Today, more than 725,000 people in New Jersey, including 175,000 children, still face hunger. At CFBNJ, we work to provide sustainable solutions through our anti-hunger and anti-poverty programs. If you’re interested in joining us in the fight against hunger, consider hosting a CFBNJ fundraising event today. Don’t know where to start? We’re here to help.
Hosting a fundraising event doesn’t have to be difficult. Come up with a fundraising event idea, determine how you will accept proceeds, and get started. If interested in hosting a completely virtual fundraising event, please check out our virtual fundraising ideas. Otherwise, here are a few different ideas for a CFBNJ fundraising event:
Community Meal
Sitting down for a meal together is the perfect reminder of why food matters in our communities. Without much effort, food connects us to one another. Gather your neighborhood, office, or your sports team for a community meal. Whether it’s a neighborhood dinner party, happy hour and food with your colleagues, or an after-practice meal, organize an afternoon or evening for a shared meal and ask your guests to bring healthy non-perishable food items to donate to CFBNJ so that your neighbors in need can also enjoy a nourishing meal with their loved ones.
Raffle
Set up a raffle contest for the latest tech gadget or a gift card to a healthy grocery store. Make sure the prize is desirable to your target contestants- for example, a bookstore gift card for your book club or a lime tree for your fellow community gardeners. Depending on the prize or your preference, set the entry fee at a fixed rate or make it donation-based, whether monetary, food items, or hygiene products. Host it for a day at your office or place of worship, or accompany it with an online fundraiser and stretch it out for longer to gather more participants. The winner will appreciate the prize, and CFBNJ will appreciate the donation!
Friendly Competition
Like the raffle fundraising idea, create a friendly competition for a prize. Whether it’s a day off from work, a free hall pass, or a pie in the face, organize a friendly competition for the most amount of money, food, and/or hygiene products donated. Split your contestants into groups and encourage them to reach out to their friends, family, and community members to donate food and funds. Whichever group is able to accumulate the most amount by the end of the week wins the prize!
Bake Sale
Want to donate monetary funds to CFBNJ? Host a bake sale or food sale and donate the proceeds to CFBNJ. Grab your favorite and most delicious healthy recipes and get baking or cooking. You can find a variety of farmers and flea markets or events in your community to sell your food. Get a little sample tray going with a sign saying that your proceeds or percentage of your proceeds will go to hunger and poverty-relief efforts at CFBNJ! Let buyers know that your $3 cupcakes will provide 9 meals to our hungry neighbors or your $6 heart-healthy burrito bowls will go towards supplying a family with 36 diapers!
Lemonade or Juice Stand
Bring back childhood memories and set up a healthy, fresh, and cold lemonade (or other juice of your choice) stand on a hot summer’s day. Create large signs to let thirsty passersby know that you’ve not only got the best juice in town but that their money will be going to CFBNJ programs that seek to elevate our neighbors out of hunger and poverty.
Yard Sale
Are there some items you need to get rid of? Host a block yard sale, advertising it as a fundraising event for CFBNJ. Let buyers know that the proceeds will go to CFBNJ, or that they can participate in a barter system, trading food or hygiene items for items on sale. Though having a yard sale is mostly beneficial for you in making space for the new, you can always turn it into a positive and help address hunger in New Jersey as well.
Car Wash
When the weather warms up, set up a day to host a car wash in your neighborhood or for your school! This is a great way to fundraise for school clubs and sports teams. Invite your friends, family, and school administrators to come get their cars washed for a donation-based monetary fee, 5 non-perishable food items, or a couple of packs of diapers or hygiene products. If you’re feeling extra ambitious, set up an accompanying donation-based lemonade stand to combat the hot weather as people wait for their cars to get washed.
Sports Tournament
Grab your colleagues and peers for an ultimate sports tournament to combat food insecurity in New Jersey. Make the entry fee a fixed rate, such as $5, 3 non-perishable food items, or 1 pack of diapers OR make it donation-based, inviting both competing members and watching fans to donate as much as they would like. Feel free to be creative and combine different fundraising ideas together, like setting up a yard or bake sale next to the stands. Though this can be a little more complicated, it will certainly be a memorable and fun way to help your neighbors in need.
Teach a Class
Are you skilled at something that you would like to share with others while fighting against hunger? Organize a cooking, financial literacy, or creative writing class and make the entry fee non-perishable food items or let them know that a percentage of the entry fee will be going to CFBNJ. In your class, you can even teach how these specific skills can be used towards anti-hunger, anti-poverty, and humanitarian efforts.
Group Activity or Hobby Event
Do you just want to have a fun day doing the activity you love most with the people you love most? Host a no-pressure fundraising event where the community can come together for a shared hobby with a participation or entry fee. Whether it’s painting, cooking, or rock climbing, organize a day to simply enjoy a fun activity with the company of your friends and family, while raising the funds and necessities for our neighbors. Host a family reunion at the park with a grill and bonfire with the theme of raising awareness for other families and ask everyone to bring diapers or a karaoke girls-night for feminine hygiene products.
How else can I support CFBNJ?
Don’t have time to host a fundraising event just yet, but would like to contribute to the fight against hunger? Consider giving a monetary donation today. At CFBNJ, your gift will allow us to source through back-end wholesale partnerships. That means we get more out of your dollar, and through these programs, we purchase refrigerated and frozen perishable foods, such as fresh produce and proteins, that are essential to healthy development and living.
You can also support CFBNJ by attending our fundraising events throughout the year, usually featuring great food, drinks, and company. We’re thankful for however you choose to support CFBNJ. Make sure to have some fun in the process!