Yesterday, I shared about a project we are doing to raise funds for orphans in Africa to have warm beds and full tummies.
Are you joining in? I hope so! I’ll be sharing our project next week!
I presented the need to my girls, and they immediately came up with some great ideas to raise funds. First, they wanted to do a car wash. Then a bake sale. Then a lemonade stand. My seven year old said she’d give the money she usually gets for her birthday. Oh, my Mommy’s heart.
If your kids are looking for ideas, here are some to get your conversation rolling:
Offer services in exchange for donations. Can your kids babysit? Wash cars, mow lawns, pull weeds? Wash dishes? Mop floors? Send them to my house! Or, if sending them to a might-be-psycho-for-all-we-know blogger freaks you out, maybe a neighbor or family member will be willing to hire them.
Our church used to have a slave auction each year with the high schoolers. Congregation members bid on students and overpaid for us, then put us to work. I can tell you I never pulled $100 worth of weeds in my pastor’s garden, but he paid it just the same!
Get creative! Bake cookies, Make handmade cards. Make bracelets. Heck, squeeze some lemons and make lemonade! Remember, the rule of thumb when raising money for a good cause is to overcharge. When else will your mother-in-law pay $5 for a half dozen cookies? 🙂
Sell Junk! Get a rummage sale together with a group of friends, or do a yard sale! Put some stuff on ebay!
Ask! There’s nothing wrong with writing letters and asking straight out for donations. Maybe far away grandparents or local businesses will participate! If no goods or services are exchanged, then all donations are tax-deductible.
Think out of the box. Kids are so great at this, so encourage their creativity and run with it!
Ann has a fabulous brochure here with more great ideas!
Let your kids pick and choose what to do and see how God works through them!
Remember, as you are raising money with your little ones to pray over the children you’ll be blessing!
Have your kids come up with a project yet?
I’ve got a few questions about how this all works.
1. Are we supposed to set something up with Harvest Ministries to start our own project, or do we send all donations through your project #? My daughter wants to raise money for them mainly for food, but I see that your’s is set up to provide beds.
2.How much of what is donated actually goes to the orphans needs? Is any spent on advertising, or paying employees of the Harvest Ministries site? Just wondering if you know, I may have to ask Harvest Ministries directly I guess.
3. We’ve brought this up to a few people already and they’re all asking about reciepts. Is there a way to issue them reciepts for this? Will Harvest Ministries send them out?
4. and…last but not least, we’re from Canada, will that affect anything, or can we proceed with the project like normal?
Would love to understand a bit more before we get started, thanks so much, Jessica 🙂
Hello!!!
This is Ann, from Harvest Ministry. Let me answer a few questions.
First of all, each family or kid who participates with Angela’s Home Grown Mom Kids 4 Orphans project can use Angela’s MyCause4Orphans #0008 (for “Kids 4 Orphans”). This cause is going to focus on the primary needs for BEDS, MATTRESSES, BLANKETS, & FOOD. Just have your child pick one of these areas of specific need (this will be their YELLOW “CAUSE” circle). Then have them think of an exact GOAL to work to meet (this will be the $ amount, which they will add to the top of their personal thermometer (for example, say $200 for 40 blankets could be 100% of your child’s goal). Then have your child pick a specific CREATIVE IDEA (this will be their RED “CREATIVE IDEA” circle).
2. 100% of all ministry donations given to Harvest Ministry for orphan needs go directly overseas for orphans; not a penny is taken out for overhead, other mission projects, personal salaries, etc. However, to facilitate MyCause4Orphans (with other people and families and individuals involved, which necessitates donation receipts and enables us to handle growth and future administration needs) we are directing families and individuals to work through thecause.org, which does use a modest amount (5%) for mission administration needs and receipt facilitation).
3. The Cause works online (thecause.org) and accepts credit cards for giving. Friends from Canada can either give by going to thecause.org website, or they could call with a credit card. And DONATION receipts will be issued by THE CAUSE.
Here are the TWO tricky things:
#1 — If kids of families are doing WORK or giving SERVICES or STUFF for donations, they need to just have people give them personal donations, and the kids/families can then send in the money to THE CAUSE. A mission organization can not issue receipts for money given for GIFTS OR SERVICES.
#2 — If a kid/family would like to send out mission letters, simply include a little card that explains for people to make their mission gift/check out to THE CAUSE — and then write “MyCause4Orphans – #0008” on the memo line (which is the mission # for this “Kids 4 Orphans” project). Have people send the gift back to YOUR HOME ADDRESS (you could include a little return envelope that your child addresses, so it can be sent back to him/her). ****Once you get the check, have your child write a personal thank you note to the friend or relative. Then, once you have a few gifts, mail them all together to THE CAUSE (and THE CAUSE) will take care of the ministry/mission receipts.
At Harvest Ministry, we are able to see the purpose of each gift given, and these donations are send to us on a monthly basis. Once we have a significant amount for this specific KIDS 4 ORPHANS project, we will send 100% of what we receive from THE CAUSE to meet these AFRICAN orphans needs. And we will send back photos of what these gifts were able to purchase. I (Ann) am planning, Lord willing, to go to Uganda in August, 2011. I’m hoping these gifts can be given either before this time, or during this mission outreach.
LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS.
Here’s a video our daughter Caela just made to help explain KIDS 4 ORPHANS, and to answer questions:
https://angelamillsbooks.com/category/homegrown-kids/kids-4-orphans
2.
Oops, I accidentally copied the wrong link. Here is the correct link for our daughter’s KIDS 4 ORPHANS participation YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9__6OyOjJHI&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this out, Ann!
Hi ! I m Gemechis Moti from Ethiopia and I would like to contact you and work with your project in Ethiopia if it is possible for you.so if it is OK please respond me. May God bless you.
Thank you so much for this info, you answered all my questions…but I’ve got 1 more! 😉
If we have friends and family donating directly to the program through The Cause, is there any way to keep track of how much we have collected personally? Just don’t want my daughter to think she hasn’t recieved any donations, if we’re had family/friends donate $100 online.
Thanks, Jess
My 7 and 5 year olds wanted to do something to help Japan. They had made some paper flowers for a friend and then a baby shower and decided they could make those and sell bouquets. I was a week out from being 40 weeks pregnant so I put a limit on how many we would sell and make, but it was a great success! Nobody turned us down.
What a great idea, Camille!
I want to donate to an orphanage. To get stuff for it I want to ask for stuff during my birthday like tooth past,toothbrushes,shoes,clothes, hats, ect. The problem is I don’t know what to get or were to send it to after I get the stuff. I tried looking online but most organizations only wanted money or provided no information. I don’t want to ask for money though. What do I do homegrown mom. I really want to make a difference in many people’s lives, but I dant know how to do it.
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