Put the fun back in fundraising

A job of every Kiwanian is to raise funds. Though flower sales and pancake breakfasts may do the trick, many clubs opt to think a bit outside the box and organize “unusual” fundraisers.

Take the Kiwanis Club of Chattanooga, Tennessee, for example. The club, in conjunction with the Partnership for Families, Children, and Adults, host a Market Basket dinner, dance, and auction. The Chattanooga Kiwanians have been hosting the event since 1992.

“This year we were approached by a breeder of Arabian horses with an offer to donate an Arabian colt for a fundraiser auction,” says club president Bobby Dann. “We will have a silent auction with more than 200 baskets of donated items, a dinner, a live auction of about 20 to 30 auction items, culminating in the auction of the Arabian colt. A live band will then provide dance music. All proceeds go to the Partnership for Families, Children, and Adults. We expect this year’s Market Basket to bring in more than US$80,000.”

If dinner, dancing, and horses aren’t your thing, you can take a page out of the Kiwanis Club of Tillsonburg, Ontario, book of fundraising. The club recently put together the Kiwanis Home and Recreation Show, during which 160 exhibitors purchased booths to peddle their wares to the more than 12,000 visitors.

“We have everything from small crafts to car dealers exhibiting,” said Tillsonburg Kiwanian and show organizer Ron Bates, “Plus, we have a food booth in the back that makes some money for us. It’s a very good deal for us.”

Or you could open your home to total strangers like some of the Kiwanians from the Calhoun, Georgia club.

Every year at Christmastime, Calhoun Kiwanians stage a home tour to raise money. Four homes in their community are chosen, and tickets are sold. Club members help decorate and lead tours through the spectacular abodes.

“We plan to continue it for a long time to come,” says committee chairwoman Sheryl Domeck. “The one change we are planning for this year is to have pre-sale tickets. In the past, they could purchase tickets at the chamber of commerce, the banks in town, or at the door. It is a wonderful event, but it takes a lot of work and planning. We already are contracting the houses for this year’s tour now.”

Do you have an interesting service project you’d like to share? Click here to post photos and details in the online Kiwanis In Action section of this Web site.