Providing ways for the children at your child care center or school to be involved in raising funds for a special cause (like our Bright Space program) is a great way to help them understand the importance of community service. Do not forget to think about safety concerns as you make your plans, such as seeking permission where necessary, and informing parents/guardians and teachers of your plans. The most important thing is to have fun!
Dance-a-thon, Rock-a-thon, anything-a-thon: Turn your children's boundless energy into donations for a shelter! Schools have invited parents to join in the activities and distributed sponsor sheets approximately 10 days before the event. Parents collected donations from sponsors and turned proceeds into the office. Prizes were awarded to children at $25, $50, $75, and $100 donation levels. You may also wish to make this into a faculty event and ask employees to participate, collect sponsors or donate.
Art Auction: Children love to draw, so why not let budding artists raise money for a Bright Space? Hold an auction of your children's artwork, selling the one-of-a-kind creations to parents, relatives, and friends who want to decorate their refrigerator and support a Bright Space at the same time.
Silent Auction: Collect donations from area businesses, parents and/or faculty. Set up a silent auction that runs over the course of a day or even a week.
Bake Sale: Invite your parents, clients, and faculty to show off their baking skills! To raise the stakes - ask some high-profile individuals (CEO or President, radio or TV personalities, local celebrities) to bake a special dessert and auction it off to the highest bidder. Fabulous desserts baked with love by well-known personalities. Who could resist?
Jellybean count: fill a jar with jellybeans (coins, beans, etc) and have people pay to guess how many there are in the jar.
Bag groceries: Ask a local grocery store if you can bag people's groceries for donations. Be certain to put up a sign saying what the donation is for.
Perform a free service for donations: Rake leaves, shovel snow, take care of a pet. When offering your service, ask the person who benefited from your actions for a donation toward your worthy cause.
Sell candy or cards: Work with reputable businesses that provide merchandise you can sell. Be sure at least half of the money raised goes to your cause.
Host a carnival: Host a mini-carnival, with games, prizes and popcorn, in a local park or your own backyard. Charge admission and/or a small fee to play games.
Spaghetti/pancake/barbecue/etc. dinner: Prepare a meal for students, teachers, or community members and charge a fee.
A day of community service: Gather together a group of friends, and contact a number of organizations for which you would be interested in volunteering. Then have people sponsor you to do community service for 24 hours.
Craft sale: Make all the crafts yourself and sell them.
Three-on-three basketball tournament: Organize a basketball tournament in your school with the winning team receiving a prize. This can also be done with soccer, tennis, badminton, or any other sport.
Bingo: Host a bingo night.
Plant sale: Organize a plant sale with plants donated by local nurseries.
Book sale: Ask all your friends, relatives, and teachers to donate their old books. Advertise your book sale by means of posters and flyers. Set up a table and sell books. If there are leftovers, you can always give them to a library, shelter, or school.
Buy a brick: If you are fundraising to build a school or building, have people make donations to purchase bricks.
Scavenger hunt: Set a route and make a list of items that the participants need to find in order to win. Advertise your scavenger hunt well and charge everyone a small fee to participate. The winning person/group gets a prize.
Car wash: With a group of friends, set up a car wash in the parking lot of your school, or public area.
Miniature golf: Build a nine-hole miniature golf course, featuring ramps, water and sand traps, and other obstacles. Charge people to play a round during lunch.
Talent auction: Auction off the talents of people. For instance, great singers offer to sing at a wedding, party, or special event.
Duck race: Sell numbered plastic ducks. Set all the ducks afloat in a race on a river. The person who bought the duck that wins the race gets a prize.
Calendar sale: Create a calendar highlighting the projects and members of your organization, and sell it to students and their family members.
Recipe book: Gather together favorite recipes and put them together in a book. Sell the book through your school, sports organization, or community centre. Try to get the photocopying donated by local businesses.
Lemonade stand: Make lemonade, post signs, and sell it on a hot day.
Create CDs of favorite naptime music or a CD of the children singing their favorite songs and sell them for a small fee.
Publicity: Publicize your plans by telling everyone about your Bright Space and the need for funding. Put up posters; send home notices with your children, and alert the media (they love a good human interest story). Work with the Foundation if you (or your client, sponsor, or shelter) has specific media needs.
Grants: Many organizations are funding part or all of a Bright Space with their child care center. Ask your Client Liaison if you can request a contribution from the company foundation or corporate contributions program. You may also identify donors within your community--check local foundations, civic clubs, such as Rotary Club or Civitans, United Way, etc.
Contributions should be made out to the Bright Horizons Foundation for Children. Donations of checks, cash, or stock are welcome. We are a 501(c)3 organization, so all donations are tax-exempt. A copy of our 501(c)3 letter from the Internal Revenue Service is available. To receive one, call 615/256-9915 ext. 1845.
