How To Have a Church Fundraiser Dinner

Most of the time, a church fundraiser dinner readily turns off people like you.  You may have the tendency to be skeptical.  You may think that the church is actually constraining you to give something right after the dinner and if you are not generous enough, you should feel “guilty” about it.  If that happens, perhaps it’s because the organizer didn’t try to go out of the box and excite you about the event.

Of course, you should change your perspective once it is already your turn to run the activity.  Aside from reinventing the church fundraiser dinner, you should think of ways how the people in your community could discover more about the church while encouraging them to support your cause.  

Here are some guidelines:

• Choose the date wisely.  There is such a thing called “donor fatigue.”  If you schedule your church fundraiser dinner right after a series of other fundraising endeavors, your guests may not really be thrilled to share.  Also, you should not set it promptly after holding tons of meetings and assemblies.  Your guests may really complain of physical exhaustion.  So, in other words, the date of your church fundraiser dinner can matter a lot, especially if you wish to run it quite successfully.
• Promote the dinner creatively and wisely. This doesn’t mean you need to spend a lot of money on advertising.  Your goal is to reach as many people as possible while maximizing your available resources.  Also, when people get to hear much about your church fundraiser dinner, excitement is created.  Of course, it is practical to tie up with some television channels in your locality.  They can certainly let you announce your event if you give them your materials ahead.

  You can also advertise on-line.  Nowadays, Facebook is a great way to connect to your target guests.  You can also give out some flyers during your church service and encourage your members to use word of mouth to drumbeat the event.

• Think of an appropriate menu.  Your church fundraiser dinner should be properly planned.  One of the important details that you have to take into account is the food selection.  As a rule, you should make it simple.  It should be easy to prepare and easy to serve.  It is wonderful if you can think of something that goes along with your overall theme and concept.
• Solicit participation from the youth group.  You have to treat your guests nicely.  So, involve the youth group.  They can be a part of the reception committee and welcome your guests as soon as they arrive.  They can also help in serving your food.  And more importantly, they can assist in your clean up.
• Merge entertainment and agenda.  You owe your guests a fun-filled show. The dinner is just a freebie.  The real attraction is what your guests to see while enjoying dinner.  Again, the “show” should be based on a theme or a concept so everything looks fabulous and well thought.  You can combine acts and production numbers.  Instead of being blunt and too direct, you can try incorporating your fundraising agenda in the entertainment numbers. And finally, if time and opportunity permit, there can be some dancing to highlight the evening.

So, are you enthusiastic in running your next church fundraising dinner?