Pathfinder Fundraiser

Source: Pathfinder

Garage Sales

Conduct a garage sale at the church. Invite all church members to bring items for the Pathfinders to sell. Offer to pick up large items. Success depends on getting lots of stuff to sell.

Collection of Refundables

We are fundraising using the following ideas: collection of refundables – we provide the blue bags and pick up on request – 2weeks collection for me (people on my street dropping off) was $34.00. — 1st Shad Bay Scout Troop, 63 James Street, Prospect Bay, N.S.

Talent Show/Bake Sale

The Pathfinders put on a Talent Show (you and the Church will be surprised by the amount of talent in your club). Pathfinders and their parents bake items that are auctioned off during the program. Most items are sold by silent auction where a bid sheet is posted next to the item, but some larger items are auctioned off with a lively round of bidding. Snacks such as popcorn and drinks are also sold during the show. People are free to move around during the show to bid on items and purchase snacks. As part of the talent show, slides and videos are shown of campouts and other Pathfinder activities so the Church members can see what Pathfinders do. It really helps kept the Church in touch with what Pathfinders is all about.

Townopoly

Harvest Party

Similar to the Talent/Bake Sale our club decided last Fall to take care of putting on the Harvest Party for the church this year. It was a costume party/bake sale/activity booths with games for the young children to win easily. (The costume portion puts everyone in a good mood!) Everyone is invited to bring any homemade or purchased baked item to be auctioned off. There are always some favorites which everyone bids up high. This year someone even baked a “Pathfinder Cake”! It was beautiful and our director bought it for the club to share and eat together. At the end there is always one or two cream pies which really get the BIG bucks! These end up in the face of whomever the purchaser chooses. It usually somehow ends up in the face of the Pathfinder Director! — Kuna Connectors – Kuna, Idaho

Selling Lamingtons

Our Pathfinder Club has great success selling lamingtons. We make them on Saturday night, then sell them door to door on Sunday. I don’t know how well this would work in America, as lamingtons are very Australian. Lamingtons are cubes of cake, about 5cm x 5cm x 5cm which are coated in chocolate syrup, then coated in coconut. They are very nice and freeze well. A production line is formed at church with lots of parents and old folks coming along to help, then buying a few dozen to give to their grandchildren. We usually make about A$600 each time, and we make about 450 dozen. We have held a few and bought a trailer and a marquee to cook in. It has been a big success. See what you think. — from Alstonville, North N.S.W. Australia.

We have included a number of do-it-yourself fundraising ideas in this section that offer a break from traditional product sales.  They were developed by groups just like yours in an attempt have a little fun with their fundraiser. Some of them are tried and true while others show a lot of creativity … and even wackiness in some cases.  All of them are obviously not appropriate for every group, but sometimes, with only a little modification, your might find some fund raising ideas that are perfect for your group. If you have an idea for a do-it-yourself fund raiser you are willing to share with others, please send it to us via email. Include anything and everything you would want to know if you were hearing the idea for the first time.