Fundraising Ideas Needed . . .

[RadioFanatic]

My IL's have asked me to set up a fundraiser of some sort to help with the extraneous costs of my FIL's impending lung transplant. Although Medicaid pays for a good portion of the medical expenses, they do not pay for things like helicopter which is needed to get him to the Cleveland Clinic in time, the expenses for my MIL to live in Cleveland for the 8-10 weeks needed while my FIL recuperates, etc. And unfortunately, they just don't have the money on their own to pay for such things.

They have asked me to do this bc I have fundraising experience; however, it has been for recognized groups that have been around for awhile. I would love to hear ideas from those who have started from the ground up like this as well as ideas from those who usually get hit up for stuff like this and what they most appreciate when being asked. I'm especially cognizant that this is a tough economic time, so I don't want to offend people, but they really need help so I am hard pressed to say no, KWIM? And it's not something dh and I can afford to just hand them the money. Please no tough criticisms as they are in a tough position, and I truly want to help as much as I can.

Thanks in advance!

 

[happily single]

How about a pasta dinner with raffle? you could rent a VFW hall, hire a dj (or see if they will donate their time). I would draw up a "gift letter" and personally bring it to all stores, resturants, markets asking for a dontation fo a gift card, basket, etc.

Or if you know another with a motorcycle, see if they can help organize a motorcycle run. Each partipcant should pay a fee, like $5-10, per person to go on the ride.

 

[allison443]

How much are they going to need?

 

[RadioFanatic]

from what I understand, the helicopter is about $5,000 and then probably another $5000 or so for the 8-10 weeks of living expenses.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Our local schools do fundraiser walks during the afternoon. The kids all get a tag around their necks and walk around and around the soccer field while the volunteers mark them off for each lap. Each field gets 3 classes so the volunteers don't get overwhelmed and the walk will last for about 45 minutes per group. The kids take donations as either a lump sum or according to the number or laps walked. The whole this is extraordinarily successful and tends to being in thousands. We have about 600 kids in our school so if each kid brings in a $10 donation the PTA is set, but of course some kids bring in more.

 

[barkley]

i think one of the first things you should look into is how to set up the kind of bank account that would make the moneies raised and any donations not a source of taxable income to your family members. i think having this kind of account (or trust) where it has accountability on proper usage can also go a long way with people considering participating in fundraisers/donating.

another thing to look at in addition to fundraising, is ways to offset the expenses of the known items of need. check with the helicopter company to see if they know of any programs/funding sources to offset/lower costs (there seem to be some kinds of things associated with medical flights where staff donate some time/providers do things at a lowered cost-at least i've seen the media cover situations where they have) it can't hurt to at least ask. with lodging-find out what might be available where mil would have to stay. some hospitals have affiliations with places that cater to family members of hospitalized patients and offer housing for much less than traditional lodging. if that's not available contact local (to the hospital) hotels and see if they will offer a lower rate based on the circumstance and the length of stay. there's allot of lee-way in lodging rates. one other thing i would suggest for lodging is something we kind of fell into due to a death in the family. the family member lived in another state, in a high end tourist area (read no such thing as a hotel room for less than a few hundred dollars per night). we HAD to go there for 2 weeks to take care of things-we had no choice. we ended up staying in the guest room of the senior apartment place the family member lived at, at a very reasonable rate. we had the advantage of a kitchenette which saved on costs as well. we learned from the place (part of a chain owned by one of the major hotel chains) that while they do not advertise the availability of their guest rooms, you don't have to be related to someone who lives/lived there to use them. they are primarily for that purpose, but they had provided housing in the past for people associated with the local hospital. another REAL advantage of staying in a place like this-they tend to have amenities a hotel does not-like free washer/dryers, wireless, parking AND very secure buildings which can be of tremendous peace of mind to a woman staying alone in an unfamiliar city.


if you look into this while looking into fundraising ideas you might find that the funds you need to raise will be somewhat reduced.

 

[java]

Try to get yourself a not for profit status=either go under someone's id or file for one yourself(so you are not paying taxes on your earnings.

Our most lucrative ones have been the 50/50 kind- selling tickets and then splitting the winnings with the winner(works best at an event with lots of people)

Good luck and speedy recovery wishes for your FIL.

 

[Cindy's Mom]

In our area's local youth football league we had a family in need. We held a 50/50 raffle during each of our six games on a Saturday (new crowd each game) and we raised 3k for the family.

In cases like this, all six of our winners donated their share back to the fund.

Maybe you can approach a group to do this for you. tell them you will help out that day at the field too.

 

[barkley]

Try to get yourself a not for profit status=either go under someone's id or file for one yourself(so you are not paying taxes on your earnings.

Our most lucrative ones have been the 50/50 kind- selling tickets and then splitting the winnings with the winner(works best at an event with lots of people)

Good luck and speedy recovery wishes for your FIL.

you have to be careful with this though-where we used to live this and raffles were bundled under gambling which was illegal. the local authorities were sympathetic to legit fundraising, but unless you did these kinds of things in a VERY specific way they (which they would walk you through) they prosecuted (this is why the right kind of bank accounts and tax standing is so important-it help establish the legitimacy of the fund raising).

 

[golfgal]

Pancake breakfasts are a good fundraiser around here. If they are members of a church they may have the set up to host one of these after services on Sunday. The organizations I know of that do this bring in about $5000 in one day.

 

[tar heel]

Are they in a church? If so, try to work out the donations going through the church. People will feel better about making direct donations to an established nonprofit.

barkley has some really good advice about negotiating fees.

 

[minniebeth]

Other events that seem big around here are golf outings and 5K runs. They are a lot of work to organize, especially the runs since you need to have a city permit to do. A lot of work, but do bring in good money.

Other ideas that we've been to and were fun were: poker night for the guys and Bunko night for the ladies. Usually in some type of hall, a flat priced ticket that included drinks, snacks, door prizes. (Cash was not won for the games ). One friend I know who ran one, had all her food, drinks, even wine and prized donated. In addition, they had a 50/50 raffle and some silent auction baskets that were all donated as well.

 

[piglet too]

I have participated in "vendor showcase" where a bunch of home party consultants met at one location and donated their earnings to the family. They also did a silent auction with a room full of great prizes for everyone to bid on. (I think it was called a silent auction, you wrote your price down on the bid sheet, the next person could see your amount and bid more, and at the end of the weekend, the perosn who had bid the highest won.)

 

[erincon23]

Culver's and Chili's both do fundraisers where you get people to bring specific flyers and eat there, then you get a percentage of the night's take. Maybe a local pizza place can do that too. I know at the first two that they ask your group to provide "servers" -- family members who will bring food out the people who come for your group. Culver's did this for a Boy Scout we know who was raising money for his Eagle project, and both recently have done this for local schools. The pizza places have done fundraisers for medical needs.

If you have a Krispy Kreme near you, they do fundraisers, but they may have stricter rules on who (or what groups) can qualify.

McDonald's do "McCares" nights, similar to the above.

See if you can find a couple of local high school bands who will play for a "benefit" night (listen to their music first, though lol) and invite the community for a concert -- my son's band has done this several times and they're always popular with people who might not come to other things. See if you can get local businesses to offer items for door prizes -- you may have problems with raffles (in Illinois, you have to get a license, which can be tough to get, but door prizes don't have restrictions), or ask people to donate tickets, weeks at lake houses, babysitting, etc. as door prizes to get more people in.

If your in laws belong to a church, maybe their church would be able to contact a church in the Cleveland area who could offer your MIL a place to stay. Or the VFW, or any other organization that might have ties to a similar organization in Cleveland.

I know there's an organization for transplant recipients -- maybe they can help you with suggestions. I'm sure if you google it you'll find something. Good luck! This can be very stressful, but I'm sure you'll be able to find some ways to help offset these costs! And good luck to your FIL with the surgery.

 

[golfgal]

Applebee's does the bring in a flier fundraiser too. They will also do a pancake breakfast fundraiser.

 

[pooh4evr]

trivia nights are big here- haven't worked one but have attended- lots of fun and lots of $$ raised (one i went to raised $12K for a cancer patient) my Dd's soccer team is doing mouse races next month (?) we'll se how it goes? of course there is always the normal sell something door to door kind of thing

 

[RadioFanatic]

you have to be careful with this though-where we used to live this and raffles were bundled under gambling which was illegal. the local authorities were sympathetic to legit fundraising, but unless you did these kinds of things in a VERY specific way they (which they would walk you through) they prosecuted (this is why the right kind of bank accounts and tax standing is so important-it help establish the legitimacy of the fund raising).

thankfully there are two national organizations we can join for people fundraising for this type of thing. We are determining which to join.

thanks to all for your ideas - keep them coming! Unfortunately, they do not belong to a church so we can't go that route.