Church Fundraisers that Work: 17 Church Fundraising Ideas

Tithes have their place, but they’re not fun, don’t take place outside Sunday morning, and they do not engage potential donors outside church community members. Get more donations beyond just churchgoers and engage the larger community around your church.

Family-friendly church fundraising events include:

These events are excellent ways to raise funds, particularly around holidays such as Christmas. By asking the participants to donate a small contribution (typically in the form of a small entry fee), you can engage people of all age groups. Earn even more donations by selling refreshments and snacks during the event.

It’s also easy enough to adjust a standard scavenger hunt for the holidays by making them themed, such as an Easter egg hunt.

Raffles present great opportunities to raise funds. It involves church members donating prizes, with church leaders and volunteers selling raffle tickets for a small fee. The winner of the raffle will typically win half of the ticket sales, with the other half going towards the church. In many cases, the winners of these raffle events donate their winnings back to the church! This method is low cost for large and small churches alike while still opening the door for higher returns.

Everyone loves a good auction. That is why silent auctions are such effective fundraising opportunities. They encourage friendly competition among bidders while raising funds for your nonprofit organization. For a Christian-themed silent auction, items can include faith-based t-shirts, specialty Bibles, local restaurants owned by churchgoers, and more.

Church youth groups, particularly ones that are musically inclined, can help church fundraising efforts. Groups can host a choir event and ask for a small donation to attend, helping youngsters learn how to support a good cause early on.

Online giving is the way to meet fundraising goals in the 21st century. A more modern take on fundraising, crowdfunding is usually online fundraising and enables wider members of society to donate, rather than solely the church members. It’s simple: set up an online donation page on your church website that is easily accessible to anyone 24/7.

A yard sale is a low-cost way of raising funds. It’s an informal event in which attendees bring along items they no longer want and sell them. A church can benefit from yard sales by selling table space for a small fee inside the church building or church parking lot.

Everyone needs to wash their cars from time to time, so why not host a car wash in your church parking lot? Have church members volunteer to staff the event and have all proceeds go to your organization.

Walk-a-thons encourage wide community participation outside your immediate congregation. They involve volunteers to run the event, local businesses and community members who sponsor walkers, and, of course, the walkers themselves.

Encourage families to engage in some fun time together with a game night. Simply set up a place to host the event, charge small entry fees, and let families play board games together in a safe and fun environment.

What is a more effective fundraising event than a sale where everyone goes home with yummy baked goods?

Childcare can be expensive and hard to come by. That’s where babysitting volunteers can help. Have members of your church volunteer to babysit for other churchgoers for free, with donations encouraged. These donations can go towards your church.

Book sales are great for a number of reasons. They raise money for your organization. You can sell donated books, meaning you don’t have a large startup cost. These events encourage reading among all age groups. Talk about a win-win-win.

Everyone loves a night of karaoke, even people who can’t sing! So, why not host one yourself and change small entrance fees to raise money for your church?

Talent shows offer significant entertainment value, meaning that they are easy enough to use as a fundraising event. You can charge tickets for the in-person event and, if you want to go a step further, can encourage online donations by hosting a live stream of the event on social media.

Encourage friendly competition with a night of trivia. It not only encourages bonding between your church members, but it can also raise money for your church. Up the ante by making the questions religion-based.

Movie nights are easy enough to host. Simply have a space to show the movie, set up a concession stand, ensure you have the rights to show the movie you want, and charge a small entrance fee. Families will flock to the event.

Brick fundraising is an alternative way to raise funds for your church. These events offer a unique way to engage the congregation, help them feel like they are giving something back, and provide them with a visual representation of their generosity.

Brick fundraising works by asking members of the congregation to buy a brick, which is then engraved with their name (or anything they want). The brick is then displayed in a wall or walkway installment.

Each fundraising effort has its own benefits, but brick fundraising offers a truly unique experience that is as memorable as it is effective.

Members of your church can view their donations every time they visit your brick installation. These installations are visual reminders not only for themselves, but for the wider congregation. The visual nature of brick fundraising therefore promotes a higher sense of community, allowing members to bond over their shared contributions.

Brick fundraisers make it easy to ask for sponsorships from local businesses. Asking local businesses to donate towards your fundraising campaign can be tricky, but with an engraved brick, it’s easy as the bricks can easily last decades, offering business owners a long-lasting form of advertisement.

Brick fundraisers use real laser-engraved tiles and bricks that can be used outside or inside, in walkways or on memorial walls. The only limitations to where these specialty tiles and bricks can be used is your own imagination.

Brick fundraising means you can get more bang for your buck. While a scavenger hunt, for example, can raise money for your organization, the amount may be less than you would like. That means you would have to host numerous hunts in order to reach your goals. With a fundraiser that lets donors sponsor a brick, you really only need a single event to reach your goals since you can sell engraved bricks and tiles for $40 each.

Keep the following brick fundraising initiatives in mind for the following church-related events.

Buildings don’t last forever. It’s likely your church will require repairs or a complete remodel at some point. When that time comes, a brick fundraiser is perhaps the single-best way to raise money to complete these projects. After all, not only can these events raise money, but you can also use the bricks your congregation sponsors in the remodel itself. Talk about a win-win!

Much like a church remodel, with more members of your congregation driving than ever before, your parking lot may have endured a lot of wear and tear over the years. When it needs updating, why not choose a brick fundraiser? This event will allow you to not only raise money, but also accumulate actual bricks that can be used in or near your new lot.

Church mission trips can be expensive, meaning they require lots and lots of fundraising efforts to sustain. A brick fundraiser can therefore be a perfect way to raise money for these missions. By charging a higher price for engraved bricks, the church can not only help volunteers travel, but the display these bricks create (like a walkway) can serve as a long-lasting reminder of the good cause your church members have served.

Similar to mission trips, community outreach programs enable your congregants to help those in need within their local community, whether that be cleaning up the local beach or tutoring children for free. Brick fundraising, in this instance, will allow the members of your church to help out in a wider range of ways due to the larger amount of funds you can amass with a single campaign.

Brick fundraising is an incredibly effective church fundraiser. However, it’s best to undertake this effort with the help of the experts by your side. At Fundraising Brick, we can not only beautifully engrave your bricks or tiles with our advanced laser, but we can also help you launch your fundraising efforts in your wider community. Call our experts today to discuss how we can take your church fundraising campaign to the next level.