Homemade preserves, craft items, pet services and cookbooks sell well.
Income from multiple sources prevents financial disaster if your hours are cut back or you are laid off. Even if your current job is secure, an emergency expense, such as transmission trouble, storm damage to your home or a visit to the emergency room for a sports injury can leave you reeling from debt. Treat yourself like a corporation and diversify your income streams with a variety of creative fundraisers.
Pet-Related Fundraisers
Pet owners often spend as much on their pets as they do on themselves. Hold pet-grooming events, parades and agility contests. Get an adjustable grooming stand and table harness, dental, eye and ear wipes, brushes and combs, a supply of towels, a grooming kit, bows and nail care supplies. Use your garage or basement, or groom pets on their own turf. Hold pet parades and agility contests at the same time. You'll need a low hurdle, an A-frame, two tunnels, a tire hoop, catwalk, marker flag, brush jump, weaving flags, a window jump and a seesaw to create the setup first used at the Crufts Dog Show in London, England in 1978. Keep things fun, gearing your contest to regular pets rather than specific dog breeds, and make it clear whether or not your contest is affiliated with any of the major dog agility organizations.
Edibles
Many people lack time to make holiday cookies, preserves or dry mix gifts. Take orders a month before each holiday for plenty of time to make and deliver your wares. Use basic cookie mix, popularized in 1951, which consisted of five cups flour, 2 1/3 cups shortening and one tbsp. salt, divided into separate bowls. Add eggs and other ingredients to each bowl, such as chocolate or flavored chips, dried fruits, poppy seed, brown sugar, honey or molasses, oatmeal or nuts. Package cookies by the dozen, tied with curling ribbon. Pack 1/4- or 1/2-lbs. of homemade jerky or fruit leather in cellophane treat bags. Top jars of homemade pickles, jellies, jams or relishes with holiday cloth. Layer dry soup or cookie mix ingredients in canning jars to add to your baskets. Tie hand-cut gift tags around the neck of each jar and nestle an assortment of preserves in a gift basket. Place the baskets in cellophane gift bags tied with metallic cord.
Cookbooks
Follow in the footsteps of self-made millionaire and Habitat for Humanity founder, Millard Fuller, who earned his wealth selling cookbooks with his college friend, Morris Dees, co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Gather recipes from family and friends and hold a kitchen testing session and tasting party. Select the dishes that are easiest to prepare, use the least expensive ingredients and have the best flavor, eye appeal and texture. Photograph the winning dishes. Print the photos on the upper or lower half of a page, with the recipes taking the remaining half. Bind cookbooks in wipe-off vinyl covers and start selling.
Arts and Crafts
Stencil geometric designs, flowers or animals on umbrellas using acrylic paints and allow them to dry overnight. Spray each design with three coats of clear acrylic sealant, allowing to dry overnight between coats. Make grapevine or straw wreaths, decorated with ribbons and sprigs of herbs from your garden. Stamp and embellish card stock to make custom seasonal greeting cards or use cloth scraps to make rag dolls, quilts and rag rugs. to sell at tailgate markets, yard sales or via online auctions.
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