How To Host A Successful Fundraiser To Benefit Refugees

Thanks to Helen Cartwright of fundraiserinsight.org for this fantastic guest post!

There are so many people in need in the world and it is hard not to take notice. Currently, there are refugees needing help and many are rushing in to find ways to raise money to help out. Raising funds is not always the easiest thing to do. However, with some creativity and hard work, a lot of money can be raised and sent to help the refugees or any other causes that are in need of funds for the work they do. Sites like www.fundraiserinsight.org offer information about digital fundraising and much more. Below are some top ideas of hosting fundraisers to help the refugees.

Birthday Wish - When your birthday comes around, we all know how exciting it can be to get all the well wishes from our friends and family on social media. To help out, you can make your birthday more meaningful by asking family and friends to donate to a GoFundMe campaign. You can set up a campaign to raise funds and let your loved ones see how much the cause means to you. A neat way to ask for money is to ask for people to donate in the amount equal to the age you are turning. Taking advantage of the goodwill on your birthday can be a lot of fun and could encourage others to do the same.

Bake Sale - Everyone has come upon a bake sale at one point or another in their lives. They are popular for a reason – everyone loves sweets. There are so many baked goods to choose from and it is easy to make sweets that anyone would have trouble passing up. This type of fundraiser is easy to get friends and family involved in. You can either opt to baking and selling traditional favorites like cupcakes or try something new and exciting that people will be dying to try.

Host a Dinner Party or Brunch - Along with the idea of baking sweets to sell, all food types should be considered. People love food. Hosting a dinner party or a brunch to raise some money for the refugee cause is a good idea. You can get a few people together who know how to cook and create a whole multiple-course meal. To make money, you could have attendees pay a single fee for the meal. A great idea to try is to ask for help from local restaurants. Some restaurants are always looking for ways to get involved in the community and also to get some publicity for their business as well.

Organize a Flea Market - The mini flea market idea involves getting a bunch of friends, family and community members to come together with their donated clothes, kitchen gear and other gently used items they are happy to part with for the greater cause of helping the refugees. It is essentially a giant community yard sale. You can get the word out to the whole community through social media, yard signs and even local newspapers. At the flea market, you could offer refreshments and raffle tickets to help bring in even more revenue.

Walk-A-Thon - According to GoFundMe, a walk-a-thon is a tried and true fundraiser. You can create a walk-a-thon with a theme customized to the cause you are trying to raise money for. There are two ways to host a walk-a-thon. You can hold one out in a park or community neighborhood, or you can host one online where people can enter their steps each week and donate based on that. It's easy to spark up competition through social media with a fundraiser like this because people will love to try and beat each other in steps. You could also offer a prize for the top stepper in order to recognize them for their fund contributions.

Sponsored Litter Pickup - This is a really unique idea that can not only help raise funds for the refugees, but it can also help to beautify the community you live in. In many ways, charities and communities go hand in hand. Cleaning up your local roads while getting sponsors for the litter pick is great for the environment, the local sponsors and the refugees. For the volunteers who are helping out, they will also be getting a good amount of exercise as well.

Packing Bags at a Local Store - A neat idea that many people have never heard of to raise funds for a cause is to pack bags at a local store for donations. You will have to ask the store in advance and get permission. Many grocery stores will let you and a team of volunteers come in and help bag groceries for customers if the cause is a worthy one. If you get the approval, try to get every volunteer to have a shirt with the name of the cause on it. Also, make sure you have a booth set up to receive the donations and offer people a chance to learn more about the cause you are raising money for.

Dance-A-Thon - Hosting a dance-a-thon is a really exciting idea that many people would love to attend. You could sell tickets in advance or take tickets at the door. The challenge for the dancers will be to dance until there is only one person still dancing. They will be the winner of the dance-a-thon and receive the prize for lasting the longest.

Battle of the Bands - This is a great charity event that can really bring the whole community together. This type of event will take a good amount of planning ahead of time but can really bring in the money for the refugee fund raiser. Gather a few local bands and singers and plan an event that you will charge an entree fee for. You will also need to find some judges for the panel to rate the bands and award a winner at the end. Local celebrities and popular radio hosts make perfect judges at charity events such as these.

Helen Cartwright is a passionate blogger and content manager at Studyclerk.com, who excels in the Digital Marketing and Technology niche. When not wired in marketing strategies, she ghost-writes for a variety of authors who have their work published on leading online media channels such as The Huffington Post and Entrepreneur.com.