Ten Fundraising Ideas for Student Convention

1. Donations from family members and friends
   1. Just solicit any donations
   2. Secure sponsors for places (e.g. $10.00 for a first place, $8.00 for a second place) earned at Regional Student Convention to raise money for International Student Convention
2. Serve-a-thon car wash at a car dealer
   1. Secure sponsors for each car washed. (Student may earn much more for each car than if you charged.) Then go to local car dealers and offer to wash their cars for free. They wash their cars on a regular basis anyway and you can engender much community goodwill and have several hundred cars in one location.
3. A car wash for donations
   1. Advertise a "Free Car Wash" and have a donation bucket available when each car is finished. Many people will donate more than you would have charged.
4. Deliver "Singing Telegrams"
   1. You can do this near a holiday (e.g. Christmas or Valentine's Day) or just pick a period of time that your students would be available (a week, two weeks, a month) and offer telegrams for birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Have a list of appropriate songs from which people may choose, put together a group of students who can sing well, and take orders. Make sure you schedule the telegrams so that you can deliver them on time. You can also offer candy and flowers for an additional cost.
5. Silent Auction
   1. Solicit donations from local businesses and families from the church and school for goods, services, and gift certificates (lawn care, babysitting, dinner for two, etc.). On the day of the auction, display the items or a flyer describing the service offered. Along side of each item or flyer, place a sheet on which people can place their assigned number (this works better than names) and monetary bid. The bidding continues throughout the day, until the designated closing time. The person with the highest bid at the end of the day has won the opportunity to purchase the item. Contact the buyers, and give them a deadline to pick up their items.
   2. Lunch can be served as an added event. If you get the food donated, this will be pure profit.
   3. Have a bake sale table in the hall.
   4. Be sure to advertise! This will be your only expense, but will enhance the success of your auction.
   5. Make it a yearly event, and people in your community will look forward to it. It works well in November, when people are doing their holiday shopping.
6. Discount Cards
   1. There are companies that will help you do this, but doing your own will increase your profit. Solicit from local businesses discounts, "buy one, get one," or free items if your card is used. Print the company names and their offers on a card, laminate the card, and sell for a price commensurate with the number of discounts offered. Good advertising for the businesses that support your ministry and it is almost all profit for you.
7. Jog-a-thons, Jump-a-thons, Bowl-a-thons, PACE-a-thons, etc.
   1. Solicit sponsors for laps jogged, number of times jumped with a jump rope, number of pins in a bowling game, or pages completed in their PACEs in a given period of time.
8. Bake Sales/Concession stands at your schools sporting events
9. Take advantage of fundraising opportunities offered by local restaurants and sports arenas.
   1. Often local fast food restaurants or sports arenas will donate a percent of their sales for a night if a school will provide students to staff the facility that night.
10. Use professional fundraising companies to sell candy bars, greeting cards, wrapping paper, etc. The percent of profit varies from company to company.