Small Groups Using eBay to Fundraise

While fundraising auctions are nothing new, seeing them done by a small towns may inspire your group to try it. By asking people to clean out their closets or basements instead of giving money you can put a fresh spin on fundraising.

Some creative ideas involved using the town's highlights or recreational opportunities. Like auctioning a bicycle tour or a lunch date with a town celebrity.

Monies raised often go towards community development programs or local projects such as street repairs.

Once succesful these sorts of auctions can easily become ongoing events, replacing bake sales and car washes which can burn volunteers out.

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Coaches Interview Series: Cumberland Barons Hockey Fundraising

Interview: Cumberland Barons

About a year ago we interviewd the head coach of a local hockey team and we asked what fundraising inititives the group took to help finance an upcoming trip:

Q: What was the hockey team raising money for?
A: We decided to raise money for an upcoming trip to Quebec City. We didn't have a lot of time to raise funds because we only knew that we had qualified 3 months before the event. We were the Ottawa Senators representative at the "Tournoi International de Hockey Pee Wee de Quebec"

Q: What was the first fundraising initiative the team took?
A: It was pretty simple, we just held a bottle drive which raised $500.00. We collected beer bottles from neighbours in our community and it was fast and easy way to get started. It helped us build some momentum.

Q: Were you able to garner any corporate donations?
A: Yes we received $700.00 in corporate donations.

Q: Did you hold any raffles:
A: Yes we had a computer and a trip to Montreal donated and they raised a total of $2000.

Q: Were you able to take advantage of any seasonal fundraisers?
A: Yes we sold roses for Valentine's Day

Q: Any other small fundraisers?
A: We also held a garage sale and a silent auction.

Q: What was the most creative idea you came up with?
A: Well one of the parents worked for the Ottawa Citizen, we were able to take out some ad space in the paper at a discounted rate. We broke the space down into business sized spots and resold these at a premium to other businesses.It worked out really well, we were able to add a benefit to the local businesses.

Q: Do you have any advice for other fundraising groups?
A: Don't put your eggs in one basket. As you can see we ran a number of different fundraisers and each was successful.

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