Fundraising Ideas for Winterguards

Big Crumbs is a website where you can earn cash back for shopping online at over 200 retailers, you can also earn money from purchases that people you have invited make. This is kind of like Igive where you can earn money by people shopping through your link, but you should get a better response with this because there is something in this for everyone.

So, here is my idea, step by step.

1. Sign up at Big Crumbs. Choose "organization/company" in the "I am joining as" drop down box when you sign up. Use your organizations name as your membership name.

2. Put your referral link on your website in a prominent place.

3. Buy a domain at www.GoDaddy.com, try to word your domain so it has something to do with your organization, shopping, or earning cash back. I would also try to stick to a dot com name even though it costs more. People remember dot com names better. Once you've signed your organization up, you can earn cash back from your domain purchase through Big Crumbs.

Once your domain is purchased, log back into your GoDaddy account and set your domain to be forwarded to your Big Crumbs referral link. This is done under domain management, then click on your domain, then forwarding.

4. Go to www.vistaprint.com and order some free business cards or post cards. I like the post cards because they are a little bigger. You can also shop through Big Crumbs for these and earn some more cash back for your organization. Don't worry about including an address on the business cards, just make sure it has something about earning cash back from purchases made online and the website address of the domain you just purchased along with your guard's name. The postcards can be ordered in batches of 100; I can't remember how many free business cards you can order at one time, but it is more than 100.

5. Pass out your business cards at your guard show or appearance. Talk to other guards about what you are doing and give them a card. If you march parades, have some people handing the cards out as you pass by. Once you get people signing up and shopping you will start to get paid every month.

This fundraising idea takes a little more work to set up, but once you have it done it should be a piece of cake.

1. Open a store at CafePress.com. Start with the basic store for the time being, you can always upgrade later. Don't worry if your guard has a website, you don't need one.

2. Once you have your store open, have your members design guard, band, or drum corps related designs for you to sell in your store. Then upload the designs and choose what you'd like your design on.

3. Promote your store on your website and here on Squidoo. This will get the word out about your designs; every time one of them sells you earn money for your guard.

Squidoo, which is the site this lens (webpage) is hosted on, is a free site that allows you to build lenses on almost anything you would like.

1. Sign up for Squidoo.

2. Build a lens about your guard. Include your history, any championships won, accomplishments, etc. Add a link to your guard's website if you have one. If you opened a Cafepress store earlier, use the Cafepress module and feature some of the designs you have made.

3. Apply to become a Squidoo charity. If you are not a 501(c)(3) then you will not be able to qualify at this time. Don't worry, you can still build lenses and get paid.

4. Once you are accepted as a Squidoo charity other people can make lenses and donate the all or a portion of the profits earned to your guard through Squidoo.

5. Become addicted and build more lenses earning even more money for your guard. Then get paid.