FUNDRAISING IDEAS FOR LWR
Be creative! Combine some of these ideas together or do them separately. Make them intergenerational events, ecumenical events, or community events. And if you create some new ideas, please share them with us so we can pass them on to others. Thank you for your time, energy and commitment to Lutheran World Relief!
Host an LWR Fair Trade Fair!
Through the LWR Handcraft Project, you can make a world of difference by hosting an LWR Fair Trade Fair in your parish or community with fairly traded handcrafts from around the world. Boost your sales by including Divine chocolate from the LWR Chocolate Project and coffee, tea and cocoa from the LWR Coffee Project. Make sure to request information about Fair Trade with your order!
LWR Chocolate Project: order a supply of Fair Trade Divine chocolate bars and sell them in your church and community. A fundraising kit is available at lwr.org/chocolate. Make sure to request information about Fair Trade chocolate with your order!
LWR Coffee Project: order a supply of Fair Trade coffee, tea and cocoa to sell at church and in your community. Make sure to request information about Fair Trade coffee with your order!
LWR’s Fair Trade projects are a great way to raise funds for LWR and provide a triple benefit:
- Donating the proceeds from your Fair Trade fundraiser to Lutheran World Relief’s general fund will enable us to respond quickly to the next emergency.
- The artisans and farmers who produce the products you sell receive a fair price for their coffee, tea, cocoa and handcrafts. That means they have money to feed their families, educate their children, receive medical care and have safe shelter.
- SERRV International/A Greater Gift and Equal Exchange, our Fair Trade partners, donate a portion of all sales from our Fair Trade projects to support Lutheran World Relief’s work around the world.
Bake Sale/Bake Off
Everyone loves a bake sale! You could include some international baked goods, since your donations benefit people around the world. For a Bake Off, ask people to bake the same thing, like an apple pie. Place a container next to each pie entry, and instruct people to vote by dropping donations into the container of their favorite pie. The container with the most money reflects the winner of the contest. Hopefully the winner will share his/her recipe with the congregation.
Mission Fair
Hold a fair that lifts up the benevolent groups your congregation supports, including Lutheran World Relief. There could be food samples at the food table, toys at the children table, books/story reading at the education table, etc. Each table’s activity could be as simple or elaborate as you choose.
Quilt Auction
Instead of shipping all your quilts to the LWR warehouse, sell some at a quilting auction and put the proceeds toward a gift for Lutheran World Relief. The quilting auction could be part of a pot luck dinner.
Pot Luck Dinner
This could be a great intergenerational event! Encourage the youth to serve dinner to your congregation. After the meal they could entertain dinner guests with a Variety/Talent Show. Sell tickets or encourage free-will donations to support LWR.
"Talent" Auction
Your congregation is probably full of talented people who’d be willing to “sell” their talents for a worthy cause. For example, a painter might sell one room worth of painting, a chef could sell one gourmet meal for a family of four, or youth could sell two hours of yard work. Each would actually donate their time, materials and expertise, and the funds used to buy their services could help fund LWR.
Spare Change Donation Box at Church
The artistic folks at your church could make different boxes, and each box would represent a particular theme such as hunger, water, peace, education, etc. Include a slot in each box and encourage people to drop their spare change in the slot.
Vacation Bible School/Lenten Offerings
Offerings collected at VBS and/or Lenten services could be used toward LWR’s work. Each offering could have a specific theme such as food, children, medicine, environment, etc.
Christmas Decorating Banquet
Extend the festivities of decorating your church by holding a special Christmas dinner. At the dinner, sing your favorite Christmas hymns and do a secret Santa exchange. Gifts would be contributions toward LWR in honor of a member of your congregation.
Choir(s)/Organ Concert
Whether your congregation has one choir or six choirs, gather them all together for a beautiful musical experience. Combine your voices, bells, brass and children and make a joyful noise to support LWR. Add some visual pleasure to the concert by including liturgical dancers.
Benefit Rummage Sale
Turn your unneeded belongings into cash to buy what others need! Collect your good used clothing and household items to hold a rummage sale and donate the proceeds to LWR.
Medical Matching Challenge
We are very blessed in this country to have so many doctors, nurses, and other medical staff. Ask the medical professionals in your congregation to make a gift to LWR and challenge the other members of the congregation to match the total dollar-for-dollar. When you’re done, honor the work of these individuals by making the donation to LWR in their name, perhaps as a Health Square to add to your congregation’s Community Quilt!
Community Quilt
The LWR Community Quilt© is an exciting way for you to support LWR’s work, and to share it with others. Challenge your congregation to raise funds during a set period of time to purchase one of each of the twelve quilt squares, which represent different areas of our work. Very ambitious congregations could hold a Community Quilt themed Mission Fair - see the Mission Fair idea listed above. When you’re done – celebrate!
To learn more about the Lutheran World Relief Community Quilt, visit quilt.lwr.org.
