So we're just over one month away to our big march! How is fundraising going so far? Close to your goal? Met your goal? Time to bump up your goal? Well if 'not quite yet' is your response then take a look at some of these fundraising tips that can be successful for family teams.
Fundraising Ideas
for Family Teams
Online Fundraising Tool: If you register online, you’ll be set up to use this tool. Send your fundraising page out to family and friends to encourage donations.
E-mail tags, Widgets, and Banners: Can be obtained from your own fundraising page or at www.marchforbabies.org/spread_the_word.aspx
Supplies from the Local March of Dimes Office: Paper Cutouts can be sold for $1 or more at stores, offices, libraries, etc.; Collection Buckets can be placed around the community (pediatrician, dentist, local stores, etc.); Plushland animals can be purchased at cost and sold for at least double to raise money for your team
Employer Matching: Check with your or your family members’ employer to see if they match donations to charity
Garage Sale: Collect old items around your home and ask for friends and family to donate items too. Pool them together and have a garage sale with all proceeds going to your family team.
E-bay Auction: Set up an e-bay auction page to sell items, with all proceeds to be donated to your team.
Bake Sale: Sell some homemade baked treats (made by you or others) or even something yummy like Krispy Kreme donuts. Sell them at work, your child’s school, or hold your own local sale.
Host a Wii Competition (or other video gaming system): Charge an entry fee to participate in a friendly competition of Guitar Hero, or other favorite game between friends and family.
Sell Healthy Snacks at Work: Place some fruit and other healthy snacks in the break room (next to the vending machine) at work along with a donation bucket. Let employees partake of the snacks for a donation rather than using the vending machine. (To earn even more money, find someone to donate the snacks.)
Vending Machine Money: Set up a coin collection canister right next to the vending machines at work. Place a sign nearby asking people to donate the change they get back from the machine.
Fundraising Card Game Night: Invite friends and family over for a fun card game night. Charge a fee to play or use real money while playing. All proceeds go to your family team. Don’t forget to provide the snacks!
Birthday and Celebration Donations: Ask friends and family for donations to your team in lieu of birthday or other special occasion gifts.
Blue Jeans for Babies: With management approval, sell tickets or stickers to allow employees to wear blue jeans or casual attire to work on designated days.
Aluminum Cans: Keep your aluminum cans throughout the year. Place aluminum can only containers in your break room. Take them to be recycled and donate the money to your team.
Bowling Party: Invite friends and family to a local bowling alley for a friendly competition. Charge an entry fee to compete. Would also be great at a miniature golf course. Ask local alleys if they’d be willing to donate a few lanes to your cause in order to increase your proceeds.
Get Your Kids Involved: Obtain some coin boxes from the local March of Dimes Office. With the permission of the school principal, have the children take the boxes and collect coins for a set period of time. The school could also work together to create a “Mile of Dimes” (a line of dimes that reach 1 mile long).
Pie in the Face: Find 5 volunteers (managers, public officials, student body officers, etc.). Give them each a money collection container. Give them a set amount of time to collect money. At the end of the time period, the person with the least amount of money gets a pie in their face.
Plan a Party: Have an event to let your family and friends get together to celebrate your team. Fundraising party ideas: have a silent auction with items you have access to or get donated from family and friends; sell tickets to guess how many “somethings” are in a large see-through container (have a small donated prize for the winner); sell plastic Easter eggs filled with candy and the potential to win a fantastic prize (ex. Coupons/prizes donated by businesses); sell raffle tickets for items donated to your team/event.
Sell a Meal: Host a meal and charge a few dollars (or enough to make profit over your cost) for people to enjoy it. Even better, make it a pot luck meal or have the supplies donated. Fun examples: Lumberjack Breakfast, Chili Cook-off, etc.
Ice Cream Sundaes: Purchase toppings and ice cream (or have them donated). Charge employees or others a set amount to go through and make their favorite ice cream sundaes. A root beer float would be simple and easy too.
Reverse Raffle: Give a free ticket to everyone attending a meeting or special event. Tell them they are automatically included in the drawing for a special prize. The prize should be something the winner has to do during the event, such as singing a song, doing a dance, wearing a costume or funny hat, having their face painted, etc. If they don’t want to be eligible for the prize, they can “sell” their ticket back for a set amount.
Crafts/Gift Baskets: Sell your own creations and have all the proceeds benefit your team. Ideas? Put together gift baskets people can buy as gifts for loved ones; make some crafty items, such as hair clips, crocheted items, handmade cards, whatever it is you do.
Hold an Open House: Contact your local independent sales consultants to see about gathering together in one location for all proceeds to benefit your family team. Examples: Tupperware, Pampered Chef, Mary Kay, Avon, Lia Sophia Jewelry, a scrapbooking company, Miche bags, and many, many more.
Lucky 7 – 7 Easy Ways to Raise $200
Raise $200 and give all babies a fighting chance! Here’s how:
1. Ask 2 friends for $25 $50.00
2. Collect 200 dimes, 2 times $40.00
3. Donate $20 to your team $20.00
4. Ask 3 co-workers for $10 $30.00
5. Ask 1 neighbor, 1 family member, and your doctor for $10 $30.00
6. Ask 1 local merchant for $15 $15.00
7. Ask your hairstylist for $15 $15.00
TOTAL RAISED: $200.00
So...what a better way to spend a Thursday night than to come and meet 
