Creative Fundraising

Have you run out of ways to raise funds for your mission projects?  Looking for creative, unique, fun (and legal!) ways to raise those funds?  Take this example from a long-time member of a C3 partner church.  He shared on his Facebook page:

“Many of you know that I have been involved in a ministry in Haiti for the past 30+ years. My church has established a Sister Church relationship with a small church in southern Haiti. Two years ago Hurricane Matthew (a Category 5 storm) struck Haiti and caused catastrophic damage. It was followed two months later by another major storm which caused more flooding and damage. Several churches and schools in villages near our Sister Church were completely destroyed. To raise funds to help with the construction of these destroyed churches in Haiti, I decided to try to sell my postage stamp collection which was gathering dust in my office. I had collected stamps as a teenager and still had two of my albums containing thousands of stamps. In addition, I inherited 18 albums of stamps from my mother-in-law who was an avid collector. I learned that the best way to do this would be to join the local Stamp Club and put batches of stamps up for sale in the auctions that they hold twice a month. In order to do that I had to identify each stamp by its special number and provide its “Scott catalog value”.

Every stamp in the world has a number and these are published in a series of 10+ volumes representing every country of the world. These Scott catalogs are in my local Public Library to use and are updated each year along with the current value of each stamp which can change from time to time. It’s a lot of time-consuming work, but I have enjoyed renewing my interest in stamps. So far I have sold over $3,300 worth of stamps! In the process, I’ve come across some interesting stamps. For example, many countries including the U.S. issue stamps which commemorate other stamps. These are called “stamps on stamps”. One example is the 8-cent stamp issued in 1972 which pictures and commemorates the 5-cent 1847 Ben Franklin stamp, the very first U.S. stamp! I have another stamp from Hungary which is a stamp of a stamp of a stamp!

If any of you have a stamp album and would like to donate it to the cause, please let me know by sending a message. I’ll process the stamps and sell them and use the funds to help rebuild destroyed schools and churches in Haiti.”

What a labor of love!  We appreciate his heart for Haiti and his willingness to use his resources in a unique way to benefit the churches in Haiti.  His efforts have spurred some of his friends to donate their stamp collections to him for cataloging and selling. 

We’d love to share other creative ways to fundraise!  Let us know what you are doing – it may help others come up with their own ideas.