Quick fundraising ideas for a single person?

[skittles]

My travel sports team has selected a group of players to go to China for 11 days in July but we need half of the money in 12 days and the remainder in April. I need some ideas on how to come up with this money or the chance of a lifetime will pass me by. I am only 16 years old if that helps. I can also use long term fund raising ideas too to cover other cost later in the trip.
Thanks!

[sophieb]

usually a team has a leader who plans ahead before mentioning what travel the team could do. Why not ask what idea they had and their intentions. If you plan to sell something door to door you'd need a state (and maybe a city or county) permit to do so. These days even the girl scouts are cutting back on the cookies they sell so as to streamline and get quicker sales. Any time a team goes somewhere you can bet you yourself will have to handle part of the bill, you'll pitch in your own money for your needs when you get there. I'm also thinking this is probably a 17 hour or more trip by air so the team better be able to fly without getting sick. And all of you best be versed in what to expect once you get there as you can't do any roaming around and you will be watched constantly. Your leader can certainly contact the radio stations (like talk hosts) and tv news stations advising them that a certain amount of team players will be going to China and are need money for whatever the reason is you are going there (like is it for a tournament you will be playing in).

[Irene Z]

11 travel days is a lot of money needed for a group. You need to know what the people in your group can do first.

First, gather together a budget to determine how much needs to be raised.

Do a brainstorm with the group and the parents together. Start by presenting a budget. Then ask for ideas all around and start writing on a chart. Like a business brain storm.

Parents are super important. For eg, if you want to do cookies, you need a mother there that can spearhead the group. And perhaps work with 2 students to make those cookies. Then you need selling teams - eg. all parents are required to sell to their colleagues, you guys are required to sell publicly by knocking on doors. Then you have the chance to raise the funds.

What are the parents' specialty - it is more useful than you think. For eg. my friend (my age) runs an event company. So when the daughter and their friends needed extra $, she put them on reception duties or packing duties at the show at $100 a day. If the parents don't know, you lose out on an important revenue chain.

[Hampo14]

There's some great advice here already but I'd suggest you go to Rewarding Fundraising Ideas (RFI) to find loads of good ideas you could use. It's a great website that has some excellent advice and tips on running those ideas profitably.

Remember though, that before you do any fundraiser it is going to take effort and motivation on your behalf to make it successful. No matter how great the fundraiser is, it won't just provide success unless you put your mind and effort to it. You should also not try do too many fundraisers at once... Pick the ones that will work the best for you and then run those as well as you can!

Here are a few ideas you should look into when you are at Rewarding Fundraising Ideas...

-The Online Magazine Fundraiser - This is always the first fundraiser I suggest. It is one of the best and hassle-free fundraisers you can do! Many people and groups are raising between $2000 - $5000 with this fundraiser while I've seen others raise over $20,000. If you only have time to do one fundraiser... This should be the one you do!

-The Credit Card Fundraiser - Another really hassle-free fundraiser that will work really well alongside a magazine fundraiser! Get people to apply for a credit card online and you'll earn $15 for every approved application.

--By promoting both of these fundraisers together you increase your likelyhood of getting a positive response... Someone may not want to apply for a credit card but they may be interested in the magazines, or vica versa, or maybe they'll want to do both!

--Online Charity Auction - An online auction is one of the most profitable fundraisers that anyone could ever do. Unfortunately it will take a lot of work to get right... But if you have enough helping hands it's definitely a worthwhile consideration!

-Get Paid Guides - Many people make money online by completing surveys, receiving and reviewing advertising emails, and also just by surfing the net. There are loads of companies on the net that are doing research and also trying to gain exposure and they all pay for it! A get paid guide is a single website that finds and lists all those websites that are offering paid surveys etc. There's usually a once off membership fee but you can generally earn that fee back by doing a couple of surveys!

-Lollipop fundraiser - This is one of the easiest and profitable fundraisers around. Most people will generally buy a lollipop from you as they are really cheap. A lot of Schools and organizations are having great success with this simple fundraiser! (In fact, any food fundraiser, like Cookie Dough, Popcorn, or Candy Bars, will usually always work... People need and love food!)

-Discount Fundraiser Cards - Another winner! You raise money while saving money for your supporters through the discounts offered on the cards.Win-Win for both of you! And the businesses Win as well as they get more customers to their shops!!!

Raffles - A fundraiser that will always work really well. It is also the best fundraiser to add to any type of event. What you must make sure you have is some really great prizes that people actually want to win. That way they'll want to buy as many tickets as possible, to have as big a chance to win!

Events - Generally any sports event will work well as people love getting involved in sport even if it's not to raise money for a cause. Consider a Dodgeball compo or a mini soccer tournament! You could also consider doing a sponsored challenge like a cross country walk or a sponsored cycle.

Whether you do a sponsored challenge or not, you should start a facebook page to promote your challenge, your cause and your other fundraisers!

Set up a method for people to donate online (Check the Online Donations page on RFI to see how to do this) and then link to it via your facebook page. Then invite all your friends, family and contacts to join the page and take part by sponsoring you a small amount ($2 - $5; Compare it to something like a couple of cokes or a few beers. Something so small that they wouldn't even miss it if they didn't get it)! Write a emotive invitational letter that makes people feel like they are already involved. Make sure you convey the importance of the cause that you are embarking on. Also encourage them to forward the invitation on to all their contacts.

You should also advertise your other fundraisers, like your magazine fundraiser, on your Facebook pg! Try to also keep people interested in the page by updating it often and keeping people in the loop of how your fundraising is going etc.!

There are also quite a few other fundraisers at RFI that might work for you like the Bracelet Fundraiser, Candle Fundraisers, or the Cookie Dough Fundraiser, so look around and use the ones that will suite you best!