As a church leader, you know how important it is to inspire your members to give. Giving funds your church’s activities and allows you to serve your community. And, of course, there’s plenty of Scripture about giving that tells us how vital it is.
Along with collecting regular tithes and offerings, church fundraisers are great opportunities to encourage giving while building community with your congregation. If you need ideas for easy church fundraisers to fill your calendar this year, look no further! Let’s dive into these seven simple yet engaging options for fundraisers.
Table of contents
- Cookie Dough Fundraiser
- Concert Fundraiser
- TikTok Challenge Fundraiser
- Peer-to-Peer Campaign
- Discount Card Fundraiser
- Text-to-Donate Campaign
- Matching Gifts Campaign
1. Cookie Dough Fundraiser
Cookie dough fundraisers are a classic for a reason, and they’re easier to start than you may think. To set your congregation up with delicious treats, follow these simple steps: best church fundraisers
- Choose a product fundraising partner to work with that offers wholesale cookie dough and online sales.
- Sell cookie dough by sharing the link to your custom online store and selling in person using catalogs.
- Encourage your congregation and wider community to buy cookies!
According to ABC Fundraising’s cookie dough page, these fundraisers can make up to 80% profit for your church with no upfront costs. Find out what your members’ favorite cookie flavors are, then start raising funds!
2. Concert Fundraiser
We all know how moving an experience a concert can be. Concerts are a perfect option for inspiring your community while fundraising. Contact a nearby Christian artist and ask if they’d be interested, or consider asking multiple local musicians to perform.
Concert fundraisers are most effective when hosted in person due to how connected they can make live audiences feel, but you can also reach a wider audience by livestreaming the concert. Church members and their friends can make small donations in exchange for tickets, and you can raise more money by selling refreshments at the concert itself.
3. TikTok Challenge Fundraiser
If your younger members haven’t convinced your church to join TikTok yet, it’s likely only a matter of time. The social media platform’s wide popularity and potential for viral moments has convinced plenty of brands, organizations, and churches to create their own accounts.
Tap into TikTok’s potential by starting a video challenge that asks anyone who participates to make a donation to your church. Give users a task to film themselves doing, then ask them to donate and challenge their friends, too. Ask for ideas from your congregation, or get inspired by other popular video challenges online. Also, if your members aren’t as active on TikTok as they are on other platforms, you could host the challenge on Instagram or Facebook instead.
4. Peer-to-Peer Campaign
The statistics don’t lie: online donations are the most popular way to give to churches. You can encourage more of your community to give online and get your members directly involved in fundraising by starting a peer-to-peer campaign.
To start a peer-to-peer fundraiser, your church should:
- Ask for volunteers to raise money on your church’s behalf.
- Provide your volunteers with tips and tools that they need to fundraise, including individual donation pages and donation letter templates.
- Encourage volunteers to reach out to their personal social networks to find new donors for your church.
An added benefit of peer-to-peer fundraisers is that your members get a chance to share with their friends why they’re involved with your church, spreading your message and maybe even inspiring their contacts to join!
5. Discount Card Fundraiser
This easy fundraiser involves creating a custom discount card with your church’s name and coupons for several local businesses. You and your members can sell these cards at church, at events, and online.
Your church likely already has some relationships with local businesses, but discount card fundraisers allow you to create even more. Ask your members if they have connections to any businesses that can help your church get your foot in the door. Discount card fundraisers also inspire a sense of community by encouraging support for the stores in your area.
6. Text-to-Donate Campaign
A mobile giving campaign is one of the easiest ways to raise money for your church’s operations. Using fundraising or church texting software, you’ll get a designed phone number and choose a keyword supporters can text to instantly get a link to your online donation page.
That’s not all texting can do for your church. Along with making it quick and easy to give, you can use texting to:
- Promote events
- Share prayer requests
- Send out important church updates
Let your church leadership have a hand in creating your text communications plan. By meeting your members where many of them are—on their phones—you can inspire giving and build stronger relationships with your members over time.
7. Matching Gifts Campaign
A campaign promoting matching gifts is Double the Donation’s #1 church fundraising idea. This is an opportunity to educate your community about employer matching gift programs, which match eligible donations made by their employees at a certain ratio, often 1:1.
Some employers may have restrictions that prevent them from matching gifts made directly to churches, but they may match gifts that support specific church initiatives or other faith-based organizations that your church partners with. It’s still worthwhile to ask your donors to look into.
This fundraiser is easy to accomplish and can make a major impact on the amount of donations your church receives. By spreading awareness of the opportunity and letting your members know how to check their eligibility, you’ll encourage more matched contributions!
No matter which fundraisers you decide to launch, make sure to consider your congregation’s preferences and habits when planning. Think about which fundraisers have been well-received in the past, and ask your members directly what types of events or products they’re most excited about. Then, you’ll be on your way to creating successful and inspiring fundraisers.