Food Ideas for Fundraising
When it comes to fundraising, one of the most popular ways of getting people interested is by offering them food. People love home-cooked food products and there are numerous inventive easy ideas to help you raise the funds you need. Whether you're the person creating the foods, or simply the one arranging the buying of foods, fundraising and food go hand in hand.
Bake Sales and Home Cooking
For many years, bake sales have been a popular way of raising money for charities. The great thing about bake sales is that they're fairly cheap to do and yet make a decent amount of money back. Many people love a taste of home baking at fetes, school events and church charity drives. You have a few options when it comes to bake sales - you can either create the items from scratch alone, or you can purchase them in at cost and sell them on. There are many cash and carry stores that will sell in bulk at a low cost and you can then up sell these at fundraising events. Some traditional items to make are simple cakes like apple pies or carrot cake for the more mature buyers. If you're going to be at an event that is predominantly children, you should go for fun brightly coloured items. Try some rice crispie cakes, cup cakes or gingerbread men. If you want to get really adventurous, you can try your hand at some hot food to be sold on the day. A nice hot cup of soup or a hotdog always goes down well with the hungry masses on a cold winter fete day.
Food and Wine Tasting
For a more adult themed food event you can organise some food and wine tasting to gather funds for your cause. Try buying in bulk from a local supermarket or if you feel confident, you can approach local off-licenses or wine manufacturers and request that they provide you with some samples for your fundraising drive. If you can obtain them as a free sample, you'll probably need to do some kind of promotion for the company. Many are happy to simply let you hand out flyers and other promotional items for them at your event. It's a great way of getting the products you need and you can either charge individuals a flat fee for a number of tasting or you can charge per glass. The easier option is to charge the flat fee, provide smaller glasses and some nibbles and you'll be guaranteed to get people staying longer and hopefully donating extra money either of their own accord or by buying raffle tickets and other items you may have there also.
Charity Dinner Parties
If you're feeling adventurous you can throw your own dinner party and ask your guests for donations when they arrive. You can also seek out donations from companies and have a raffle to try and raise funds. If you're planning something on a larger scale, try and arrange a free venue and recruiting some volunteer waiters and cooks will go a long way to keeping your costs down. Many smaller fundraising opportunities can arise from a charity dinner party. You can hold an auction for donated gifts, or if you're short on items to auction, why not auction off some of your time or someone else that you know. If you have a friend who has a certain skill you can auction off a few days of their time or perhaps have a fun auction where you offer people for dates or more. When it comes to charity dinner events the only limitation is your imagination, so let it run wild and keep in mind that it's all for a good cause.
Door to Door Food Sales for Charity
If your fundraising is on a small scale, you can do door to door sales to get some extra cash for your given cause. Making cookies, tablet, cakes and more can be sold door to door, but always take proof of the charity you're collecting for. People are generally far more sceptical now when it comes to buying items from people who knock on their door and usually prefer to have some proof of where their money is going. If you're having children help with this, it goes without saying that you should accompany them at all times and try and get to doors before nightfall. People are generally more likely to open their doors during the day than at night. Remember, door to door sales can be daunting and you shouldn't be too disheartened if you find many people aren't keen to part with their cash. A friendly, happy demeanour goes a long way in door to door collecting.
