How to Organize a Beef & Beer Fundraiser

Holding a fundraiser to raise money for your charity or organization is a great way to involve the community in something you feel strongly about. The way to set your fundraiser apart from others is by making the event unusual or unique. Attract people to your event by offering them good food, like burgers and steaks, and cold beer. This is a great way to draw in a certain type of clientele, such as men in their 20s and 30s.

Plan the fundraising event. Don’t simply throw it together last minute when you have the necessary supplies. If you truly want to raise as much money as possible, come up with a game plan first.

Recruit volunteers. Ask friends, family and community members who may have an interest in your cause to participate in your fundraiser. If possible, enlist your volunteers to help cook or barbecue at the event, thus eliminating the need to hire a cook.

Identify jobs for each person to do. Make a to-do list and hand out jobs fairly, so that everybody has some responsibility. Overloading one person is a good way to ensure that necessary jobs don’t get done.

Build a website for your fundraiser. Be sure to mention that food and beer will be served -- this will be a big draw for supporters. You can even ask supporters for recipe recommendations. Getting people excited about your event means word will spread and the number of donors will increase.

Set up ways of accepting donations. Hand out a card at the fundraiser with directions on how people can contribute online. Incorporate a PayPal donation button on your website and provide people with the web address. Decide how you want to take donations at the fundraiser. You can accept cash only, or also accept checks or even credit or debit cards.

Contact your local health department to find out any laws regarding alcohol that could pertain to your beer fundraiser.

Tip

If local businesses are supporting your cause, they may be willing to donate beef and beer to serve at the fundraiser. This could greatly lower your budget for the fundraiser.

Tip

If you’re going to be holding a raffle, ask for raffle donations. If you can have raffle prizes donated, the only true cost for a raffle fundraiser, aside from food and drink, is the cost of the raffle tickets.