A past pilgrim's top 10 fundraising ideas

Below are some fundraising ideas that have proven successful for past World Youth Day pilgrims:

1. Cadbury chocolate drive
Everyone loves chocolate so it basically sells itself. Consider getting your friends and family/youth group members to try and sell a few boxes each. This idea works really well because it gets other people involved and you’re not just drawing on the same people for money. Check out the Cadbury website for all the products you can buy for fundraising: www.fundraising.com.au

2. Bunnings sausage sizzles!
Every weekend of the year, Bunnings allows local community groups to sell sausages outside their stores and you get to keep all the funds. They are very popular and raise quite a bit of money. Just call the Bunnings stores in your area and ask them when they are free – they get booked out quickly, so call sooner rather than later! Your local butcher/bakery may consider donating their products to help too.

3. Parish cookbook
This gets other people in the parish involved. Ask people to give you their best recipes then compile them in a book and sell it after Mass. You could launch the book at a morning tea after Mass where people can taste the cakes/slices in the book.

4. Garage sale
Get together with a group of your friends and host a garage sale together. You can sell clothes you don’t wear anymore, old books and anything else your friends/family want to donate that they don’t want anymore. Advertise it widely as this is something the broader community can come to as well!

5. Babysitting
Offer babysitting to the families in your parish and your old primary school. Advertise that it is to raise money for WYD and give a clear idea of how much you charge. Many couples will be grateful for the chance to have a night out without the kids and feel great about supporting you. Just make sure you have a Working with Children Check in case they ask!

6. Ask for sponsorship and get t-shirts made up
Ask families, friends, and local businesses to sponsor you and reward them by putting their names on the back of a t-shirt for your parish youth group to wear at WYD. You can also promise to pray for their special intentions!

7. Christmas cards and calendars
Most people buy calendars and Christmas cards anyway in November/ December so why not use this as a way for them to support your pilgrimage to WYD. Design them and order in bulk to make the most out of them.

8. Christmas gift wrapping service at a large shopping centre
Phone the shopping centres in your area and ask if they have a charity gift wrapping service at Christmas time. In some cases the shopping centre provides the wrapping paper, scissors and sticky tape and allows you to keep any donations given for the service. This can make a lot of money but needs quite a few dedicated volunteers to help.

9. Entertainment books
These books contain discount vouchers for food and activities around Melbourne. They sell for $65 and you get to keep $13. You only have to pay for the books you sell. The vouchers are valid from April 2010 – June 2011 so it is best to sell them earlier in the year. For more information check out www.entertainmentbook.com.au

10. Offer to do 'odd jobs' around the house/garden
Advertise in the parish newsletter that you are willing to do things such as mowing lawns, gardening, painting etc. for a fair donation. This can be helpful to older parishioners and would be fun if a team of you did it together!

Check out the FAQ section of the website for some more fundraising ideas you can use!

Things to think about when fundraising for WYD2011

There’s no doubt that the next Word Youth Day in Spain will be awesome! If you are one of the thousands of Australians that went to Sydney (or heard how cool it was) and vowed to go to Spain, please read on!

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They key is to start saving early.
Going to Madrid will be more expensive than the Sydney WYD but it may be more achievable than you think. A part time/casual job will allow you to put money away regularly and steadily. But it can also be helpful to fundraise. Get together with some friends in your area and work out your goals and start to plan how you can reach them. You may decide to fundraise for half of the money you need and save up the rest yourself.

Here are just a few things to consider before you start:
• Have several activities across the year – this allows people to be generous a few times without having to give too much at once
• Fundraise as a group – it’s more fun and takes the pressure off one person
• Plan a range of activities targeting different audiences, e.g.
o sell chocolates (young people/colleagues)
o make a recipe book, have a trivia night (parishioners and friends)
o host a sausage sizzle (general public)
• Plan around other events in your parish (i.e. not at the same time as the annual parish fete!)
• Ask your parish priest if it is OK to include a blurb in the newsletter telling people what you’re doing and why. 
• You may ask to speak at the Masses one weekend to tell people about upcoming plans.
• To help with your planning check out this document The Essentials of Fundraising at www.fundraisingideas.com.au/