How to Raise Money for Church

Beyond the traditional bake sales, bingo and pie raffles, there are several fun and unique ways to raise money for church.

Studies have shown that most church revenue comes from fundraising, and not from tithing. All earnings from fundraising are subject to federal, state and local taxes according to the church entity's tax status.

Here are a few tips that will excite your congregation into participating in fundraising.

Tip One: Take a page from a politician's handbook and hold a dinner plate event. Invite a celebrity to give a dinner speech and sell tickets for a certain price per plate, depending on your local economy and fundraising goals. Your celebrity choice might be a local author, a motivational speaker, or a visiting television actor or news anchor. Enlist members of your congregation to supply the food, plates and tableside service, or request a reduced price from a catering company. Your speaker may be persuaded to volunteer their time, or you may have to pay them out of your gross proceeds. Calculate your costs before setting the per plate price.

Tip Two: Host a talent show. Everyone has a hidden talent that they would love to show off to the community. Announce the talent show, use the church property to host it either indoors or out, and watch the performers come out of the woodwork. Sell tickets to the show and get local businesses to sponsor the event by donating first, second and third place prizes in exchange for advertising at the show. Rent an applause meter to determine the winner, or have the audience drop cards in a voting box.

Tip Three: Raffle off a new car. Work with your friendly local auto dealership to purchase a brand new car at cost with the understanding that the purchase will not be finalized until all your raffle tickets are sold. If the car you select costs you $5000, you only have to sell 500 tickets at $20 each to raise $5000 for your church. Ask the dealer to load the car onto a tractor trailer to display the car and raffle at a prominent location in the town.

Tip Four: Sponsor a Kitchen Tour. Give your congregation an opportunity to show off their amazing kitchen dÃ©cor. Once you have about twenty kitchens lined up on your tour, create a route map for each stop on the tour and hand these out with each ticket purchase. Have a church volunteer meet ticket holders at each home to stamp tickets. Have the visitors remove their shoes before entering the homes, or don disposable shoe booties.

Calculate your costs before setting a price per plate for a dinner event