Fund raising events for college!?

We have to run a fund raiser to raise money for a charity of our choice. Any ideas? Most people are doing a food based fund raiser such as hot dogs or chinese food. Id rather do somthing different. It must me an event in which we promote as we are Business students majoring in Marketing.
Thank you for all your input!

Your talking to the right person! :)

I am in the Student Leadership Council, Phi Beta Lambda and Rotaract at our school and we are getting ready to do some fundraising.

1. A Jail: People pay for their friends and sometimes teachers to be put in this kind of jail looking thing. We make it out of wire fencing. In order to get out of the jail, someone must pay for you to get out. All proceeds went ot a local charity.

Here's an idea. Find a local business, and see if they have a charity that they donate to. Lets say for instance that ABC Corp is a major marketing firm, and they give money to the local animal shelter. You could partner up with that company and raise money for their shelter. It looks good for both you and the corporation.

Try a range of clothing party plans, at college you will find lot's of girls who are more then happy to buy clothes, shoes and stuff like that!!

You may try a raffle, but first investigate the legal aspects of holding one. In the US, you must not sell the tickets, you have to give them away, but you can ask for donations. If someone wants a ticket without a donation you have to provide it to stay within the law.

Another approach is a game of skill with prizes given, for example shooting a basketball, or knocking down objects with a baseball. You charge for the game, and the prizes are small tokens.

In either case it is important that you show the money you collect is for a good cause, so that people know they are donating for a charity and don't feel cheated.

Why don't you try a strip show? They did it at my college, and they raised $14.7M from the show. Include fun events along with that. In that general theme.

I am doing a fundraiser for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I also have a candle business. I am giving 10% of my Candle Sales to the Society and this will be on going to Oct 07 when we have our Leukemia Walk. Please visit these to sites for more info: www.candlesforcauses.net and for Fundraising with these amazing candles that are soot free, no carcinogens and non-toxic and the most amazing scents. http://www.pamsue.scent-team.com
contact me for free brochure and sample.
pam@candleforcauses.net
Good Luck!

Rather than sell a product or entertain people, you should actually just ask for money. Get a group of people together for a coffee or tea and desserts, explain the cause, and ask them to give. High return, low cost, and you learn how to make a case for charity. It's an event in that it has a time and place, but it's not a lot of work. Ask about five times as many people as your place can hold, and tell them that there's no cost to attend but they should bring money or a checkbook because they're going to want to give. You can learn a lot from a 17-minute video at www.benevon.com and it's free: concentrate on the section about the free fundraising event.