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Trailblazers Fund Raising Page
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	See what other pilgrims have done In previous years, youth just like you had to raise funds What did they do? How did they do it? What things worked for them? Usually, it was a combination of several efforts Their answers to, "How did you raise funds?" may be helpful to you, too
	Scrabble Tournament This event takes board-game lovers Great idea for a family event, with teams by ages
	Organize a Bottle Drive! Such an event can raise more funds than you may think Best done with friends or siblings, and a few adults helping by driving around with you
	Walk-a-Thon Find out how to organize a walk-a-thon You can do it in a small or large group Easy to organize, and lots of fun
	General Tips for Fundraisers, no matter what it is you are doing... Helpful ideas for first-time attempts at fund raising The funds are out there, and people will help you ... you just need to try You can do it!
	Rent-a-Puppy Enjoy a day socializing with puppies, and introducing them to possible future owners Requires collaboration of local pet agency Irresistible...
	Crazy Hat Day A great idea especially in school settings As fun as it is rewarding Not labor-intensive
	Cook Book Sale A great idea especially in school settings As fun as it is rewarding Not labor-intensive

More fundraising ideas:

A couple tips:
            1. Don’t try only one thing, combine several different events, and it will all add up.
            2. Work together. Even if you are already paid for, help your friends, they need you. Larger numbers working together only increases the network of people who will get invited and feel motivated to contribute to your fund raiser.
            3. Fund raising isn’t nuclear physics… it just takes some effort – team effort, even better! – and time. If you get stuck, contact us, and we’ll help you.

Letter writing campaigns. From what Trailblazers has seen, nothing is as fruitful as a young person writing to everyone he or she can think of (aunts, uncles, former teachers, friends, neighbors, peers, cousins, etc.) asking for a small donation; the response is usually very generous, so let us insist you try this no matter what else you do!
Don’t know how to write the letter? Contact us, we might be able to give you some help. Many web sites offer examples, too. But it should be personal, yours: that’s what counts.

Ask your parish priest to encourage the faithful to donate to you and your friends.

There are lots of things you can make, have made or buy for sale, such as
            - rosaries
- foods (cookies, popcorn, pastries, candy, chocolate) which companies might provide to you at a special rate
- World’s Finest Chocolate and Morley’s Chocolate have fund raising programs you can use.
- clothing, like T-Shirts, sports socks, or logo-specialized sports gear. Perhaps some volunteers could make a special T-Shirt for Trailblazers donors, and sell that.
- coffee… try selling it by the door of the parish while everyone’s on the way out…
- garden or house plants which you have (very economically) grown yourself
- Be seasonal! Flowers for mother’s day, pumpkins in October, Cider Mill coupon deals in the Fall, snow shoveling services after a snow storm, garden plants in spring.

Take advantage of local fairs (such as 4H, parish festivals, state or county fairs) to promote whatever it is you are doing: soliciting donations, selling things, sale of tickets for dinners your group is organizing, etc.

There are routine local volunteer opportunities designed to help charities, such as working at a food stand at a sports arena, poker 4 charity, bingos, or benefit nights at local restaurants.

A parish dinner, like Spaghetti, or, more ambitiously but more attractive, a BBQ. They turn out more lucrative if an auction is included – the items must be good, and within the financial range of your participants.

Use the parish gym for a Friday night lock-in with kids; have sports, games, etc. to entertain the children, and a group of young adults to attend to them. Like a glorified babysitting evening. Ask $10 or $20 per child, perhaps with special family rates (and maybe in individual cases just take whatever a poor family can offer, who wants to support you).

Raffles do well, if one actually tries to sell tickets. You can raffle something (get something good donated from a local chain), or 50/50, or cash prizes. These take some organization and maybe a permit from the State, and Trailblazers can help you do that. Raffling big items solicit even more response: things like huge flat-screen TV’s, or even cars.

Car washes are also good. Not only do they provide fun on a hot day, but, if located well, they can be very lucrative.
A variation: If you have the right gear, you can go to the busiest parking lot you think of, and get permission from the owner/manager to offer to people to wash their car while they are in the store.
Another variation, and simpler: Ask for $2 to squeegee their windows. It’s nice to bring some towels to wipe the drops off the car body after the squeegee has gone by…

We have heard that one can collect old printer cartridges for a fund raiser, but someone would have to help us figure out how that works.

Ask for pledges to help you and your youth group. A good number of families, with even as little as $5 or even $2 per month, adds up.

Try bringing in a famous speaker. It costs money to organize, however, but has the potential to bring in a great deal of money as fund raising.

Have some musical talent? Put on a talent show. And do it again next year. The higher the quality of the performances, the better the results.

Have some athletic talent? Organize a sports game, and charge admission; advertise far and loud, being clear that it’s a fund raiser. If some of the youth are selling food, that’s potential for even more income.

Trailblazers has no experience with discount cards, or scratch cards, but these are also popular fund-raising ideas.

Charity golf tournaments are also very lucrative, but they require a good deal of promotion and organization.

Want to find information about volunteering for Trailblazers? Click here.

The Compass - compass@trailblazerswyd.org
Trailblazers Secretary- secretary@trailblazerswyd.org
Father Paul Ward: Trailblazers Director - director@trailblazerswyd.org
www.trailblazerswyd.org
Mailing Address: Trailblazers Youth Pilgrimages, 13770 Gratiot Ave., Detroit, MI 48205