If you lead a women’s ministry, you know the importance of regularly engaging your community. From Bible study books to online courses to weekend retreats, the right resources can help you make a lasting impact! But how can you raise the funds needed to access these resources?
Thoughtful ministry fundraising can have more meaningful benefits than a simple donor stewardship strategy—these events and campaigns can financially support your ministry while helping you connect more deeply with the women in your church. In this guide, we’ll review the top four fundraising ideas for your women’s ministry:
Your women’s ministry is unique, and so will be whatever fundraiser you choose to host. Use the following ideas as guidelines to help you brainstorm, but don’t be afraid to put a creative spin on these fundraisers to make them your own or combine them for maximum impact! With that in mind, let’s get started.
Auction Fundraisers
If you’re looking for a fun way to raise money and encourage healthy competition, an auction is the way to go. Not only is the highly competitive bidding process fun and exciting, but the women in your church will be able to bid on items that interest them, making them more likely to increase their donations for the sake of winning.
To create this atmosphere, you’ll need to collect auction items that will appeal to your ministry. Consider auctioning off Bible study materials or Christian books, but be sure to gather a wide variety of genres so that no two items are too similar. Esther Press’s roundup of Christian books for women categorizes Christian books according to the following topics:
- Spiritual growth: These books help women deepen their faith by exploring various spiritual topics.
- Scripture studies: These books draw inspiring insights from the Bible to help women better understand biblical stories and lessons.
- Group reads: These books encourage relationships between Christian women by allowing them to study and learn together.
Other popular items that may interest your group could include artwork with a Biblical meaning, high-end home goods, or even tickets to a spa weekend. Gather feedback from the women in your ministry to narrow down your top picks and offer a variety of appealing, top-tier items.
Additionally, a fundraiser for your women’s ministry should make fellowship a main focus, meaning attendees should have ample opportunities to mingle. Instead of focusing the event on the fundraising activity, host a silent auction in which women can place bids while talking to each other or even bid from their mobile devices.
Mobile Giving Campaigns
Let’s say you’re looking for a fundraising strategy that doesn’t require a venue. Or, maybe you want to double up your fundraising efforts and raise more by hosting two campaigns at once.
Regardless of your unique fundraising strategy, a text-to-give fundraiser can be helpful for raising money without having to facilitate the donation process. With the help of a text-to-give provider, your church can host a mobile giving campaign in just three simple steps:
- Your ministry is assigned a phone number by its text-to-give provider. Share this number with the women in your ministry and explain how they can send a text message to it.
- A donor texts a keyword and donation amount to your phone number. Consider making the keyword themed to the topic of your ministry’s current Bible study, such as the name of a woman in the Bible or a biblical attribute the study is talking about.
- You receive and allocate these donations. Without any additional work on your part, you’ll receive donations and can start spending them on the resources your women’s ministry needs.
Furthermore, mobile giving campaigns won’t interrupt your usual marketing messages, such as sharing encouragement with fellow believers or inviting more women to your church activities. That’s because text-to-give simply requires a donor to send a text message! You can leave simple instructions in your social media bio or on a short post and center the rest of your communications around impacting women.
Product Fundraisers
Everyone loves receiving something in exchange for their donations, which is why product fundraisers are such popular options for supporting church initiatives. Create custom products with your church’s branding, such as:
- T-shirts: Think of fun designs and catchy phrases to adorn custom-made t-shirts. You could even customize them to represent a current women’s Bible study or group. Buyers will enjoy the exclusivity of a t-shirt that represents their involvement in your women’s ministry!
- Baked goods: Invite the women in your church to bring their favorite baked goods to a bake sale. You’ll appeal to both members of your church who want to support your fundraiser and external donors who are just excited for a sweet snack.
- Books: Research the best Bible studies for women and purchase them at a wholesale price. Then, sell the books at a table after women’s meetings or to the entire congregation on a Sunday after the service has concluded.
The highly customizable nature of product fundraisers also makes them great tools for ministering to others. For example, you might sell a t-shirt with a thought-provoking phrase written on it, like, “Got Jesus?” or “Jesus saves.” When your ministry’s supporters buy these t-shirts and wear them in public, they’ll start conversations about their faith with strangers and your ministry will reach more people than you imagined possible!
Double the Donation’s list of church fundraising ideas recommends launching a web store, or an online shop, to sell your fundraising products. That way, you can sell any product at all times of the day, and donors will have an easily accessible source through which they can browse your available products.
Fundraising Letters
While fundraising events can be an exciting way to raise support for your women’s ministry, don’t underestimate the power of directly appealing to potential donors. A direct and specific case for support is one of the most effective tools for engagement, meaning you can secure support for your ministry simply by asking!
Write fundraising letters to potential donors, including information about your fundraising campaign and the specific amount you need to raise. Be sure to personalize each letter and thank recipients for their support to make them feel appreciated and important to your ministry.
Whether you launch just one of these fundraisers or try all of them, you’re sure to raise support for your women’s ministry when you customize the fundraiser to meet your church’s unique needs. For example, a smaller women’s ministry might prefer to gather for a bake sale while a larger group would enjoy getting to know each other at a silent auction.
Gather data throughout the duration of your fundraiser to gauge its success. That way, you’ll know just how receptive the women in your church were to a particular fundraising idea and how you can increase support next time. You’ve got this!
