Calendar Fundraiser
To create your own fundraising town calendar, you need to sell advertising. Local merchants and supporters become the calendar’s ad sponsors. Collect logos from local businesses and sell each business ad space on the calendar pages. You may want to limit ads to 3 or 4 per calendar page. Price ads reasonably at $25 to $35 dollars, depending on the size of the ad desired. Sell individual calendar dates (squares) to recognize individual birthdays, anniversaries or other special events for $3 to $5 each. This will create additional sales interest for those who want to see their “event” on the calendar.
Collect volunteer artwork to feature in the calendar (one piece per page or a collage on each calendar page). Photos of town landmarks or a collage of pictures from Founder’s Day, Four of July or Christmas Parades, or other local events make good choices. Select a theme related to your school, town or organization to guide you in choosing the pictures or artwork.
Work with a local printer to produce the calendars (they may do this at a reduced cost in return for an ad!) Once printed up, sell the calendars for $10-$15 at sporting events, school functions, and door-to-door. Try to get local book stores and restaurants to display the fundraising calendars for sale.
The amount of money you’ll raise depends entirely on the fundraising sales effort of your volunteers. Many community members won’t hesitate to support a good cause! Profits can be quite high, depending upon which services you can have donated in return for ads. Selling ad space is the hardest part. Be sure when selling the calendars to let people know how/where the proceeds will be spent.