Help me fund raise! need Ideas!

[MikeSeaborn]

I am a honorary fire fighter. My fire department needs money for rescue equipment for our community. I have brain injury and only am good for work around the fire hall. It would be nice for me to have some input to help the fire dept. grow stronger. You can also email me at mikeseaborn36@aol.com & here MikeSeaborn@firehall.com. Please help me!!!!

[MikeSeaborn]

This poor man is not asking for much just a little help would be a nice thing.

[hrecruit]

I've had car washs that were great money makers.half dozen guys or gals in bunker gear from waist down and a pumper , rescue, ladder truck present or whatever. peeks people's interest. best spot parking lot of a box store or busy gas station with good deal of parking it works man trust me.

[iamvff]

Hi, I am just new here so sorry if I don't do this right. I have two easy suggestion for you. I live in a town of about 1100 people. We tried a 50/50 draw at the start of the year, and it worked quite well. We made a couple of hundred dollars in fairly short order. The nice part of a 50/50 draw is there is no way of loosing money. if you sell one ticket you just made 50 cents. The other thing we have done for 4 years now is a steak and egg breakfast to kick off fire prevention week. We have the breakfast on Saturday morning from 7am - noon. This year our #'s were down a bit due to a late harvest but we still had 134 people and we cleared $800. I do all of the pre organizing and have it down to about 1 or2 hours worth of work. we get together on the friday nite and do the final organizing. It's fun , makes for good fellowship and some good coin to boot. If anyone needs more just let me know.
Be safe!

[wilderness]

#1 Santa's Parade
#2 Haloween Dance Ghost House
#3 Pancake Breakfast
#4 Christmas Dance
#5 RAffle for donated prizes
#6 BBQ/Car Wash

Some ideas..........

[Sparky2004]

Or, you could suggest a 'Kids Firefighter Combat Challenge.'
They did it here in Richmond Hill the other year for Fire Prevention week.

They also charged three dollars to get your picture taken with a firefighter in bunker gear in front of the trucks, using a Polariod camera.

A BBQ would also be tempting to the public. There's nothing better than having the fire department cook you a great hamburger or hotdog!

Good Luck!!! :p :p :p

[Fablish]

The Medicine Hat Fire Department is having a cabaret for the red cross for the tsunami victims. it's all happening feb 11th. so far two bands as volunteered along with a comedian who volunteered for an hour, free tv and newspaper ads.....we set up a table at the mall and college and we expect around 600 people. It's been a great success so far. I know your probably in a small town but it's an idea, and best of luck to you brother....

PJ

[five_alarm]

SUDBURY, ON - How many events are decided by the width of a rubber beak? In Greater Sudbury, there’s only one.

The 13th Annual Rotary Club of Sudbury Sunrisers Lucky Duck Dash is ready to roll once again. Around 2 pm Saturday, a total of more than 12,000 small rubber ducks will be poured into Nephawin Creek off Centennial Drive near the Lily Creek Sports Complex.

The person who has purchased the “lucky duck” that crosses the finish line first will win a cool $10,000. The remaining $20,000 raised through this fun event will be split among the Northern Cancer Research Foundation and Rotary Park, the public park in New Sudbury near the former Adanac Ski Hill, says organizer Brian Smith, a Rotary Club Sunriser since 1992.

Source: northernlife.ca (http://www.northernlife.ca/lifestyleArticle.asp?32id11-pn=&view=87250)

[1SweetFF]

One of the local departments here has a chicken BBQ every year that is a big hit, they will even deliver in the local area.

It sounds lame, but when I was younger, I had a trailer set up in our driveway and people dropped off recyclables for me. I also typed up a letter and went to homes in my neighbourhood, saying who I was, what I needed the money for, and gave them bags to put recyclables in and then I walked around to the houses to pick them up. So people could either drop them off, or I'd come to get them. I raised a lot of money that way. 5 or 10 cents an item can add up after awhile.

Another thing I did was pick strawberries and sell them, it worked well because I was young at the time, 10-12 years old.

Pancake breakfasts, yard sales (people are always willing to donate their junk), odd jobs, car washes.

[1SweetFF]

SUDBURY, ON - How many events are decided by the width of a rubber beak? In Greater Sudbury, there’s only one.

The 13th Annual Rotary Club of Sudbury Sunrisers Lucky Duck Dash is ready to roll once again. Around 2 pm Saturday, a total of more than 12,000 small rubber ducks will be poured into Nephawin Creek off Centennial Drive near the Lily Creek Sports Complex.

The person who has purchased the “lucky duck” that crosses the finish line first will win a cool $10,000. The remaining $20,000 raised through this fun event will be split among the Northern Cancer Research Foundation and Rotary Park, the public park in New Sudbury near the former Adanac Ski Hill, says organizer Brian Smith, a Rotary Club Sunriser since 1992.

Source: northernlife.ca (http://www.northernlife.ca/lifestyleArticle.asp?32id11-pn=&view=87250)

Our Rotary club does that here too!

[Kirk]

We have hooked up with the Nevada corporation and our local store sells nevada lottery tickets. It is a great source of income for us, and all we have to do is sign a few cheques to pay for the account and administration. The account is self supporting and other than some banking, we do nothing else. Works great.

Kirk

[Grawl]

Our department has a garage sale every year. People are invited to drop off items on select days or we offer to pick them up. This usually nets us around $4000+. We also do a raffle each year, we get a great deal on the items from local businesses.

Good Luck with whatever you end up doing.

[firefighter316]

We have been doing fire rescue at a local racetrack for a few years now. The owner pays our association a fee for every race night and allows us to hold a 50/50 draw each night. We have permission from the town to bring a rescue truck and tanker/pumper.
1 man on infield 1 on tanker and 2 on rescue plus ticket sellers whether they are spouses or community members is all you need
We have raised anywhere from $12,000 to $28,000 per year doing this.
It's great for your public profile as well and the track owner gets a huge break on his insurance. The drivers love the added feeling of security as well.

Good Luck!

[dentedhead]

Mike since I dont know the size of your town/city these will work anywhere.Get involved with local businesses and offer your services for donations,flipping burgers running concession boothes at events.

This one may cost a bit but you could always try the big ticket item lottery.Raffle off a big screen TV at the low end or a motorcycle, classic car etc at the high end.Limited tickets and advertise it provincially or nationally in mags/papers that are read by people interested in these toys.

If you are in Ontario look into the trillium foundation.

Dentedhead

[Michael13]

We did a car wash today and netted 700. easy work and we had fun and we are doing rummage sale July 4th weekend.

[MFDFF33]

Here's a thought, a few years ago Musquash Fire held a fund raiser where we got a bunch of our Front line Fire Fighters and our Ladies Auxiliary, they went around getting people to sponsor them and they walked from one end of our coverage area to the other in full turnout gear... Now this might not be something you'd want to do on a foolishly hot day... but it worked really well for us.

[five_alarm]

COCHRANE, AB - A curling iron, Beanie Babies, porcelain piggy banks and pretty much everything in between were given a second chance June 25 when one man’s trash became a slew of others’ exciting new treasure.

Cochrane Search and Rescue (CSR) held it’s third annual BIG community garage sale June 25 in the Extra Foods parking lot; and with a minimum of rain, the fundraiser proved to be a great time, raising about $3,600 for the CRS.

Vice President Tony Romano says that events like this garage sale are what gives CSR the resources to continue its support. “This is basically our annual fundraiser that keeps us in operation,” he said. Unfortunately only some aspects of the program are covered through grants such as training, said Romano; everything else like gas and phone services runs directly through fundraisers like these.

Source: cochranetimes.com (http://www.cochranetimes.com/story.php?id=170899)

[DCCHam]

Ou department has ran an annual auction with donated items as our major fundraiser for over 50 years now. We have alot of people in our area that "save" their items to donate to us every year.....it's always amazing to see how much some stuff will go for when people get caught up in a bidding war. We usually raise between $3000-$4000 in a day.

[five_alarm]

PRESCOTT, ON - The fines seemed inappropriate for the charges but Candy Alexander was only too happy to get the money together to pay. The Rotary Club past-president raised $350 in short order Wednesday morning to pay a fine for loitering on her own patio, picking up far too many kittens and chasing white balls on grass. She had spent about an hour in a makeshift jail at O'Reilly's Independent Grocer after being picked up by police at Mr. Gas on the outstanding charges.

"We were all finished and sitting on the balcony and all of a sudden the cruiser comes along and I'm arrested again," said Alexander. The second arrest, for having a lousy lawyer, came with a more reasonable $20 fine that barely kept her locked up for a half-hour as her disparaged counsellor, friend John Urquhart, worked the phones to raise money to make the payment.

It was all done in the name of good fun and helping the Kidney Foundation of Ontario raise funds in its annual Roundup for Research. Local co-ordinator Lesley Hubbard said the event exceeded the $10,000 goal by about $50.

Source: newsfeed.recorder.ca (http://newsfeed.recorder.ca/cgi-bin/LiveIQue.acgi$rec=14637)

[SmokeEaterHFD]

Hey guys, we are seeking a new walk-around light rescue and we are in need of 90-125 grand
anyone have any fundraising ideas that would even make a small dent in that amount. I was thinking of a boot drive but that too also brings in a small amount . Over the summer we had an auction and that helped out quite a bit but that money went towards other reeally important things. If you guys could help out and give me or DCCHam a few suggestions it would be really appreciated , thanks for everything guys.

[Workingfire]

Here's my suggestion to you "younger" members of the HFD...Get together as a group and come up with some ideas that you can do in your small group. A car wash on a sunny Saturday afternoon will bring in a few dollars for you, or get a few items/services donated and hold a raffle. You may need help from some of the regular membership but if you ask the right people I'm sure they would help you out.

Keep the money within your group and turn it over to the regular membership at the annual banquet. You may only have a few hundred dollars but it shows the membership that you want to help. Just my opinion, what do I know?

[spigot]

Simple concept really, 5 buff male firefighters and a bar full of woman........a Ladies Night!
It has to be choreographed and not be a sleazy show.
Arrange with the bar owners as part of the deal to partake in some of the bar profits since you are bringing in all this extra income for them, also have fire fighter auctions on the night i.e. dinner with a firefighter, have some raffles for fire related items etc, it's a good night.Won't work if you live in a conservative town though and you need to be in a decent size city to have the numbers attend but it does work. :)

[dentedhead]

Simple concept really, 5 buff male firefighters and a bar full of woman........a Ladies Night!
It has to be choreographed and not be a sleazy show.
Arrange with the bar owners as part of the deal to partake in some of the bar profits since you are bringing in all this extra income for them, also have fire fighter auctions on the night i.e. dinner with a firefighter, have some raffles for fire related items etc, it's a good night.Won't work if you live in a conservative town though and you need to be in a decent size city to have the numbers attend but it does work. :)

Even in a larger more open minded city there will be someone crying foul.For years some of the TFD guys did a full monty like routine on the roof of one of their station during the beaches jazz festival,they brought in huge money for MD it was done shirtless in bunker pants and was very tame.

One of the more "socially" concious councillors thought it was not fitting and it went against the cities human rights code.The outcome was they were not permitted to do this on city property or while wearing anything belonging to or identifying them with the city of Toronto or TFD in any venue private or public.

I dont recall what the final outcome was but it created quite a s!@tstorm of controversy in the local media.

Dentedhead

[spigot]

Even in a larger more open minded city there will be someone crying foul.For years some of the TFD guys did a full monty like routine on the roof of one of their station during the beaches jazz festival,they brought in huge money for MD it was done shirtless in bunker pants and was very tame.

One of the more "socially" concious councillors thought it was not fitting and it went against the cities human rights code.The outcome was they were not permitted to do this on city property or while wearing anything belonging to or identifying them with the city of Toronto or TFD in any venue private or public.

I dont recall what the final outcome was but it created quite a s!@tstorm of controversy in the local media.

Dentedhead

Hi ya Dentedhead,
Well I wonder why this got the TFD in the crap???
Ok, this is what we do............

All uniform has NO Dept emblems, badges etc on it,
All helmets have NO Dept stickers on them,
The firefighters do not mention which Dept they are with,
It is sold as a "Firefighter Revue", not "Come see the TFD Firefighters get their gear off!!"
And a biggy....DON'T DO IT ON THE STATION ROOF!!!

At the end of the day it is a little dirty what the show intails but we all like to let ourselves go, I mean come on, who here hasnt been to a female revue? (Yes, yes, I know one or two will not have).
It's all done in the name of fun and charity and as long as it doesnt bring the Dept into disrepute, no harm done.
So I think anyway. :)

[dentedhead]

Hi ya Dentedhead,
Well I wonder why this got the TFD in the crap???
Ok, this is what we do............

All uniform has NO Dept emblems, badges etc on it,
All helmets have NO Dept stickers on them,
The firefighters do not mention which Dept they are with,
It is sold as a "Firefighter Revue", not "Come see the TFD Firefighters get their gear off!!"
And a biggy....DON'T DO IT ON THE STATION ROOF!!!

At the end of the day it is a little dirty what the show intails but we all like to let ourselves go, I mean come on, who here hasnt been to a female revue? (Yes, yes, I know one or two will not have).
It's all done in the name of fun and charity and as long as it doesnt bring the Dept into disrepute, no harm done.
So I think anyway. :)

I know what your saying about going stealth but this had been something that had been done for years with both the city's and the depts blessing it was pretty tame.

This was just the objection of one granola eater that had managed to get on council and unfortunatley a case of the rules are the rules.It may also have had something to do with the amalgamation that TO had just undergone at the time.

Dentedhead

[cdares]

There's a small community in rural NS that has a fundraising dance- Lions put it on...they get donations of prizes, and sell the tickets, this particular one is $100.00 per couple, and you can bring 2 guests, and there are 100 prizes. They are big prizes as well ie: golf clubs, trips, etc...however, it can be scaled down- they also have a theme to the night- it's a blast, goes to a great cause, and they make a load of money at it...something to consider!! or, you could do the ladies night thing too!!

[ckfirestn9]

Just curious to know what other departments do for their fundraising. We run a food booth at our local car show and have a 50/50 draw at the same time. Last year our 50/50 did over $12,500 each way. We donate most of our profit from the draw to Muscular Dystrophy, a local hospital, and service groups in our area. We also buy a piece of equipment for our hall if needed.

[DCharv]

Just curious to know what other departments do for their fundraising. We run a food booth at our local car show and have a 50/50 draw at the same time. Last year our 50/50 did over $12,500 each way. We donate most of our profit from the draw to Muscular Dystrophy, a local hospital, and service groups in our area. We also buy a piece of equipment for our hall if needed.

We do several different fundraiser throughout the year. We put on about four suppers a year, dances, car washes, and we cater to funtions (ie: weddings, anniversaries, etc..). Our biggest fundraiser is our dinner theatres we do every year. We started out doing two shows a year, then to four shows, and last year we did ten shows (a few of which were at other departments halls for their fundraisers). All of the cast and crew are members of the department and they're a lot fo fun, we also make some pretty good money of them as well.