• Bake Sale. Okay, so it’s not exactly reinventing the wheel, but there’s a reason this is one of the most popular fundraisers. It’s easy to organize, allows less-involved spouses to participate and you can even get the kids involved. If baking is not an option, purchase wholesale candy and sell it. Set up your sale at your instillation or around town. Don’t forget to obtain approval from the venue first. Many retail locations are eager to show support for the military and will allow a foldout table or two. Do this around pay day, and don’t price the items. An officer might give you $5 for a brownie!
• Car Wash/Dog Wash. Pretty self explanatory. I like the dog wash idea!
• A Luncheon for Active Duty Personnel. This is another easy-to-participate in activity. Have each member contribute a main dish, side, dessert, snack or drink. Hold the lunches monthly and pick a different theme for each one. Or keep it simple and go potluck. Charge around $5 a plate; it’s less than what many spend on a fast food lunch anyway. Many commanders will enthusiastically allow spouses and kids to come by for scheduled spouse lunches, making it a wonderful way to raise money and spend time with your husband.
• Group T-Shirts, Magnets, Car Stickers, etc. Create items with the group logo on them and sell them to the group members. It gives your group an identity and earns the group money in the process.
• Gas and Glass. Do this at the base gas station, it's for donations, you basically go to the dollar tree and get a bunch of paper towels and window cleaner and wash peoples windshields and pump their gas.
• A Club Bracelet (or Necklace or Charm). Aircrafts, vehicles, symbols–you name it, you can put it on a charm or necklace. Selling a specialized piece of jewelry within your club is an awesome way for spouses to unite and raise funds. Silicone bracelets are another option. Lance Armstrong started this trend with LIVESTRONG and many charities have followed suit. They’re inexpensive and available for order in bulk. Check out ReminderBand.com or Wristbands-4-Less.com for price information.
• An Auction/Raffle.
• Yardsale. All of the members of the group compile things they no longer want and hold a yard sale. Find someone who lives in a good location and just make sure to advertise on Craigslist and with signs and put out a donation bucket. You can also sell baked goods and sodas.
• Krispy Kreme. http://www.krispykreme.com/fund.html
• From Yahoo Answers: Our FRG sold t-shirts with the unit logo on it we also had an auction where the highest bidder got to smash a pie in the CO's face but that was when our guys were home. You can also hold a raffle for the first kiss upon the ship’s return. You can sell tickets all year long during FRG meetings or events. At the end of the deployment, one name is drawn out of the box, and that spouse gets the honor of having her sailor disembark from the ship first and deliver the first reunion kiss.
• Cook Book. Compile favorite recipes from group members, and create and sell cook books.
• Food Sales. Lumpia sales. Get everyone together to makes tons and tons of lumpia (trust me, someone knows how, and the ones who don't will bring the food processors to chop up the ingredients). Have somone out there frying them up for sale on the spot (3 for $5, including sauce), and also have them bagged up and frozen for purchase by the dozen.
If you really can't find someone who knows how to make lumpia, do it with little cinnamon rolls or some other sort of bread-y thing that you can put in freezer bags by the dozen.
We've also done Breakfast Burrito sales but you have to be really careful about them because of food allergies and the possibility of contamination/food poisoning.
So, that's what I found. I hope other FRG leaders will find this list and find it helpful. I did design shirts for our FRG (the dog tags are personalized), as well as for the parents and children of the crew. If you would like something similar for your FRG, feel free to contact me. :)
USNchic's Armed Forces Fashions
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