Fundraising - Creative Ideas

We contacted a local restaurant and asked them if they would dedicate a certain night to Team Friendship and to give a percentage of the sales to the Friendship Circle Atlanta Team. They agree to give 18% of sales on a Motzei Shabbos and we were so excited.

We made a flyer publicizing Team Friendship’s Restaurant Night and advertised it all over the city.  Hung them in kosher stores, Jewish stores, lots of Facebook posts, etc.  We asked everyone who was participating in the marathon to participate in the advertising and to get people to come to the restaurant on that particular night.  

Each Team member was asked to post the flyer on their Facebook page and encourage their friends and family to come out and support the Team.  

On the night that people came to the restaurant, everyone sat down at a table and ordered on their own as if it was any regular night. The difference, however, was that tonight- people felt a mission in the room. 

To take full advantage of the night, we held a raffle to raise some extra money.  We sold each ticket for $5.00 or 3 tickets for $10 and all proceeds went towards the team’s goal.  The raffle was a package including a donated Manicure and Pedicure Gift Certificate, A $100 Gift certificate to a local hair salon, and a gift certificate to the restaurant we were eating in.  Toward the end of the evening, we drew the winner for the prize. (It was me!!!!!)  

The following week, the restaurant finished the calculations and gave us the donation. The money was divided among those who participated in getting at least 8 people to go to the restaurant that night. 

This was a very fun, easy, and memorable way to raise money. 

One of the things I did was challenge people. I said that if I raised a certain amount by a certain date I would wear something crazy  on marathon day. (It’s a good thing I never got there, but it at least got the donations flowing!). I also ran a raffle for a few prizes. Someone sponsored a $50 Amazon gift card and also 2 x $25 gift cards. Anyone who donated $25+ got a ticket into the raffle! Although it wasn’t a big prize, this still gave people an incentive to give.

I also had a free hotel certificate. Anyone who gave over $100 was entered into a raffle to win that!

I told my clients that whoever committed to donating $50 would get a chance to win a lunch paid by me. (So far potential costs are $25 and I already made way more in donations!)

All together I did 80% of the fundraising from these ideas. 

I definitely agree with making a list to get a good start with things. The longer you wait, the harder things will be. People respect those who go over and beyond the norm for others.

Never underestimate the size of a small donation.

I kept saying I was running the marathon to raise funds and awareness for The Friendship Circle, but soon I realized, I was much more worried about raising funds, than I was about raising awareness!

I decided it was time to focus on my fundraising. My house is on a fairly busy street, and gets quite a bit of foot traffic in the mornings, so that worked out very well for me. But, I couldn’t just stand outside on my soap box yelling to the world that Friendship Circle is amazing. I needed to find a way to engage passers-by in conversation. And nothing brings people together like a cup of hot coffee, early on a crisp winter morning.

So, I began to wake up an hour earlier than usual, as I felt that was the best time to maximize the crowds walking past. I made a lawn sign that said ‘$1 = 1 warm heart’ and I designated a specific pitcher from my kitchen to collect my donations. I also printed up a bunch of business cards with the link to my fundraising page, so people could look up more information later. Each morning I prepared six cups (16oz), each with 2 tablespoons of coffee, 2 tablespoons of sugar and a piece of chocolate. Then I went outside and set up a table with my cards and put the sign into the lawn. Just before I was ready to go out, I added hot water and milk to the coffees, so they would be piping hot for as long as possible. Some days I also took chocolate bars out. 

I said good morning to each person as they walked by and offered a hot coffee. Some people just smiled and said, ‘No, thank you’ but many people came over and asked what I’m doing. It gave me a good opportunity to talk to people about what Friendship Circle is and how I personally got involved. The coffee stand also presented an easy-going platform to explain, without people feeling pressured to donate. People came over out of curiosity, and could always just say “I’m not in the mood for a coffee this morning”, rather than having to say they couldn’t give me a donation.

I had a few regular customers who came past every morning, and had their dollars ready in hand. Many people came by and said they didn’t feel like having a coffee but wanted to put a few dollars in my pitcher.

I can’t say I sold very many cups of coffee, but the idea was to spread awareness, and I did get to speak to many people who had never heard of The Friendship Circle, or hadn’t realized how badly it’s needed in our community. I gave out roughly 50 cards with the link to my personal page and... I also raised about $300! 

When I first signed up for Team Friendship, I didn’t know what was more daunting- training or fundraising $3,000? But I learned very quickly that I had no reason to worry - thanks to the amazing supporters I had, my family and friends.

My younger siblings (aged between 9-11) had discussed how they wanted to get involved with my project. They decided that the next day they would put on a bake sale to help me reach my fundraising goal. I was touched by their thoughtfulness and amazed to see that in a span of a few hours they were already advertising the sale and baking trays and trays of delicious home-made goodies. Although my mother had assisted with the preparations she was thrilled to see how eager and enthusiastic they were to take part in this mitzvah.

The next morning the bake sale was a beautiful success. My neighbors came back for seconds, thirds and fourth! The prices were low but people donated generously to the wonderful cause.

Jodi Fleisig is the expert on peer-to-peer fundraising.  She has addressed Team Friendship on a short, informational, and inspiring conference call and in case you missed it, you can hear the recording by clicking here.

About Jodi

Jodi Fleisig is a busy mom, wife, Company Vice President, and has quite a lot of titles to be proud of. This year, Jodi was named Team in Training's Top National Fundraiser. 

Jodi has raised over $45,000 while training for marathons in support of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. 

She has a deep connection with the cause as she watches her mother continue to fight leukemia and her aunt fight a rare blood disease.  She has taken her patronage to an unimaginable degree by running 4 half marathons and coaching other's fundraising in support of leukemia and lymphoma research.

Jodi is a personable and exciting individual with an awesome energy and witty humor.