Church Festival

A traditional and successful church fundraiser is a church festival. Many churches, especially those associated with a school or large youth program find this method is a great way to raise money. These events also promote the cherished sense of community. Your church festival can be large or small but it will begin a tradition in which there are many ways to raise money.

How It Works

First, consider the time of year for your festival. Of course, conducting your festival in conjunction with a regular holiday or a specific season will give you a lot of options for decorating, fundraising, and promotion. Fall Festival (Halloween, Thanksgiving), Winter Festival (depending upon your congregation or synagogue), Spring Fling (Mother’s Day, Easter) and Summer Fun Festival (4th of July, Labor Day) are just a few of the most popular seasonal options.

So, Big or Small?

Well, that choice is entirely up to you and the committee that will be planning this event. You may elect to start your festival in a moderate way and each year upon evaluation of what went well and what needed improvement, decide how to add new components each year.

Always consider your festival as the foundation for multiple ways to raise money. For instance, consider adding any of the following items or ideas to increase your fundraising success. Think about adding: carnival rides and attractions, (jumping tents, dunk booths, games of chance); a car wash fundraiser, a bake sale, a garage or rummage sale, a tournament (basketball, volleyball, dodge ball, softball, kick ball); craft fair, a bake sale; a spaghetti fundraising dinner, plant or bulb sale, a silent auction; fundraising sales ideas; a talent or air band competition; a Christmas trees, wreathes and poinsettia sale; a fun run or walk or walk-a-thon; a teen dance – the list is endless!

More Ideas

Like all events it is critical to have a strong volunteer committee with a plan of action. Think about all of the elements that you will need to have a successful event and draw up your timeline.

Depending upon the complexity of your event, each major component should have a chair (and co-chair) to oversee the details associated with each area. Usually, an overall chair person and co-chair will lead the charge with committees generally falling along the lines of: procurement, promotion, volunteer coordination, logistics, set up/clean up, etc.

In Summary

Remember, your church festival should be a community wide event. So consider promotion to your external as well as internal audiences. Many television and radio stations donate air time and/or have calendars that promote community events. Take advantage of promoting your event to churches of your same faith denomination and also those of differing faiths. You and your members will certainly attend similar events when they are held in your community. That’s what “community” is all about.

Good luck on a fantastic church festival!