Fundraising Ideas
There are endless possibilities for ways that you can raise funds for your own fundraising page. Use your gifts and talents and be creative. Following are a few ideas that have been successful. You can tweak any idea to make it fit you personally or combine several to attract more donations.
- Church Congregation: Most Christian congregations want to serve and to do good, but it can be difficult to find a project that truly makes an impact on both the giver and the receiver. Watch the video “The Living Water Project” as it follows one congregation from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints through their hugely successful Walk4Water fundraiser – it not only changes the lives of those they are fundraising for, but this fundraising activity has a profoundly positive influence on those who perform the service.
- Miles for pledges: Gather donation pledges for every mile you run or walk. Commit to run or walk a mile for every X number of dollars donated, or commit to a set number of miles and solicit donations for doing so. One family raised several thousand dollars by committing to run one mile in a designated week for every $10 donated. Another running club highlighted in the “What will you do” video raised $1 for every mile and ran 10,000 miles in one summer.
- Social media and/or email fundraiser: Simply make a social media post and/or email all of your family, friends, and contacts letting them know what you are doing and asking for their support. Include education and videos of the cause to increase participation. To make things even more interesting, find something outrageous that you are willing to do if you reach your goal – for example, commit to shaving your head on Facebook live (or email out a video, video links listed below) if you reach your goal amount.
- Family/Group Sponsorship: Enlist your extended family, neighborhood, work team, or any group in sponsoring a borehole together. In lieu of Christmas presents for each other, an extended family could commit to sponsoring a borehole. Alternatively, family members could donate and sponsor a borehole together as a gift to other family members or in honor of other family members. It is a wonderful gift to see the pictures and videos of the smiling faces of the villagers whose lives were changed by this selfless gift. One high school student created a fundraiser for a school project. See how she did it.
- Company/colleague sponsorship: Enlist your employees or colleagues in joining together to sponsor one or more boreholes. As a company, have each employee decide individually something they would like to do to raise money or come up with group fundraising ideas. Provide a reward (jeans on Friday, a reward day or trip, etc.) if the company or team is successful at meeting their fundraising goal. If you are an employee, pitch this idea to your boss and colleagues as a way to join together in creating profound goodness in the world.
- Auction: The church congregation in “The Living Water Project” video raised some funds through a service auction. This can also work with items donated and shipped through an online auction.
- Donation Matching: Ask your friends to build a borehole with you. Suggest the amount you are willing to donate or simply state that you will match every dollar that comes in. You may offer to pay for half of the borehole and ask your friends to contribute for the other half or say you will pitch in $500 and ask 5 friends to each match your donation to build an entire borehole together.
The virtual event concept will allow you to participate no matter where you live. In order to raise awareness and additional funds, we encourage you to plan your own event and invite your neighbors and friends. Below are a few ideas to help you get started. You can check out the tools page for additional resources.
- Hold your own Walk 4 Water event: Hold an event at a park or other similar location with games, relay races, various competitions and activities, bounce houses, slides, etc. You can create an activity to allow everyone to experience what it’s like for African women and children to carry water, either by hand or on their heads, and run other water-related games.
- Dinner Night: One family hosts an annual Navajo Taco Dinner night in their backyard. They invite all of their friends and neighbors to share a meal together and participate in donating to sponsor a borehole. Taking a few minutes during the evening to educate guests about the need for clean water and/or to show one of our videos is always a nice touch. (You will find flyers, pictures, videos, etc. for your use on our fundraising tools page). You can even consider joining forces with friends to divide the workload. Multiple times this family has been successful at raising all of the needed funds to sponsor an entire borehole in just one fun evening.
- Hold a Class or Clinic: This could be part of your Walk 4 Water event or done at a separate time. You can teach a new skill – run a soccer skills clinic, teach a jewelry-making class, or anything you have expertise – the possibilities are endless. You can charge a flat entrance fee, ask for donations, or a combination of the two. Finding a way to teach participants about the global water crisis and/or to show one of our videos either prior to or during the event, can increase your fundraising success. (You will find flyers, pictures, videos, etc. for your use on our fundraising tools page.)
- Ways Children Can Participate: Children love to be involved and get excited about helping children in another part of the world. You can enlist your children in any of the ideas above. They also like having a bake sale, donating lemonade stand money, or helping with a car wash. Remind them that every dollar they raise will give water to one person for the rest of their lives. It is impressive how they can change a life with such a relatively small amount of money.
