This fundraiser is a great activity to make the members of
your organization really work for the money. The setting is best if your group
is within a school or an office. The Cuffing Contest is a fun activity which
requires the members of your organization to be handcuffed to a willing
outside participant until the duo raises a set amount of money. A great aspect
of this fundraiser is that there is no right way to do it, and there are many
different ways to go about getting participants.
First you will need to explain the concept to your school or community. Once
the masses are aware of how The Cuffing Contest works, tell them that everyone
is invited to nominate people who they would like to be “arrested.” It is also
optional to charge a small fee for nominating someone. Or if your organization
is doing a fundraiser which requires people to purchase something, you may
only decide to let the people who make a purchase to nominate somebody. Or you
can surpass this step and just go up to random people and ask, however this
may not work in every setting.
Once you decide how you are going to get the
participants, you must now make decide on what to set the “bail” at.
You can make a game out of it and make them all random with a wheel to
spin, or decide on a constant value. You might also think about
setting a time limit in case the goal is not reached. Your
organization also might decide to not set a bail and only imply a time
limit, with you and the participant trying to raise the most amount of
money possible.
The next step is to decide where and when the event will take place.
Recommended venues are during a lunch period, during halftime at
sporting events, or in a local town that has sidewalks. The only
supplies that are needed to pull this off are a pair of handcuffs and
a collection can for each organization member participating.
Lastly, have fun with it! make posters to carry around with each
couple. People are more likely to give money if you look like you are
having fun. And remember, check with your town to see you are required
to get any permits for solicitation…you wouldn’t want to
actually get arrested!
We have included a number of do-it-yourself fundraising ideas in this
section such as a Cuffing Contestthat 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
at .
Include anything
and everything you would want to know if you were hearing the idea for
the first time.