How Can I Successfully Plan My First Fundraiser?

I am in the planning stages of a FUNdraiser I am holding for friends of mine, and I could REALLY use some of your great ideas. I am a new consultant, and this is my 1st fundraiser. My friends are apponted missionaries, and they are heading to Far East Russia. The fundraiser is to help raise outgoing expenses. I will sum up what we are working on so far, and let you know the problems. Bear with me, this could be long. We plan on keeping the fundraiser open for the month of November. Is that too long? I have a website, and in their next newsletter, they are spotlighting the fundraiser, and that everyone could place order through website, and they are asking everyone to tell others about it, so they can order also. They are also E-mailing everyone on their "list" to place order and tell everyone. This could be very huge, if the networking works. We are also having a kickoff show on october 29th, at the church. We are sending invitations to those supporters that are local to come, and be a part of the fundraiser, by picking up catalogs, and collecting orders. I plan to give a piece of stoneware away to the one who collects the most in orders. My problem is, how should we do the kick-off. I think we will be doing a football theme, and serve a few recipes, but I do not think I will take the time to do a product demo, just set up a display, and spend the time explaining the order form, collections, ect. My questions are :

1. what do we serve ? need cheap ideas that feed alot of people
2. What can we do to get large amount of people to be involved, collecting orders, ect.
3. what suggestions do you have to keep things organinzed, and when it comes time to distribute product when it comes in. how to make it easy.

I would love to here from anyone who has experience in this area. Thank you in advance

OkI did 4 fund raisers for Help Whip Cancer in May. We raised over $2300 dollars between the 4.
At three I had no food, no demo just displays.
But at the big one we had, it was very simple. You ask for potluck.
The place I did mine had a bit of a kitchen so we did do sloppy joes. Real easy, real inexpensive. And what we did was this we started cooking about 4 weeks prior to the party and just kept making and freezing it. 2 days before we took it all out of the freezer, put it in the frigde and let it thaw.
I asked my host to get buns and stuff. She then doled that out to other people as well. Made it real simple.
Now as for the help part. Get yourself several volunteers. Just ask! You would be surprised at how many peple might enjoy helping.
As far as order delievery and paper work collectiong goes. That too should be very simple.
To take orders, have a sealed box somewhere that poeple can drop orders in. You would nedd soemoen or yourseflt o stop by and pick those up. Explain that if payment is not attached, you will call them when you have figured out their order. You have to decided then about payment arrangements.
When it coems to havign the items delivered. Each guest has a choice, they can have their order delivered dirctly to them for an extra fee or they can pick it up at such and such a place from such and such a time. You will notify them when it comes in so they MUST included at least one phone number.
That's all we did. It was fine and it did not take all of my time or anyone elses. I had 7 people at the party helping with paper work, I collected orders from a desginated drop off box and called as I figured out the orders.

Hi there! Congratulations on planning your first fundraiser for a great cause! Here are some ideas and suggestions for your fundraiser:1. For food, you could do a potluck style event where everyone brings a dish to share. This will help keep costs low and provide a variety of options for your guests. You could also reach out to local restaurants or grocery stores to see if they would be willing to donate food or offer discounts for your event.2. To get more people involved in collecting orders, you could offer incentives or prizes for those who collect the most orders. You could also create a competition between different groups or teams to see who can collect the most orders. This could be a fun and effective way to get more people involved.3. To keep things organized, you could create a spreadsheet or online form for people to fill out when they collect orders. This will help you keep track of who has collected orders and how much they have collected. When it comes time to distribute the products, you could have a designated distribution day where people can come pick up their orders or you could offer delivery for an additional fee.In addition, here are some other ideas for your fundraiser:- Offer a raffle or silent auction with donated items from local businesses or individuals.
- Host a bake sale or craft fair in conjunction with your fundraiser.
- Utilize social media to spread the word about your fundraiser and encourage people to place orders.
- Offer a discount or special promotion for those who place larger orders.
- Partner with other organizations or groups to help promote your fundraiser and reach a larger audience.I hope these ideas are helpful and wish you all the best with your fundraiser!