The holidays beget numerous fundraising opportunities! The Friends of Channing Valley Park have found a deLIGHTful way to bring their neighborhood together in the spirit of giving to celebrate the holidays and their local park. The Friends sell and distribute luminaries before the neighborhood’s annual holiday party and line their park with the lit luminaries on the night of the party. The entire affair is charmingly titled “Holiday Lights in Channing Valley”. To promote the sale and the event, the Friends group put flyers in mailboxes, sent emails to the neighborhood email list, and posted to social media (Facebook and Nextdoor). This past holiday season, the Friends sold 490 luminaries for a net profit of $462. The Friends say the success of the sale varies from year to year, but that planning ahead and starting your fundraiser as early as possible nearly always guarantees a higher rate of return!
Adapt this Idea!
Luminaries aren’t exclusively winter holiday décor – have a spring May Day party or fall Harvest Festival and sell luminaries to light in the evening and bring the magic!
Details:
Community – Channing Valley
Park – Channing Valley Park
Class – Individual Solicitation
Funds Raised – $1,012 gross; $462 net
Contact – Michelle Hatch
Email – mhatch@beacham.com
Of Note: Plan ahead! The longer you run this fundraiser, the more dollars you will net. Recruit volunteers to help construct the luminary kits (bag of sand, white paper lunch bags, and tea lights). Have donors pick up their kits the day of your event or lighting of your luminaries if you live in a large neighborhood where delivery would be impractical.