One of the best ways to generate a lot of money for your upcoming fundraiser is to generate buzz and excitement - a great way to do that is with a competition. Get the members of your group, school, church, team and community involved by creating a competition they can sink their teeth into.
A chili cook-off or cake bake-off fundraiser is a fun way to get the competitive juices flowing. First, set a date and some guidelines for your chili cook-off or bake-off. You can set any rules you want and you want to give enough time for your group members to share the news of the cook-off or bake-off with as many people as possible. But you don't want to let people know too far in advance that they forget about it. About 2-4 weeks notice is a good amount of time to publicize your fundraiser.
Then, as a group, create posters, flyers, anything your members can think of to generate buzz and competitive spirit. It would be great to go to a local newspaper to do a story about the upcoming competition. You will want to sell tickets to the cook-off or bake-off at a minimal fee. You can also ask local businesses to sponsor different competitors of the competition - the businesses could pay an entrance fee for the cook-off or bake-off competitor to generate funds. Have each cook or bake-off contender make enough chili to feed 12-16 hungry people. Take the lead and get a few volunteers to be the first to sign up to compete.
Another option is to solicit local businesses for donations for a raffle or silent auction to be held at the cook-off or bake-off fundraising event. You can offer to place the business name or logo on your flyers and posters in exchange for their donation. Remind them that there will be well-fed and competitive excited people at your event so it's a great opportunity for the business to help you and get exposure.
It is important to have your event well organized. Have competitors signed up and signed in and direct them as to how things will work, who the judges will be and how many portions of food they will make. Also, make sure to organize the food service so that all in attendance are able to try the food and enjoy themselves.
Don't forget a prize! It's great to have a local business donate a prize for the winner of your chili cook-off or cake bake-off. The real winner can be your group who could make a lot of money doing this fun competition based fundraiser.
Jenny Ann is an expert fundraiser and writes exclusively for ABC Fundraising. For other great fundraising ideas and to receive a Free sample go to http://www.AbcFundraising.com - Don't forget to check out the World's first re-usable fundraiser "Spinners" at http://www.SpinnersFundraising.com
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