How our tiny youth group raised $10,000 in just 3 weeks

Have you ever felt the weight of a big dream on your shoulders, but lacked the resources to make it happen? I'll bet you know all too well what I am talking about.

That was my story many years ago as a youth pastor at a struggling church. Our budget was non-existent and our group was small.

But, like the kids and folks in your organization, the kids in my group had big hearts.

At our denomination's youth convention, I challenged my handful of kids to believe for something audacious. "Believe big," I said. "Go discuss it and come back and tell me what we should give this year." I wanted this to be an exercise in dreaming big.

What was I thinking? Don't challenge kids to think big. Sometimes, they will do it!

"We believe we are supposed to pledge and give $10,000," they said!

WHAT? In all the years of our attendance at that convention, our group had never pledged or even given one thousand dollars.

I didn't have the heart to tell them the impossibility of that goal. So, you know what I said...

"LET'S DO IT!"

Back in my office, desperation set in. How could we possibly reach this goal with the usual car washes and spaghetti dinners? I needed a fundraising miracle. So I fasted, prayed, and asked God for creativity.

That's when inspiration struck. I approached local businesses and secured discounts. We made a simple card featuring 15 deals and sold it for just $5.

And the response was incredible! In just three weeks, our tiny youth group had raised the full $10,000.

We were blown away by the abundant fruit from this easy, attractive fundraiser. And the impact kept multiplying as I shared the idea with other youth pastors. That was a lot of years ago. Since then I have partnered with hundreds of organizations to see this story repeated over and again in: 

• Churches
• Bands
• Sports teams (football, baseball, basketball, soccer)
• Booster clubs
• Fraternities
• School PTA's
• High school chorus groups
• College SGA's
• Civic clubs
• Boy/Girl Scouts
• Christian Schools
• Prom committees
• Colleges
• Home school associations
• Sherrif's associations
• Community associations
• Nonprofits
• Fraternities/Sororities

If you are a fundraiser, I know where you live (figuratively)! You are frustrated with selling candy bars and magazines. Car washes are a LOT of work for a little money. It takes a ton of spaghetti plates to make any kind of money.

You are overwhelmed just doing your work. The thought of another fundraiser makes you tired...

You are ready to try something new and I believe this post might be providential for your organization.

Together, we can unlock the generosity of your community and make a bigger difference than you ever imagined. I will share how that can happen in my next post.

Dare to dream!

Sincerely, Keith Farmer

P.S. Email me keith@thediscountcard.com and tell me if you are:

• Nonprofit leader
• Church leader
• Community leader
• other

P.P.S. Want to learn more about how your organization get get all the money it needs? CLICK HERE