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Fundraiser Ideas! Have Any?
You all know how important it is to meet the financial needs of the Department. We are having to go to outside resources to do so. Which include community involvement, by means of fundrasing. But sadly some do not have the same creativity as others to do so. Getting a satisfied turnout is the other hard to face reality. So share what your Department does, and how its helped you. Is fundraising becoming a thing of the past?, or should we change up our ideas and think of new ways to monetarily get the support we need.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tony P on
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A method of raising extra funds here, but one I haven't seen mentioned. One that may not be viable or possible in the USA.
Many Brigades here raise money by doing the regular survicing on portable fire extinguishers; such servicing has to be done here. Our fire service assists with this process by ensuring that people are properly trained and qualified to do the work, and also by keeping the paperwork up to date and sending out the accounts. Any such work of course relies upon the existance of some commerce or industry in your area, It relies upon the need for such things to be serviced in your State, and it relies upon the legal right to take on the work. If any of this is possible, it can be a very good source of regular income.
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Permalink Reply by Chiefy on
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Car wash with a twist. Firefighters in bunkers, and rinse cars with (greatly) reduced handlines(fog only) or run hydrant water thru the off engine to look cool. You can also do it with a stick or bucket and have then drive thru the stream for the rinse.
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Permalink Reply by lori Tallman on
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my department has fundraisers throughout the year. Cookout with homemade ice cream and hamburgers and hot dogs, we have a ham and bean supper twice a year and two country ham breakfast. we also have a photo opportunity for the community to have family photos taken.. that is our biggest fundraiser .. maybe this will help.
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Permalink Reply by Peter Lupkowski on
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We sold tickets at fairs, parades, dinners, rides, and open houses for a chance to win a Harley Davidson motorcycle or a John Deere Gator. The tickets went fast and people are asking if we are going to do it this year. If you work through your local H-D dealer you can get the bike at cost. We made several thousand dollars and got a lot of free publicity.
We sell tickets based on the daily three digit lottery number drawing. You get two three digit number for $5. If your number is drawn you get $50. Sell 500 tickets and make $1000 on a 30 day month. Sell one month draw the next month all year long and clear $6000.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Holden on
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We do a horse trail ride each year. Minimal amount of work for the department and needs only a handfull of personal to cover. Makes a nice piece of change for the department also.
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Permalink Reply by Peter S. Berger on
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Being a member of a fire department in South Florida, I can understand the financial burden. I have run very successful Poker Tournaments, where the buy-in is between $75.00 and $100.00. This has generated great revenue for us in the past. We go out to the community and have them donate the prizes, like ipods, or gift certificates. It is a great way to have the community involved. Other ideas, gold tournaments are always a big sell. Firefighter auctions, where firefighters from your department or regionally are auctioned off for the night, where a donated meal is given as well to the highest bidder. As simple as an open house at a fire station, where you bbq hamburgers, hotdogs, and have members of the fire department prepare their special items. You would sell the pieces individually or $10.00 for all inclusive. Try those out and see what happens.
Peter
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Permalink Reply by Knightlite on
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In our department, our biggest fund raiser is the basketball game with the Harlem Rockets. The promoter came to our Department several years ago and said he could guarantee the Department $5000 for the game. All we had to do was supply a team of firefighters to play (rather lose) to the Rockets. No one believed him at the time, but he was true to his word. It was a great success. Throughout the years the money just kept on increasing. I think we get around $27,000 now. It is definitely worth it. Not bad money for playing some really lousy basketball.
Another fund raiser is the Cole Brothers Circus. I think they are only on the east coast. This does not make nearly as much money as the basketball game, but it is a lot of fun. If you get your firefighters out there and sell tickets in advanced you get more of the profit. The only thing firefighters have to do (besides trying to sell tickets) is to setup fire protection around the tent, and have firefighters equipped with (not wearing) full protective clothing during the show. The circus sends a rep about three weeks ahead of the date to help you. Last year we were thrilled to have as our rep Superstar Bill Dundee (former professional wrestler). He was a lot of fun to have around. He helps with ticket sales and signs, and makes connections with local businesses.
Our second biggest fundraiser is a raffle. We sell raffle tickets for prizes. Some of the prizes include trips to nice warm places outside New England, full tanks of heating oil, all the way down to smoke detectors. Some of the items are donated.
One year the Post Office had a problem with us sending tickets out in the mail, so we hand delivered them to every resident in Town. The personal touch proved to be very successful.
Car washes, as others have said are effective as well. What we did was clear out a few bays in the firehouse and have the customers drive through the bays. Firefighters would set up an assembly line, each assigned a task. The car was washed, vacuumed and waxed. Tire pressures checked. They do a really good job. The trick to the car wash is not set a price. The customer pays what he/she wants. They are more apt to give you more money than you would have asked for with a set price.
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Permalink Reply by St Wood on
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We have tried all kinds of fund raisers T-shirts, Family pictures for a donation, picnics selling cups and things from the dept. At one time we had a outside resource come in and they took care of it going door to door and wow what a disaster that was, with complaints of sales pressure put to the residents here in town. We decided that was it and worked out a Fund Raising Letter that really does it for us. We make enough on this letter to get us through the year and have some going into next year with a few dollars. We can make 15 to 20,000 doing this at a cost to us at about 2 to $2500 from printing to envelopes and mailing. The outside source is the printing with the dept. doing the stuffing and mailing the letters. It is sent to everyone in our district around Oct. and we get them back as late as the spring with all the backing of the residents we get through some tough times. Its hard to get people to come to do things for help and donations but this letter gets to everyone. Be Safe out there.
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I guess you haver the same problem that we have and that is money. One idea that has worked well is a TOPLESS car wash. I know what your thinking ,but if you put tarps up like a privacy fence you then get your firefighters to wash cars in nothing but pants and boots, the passing guys think that women in bikini bottoms are in inside with a little false advertisment from the hottie holding the sign you got $10.00 out the gate then from the other side you have the wifes all showing up to see the show and they call a girl friend and thier is your 1 day car wash that knocks back $1500-$2000 dollars and it is in good clean fun with no money invested. Plus you get local car lots to line them up for a tax write off and a good cause. Let me know if that is to chancey i have got more ideas i could share.
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Permalink Reply by Derek R. on
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We do a small but successful amount of fundraising. Every Fall we hold an auction where people in the community donate stuff that they would normally throw away. ( one persons junk is another persons treasure). We hold the auction Friday and Saturday. Some people will actually dionate things like ride on tractors and such. This usually produces 15-$20 000. sometimes more.
Also, we have the permission of a local school to hold a couple dances through the spring/summer. Anoither thing is we had a trailer converted into a kitchen and took it to the local exhibition/fair and sold burgers, pizza, hotdogs, drinks. Trailer paid for itself the first time out. The rest is all profit after the cost of supplies and such. this is another profitable idea that has worked for us. And yes, then you have the breakfasts and dinners and bake sales to go with as well.
Gotta say that I like the "topless car wash" idea. Wonder if you would get the odd cranky person with it though...
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Permalink Reply by John Sees on
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The (2) companies that I run with sell signs. The company that started it first does make some money
and we had to reorder materials several times. The other company does not to do as good.
It is an easy way to make a few bucks, we sell them on our training night so we know someone is
at the station to make them.
Good luck.
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Both of the companies I run with are rural. If someone with a swimming pool needs water to fill their pool they call the fire company and we use our tankers to haul water for them. Both companies make $100 a load and make from $3000 to $5000 a year. The biggest problem is finding the man power to deliver the water when the people want it. Other ways the companies make money is a Chinese auction and raffling off a leather helmet. This year the 2 companies are going together and raffling off rifles.
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