Church Fundraising

hybrid

I think this belongs here, but please can somebody move it if I have this in the wrong forum.

The church I attend is really struggling for money at the moment, as we need to make repairs to the tower and create an easy access entrance for prams/wheelchairs, etc. If we don't get the necessary funds to do this, the church is in trouble.

ASide from the obvious fundraisers like a jumble sale and buckets/sponsorships, can anyone think of something we could do to raise money? We already have a grant from English heritage, but this is not enough to complete the work.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

VickyA_2

How about asking people to donate and get their name on the tower? Ok, I haven't thought of this all by myself, but it's a scheme that Lincoln Cathedral is running for their west front. It's also been done by a local hospice when they were building a day care centre - buy a brick to help them build it.

I will carry on thinking.......

sophie_maxwell

Have a fun day or something? Charity car-wash perhaps, that's what our local fire station does for charity

seven-day-weekend

Ask the members to dig a bit deeper?

Ask other churches to help?

Have a bring-and-buy auction amongst Church members? Ask all local churches to participate.

Find another building to use?

I personally don't agree with asking people who have no church connections to help out with things like this. If they offer, that is of course a different matter.

Good luck.

mikewebs

Hope this might help. I found this site when looking for something similar :

http://www.stasaphdbf.co.uk/diocese/FundRaisingIdeas.htm

There's loads to give you an idea.

Also, do you take advantage of gift aid? MY church makes nearly £10,000 per annum through this scheme!

Hope this helps.

Debt_Free_Chick

mikewebs wrote:

Also, do you take advantage of gift aid? MY church makes nearly £10,000 per annum through this scheme!

Start with the Inland Revenue guidance on Gift Aid.

Debt_Free_Chick

hybrid wrote:

ASide from the obvious fundraisers like a jumble sale and buckets/sponsorships, can anyone think of something we could do to raise money?

Parish Recipe book? You could do a wide-ranging book asking for "any recipe" or stick to a single theme e.g. baking, preserves etc.

Ask parishioners to submit their recipes. Ask local businesses to pay to advertise in the book to cover the cost of production. You don't need a posh hardcover book, just a simple soft cover. You could ask the school to get pupils to design a cover.

Ask the WI to help with recipes!

flowerofscotland

Encourage supporters to make the most of any matched funding available to them as employees. Most larger employers have payroll giving schemes - staff can donate regular amounts via their payroll and get a reduction in tax so each £1 donated only costs the donor 78p. Churches are eligible beneficiaries even if they aren't registered charities.

Also many employers match the fundraising efforts of their employees often doubling the money.

You probably already do this but try to get some coverage in the local media - try to think of a "angle" to make the story more interesting. Ask them to include a request for donations and sponsorship in the story. Involving children is often appealing - as they will be one of the beneficiaries could you have a sponsored pram walk or similar?

"Occasional attendees" should be targeted - anyone who wants a christening, wedding or funeral should be made aware of the Appeal. It is increasingly common for people to ask for donations instead of gifts for weddings or flowers for funerals - your Appeal could be one of the beneficiaries. Make it easy for people to choose this option.

Pancake Race on Shrove Tuesday?

Good luck with your fundraising

rio

IS your church independent or part of a denomination? Quite a few denominations have loan schemes to help with the improvement/update of premises, which would certainly seem to apply in your case. Also contact a few local firms to see if you can get a reduction on job prices for a mention in the church magazine or whatever. A couple of our local firms have done this as they say it raises their profile in the town and they get more work because of it.

Gabriel-Ernest

Have you seen 'Calendar Girls'? (Don't believe I just said that ...)

Seriously, do your church members tithe?

hardpressed

These are things we have done. Coffee mornings, strawberry teas, tea for coach parties, quiz nights, concerts, car rally, village trail quiz followed by supper, sale of promises, quiz sheets, antique valuation evening, village tea towels, mugs, pen, notelets, calenders, monthly cake stall. We fund raised for 4 years and aimed to have an event each month. It's hard work but great fun. Have you explored all the available grants?