trip to orphanage (raise funds)

daisyboo

Hello, My friends and I are planning a trip to a childrens orphanage in Kenya next year from June - August. We wish to raise some money to take with us and give to the orphanage.. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on the best way to raise the money. So far I have thought of

1) Charity auction (does anyone know of any companies who donate prizes?)
2) Craft fair (we have been sent loads of african jewlery,cards and pictures to sell to raise money)
3) selling the above on ebay (but may not be profitalble after postage,fees ect)
4) I am also a rainbow and brownies leader so thought of getting them involved to do sponsered things e.g. silence, skip ect but not sure on legality of this. The brownies will hopefully be writing to the children over there too.

If anyone could help out with ideas I would greatly appriciate this.
Thank you

Sallys_Savings

We (as a family) have raised thousands of pounds over the last two years for an orphanage that we are very closely involved with.

So I know how difficult it is to raise funds with just a few people involved.

I have had alot of experience with writing off to companies (fundraising for three PTAs and a sports group too) and you don't really get much. You may get something from a local football team, local zoo, local leisure centre, swimming pool etc but the bigger places don't want to know in my experience.

Make sure you get the papers involved (our local ones have always been really supportive..I was really embarassed at first but it really helped with our fundraising. They followed our trips and work abroad, everytime we went away they will put a piece in the paper. They advertised our events in the article and bits and pieces we were collecting to take over there.
Each time it was mentioned in the paper we would always have at least one person ring up. From the newspapers alone we have had one family holding their own car boot, an elderly lady knitting a teddy for everyone of the girls (maybe it would be worth contacting a local knitting group/eldery group to see if they could do the same?) a dentist donating toothbrushes and toothpaste, and a local sweet shop supplying us with sweeties to take over and a local toy shop supplied mini kites.


If you're going to have a christmas fayre, ask lots of crafters to join in (put a notice up in a local craft shop/needlework shop/viist other craft fayres and try to get them to come along to yours) and ask at least £10 a stall.


We've held car wash days (maybe an idea for the brownies as they're bound to bring their parents along to have their car washed)

various raffles (contact local groups to see if you can go along and hold a raffle at their event/snooker evening/darts night/craft fayre etc),

darts competition (contact your local league because they may be able to help) would the local football team help out by holding a charity football match?...you can ask for people to pay to advertise in the programmes, sell food on the day, cakes/drinks etc, part of the profits from behind the bar on the day?) ,

Stalls at fetes/car boots (teddy tombola (perhaps the brownies could supply? ...play your cards right game..darts games... and hoopla games),

car boots,

selling christmas crafts at craft fayres,..contact local schools/groups/colleges and churches to see if you can have a stall at theirs..dont just wait to see them in the newspapers. Sometimes schools have shopping events that are not advertised externally. Ask local groups (i.e. gyms/leisure centre if it is possible to have a stall one evening in their bar/cafe to raise money)

auction of promises (i.e..dinner for four made for you, caring for children for the afternoon, decorater for the day, solicitor for an hour, gardner for an afternoon...homemade birthday cake, packed lunches for a week, host a childrens party for 8 kids, Two hours worth of computer help, Tutorial of how to use ebay, a bag of ironing, help with spring clean for a day, etc...etc..and

quiz night (there are websites where you can use their quiz questions), have a raffle and a light buffet and charge for entry. If you have it somewhere there is not a drinks licence just state on their ticket that you can bring your own)

casino night (quite a bit to hire but can be hired from the internet and we had lots of fun..if you intend doing this please feel free to send me a private message and I'll tell you how to set it up),

and a race night.can be hired from the internet too..if you intend doing this please feel free to send me a private message and I'll tell you how to set it upand where I hire them from

If you can supply photographs of the children at the orphanage etc. it will help to get people interested.


Just off out now for half an hour, if I can think of anything else I'll pop back on later.

P.s. when we go we always make room for bubbles (heavy but so worth it)...the kids absolutely love them...and balloons for the older children (obviously depends on how they are in the orphanage)

Good luck