Are finances an issue for you at Rally?
Is there enough money for hobbies, rally magazine, purchasing prizes – or is it all coming out of your pocket?!
Look at these suggestions and see if there is something that might help you make ends meet better.
Fundraising
 If you can do one big fundraiser rather than lots of little ones, it is easier to get helpers. Possibly combining with one or more groups from your church eg. Youth group or Ladies ministry would be a good way to get extra help and to make your fundraiser work on a larger scale so even with splitting the money raised you should do well. Suggestions are; a garage sale using support from all the church, a big scale car wash at the local supermarket, warehouse sausage sizzle, firewood or delivering the local phone directory.
Garage Sale: Keep your standard reasonably high, as you will have to get rid on any leftover “junk” at the end of the sale. Have responsible people in charge of the stalls; make sure you have a big enough float (money) to fund the stalls. Advertise well
Firewood: great for country Rallies. The adults (three cheers for men leaders) spend a couple of days chain sawing & splitting logs (using a log splitter). Orders for firewood have been taken earlier and one Saturday the Rally members and parents come to load, deliver and unload the firewood.
Phone Books: This is a very big job, but it raises a large amount of money. It needs the support of a large number of church members over a week or so, as well as needing storage space for the books until they are delivered. You also have to apply for the contract. If interested talk to Bruce Clarke, Matamata Rallies 07 8886882
 Chicken Farms: Often these businesses need groups to unload baby chickens on one day every six weeks. Contact a local farm.
Small fundraisers: Permanent sales table at church selling cookbooks, chocolate, preserves, fresh produce etc. Catering for functions can be both a large & small fundraiser depending on the size of the group. Rally cookbooks can be an ongoing source of income for very little input as they sell themselves.
Charging Fees
You can have a yearly fee, a term fee or a nightly fee depending on the financial status of your community. Some Rallies send accounts or others just have a tear off slip on bottom of their notice. You could add $1.50 per term to cover the cost of the Rally magazine, or ask your church to sponsor it for each child. Some Rallies charge for the sash/badge book and may have a one off hobby charge for the more expensive craftwork.
Church Support: You could approach you church and work with them to set a Rally budget, this way you know how much money they will contribute and whether it is on a monthly or annual basis. Otherwise, your church may be willing to pay for special speakers, end of year prizes and trophies, or even to fund a bus for a special trip or pay for the magazines – especially the leaders magazine as it is a training tool.
Leaders Tithes:
If your church were unable to support your Rally work, perhaps your leaders would be happy to earmark some tithing for Rally work.
Sponsorship:
You could share your Rally needs with a particular person/s or business and ask if they are willing to sponsor a particular child or event. If your normal fee is $20 per year and you know that a certain child will not be able to afford them, someone could sponsor that child.
Trusts:
There are many Christian trusts that can be approached for funds although they would not generally fund Rally running costs, but prefer special projects or events. There are also community trusts that want to fund youth orientated organizations. In the Waikato, the district Rally Executive applies to the large Trust Bank Waikato Community Trust and then is responsible for distributing the funds to the local Rallies. This makes life much easier for small Rallies who may not have the expertise when dealing with these organizations or the audited accounts needed to apply to these groups for funds. |
