My brother-in-law (married to my sister) just turned 34 this past Friday and just got his final diagnosis yesterday....he has osteosarcoma (bone cancer). Also, he and my sister worked at the same factory and just got laid off recently. I'm going to have a chili supper/bean supper the second Saturday in April and I am going to call around to businesses to ask for donations to sell at auction or raffle.

If anyone else has any experience at fundraising, please tell me any successful or unsuccessful things you have tried. Any help is greatly appreciated.

I'm so sorry to read this about your BIL.I'll keep you all in thoughts. Please come back to update us.
Sorry I don't have any experiences in this kind of fund raiser. Sending you good vibes for a successful auction.

I am so sorry for your BIL I will pray for him

Silent auction is a great way to raise money. Send a letter explaining your plight, to local businesses. They are usually very generous for a medical benefit.My BIL did one for his SIL. She and her DH have cancer. Stage 4. They raised $40,000.00. I do a silent auction for my son's high school, for scholarships. We raised $12,000.00

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Have you considered having it in conjunction with a bone marrow drive? A man that goes to our church did. It was the biggest single day drive in the country. You kind of have to know Wayne though. . .he looks like Ken and is very well know in the community. BUT still. . .they were able to raise a lot of money and they were also able to help a 9yr old from our city find a match. . .double bonus! Just make sure that you get the local paper to cover it. That helps bring out a lot more people. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

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I have done many fundraisers for different causes so I can give you some tips....

Have a flyer printed up and ready to go when you go visit businesses to ask for donations...they need it for tax purposes. Be sure you have a date listed on it too.

Remember, businesses, especially small businesses, are overwhelmed with solicitations for donations and especially this year, cannot help as much as they would like to. Start with businessess you and your family are regular customers at.

Don't forget to ask for donations for ingredients for the supper! Often local restaurants/bakeries will donate rolls, bars or cake too.

Banks often donate to fundraisers or will offer to keep the account for you for free.

Don't go overboard on the silent auction. The past two fundraisers I did, we got less then the 'value' amount of the item. People are really looking for bargains, and not spending money on some types of things. Also, some of the items were 'accidentally' won by volunteers.....we were trying to 'up' the bids!

We did very well with a 50/50 raffle, just buy a roll of tickets at Michaels, sell them for $1 or 3 for $5 or whatever, then 1/2 of the money goes to the winner, the other half to the family. Often, the winner donates back some or all of the winnings too!

Good luck....please let me know if you have more questions.....I can help with serving ideas, set up, etc etc etc.....

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"It's not about how much baggage you have, it's about whether or not you can carry your own baggage with grace and dignity."

I'm so sorry about your BIL. A nasty diagnosis, but hopefully there is help for him. I wish him well.

Some great suggestions Jeeplady.

Don't forget the grocery stores for donations. They are usually good for ingredients, paper plates etc, or perhaps a gift card, Some fast food places might give you anything from gift certs to a sleeve of drink cups. Local bars can be good as well.

I'm not sure, but I think having your volunteers bidding to run up the bids is illegal, at least in some areas. Unless they really want the items and are willing to pay what was bid of course. But I know, if I knew or suspected that this was going on, there is no way in hell that I would bid.

I love the raffle idea. I will buy those before anything else. It's easier in hard times to get a lot of people to spend a few dollars rather than a larger amount. You could actually run two or more raffles as long as you have distinctive tickets for each. If you get a big ticket item, like a TV donated, and are afraid it might not do well at the silent auction, then run a raffle for it instead. But do do the fifty-fifty raffle. That's a big draw.

Jeeplady have you ever done a bowlathon? MS has a big one here every year at one of the local lanes. I'm not sure how it works.

One other thought is, if there are going to be enough people at your chili supper and, if the area is big enough, do a cake walk. Maybe some of the donations from the grocery stores could include items for that as well. Actually it could be run like a cake walk but it could include some of the much lesser donations on a table for the winner to choose from. Sprinkle the gift table with those smaller donations and some baked goods. Keep some baked goods back and if they seem to be popular just put a few out at a time. Charge a buck for each person, per round of the "walk". Kids love these and are so proud when they win something.

I don't know where you live, but the TV stations here, have some local programming that includes the possibility of promoting your event. Some radio shows will also. You do need to give them and the newspapers a fair amount of lead time to get it into their schedules.

Hey Wildwood, I have never done a bowl a thon, but it sounds fun.......nice family oriented fundraiser! As for the 'shill' bidding, we were just trying to get things going......I did end up with a beautiful wine rack, wine and glasses that I love! Also, some train tickets that nobody else wanted......that's the thing....some silent auction items just don't sell, so the volunteers ended up buying them.

Ours are usually at a bar/restaurant here.....the owner is famous for helping with various causes because he was ill a few years ago and someone threw a fundraiser for him, so now he helps anytime he can. Sometimes bands will donate their time and music so that is fun too.

My hairdresser always does a basket of hair stuff---she gets freebees from companies, so it depends on what she has on hand. Car dealers will give oil changes or hats, outdoor stores will donate jackets or hunting/fishing stuff. We usually do motorcycle poker runs, so we try to get a lot of 'guy' stuff. Also, Walmart in our area has always been very generous (usually a $50 GC) but they only meet once a week, so you have to drop off a flyer and wait for the committee to meet. Applebees usually gives $10 or $20 GC's. I guess I would say Try Everybody! Big and small, just be very thankful for anything you get. Be sure to send Thank you notes and we usually make a giant Thank you sign listing the businesses that donated no matter how big or small the gift was, but not the exact donation unless it is something very special.

I am just starting on a fundraiser we are doing for a theraputic horse ranch--they take in neglected horses and use them to help children who have had rough lives. I will post more as I get going on this one---there is a lot to think of!!

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"It's not about how much baggage you have, it's about whether or not you can carry your own baggage with grace and dignity."

Boy am I wordy today....I rarely post this much!

Also, I just forgot to say to the OP, best wishes for your BIL! Cancer is a tough diagnosis.....my dd was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma, a type of bone cancer, when she was 10. She is now 19, cancer free and a sophomore in college! It was a tough fight but we had a great outcome and I pray for the same result for your family! Feel free to PM me if you want to talk offline......I may have some other resources for you!

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"It's not about how much baggage you have, it's about whether or not you can carry your own baggage with grace and dignity."

The cat shelter I help with does a huge garage sale every June (it coinsides with a local festival), they also have a dance in the fall and a poker tournament.

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Thank you to everyone for your great suggestions. We just did a bone marrow drive at the hospital where I work and I'm going to ask the lady if she wants to set up at the benefit for my brother-in-law. I hadn't even thought of that, so thanks for suggesting it.

Thanks again!

Don't forget to plan for entertainment - whether it be a band, DJ or DJ and karaoke. You need to have sort of background noise. When you book your entertainment, be sure to mention that it's a benefit. Most entertainment businesses "plan" to book several charity events throughout the year and will give you a substantial discount.

As a DJ, I've seen silent auctions kinda flop. 50/50 raffles do very well, especially if you do deals with them....like $2 a piece, 3 for $5 or an "wing" (arm) span for $25 or so. The wing span idea up here is from middle finger to middle finger and sells very, very well.