some ideas.....a big Easter basket, a great piece of jewelry, movie tickets, dinner for two.....the sky's the limit.  You will need to figure out  your ticket system and how to do that....there is a lot of information on the internet.....Good luck....and happy selling!!!

What's wrong with this picture?  There are only six people at this team meeting.  Remember...you need 8 people to form a team.  So, be working on getting your team of eight formed.  What is not wrong with this picture?  These team members are planning.....they are coming up with ways to fund raise, probably from reading the team idea blog :)....they are deciding if they would like their team to participate in the entertainment for the night of Relay....maybe host a Limbo Lap.....And...they are thinking about what they will sell the night of Relay.  The most important thing they are all doing is working together for a very good cause......a world with more birthdays.....

Fund Raising Idea #24......Host a Spaghetti Dinner!  Like most good and profitable fund raisers, this will take some planning and some good publicity!  First, a location such as your church basement, meeting room etc....Then, you would need to figure out how many tickets you can sell and find a person with a good math brain!!!  How much it would cost you to make a plate of spaghetti, a salad, and garlic bread....that will give you an idea of what to sell your tickets for.  And....water, tea, coffee, lemonade - something inexpensive to drink.  Then, once you figure these things out - sell, sell, sell tickets.  You can also do more things at your Spaghetti Dinner to raise money.  Don't overlook just putting out a big jug asking for additional donations....put your website on paper place mats for everyone to see....have a raffle at the dinner!  The possibilities are endless.....You must, must have a good commitment from your team to cook and serve the food.  You might even want to team up with another team for an event of this size.  If you plan this, be sure and publicize it at the Relay meetings and on the Relay web site.  Details on how to list your fundraisers are on the site!

Fund Raising Idea #23.....Have your team host a Restaurant Night.  How this works...contact a local restaurant in the area.  Explain that you are raising money for Relay for Life.  Offer to promote a certain night (the restaurant will pick this day) and for everyone that you send in, they will give a percentage of the bill.  Couple of things to remember......a lot of restaurants in the area are donating to Relay, so be understanding if they say they can't because they are helping in another area.  However, it also does bring business into their establishment, usually on a night that would be slower than most.  If it is a restaurant that offers take-out, such as pizza, find out if this would count as well. Then decided how to designate to the restaurant who these people are.  You could just make sure they say "I am here for the Relay for Life Fund Raiser", or perhaps they need to present a flier.  You can make small "tickets" with the information on it to hand out and get people in.  That is your main job - promote this night!!!  Send it into Relay to get it listed as a fund raiser, tell people about it at a meeting, put up fliers where you work and best of all - YOU go and have a BIG dinner knowing you are raising money for your team!!!

Who is this????  Fund Raising Idea #22....Photo contest.  This is something you could do for fun at work, or even in your classroom with teacher approval.  Have everyone bring in a baby picture of themselves.  Post them on a bulletin board or make a poster (those 3 sided science board project things would work great).  Ask for a donation of $5.00 (or whatever you choose) to enter their picture.  Then, you can do two contests.  You can have people pay $1 a vote to pick the cutest baby.....Number the pictures of the babies....then have a sheet of paper with all the names - ask for another $1 or $2 donation to play the "Matching Game".....they get the paper with the names and try to match up what baby picture goes with what name.  You can announce a winner.....If you want to give a prize, besides the satisfaction of winning, that is up to you, but remember and remind them - it is a Fund Raiser!!!!

Now here's a fun one....Fund Raising Idea #21....Homemade Dog Biscuits!  The internet has a zillion recipes, in fact they even have Vegetarian ones.  You don't have to make them shaped like dog biscuits, but the cookie cutters in the dog biscuit shapes are pretty easy to find.  And, from what I can tell, they would not be too expensive to make.  Package them up cute.....price them out....and sell those fancy Dog Treats.....woof woof.....

Fund Raising Idea #20.....Penny Challenge...or ramp it up a notch and call it a coin challenge.  This is easy to do.....gather some cans - coffee cans are a great size.  Clean them out and wrap in purple paper, decorate for Relay for Life!  If you are going to school, ask your teacher if you can do a Coin Challenge for Relay.  Decide on what classes and ask if they will participate.  Maybe by cluster, by subject, even by clubs?  If you are working in an office, try a challenge between departments.  Set a length of time, one week, two weeks and keep reminding people.  I think you would be surprised.  One thing I would do....check with your local bank, tell them what you are doing and make sure that they will let you trade in rolled coins for cash.  And....head into that web page of yours and enter the money as an offline donation.  Good luck!

Easter peeps.....candles.....jewelry....Easter eggs.......What do all of these things have in common?  They are all ideas of things to sell at the March 4th meeting...If you have a team of eight, you can fund raise at the meeting.  Now, fund raising does not always mean you have to sell something - you can also promote an upcoming fundraiser.  Have a bake sale, tag sale, home party planned?  Hand out fliers, publicize your event, get the word out!!!  If you do have items to sell, arrive a few minutes early to set your items up, then following the meeting, you can show off your goodies!  Take advantage of this - you really do not have anything to loose.  Last year my Relay team made $200 selling $5.00 boxes of candy.....it all adds up for a very good cause.

I was just thinking and thinking and thinking.  And, while I was thinking I was poking around the internet and spying on other Relay sites (this is ok to do by the way)....and I saw something that really hit home and I thought I would share it with you.....
"Don't prejudge whether people will give. Let them say no or ignore your letter rather than not ask."  Ok, back to thinking......about some great fund raisers....

Here is a fun one.....Fund Raising Idea #19

In a previous blog I suggested a jeans day.  Your co-workers pay a fee, say $5 or $10 and are able to wear jeans to work for a day.  This is a different spin...

Flip Flop Day......I know, it is cold and snowy - but I am certain

that it won't be this way forever and successful fund raising

takes planning!!!  So....set this up for a great day in May.  You know

everyone will be very excited to have fun with Flip Flop Day!!!

Fund Raising Idea #18......this has been around for a long time, but usually when that is the case, it is because with the right amount of effort, you can make some $$$$  Can Drive.....Collect cans from neighbors, friends, or organize a drop off and publicize it.  Head to one of our local grocery stores and feed those cans in!!!  Sticky hands and some cash for Relay.  You can't go wrong.....Hey...if you have a team of eight you could even hand out fliers at the March meeting and ask people to bring you cans at the April meeting!

Fund Raising Idea #17.....this is an idea, or rather a suggestion taken directly from American Cancer Society for Relay for Life.  It is a good one.....

HOW TO RAISE $100 IN 10 DAYS......

• Put in your own $10
• Ask your spouse/roommate for $10
• Ask a co-worker for $10
• Two friends for $10
• Ask a relative for $10
• Ask a neighbor for $10
• Ask two people from church for $10
• Even your hairdresser, for a final $10

 

If you checked your email yesterday, you saw an email about Teams of 8 being able to set up a Fund Raising table at meetings!  This is a great, great opportunity to make some money for your team.  The above picture is an example of this from last year.  Las Mamacitas had a spa day fund raiser that they promoted and sold candy as well.  Lynda Russo came up with a great idea....put together some Easter Baskets to sell!  Think about what YOU would like to buy....show off your creative talents.  In the past, people have displayed jewelry, but the field is wide open.  And....one tip....PURPLE ....Everyone is in quite the purple mood at Relay!!!

This is another GREAT reason to get your team of 8 formed and signed up online!!!  Remember...talk to your friends, your neighbors, a friend at book-club, a buddy at church.....your teacher!  You never know when someone is maybe just waiting to be asked to join a team, or maybe they don't even know about Relay (imagine that).  Good luck and happy selling!!!

One last thing......when you are selling items for Relay, remember that people can write you a check made out to American Cancer Society and you enter it online as an offline donation.  Check out an old blog for details on how to do this.....

Fund Raising Idea #16....

A "Purple" Elephant Sale

You may have heard of a White Elephant Sale.  It is a fun name for a tag sale.  Kind of the concept of "one person's trash is another person's treasure".

But....a different spin on the tag sale mentioned earlier in the blog.  Set up a time and a place that people can easily get to.  Ask them to bring you items for your team to sell.  Bring their "purple elephant items" to donate.  Then, your team can go through the items, price them and have your sale on a different day.  Advertise the drop off day and time and any type of items you do not want.  You may even offer to pick items up if that works out better.  Then....sell their "stuff" and rake in the profits for your team......

 

Here is a great idea....remember to sell Luminaria at your fund raisers!  You can set up a special spot with information and give people the chance who may not be able to come to Relay, to remember a loved one with this wonderful tribute.  Your Luminaria sales count towards your team totals this year.  And....Relay bucks will be given to anyone who sells 50 Luminaria.  Most important......it is the most moving and beautiful way to honor a loved one who has battled cancer.  Don't forget to buy a Luminaria for whoever is your reason to Relay......

Fund Raising Idea #15....BINGO......  Host a Bingo Tournament....there are many, many ways to go about this.  You can do it at home if you have room, for a small group.  For a larger group, talk to your church about using their community room, check with the library....just make sure you have some idea about the size of space you will need.  Bingo equipment is available for rent, and the fee is low.  You can even print out, for free, bingo cards online and have them copied.  Charge people a fee to play and use that money perhaps a 50/50 split.  A certain amount to the game winners and a certain amount to your team.  Or.....get your team baking - it is a Birthday Theme this year.....give cakes, cupcakes, cookies to the winners, or any type of prize you think would be good and put all the proceeds towards your team!  Good luck.  One more thing.....sell snacks as well to earn money!

 

Fund Raising Idea #14.....With Easter and Mother's Day on the horizon, how about having a flower sale?  There are companies online that offer all type of flower seed sales.  Also, an idea would be to contact one of our local nurseries and tell them what you would like to do.  Perhaps they will offer you certain flowers at a discount or at wholesale, and then you can turn around and sell them for your Relay profit.  You could promote this on the Relay website as a fund raiser, as well as spreading the word to your friends.