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New! "Fundraising for Youth Councils" Click HERE [pdf] 
Fundraising Projects from BC Friendship Centre Youth Councils
Hot Lunch
Youth Council members make lunch and sell it to staff and families at the friendship centre. If possible, plan the lunch on the friendship centre pay day or family allowance pay day. (Duncan)
Fifty/Fifty Raffle
Sell raffle tickets to people at events. At the end of the day, draw one ticket. The winner gets half the money, and your youth council keeps the other half! (Duncan)
Roadside Cleaning
Design a road-side cleaning project in an area of your town that really needs to be cleaned up. Then get sponsors to donate money to the project. People who live and work around that area may be especially willing. (Duncan)
Dances
Many centres hold dances. Some are for special events, like holidays or the end of the school year. Some centres hold dances more often. You can charge admission to the dance and then sell chips, soda, and more at the dance. Youth council members can help with advertising, decorating, choosing music, collecting tickets, selling food, and checking to see everything is going all right during the dance. (Duncan, Lilloet, Port Alberni)
Community Fair
Many towns have an annual fair. See if there is a way you can get paid to help out. If not, try to get people to sponser you for volunteering at the fair. (Duncan)
Donated Items Auction/Raffles
Have people donate used items to the friendship centre. In Mission, they have a sign on their door that asks people to donate used items. These items can be sold at a garage sale. They can also be auctioned off, with people bidding higher and higher to get the item they want. A variation is to have a loonie or toonie sale, where you have many items and that are sold for $1 or $2. (Duncan, Merrit, Mission)
Special Event
Youth could organize an event based on a popular youth TV program. For example, on PAYC day Lillooet held Challaxin Idol, their own version of Canadian Idol. They used some of the funding money left over to help one of the bands produce their own CD. (Lillooet)
Formal Dinner
For a big fundraiser, a formal event such as a fancy dinner could be planned. In Duncan they had a formal dinner where they invited business people in the community (such as bank executives) and charged $50 per person. At the dinner they held a silent auction where the guests bid on various items of value--for example carvings made by community members. The most popular item for auction was a private concert with Swil Kanim, who performed at the dinner. (Duncan)
Concession in Youth Centre
Some youth centres have a concession stand where they sell snacks to the youth. This could be run either by youth workers or youth council members.
A "Jail and Bail."
This fundraiser involves partnering with the local RCMP. In Houston, RCMP members donated cruisers and staff and they drove around with the youth and "arrested" business people who had volunteered. They brought the "prisoners" the youth centre, where they were asked to post bail--which raises funds. This is also a good way for RCMP officers to see how youth can be responsible, and for youth to see how RCMP officers can be helpful. (Houston)
Holiday Events
Lost of events can be organized around holidays. For example, Lillooet is planning a Halloween Monster Bash, and Duncan holds and annual Christmas Party
Barbeque Dinners
Youth council members can cook a big BBQ dinner and invite families involved in the friendship centre and members of the community to come and buy food. (Duncan, Merritt)
Christmas Wrapping
Try getting a table in a shopping centre around Christmas time. Offer to wrap presents for a minimum donation of $5. This works especially well in the few days before Christmas, when people are crunched for shopping time. (Terrace)
Bottle Drives
A bottle drive is a quick way to generate money. Youth can encourage everyone associated with the friendship centre and members of the community to donate their bottles to raise money for youth. (Merritt)
Flea Market
In Mission they hold a flea market every Saturday. The youth make crafts and cook food. Many people donate things to sell. They also rent out their table space to others wanting to sell something (for $10 per table). This works particularly well for youth centres that are right in the centre of town. (Mission)
Craft Sales
If any of your youth council members make crafts, you can sell them at friendship centre events and other big events like pow-wows. If no one knows how to make crafts, why not find an expert to come in and offer a workshop teaching youth how to make traditional crafts? (Mission)
Promotional Items
Get special items made with your youth centres name and logo. Then sell them for a profit. For example, in Nanaimo, they ordered "Neutral Zone" sweaters to sell. (Nanaimo)
Tag Day
Some friendship centre's hold tag days where people sit in front of grocery stores and ask for money in return for stickers saying they donated to the centre. Youth could organize their own tag day. (Port Alberni)
Candy-Gram Sales
Youth could sell candy-grams (cards with candy in them) or flowers for Valentine's day or Christmas. People who buy one choose who they want it delivered to, and then the youth council delivers it.
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