Before you refinance your home, take out a personal loan or take from your 401 plan, consider the following fundraisers to help finance your adoption. You may, or may not be able to fund your entire adoption through these fundraisers, but I suggest you attempt these before borrowing.

      The key to having successful fundraisers is finding point people you can trust. Don't try to take on all fundraisers by yourself. Make use of your friends and family and have them help you organize and run each event. Usually, when family and friends hear how you are trying to raise money, they will be more than willing to donate their time and energy helping out.

Bake Sales

There are many different locations you can have a bake sale.
• Local Churches - mail out flyers to churches or ask friends of different churches to hold bake sales to help fund your adoption.

• Local Businesses - Kmart, Walmart, Krogers, and several other businesses are more than willing to allow you to have a bake sale outside their stores...Just take a chance, call around, all they can do is tell you no.

• Rummage Sales - if you are planning a rummage sale, set up a table with just baked items.

Rummage Sales

Rummage sales can be wonderful sources of funds for your adoption. Here are a few ideas to help in your planning.
• Community Rummage Sale - send out flyers to all the churches in your town, to all businesses, to the radio stations and newspaper and television stations. Let them know you are planning a community rummage sale to fund your adoption and that you would appreciate it if they could spread the word that you are accepting donations. You'd be surprised at the support your community will give you! Organize with your church or a local banquet hall for a place to hold your sale and then ADVERTISE the date to all you can think of.

• Yard Sales - after your community rummage sale, you are still going to have a lot of items that didn't sell. Organize with several friends and family members to have smaller rummage sales in their yards. Depending on the amount of items left over, maybe hold sales the next few weekends in different locations. When you are finished with the rummage sales, take the items that did not sell to the Salvation Army or Goodwill nearest you.

• Craft Sales - either held at the same time as your rummage sales or after them. Announce to everyone you can think of that you will be having a craft sale to help fund your adoption. Ask for volunteers to help put crafts together, sewing projects, afghans, wooden yard decorations, candles, etc... Then hold the sale in either a yard , banquet hall, or church.

Raffles

Many items can be raffled off at different times. A good raffle item is either a homemade item, such as an afghan, or a product worth 50 dollars or more, such as small television, bicycle, picture, computer and/or accessories, big bag of toys, etc... Most people would pay 1 dollar for one chance at the raffle and 5 dollars for six chances. Make sure when you hold a raffle that you let others know what day you will be drawing a winner, and how you will let them know if they win. You can hold raffles in several different locations.
• Rummage Sales - Have the item being raffled off near the money table. It would be best if you had someone sitting there strictly for raffle purchases to hand out the raffle forms and collect the money.

• Bake Sales - Same as rummage sales, have the item being raffled off on a table... Those not wanting to buy a baked good may be willing to part with a couple of dollars for a good cause...especially if they have a chance to win something in return!

• Your Work - If you work in a factory or know someone who does, have them take the item, or a picture of the item into work with them, along with a bunch of raffle forms. Have them sell raffle tickets for a week and then hold a drawing at the end of the week. It's best if you do a raffle at work to limit the raffle to JUST employees from work, that way the winner is known by those playing.

• Local Businesses - Contact local businesses in your area and see if they will allow you to set up a booth outside their store for a few hours one day. Have the item you are wanting to raffle with you on the table and explain to all who enter that all the proceeds will help fund your adoption.

Car Washes

Here is where you get the youth involved. Contact all the young people you know and see if they would be willing to volunteer a Saturday to help you raise money for your adoption. Most would be willing to help out, especially if you promise to treat them to ice cream, pizza, or some other "age related" activity.
• Local Businesses - Contact local businesses in your area. You can usually set up your car wash behind their business and use their water supply. Krogers, Video Update and Ames have been very helpful in these areas in the past.

Breakfasts or Dinners

Fundraising breakfasts and dinners are always popular for raising donations. Contact members from your church, your work, or your friends and family for volunteers to make the meals. There are several places you can hold these dinners.
• Local Restaurants - We've seen a huge increase in the number of established restaurants that will host fundraisers for you. Call around and see if any in your neighborhood would be willing to help out. I know that Fazoli's Restaurant and Papa John's Pizza here locally participate in fundraisers.

• Local Churches - Contact your church and see if they would be willing to host a breakfast or dinner for you. If your church has a gymnasium or banquet hall, that would be the perfect location for a dinner.

• Community Centers - Call around to the local community centers in your neighborhood. You may need to pay for the rental facility, but community centers are wonderful locations for breakfasts and dinners.

• Local Schools - Contact the school district nearest you and see if you can hold your community breakfast/dinner in the cafeteria.

Home Shopping Party Fundraisers

Contact your local representative to see if they are willing to do fundraising parties. Some companies to check into are Home Interior Candle Parties, Pampered Chef Parties, Tupperware Parties. Once you locate the right company to help with your fundraiser, give order forms out.
• Family and Friends- they can show the order form to all of THEIR friends and coworkers.

• Your Work - show the order forms to coworkers and have a few extras on hand in case a coworker would be willing to take one and gather orders for you from their friends.

• Your Church - leave an order form on the back table at your church or contact those you think would be interested AFTER the service.

• Rummage Sales, Bake Sales - Have an order form on the table where you will be taking the money. You may receive some orders...Just make sure that you have those purchasing candles provide a phone number and address to contact you.

If you know of any other fundraisers not listed above that you think others could benefit from, please contact us and we'll be sure to add your ideas to the list.